It was one long, anxious, inexorable, eternal vigil.
quote by Frank James
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world. In this long vigil he often has to vary his methods of stimulation; but in this long vigil he is also himself striving against a continual tendency to sleep.
quote by Marc Chagall
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Friend's Song for Simoisius
The breath of dew, and twilight's grace,
Be on the lonely battle-place;
And to so young, so kind a face,
The long, protecting grasses cling!
(Alas, alas,
The one inexorable thing!)
In rocky hollows cool and deep,
The bees our boyhood hunted sleep;
The early moon from Ida's steep
Comes to the empty wrestling-ring.
(Alas, alas,
The one inexorable thing!)
Upon the widowed wind recede
No echoes of the shepherd's reed,
And children without laughter lead
The war-horse to the watering.
(Alas, alas,
The one inexorable thing!)
Thou stranger Ajax Telamon!
What to the loveliest hast thou done,
That ne'er with him a maid may run
Across the marigolds in spring?
(Alas, alas,
The one inexorable thing!)
With footstep separate and slow
The father and the mother go,
Not now upon an urn they know
To mingle tears for comforting.
(Alas, alas,
The one inexorable thing!)
The world to me has nothing dear
Beyond the namesake river here:
O Simois is wild and clear!
And to his brink my heart I bring;
(Alas, alas,
The one inexorable thing!)
My heart no more, if that might be
Would stay his waters from the sea,
To cover Troy, to cover me,
To save us from the perishing.
(Alas, alas,
The one inexorable thing!)
poem by Louise Imogen Guiney
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Virgil Strange I Kept On The Field
VIGIL strange I kept on the field one night:
When you, my son and my comrade, dropt at my side that day,
One look I but gave, which your dear eyes return'd, with a look I
shall never forget;
One touch of your hand to mine, O boy, reach'd up as you lay on the
ground;
Then onward I sped in the battle, the even-contested battle;
Till late in the night reliev'd, to the place at last again I made my
way;
Found you in death so cold, dear comrade--found your body, son of
responding kisses, (never again on earth responding;)
Bared your face in the starlight--curious the scene--cool blew the
moderate night-wind;
Long there and then in vigil I stood, dimly around me the battlefield
spreading;
Vigil wondrous and vigil sweet, there in the fragrant silent
night; 10
But not a tear fell, not even a long-drawn sigh--Long, long I gazed;
Then on the earth partially reclining, sat by your side, leaning my
chin in my hands;
Passing sweet hours, immortal and mystic hours with you, dearest
comrade--Not a tear, not a word;
Vigil of silence, love and death--vigil for you my son and my
soldier,
As onward silently stars aloft, eastward new ones upward stole;
Vigil final for you, brave boy, (I could not save you, swift was your
death,
I faithfully loved you and cared for you living--I think we shall
surely meet again;)
Till at latest lingering of the night, indeed just as the dawn
appear'd,
My comrade I wrapt in his blanket, envelop'd well his form,
Folded the blanket well, tucking it carefully over head, and
carefully under feet; 20
And there and then, and bathed by the rising sun, my son in his
grave, in his rude-dug grave I deposited;
Ending my vigil strange with that--vigil of night and battlefield
dim;
Vigil for boy of responding kisses, (never again on earth
responding;)
Vigil for comrade swiftly slain--vigil I never forget, how as day
brighten'd,
I rose from the chill ground, and folded my soldier well in his
blanket,
And buried him where he fell.
poem by Walt Whitman
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Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field one Night
Vigil strange I kept on the field one night;
When you my son and my comrade dropt at my side that day,
One look I but gave which your dear eyes return'd with a look I shall never forget,
One touch of your hand to mine O boy, reach'd up as you lay on the ground,
Then onward I sped in the battle, the even-contested battle,
Till late in the night reliev'd to the place at last again I made my way,
Found you in death so cold dear comrade, found your body son of responding kisses, (never again on earth responding,)
Bared your face in the starlight, curious the scene, cool blew the moderate night-wind,
Long there and then in vigil I stood, dimly around me the battle-field spreading,
Vigil wondrous and vigil sweet there in the fragrant silent night,
But not a tear fell, not even a long-drawn sigh, long, long I gazed,
Then on the earth partially reclining sat by your side leaning my chin in my hands,
Passing sweet hours, immortal and mystic hours with you dearest comrade -- not a tear, not a word,
Vigil of silence, love and death, vigil for you my son and my soldier,
As onward silently stars aloft, eastward new ones upward stole,
Vigil final for you brave boy, (I could not save you, swift was your death,
I faithfully loved you and cared for you living, I think we shall surely meet again,)
Till at latest lingering of the night, indeed just as the dawn appear'd,
My comrade I wrapt in his blanket, envelop'd well his form,
Folded the blanket well, tucking it carefully over head and carefully under feet,
And there and then and bathed by the rising sun, my son in his grave, in his rude-dug grave I deposited,
Ending my vigil strange with that, vigil of night and battle-field dim,
Vigil for boy of responding kisses, (never again on earth responding,)
Vigil for comrade swiftly slain, vigil I never forget, how as day brighten'd,
I rose from the chill ground and folded my soldier well in his blanket,
And buried him where he fell.
poem by Walt Whitman
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The Philosophical Egotist
Hast thou the infant seen that yet, unknowing of the love
Which warms and cradles, calmly sleeps the mother's heart above--
Wandering from arm to arm, until the call of passion wakes,
And glimmering on the conscious eye--the world in glory breaks?
