The weeping voices rise straight up and strike the clouds. A passer-by at the roadside asks a conscript why, The conscript answers only that drafting happens often.
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Old Botany Bay
"I'm old
Botany Bay;
stiff in the joints,
little to say.
I am he
who paved the way,
that you might walk
at your ease to-day;
I was the conscript
sent to hell
to make in the desert
the living well;
I bore the heat,
I blazed the track-
furrowed and bloody
upon my back.
I split the rock;
I felled the tree:
The nation was-
Because of me!
Old Botany Bay
Taking the sun
from day to day...
shame on the mouth
that would deny
the knotted hands
that set us high!
poem by Dame Mary Gilmore
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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435
The Police Officer Arrested Them
Last Night While They Were Strolling On The Park
And This Is The Story:
He Asks For Their Names And They Say They Have None
He Asks From Where They Come From And They Say
They Do Not Really Know
He Asks Them Where They Are Going And They Tell Him
They Are Still Undecided
He Asks Them What Is In Their Bags And They Say They Are Just Nothing
He Asks Them Some More And They Say
They Have Nothing To Say Of Themselves
They Come From Nowhere
And They Are Heading Nowhere
And The Police Handcuffed Them
These Vagrants
These Potential Terrorists Of This Rural Place
Where The People Still Love Peace
And This Afternoon The Police Officer Brings Them All To Me
And He Tells Me About The Whole Story
About His Questions And Their Answers
And I Am Looking At Them And They Look At Me
Straight In My Eyes
With Dignity And Without Shame
With All Pride
That They Are Telling The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth
That This One Whose Age Is 16 And This Other One Whose Age Is 18
Are Simply Talking About
Themselves And About Us
And About The Policeman Himself
And Surely, I Agree
We Have No Names, We Do Not Know Where We Come From And We Do Not
Really Know Where We Are Going
We Are All Like That, In The Strictest Sense Of The Word, Except
For Our Little Pretensions
And So I Ordered The Policeman To Release Them All
And Let Them Be Themselves
And Let Them Go In Peace And Finish Their Journey With All Ease
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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One Is 16 And The Other 18
the police officer arrested them
last night while they were strolling on the park
and this is the story:
he asks for their names and they say they have none
he asks from where they come from and they say
they do not really know
he asks them where they are going and they tell him
they are still undecided
he asks them what is in their bags and they say they are just nothing
he asks them some more and they say
they have nothing to say of themselves
they come from nowhere
and they are heading nowhere
and the police handcuffed them
these vagrants
these potential terrorists of this rural place
where the people still love peace
and this afternoon the police officer brings them all to me
and he tells me about the whole story
about his questions and their answers
and i am looking at them and they look at me
straight in my eyes
with dignity and without shame
with all pride
that they are telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
that this one whose age is 16 and this other one whose age is 18
are simply talking about
themselves
and about us
and about the policeman himself
and surely, i agree
we have no names, we do not know where we come from and we do not
really know where we are going
we are all like that, in the strictest sense of the word, except
for our little pretensions
and so i ordered the policeman to release them all
and let them be
themselves
and let them go in peace and finish their journey with all ease
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Just After The War
O! I am a conscript
O! how I do wish
That I had stayed away up North
And kept out of the 'milish.'
I have just gone through the draft,
And now have a 'posish;'
By 'General Orders No. 54'
I belong to the 'milish.'
I often thought I'd volunteer
And run for a 'comish,'
But as I failed to do it
I now belong to the 'milish.'
Here is refugees, deserters, and speculators,
All mixed up in this dish;
They put us all in together
And call us the 'milish.'
Now, come, all ye 'army sharks,'
'Bblood suckers,' and other 'army fish,'
Don't you think it served us right
To put us in the 'milish'?
Vicksburg, December 16, 1864
poem by Anonymous Americas
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The King and The Wise Man
A king asks to a wise man:
'Should my heart hot?
Full of energy and blood
Or should my heart cold?
Full of calculation and plot'
A wise man answers:
'Should your heart warm
So everybody could feel calm
In your arms'
A king asks to a wise man:
'Should my heart black?
Rules my kingdom with fear and dark
Or should my heart white?
