The Headless Bird
According to custom, the old people have shut me away
Not to scare me stupid when they killed the bird,
And I am listening by the bolted door
To the trampling and the struggle.
I twist the lock time has worn thin
To forget what I have heard, to get away
From this struggle where
The body races after the head.
And I jump when the eyes, thick with fear
Turn backwards, turn white,
They look like grains of maize,
The others come and peck at them.
I take the head in one hand, the rest in the other,
And when the weight grows too much I switch them
around
Until they are dead, so they are still connected
At least in this way, through my body.
But the head dies sooner,
As if the cut had not been properly done,
And so that the body does not struggle alone
I wait for death to reach it passing through me.
poem by Ileana Mălăncioiu, translated by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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Related quotes
The Body Of Struggle
we earn the body of struggle.
time beaten well worn pages
of a book no one cares to read...
anymore.
having learned to trust what we feel,
what we know that no one can take,
and to question everything else!
what we've lost merely feeds the fire,
what we've given at all costs remains.
and the truth we know is the pathway
of the heart... our feet bruised
by stones and hard travel... keep walking.
this body of struggle laid down... and the box
opens, letting the bird fly free.
we are the bird, the wings, and the
spirit... we leave the body for our
children!
from a song i wrote 43 years ago:
'travellin' on,
aint nobody gonna miss me when i'm gone.
my body is weary, but my will is strong...
reckon i'll be, travellin' on.'
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)
Who dries your eyes when you cry real tears?
Who knows or cares what imitation is?
Only you do
You can paint his nails
Make him wear high heels
Why waste time altering the hemline?
Or do you?
Tear of your own head
Tear of your own head
It's a doll revolution
You can bat your lashes
You can cut your strings
Pull out his hair with your moveable fingers
It looks so real
But one won't do, so collect the set
Dress him in pink ribbons
Put him in a kitchenette
How does this feel?
Tear of your own head
Tear of your own head
It's a doll revolution
What's that sound?
It'll turn you around
It's a doll revolution
They're taking over
And they're tearing it down
It's a doll revolution
You can pull and pinch him
'Til he cries and squeals
You can twist his body
'Til it faces backwards
Plastic features
Could make somebody a pretty little wife
But don't let anybody tell you
How to live your life
Broken pieces
Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head
It's a doll revolution
Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head
It's a doll revolution
What's that sound?
It'll turn you around
It's a doll revolution
They're taking over
And they're tearing it down
It's a doll revolution
It's a doll revolution
Revolution (revolution)
Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head (revolution)
Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head
song performed by by Bangles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Forward Motion
Whoa-o...Ive been banging my head against the wall
Whoa-o...for so long it seems I knocked it down, yeah it got knocked down
Whoa-o...and the heating bill went through the roof
Whoa-o...and the wall I knocked down was the proof
That my landlord needed to kick me out
I got evicted now Im living on the street
My spirits lifted...oh wait, that wasnt me
Too many turns have turned out to be wrong
This time I learned that, I knew it all along
When car crashes occur
Then Ill be what you were
When I see what I should
When I see that its good (that its good)
To experience the bittersweet
To taste defeat
Then brush my teeth
Experience the bittersweet
To taste defeat
Then brush my teeth
Cause I struggle with forward motion
I struggle with forward motion
We all struggle with forward motion
Cause forward motion is harder than it sounds
Well everytime I gain some ground
I gotta turn myself around again
Its harder than it sounds
Well everytime I gain some ground
I gotta turn myself around again
Whoa-o...Ive been banging my head against the wall
Whoa-o...for so long it seems I got knocked out. yeah, I got knocked out cold
Whoa-o...and the medical bills went through the roof
Whoa-o...and the scar on my head is the proof
That Ill still remember this when I get old
I got evicted now Im living on the street
My spirits lifted...oh wait, that wasnt me
Too many turns have turned out to be wrong
This time I learned that, I knew it all along
When I grasp the concept
Then Ill sleep where you slept
When I know I need help
When I allow myself (allow myself)
To experience the bittersweet
To taste defeat
Then brush your teeth
Experience the bittersweet
To taste defeat
Then brush your teeth
Cause I struggle with forward motion
I struggle with forward motion
We all struggle with forward motion
Cause forward motion is harder than it sounds
Well everytime I gain some ground
I gotta turn myself around again
Its harder than it sounds
Well everytime I gain some ground
I gotta turn myself around again
Cause I struggle with forward motion
Cause I struggle with forward motion
We all struggle with forward motion
[in background:]
(cause forward motion is harder than it sounds.