And hast thou seen the mother there her anxious vigil keep?
Buying with love that never sleeps the darling's happy sleep?
With her own life she fans and feeds that weak life's trembling rays,
And with the sweetness of the care, the care itself repays.
And dost thou Nature then blaspheme--that both the child and mother
Each unto each unites, the while the one doth need the other?--
All self-sufficing wilt thou from that lovely circle stand--
That creature still to creature links in faith's familiar band?
Ah! dar'st thou, poor one, from the rest thy lonely self estrange?
Eternal power itself is but all powers in interchange!
poem by Friedrich Schiller
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I Am The Eternal Spectator
I am the eternal spectator
The eternal stimulator
Of things that never come
Of things that never come
I am the eternal spectator
The eternal ruminator
Of things better left alone
Of things better left alone
Watching over you
Sometimes inside of you
Watching over you
Sometimes inside of you
The eternal dictator
Of your perpetual distraction
The eternal collector
Of things that were never done
The eternal agitator
Of a war you never fought
The eternal demonstrator
Until you prove me wrong
Watching over you
Sometimes inside of you
Watching over you
Long-dead inside of you.
song performed by by Moonspell from Butterfly Effect
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Untitled: Figure which has long dwelt in the coolness of sinister stone
Figure which has long dwelt in the coolness of sinister stone
Opens the pale mouth sounding
Round owl's eyes - sounding gold.
Those found the cave of the forest decayed and empty
The shadow of a doe in the rotten branches
At the border of the spring the darkness of his childhood.
Long at the forest border a bird sings your decline
The anxious showers of your brown coat;
The shadow of the owl appears in the rotten branches.
Long at the forest border a bird sings your decline
The anxious showers of your blue coat
The shadow of the mother appears in the spiky grass.
Long at the forest border a bird sings your decline
The anxious showers of your black coat
The shadow of the black horse appears in the mirror of the spring.
poem by Georg Trakl
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Love in the Afternoon
"Love affects more than our thinking and our behavior toward those we love. It transforms our entire life." Thomas Merton.
I wish
we could live
forever,
our bodies throbbing
with endless desire,
rising higher
with inexorable fire!
Then, would I love you,
unceasingly, like the sun
embracing with eternal light
the constant moon,
beloved wife.
poem by Steven Federle
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The wedding cake couple
The wedding cake couple
Held hands on-top in vigil
Clinging on to each other tightly
There ‘I do's' written in song
Lasted just as long as it took!
Mother in law to take another
Man across the ebony dance floor.
Her six more devoured the cake
But are wedding cake couple
They still held hands in vigil
On the last tier of the disaffected
So they pervaded and kissed
But then great grandma waltzed
In like an elephant to depose
All those who imposed self will
She cared little for our wedding cake couple
She snapped them down the middle
Just to see if they weren't just candy too.
But are wedding cake couple
They still held hands somewhere later
They pervaded and kissed
And renewed their vows
Clinging on to each other tightly,
There 'I do's' written in song
Lasted just as long as it took!
The disco-ball world to end...
poem by Mark Heathcote
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When I go to where I was getting excellent parts in movies I may have taken a few too soon, too anxious to go back to work and to anxious to make another film and to succeed more.
quote by Dabney Coleman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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If I knew what I was so anxious about, I wouldn't be so anxious.
quote by Mignon McLaughlin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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If you are near
As long as you
are with me,
eternal will my summer be.
Even when freezing rain
drizzles down from grey clouds,
your smile brings a summer’s day.
Even when life tosses the worst at my door,
I fear no pain or death
if you are near.
As long as you
are with me still,
eternal will my summer be.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Life long - a student
Life long
I am a student
If I fall asleep
Make me awake.
Life long
I am a poet
If I am not vigil
In word in rhyme
Make me awake
Make me caution.
poem by Gajanan Mishra
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The Falstaff people, romantics all, went for it. They were so anxious to find out what I was going to do that they could hardly bear to wait out the two weeks. I was rather anxious to find out what I was going to do, too.
quote by Bill Veeck
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Longing For Home
My Lord I am longing to go home, away from this earth that I roam,
For Lord I long to be at that place, where I can look upon your face.
High above earth’s lowly sod, in the Glory of Heaven with my God,
From a world where wrong is right, into that Glorious Eternal Light.
I know not when the time will be, when I’m brought up into Eternity.