Always lives in the world's bright side'
A wise man answers:
'Should your heart grey
The color of human that wants to seek
What's wrong and right'
A king asks to a wise man:
'Should my heart hard?
Strong like steel that can't be beaten by anyone
Or should my heart soft?
Harmless like cotton that easily touched by everyone'
A wise man answers:
'Should your heart flexible
Mold like rubber that could protect people you love'
poem by Maria Sudibyo
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Can you live without answers? All of you, ask that of yourself. Can you live without answers? Because if you cannot, then most assuredly you will invent your own answers and they will comfort you. And all those who do not share your view will by their very existence strike fear and hatred into your heart. What god blesses this?
quote by Steven Erikson
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Why Me?
When the hopes are hassled
And relationships are rattled
Naïveté asks, why me?
When wishes are whacked
And dreams are dashed
Naïveté asks, why me?
When fantasies are fettered
And blessings are battered
Naïveté asks, why me?
When desires are demolished
And ambitions are admonished
Naïveté asks, why me?
When temptations are traumatized
And passions are pulverized
Naïveté asks, why me?
Strangely,
Naïveté with influence
And naïveté with affluence
Never asks, why me?
Naïveté with name
And naïveté with fame
Never asks, why me?
Naïveté with health
And naïveté with wealth
Never asks, why me?
Naïveté with fiefdom
And naïveté with wisdom
Never asks, why me?
Naïveté with beauty
And naïveté with booty
Never asks, why me?
poem by Hitesh Sheth
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Dont Ask Me
I got ideas but I dont know it all
And when I speak you know my voice is small
And when Im walking down the street
I never smile at folks I meet
Cause I know they wont smile at me
Now ask yourself why this should be
But if you want the answers
If you want the answers
Dont ask me
If you want the answers
If you want the answers
Dont ask me
I got feelings but they dont count for much
And I shake my fist but I got no power as such
But if I tell you what I see
Dont throw my words right back at me
Cause I cant shout and I cant moan
Cause I got problems of my own
But if you want the answers
If you want the answers
Dont ask me
If you want the answers
If you want the answers
Dont ask me
Someday soon I gotta learn enough
To justify my actions
Until then I want you all to try
To share my gut reactions
Gut reactions
But if you want the answers
If you want the answers
Dont ask me
If you want the answers
If you want the answers
Dont ask me
song performed by by Joe Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Still I Rise
Shattered, but I'm not broken
Woudned still time will heal
Heavy the load the cross I bear
Lonley, the road I trod I dare
Shaken, but here I stand
Weary, still I press on
Long are the nights, the tears I cry
Dark are the days, no sun in the skys
Yet still I rise
Never to give up
Never to give in
against all odds
Yet still I rise
High above the clouds
Yet times I feel low
yet still I rise
Sometimes I'm troubled
But not is despair
Struggling, I make my way through
Trials they come to make me strong
I must endure, I must hold on.
Yet still I rise
Never to give up
Never to give in
agasint all odds
Yet still I rise
High above the clouds
At times I feel Low
Yet still I rise
Above all my problems
Above all my eyes can see
Knowing God is able
To strengthen me
To strengthen me
Yet still I rise
High above the clouds.
song performed by by Yolanda Adams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Still I Rise
Shattered, but I'm not broken
Woudned still time will heal
Heavy the load the cross I bear
Lonley, the road I trod I dare
Shaken, but here I stand
Weary, still I press on
Long are the nights, the tears I cry
Dark are the days, no sun in the skys
Yet still I rise
Never to give up
Never to give in
against all odds
Yet still I rise
High above the clouds
Yet times I feel low
yet still I rise
Sometimes I'm troubled
But not is despair
Struggling, I make my way through
Trials they come to make me strong
I must endure, I must hold on.
Yet still I rise
Never to give up
Never to give in
agasint all odds
Yet still I rise
High above the clouds
At times I feel Low
Yet still I rise
Above all my problems
Above all my eyes can see
Knowing God is able
To strengthen me
To strengthen me
Yet still I rise
High above the clouds.
song performed by by Yolanda Adams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Voices Inherit The Wind
The lingering shadows of those
who are gone from our grasp
bring comfort to those
who had to say behind.