That time is not for me to know, I am simply told by The Lord to go,
To go and preach to every nation, the Good News of His Salvation,
Until that time, I just need to be, a light for Christ for all men to see.
At times I long to be by the side, of Him, who on a cross had died,
Where He bled and died for me, so that I could live for all Eternity.
I long to see God’s eternal shore, where evil darkness is no more,
Where there’ll be Eternal Light, this my friend, both day and night.
I long to hear that trumpet sound, so that we can all gather round,
Gathered with those saints above, saved by God’s matchless love.
I long to see my loved ones who, on the day they died, truly knew,
That they departed into His arms, to be safe from all earthly harms.
I am longing for a new body too, it’s something like we never knew,
This body will be an eternal kind, with perfect form and perfect mind.
An Eternal Body prepared for me, that shall last through all Eternity,
And this new body will be Glorified, as I stand by The Savior’s side.
This longing will not leave my heart, until the day in which I depart,
Depart from here to be with Him, who died to cleanse me of my sin.
All who long for the appearing of, Jesus Christ in the clouds above,
By Jesus Christ, will be blessed, this with a crown of righteousness.
(Copyright ©03/2006)
How Wide The Dawn
How wide the Dawn
Is smiling!
How silent-new
The air is breathing!
How raw the sea
Without a wave
Is looking!
And in the night –
Id est last night
How strange
The owl chanteth!
How far, how far
Its cry did seem
And yet
It was so near!
How thrilled the tree
Below my lighted window
And in the night
The solemn night
The owl was still a-calling
To spirits wild
Perhaps
Or long white ghosts
Perhaps!
And in the eyes
Of the pale moon
The lake nearby glistened:
How white
How thin
The rays that fall
In midst of the dark waters!
And from the lake
A soundless sound
Is coming:
For in the waves
And from the waves
There comes a little gurgling
And in the night
In the long night
The owl is speaking, speaking!
Ah! this night – in the night
The people in the house
Are all a-sleeping
I – only I
The vigil, the night-vigil
Am making:
And I
And only I
Will my reward receive
For I
And only I
Am seeing
For I
And only I
Am hearing
And I
And only I
Am feeling!
How strange how sere
The feeling!
How from the clear night
The mist of sudden riseth!
And from afar
Past ten long fields
The cemetery is burning
With the pale light
Of the swift moon
That fall
On every wall
This long, long night!
It seems
It seems
That the cemetery’s open:
And yet
And yet
There is no noise
No sound
But from the yews
A soundless sound
Is coming:
A restless sound
Like souls
This night all-aching
And restless
Restless
At some thing
I am not hearing!
Ha! We on earth
Make prisons
And lodge
Bodies – human bodies in them:
And we on earth
Make cemeteries
And lodge
Bodies – human bodies in them
And the long night
Under the light
Of heaven
How waning-blue
And tight
Is coming!
So:
At long last
We fall into a prison
If not the one
In fine to the other
And at the last
And in the last
We enter our last prison:
And in the night
The long and lonely night
The cemetery is shining!
poem by Emmanuel George Cefai
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He who is anxious for the death of another has a long rope to pull.
Life Is Eternal
(carly simon/teesa gohl)
Ive been doing a lot of thinking
About growing older and moving on
Nobody wants to be told that theyre getting on
For a long, long stay
But just how long and who knows
And how and where my spirit will go
Will it soar like jazz on a saxophone
Or evaporate on a breeze
Wont you tell me please
That life is eternal
And love is immortal
And death is only a horizon
Life is eternal
As we move into the light
And a horizon is nothing
Save the limit of our sight
Save the limit of our sight
Here on earth Im a lost soul
Ever trying to find my way back home
Maybe thats why each new star is born
Expanding heavens room
Eternity in bloom
And will I see you up in that heaven
In all its light will I know youre there
Will we say the things that we never dared
If wishing makes it so
Wont you let me know
That life is eternal
And love is immortal
And death is only a horizon
Life is eternal
As we move into the light
And a horizon is nothing
Save the limit of our sight
Save the limit of our sight
song performed by by Carly Simon
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.
quote by Samuel Butler
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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This Eternal Marriage
This eternal marriage
It is one of force, of no choice
One of irresistible destiny
How can we get divorced forever?
This eternal marriage
One gets into long before birth
No escape route from it, no alternative
How can we get divorced forever?
This eternal marriage
Can never be denied, no fugitives
Unborn, born, young, old, man, woman
There is no selection when time comes
How can we get divorced forever?
This eternal marriage
The undeniable beckon of the husband
During the day, the night, at any time
Medical technologies notwithstanding
How can we get divorced forever?
This eternal marriage
It is indeed the mother of all sufferings
The river of tears never run dry
The broken hearts never get mended
The gaps of those called are never refilled
How can we get divorced from this cruel marriage?
Dedication: To Julia Tivane Holm, friend and colleague
Nampula, Mozambique
3rd June,2000
poem by Isaac Maliya
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