Their voices inherit the wind
on cold and lonely nights.
Their voices can be heard
telling us everything is all right
when the shadows of loneliness
fall across our sight.
Our weeping call to come back
is answered in the wind
and the shaking branches
touched by a breeze.
Candles were lit to show us the way
when the clouds of darkness surround
and the voices inheriting the wind compound.
We walk with eyes blinded
into an eternal light
to be consumed within.
No one knows our boundaries
when angels take flight
and we only go when we are ready
to face the eternal night.
Those we left have no fear
we maybe gone, but we are still here.
Our voices inherit the wind on dark blustery nights.
We are those fleeting shadows
you catch from the corner of your eye.
We seek not to alarm you,
just to guide you along,
we are your past nudging you
into the future where you belong.
28 March 2010
poem by David Harris
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If A Man Answers
(toby keith/chuck cannon)
You said you need a little time
A little time to yourself
Im staring down this telephone wonderin
There might be someone else
If a man answers when I call
Ill just hang up, I wont say anything at all
If a man answers I know what Ill do
Ill lie here awake so I dont dream about you
If a man answers this time of night
At least Ill know somebodys holding you tight
If a man answers I wont call again
And Ill know where I stand while I twist in the wind
Oh baby, Im just missin you
Im crazy still in love with you
I know my heart will break in two
If a man answers, if a man answers
I just gotta tell you girl
Maybe somehow make you see
How much I want you to come back to me
But if a man answers youll never know
Hell let you sleep while I let you go
Oh baby, Im just missin you
Im crazy still in love with you
I know my heart will break in two
If a man answers, if a man answers
If a man answers youll never know
If a man answers Ill let you go
If a man answers this time of night
If a man answers hes holding you tight
If a man answers, if a man answers
If a man answers, if a man answers
If a man answers, oh if a man answers
If a man answers, if a man answers
song performed by by Toby Keith
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Sun Will Rise Again
I know the sun will rise again
I saw the sun set on my dream
I saw myself toil in vain
I saw my tears flow like a stream
But I know the sun will rise again
I know the sun will rise again
The other day I was a hero
Yet today I feel the pain
As I wind down to zero
But I know the sun will rise again
I am lost in this stormy rain
Tossed by fierce winds day after day
My strength the storm has drain
But I wait on hope's smiley ray
When the sun will rise again
I know the sun will rise again
I have groped in pitch darkness
Searching for answers, searching in vain
But I wait on the morning brightness
When the sun will rise again.
poem by Joseph Eli Atisu
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Society Needs Relief
Minds adopting violence as a crop,
That grows.
Exposes those who show,
A hopelessness invested.
With a manifesting,
Gone unarrested.
Minds adopting violence as a crop,
That grows.
And bestowing,
An assessed uselessness.
That has been infested,
Fed and digested.
Society needs relief...
With a sweeping of the weeping.
Too many left on knees and grieving.
Too many say they seek a meaning.
Society needs relief...
With a sweeping of the weeping.
Too many left on knees and grieving.
Too many say they seek a meaning.
Although the answers come,
They can't let go.
Although the answers come,
Their tears still flow.
Minds adopting violence as a crop,
That grows.
And bestowing,
An assessed uselessness.
That has been infested,
Fed and digested.
Society needs relief...
With a sweeping of the weeping.
Too many left on knees and grieving.
Too many say they seek a meaning.
Although the answers come,
They can't let go.
Although the answers come,
Their tears still flow.
Society needs relief.
Society needs relief.
Society needs relief.
Although the answers come,
They can't let go.
Although the answers come,
Their tears still flow.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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The praise is praise worthy
With praise, I rise to fall.
With critics, I rise not at all.
‘Which has the grace? ’ asks a child
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Show Me
We got the same beat runnin round
Through this crazy town
Oh Im sick and I cant hear it anymore
And when we touched as the blood and the rain
Wed be shakin the ground
Shes sick and theres a way to bring her round
Show me what youre waitin for
This moment may not rise again
And your heart will never know
Show me what youre waitin for
The voices may not rise again
And the world will never know
The party drags us over the edge to a poison shore
I cant carry this desire anymore
Across the blue sky callin me with the sweetest demand
She talks to me of mercy make me understand
Show me what youre waitin for
This moment may not rise again
And your heart will never know
Show me what youre waitin for
The voices may not rise again
And the world will never know
And through these years
As the tears chase the rain
The picture has cleared
Can we face the change
Show me what youre waitin for
The voices may not rise again
And the world will never know
Show me what youre waitin for
This moment may not rise again
And your heart will never know
song performed by by Howard Jones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Tulip And The Passer By
In a flower pot of love lives a beautiful tulip plant,
And then was the passer by with words to attract it;
For, it was just like a passing glance and the sense of love,
And they were both attracted to each other.
The tulip was so beautiful to be touched,
And so nice to smell its aroma;
For its aroma fumes the iar around it.
The passer by was attracted to it like a magnent and,
He was touched by the fragrance of this tulip;
And love was the key for him to touch this tulip.
Of the passer by and the tulip,
Of the sense of humour to attract both of them;
But it was just a passing glance for the passer by,
And true love did crown the day for both of them.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Caroline (demo 1)
Caroline says
Are you really sure that you know me
I never met you before, can i trust you
But she's never cautious, no, never, will she ever learn
Wil she always send her dreams and poems to imaginary people
And she's tough, yes, real tough
Standing right in front of the revelation
All of the big city lights may shine on her eternally
And caroline's eyes show feelings not from this world
And if some one asks her, where do you come from
She thinks for a while before she answers
I don't know, i really don't know
And she says, there's no destination on this spiral highway
I don't know, i really don't know
And she says, i can give you names but i can never give you answers
And she says, listen to the music of your soul
Follow where it's telling you to go, follow in the footsteps of your soul
Listen to the music, don't you know, it'll lead you where you what to be
It's playing there for you and me
Caroline says while looking at the polaroid in her hands
Isn't it strange to remember
And when she's out, she never locks the door, she is always like that
She could never ever cope with the real life of the ordinary people
And she says, hey, listen to this, i should be leaving here tomorrow
It's so cold in this city and there's not enough money in the streets
And caroline's eyes show feelings not from this world
And if some one asks her
Where do you go to, she thinks for a while before she answers
I don't know...
song performed by by Alphaville
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Straight Talk
Gimme some straight talk, straight talk -- and hold the sugar please
Straight talk, straight talk -- sounds plenty sweet to me
Dont talk to me in circles in some mumbo-jumbo jive
Gimme just straight talk, straight talk and were gonna be alright
cause I like to know just where I stand, I dont like guessing games
And I hate a bunch of gibberish, so just spit it out real plain
Dont use big educated words from your bs degree
Straight talk, straight talk -- dont try b.s.-ing me
Straight talk, straight talk -- turn loose and let it go
You can tell me anything -- just like on oprahs show
Just tell me how you really feel, be on the up and up
With questions I can understand -- for answers you can trust
Pick up the phone, youre not alone -- weve all got something to say
So listen in and listen up -- well find a better way
With honesty and common sense, its really hard to miss
Straight talk, straight talk -- just tellin it like it is
Straight talk, straight talk -- theres nothing like the truth
Just tell me all your troubles -- pretend Im donahue
So dont be shy, cause we can talk -- you know youve got a friend
Call me, call me -- for simple straight talkin
Whats cookin, america?
Straight talk, straight talk
Straight talk, straight talk
So some on lets talk turkey, just straight and to the point
About passions, about problems, about noses out of joint
Now I want you all to know I care and I do understand
And hey, thanks for lending me and ear out there in radioland
Give me some straight talk, straight talk -- dont sugar coat it please
Straight talk, straight talk -- sounds sweet enough to me
But dont talk to me in circles, in your mumbo-jumbo jive
Straight talk, straight talk -- and were gonna be alright
Straight talk, straight talk -- makes plenty sense to me
Dont talk to me in circles, in your mumbo-jumbo jive
Gimme just straight talk, straight talk -- and were gonna be alright
Gimme just straight talk, straight talk -- and were gonna be alright
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.