Well everytime I gain some ground
I gotta turn myself around again
Cause forward motion is harder than it sounds
Well everytime I gain some ground
I gotta turn myself around again)
Cause I struggle with forward motion
Cause I struggle with forward motion
We all struggle with forward motion
Cause I struggle with forward motion
Cause I struggle with forward motion
We all struggle with forward motion
song performed by by Relient K
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Rhyme & Reason
Oh well oh well so here we stand
But we stand for nothing
My heart calls to me in my sleep
How can i turn to it
'cause i'm all locked up in this
Dark place--
And i do not know i'm as good as dead
My head aches--
Warped and tied up i need to kill this pain
My head won't leave my head alone
And i don't believe it will
Until i'm dead and gone
My head won't leave my head alone
And i don't believe it willl
Until i'm six feet under gound
How long i'm tied up
My mind in knots--
My stomach reels in concern for what i might do or
What i've done
It's got me living in fear
Well i know these voices must
Be my sould i've had my grave
Lying wired and shut and quiet in my grave
Leave me here
Leave it to me to waste here
So young and here i am again
Talking to myself
A tv blares
Oh man
Oh how i wish i didn't smoke
Or drink to reason with my head
But sometimes this thick confusion
Grows utnil i cannot bear it all
Needle to the vein
Needle to the vein
Take this needle from my vein my fiend
I said
In my grave
Lying, lying cold in my grave
The reason--my reason
Take my head off this terror
The fearing won't come back
I can't see my mind's all wiped clean
The needle
Make my great escape
I seem caught in time
My head leaves me behing
Body fall cold
And i have seen heaven
song performed by by Dave Matthews Band
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Rhyme Reason
Oh well oh well so here we stand
But we stand for nothing
My heart calls to me in my sleep
How can I turn to it
cause Im all locked up in this
Dark place--
And I do not know Im as good as dead
My head aches--
Warped and tied up I need to kill this pain
My head wont leave my head alone
And I dont believe it will
Until Im dead and gone
My head wont leave my head alone
And I dont believe it willl
Until Im six feet under gound
How long Im tied up
My mind in knots--
My stomach reels in concern for what I might do or
What Ive done
Its got me living in fear
Well I know these voices must
Be my sould Ive had my grave
Lying wired and shut and quiet in my grave
Leave me here
Leave it to me to waste here
So young and here I am again
Talking to myself
A tv blares
Oh man
Oh how I wish I didnt smoke
Or drink to reason with my head
But sometimes this thick confusion
Grows utnil I cannot bear it all
Needle to the vein
Needle to the vein
Take this needle from my vein my fiend
I said
In my grave
Lying, lying cold in my grave
The reason--my reason
Take my head off this terror
The fearing wont come back
I cant see my minds all wiped clean
The needle
Make my great escape
I seem caught in time
My head leaves me behing
Body fall cold
And I have seen heaven
song performed by by Dave Matthews Band
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Tear Off Your Own Head
Who dries your eyes when you cry real tears?
Who knows or cares what an imitation is?
Only you do
You can paint his nails
Make him wear high heels
Why waste time altering the hemline?
Or do you?
Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head
It's a doll revolution
You can bat your lashes
You can cut your strings
You can pull his hair with your moveable fingers
It looks so real
If one won't do it, so collect the set
Dress him in pink ribbons
Put him in a kitchenette
How does this feel?
Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head
It's a doll revolution
What's that sound?
It will turn you around
It's a doll revolution
They're taking over
And they're tearing it down
It's a doll revolution
You can pull and pinch him
'Til he cries and squeals
You can twist his body 'til it faces backwards
Those plastic features
You could make somebody a pretty little wife
But don't let anybody tell you how to live your life
Broken pieces
Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head
It's a doll revolution
Tear off your own head
Revolution
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On the Same Road...
that night i passed by the road
leading to the house where i live,
someone died on the road
i did not mind i am heading for home
this morning while going to the university
another body sprawled on the road, another dead body
there is a crowd of people
curious but not mourning
i do not stop for death
i am going towards mine and we who are still leaving cannot really be lucky
everyday we are dying
we simply have to wait for that fate
ful time
it is our turn we do not have to anticipate it
every hour
a part of us dies
it is enough sharing this moments of death
and so i said
i cannot stop for another person's death
destiny has once taken him
and there is nothing that i can do
i am also just merely passing by...
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Whew! !
i was told, not to worry
when i was yet a one-celled body
i died, and live again
as another complex organism, a tissue,
a seed, and then i sprout
and turn into a plant and then
i die again
and turn into another more complex body
a butterfly
metamorphosed into a bird
and then i die again
and born into the body of a cow
and then i die again
and born into the body of a man
whew! it is tiresome and
so hard to remember
what i did as a man,
they say i was once a king,
and then
into, a semi-god, and then i die
again and i turn into
a god, and so on and so forth,
with a point,
i should not fear death
because it is taking me into
perfection
a hundred and another hundred years.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Our Numbness Along the Road Leading to Our Destiny
that night i passed by the road
leading to the house where i live,
someone died on the road
i did not mind i was eagerly heading for home
this morning while going to the university
another body sprawled on the road,
another dead body
there is a crowd of people
curious but not mourning
i do not stop for death
i am going towards mine
and we who are still living cannot really be surely
lucky
everyday we are dying
we simply have to wait for that fateful time
it is our turn we do not have to anticipate it
every hour
a part of us dies
it is enough
sharing these moments of death
and so i say
i cannot stop for another person's death
destiny has once taken him
and there is nothing that i can do
i am also just merely passing by...
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Tommy's Dead
YOU may give over plough, boys,
You may take the gear to the stead,
All the sweat o' your brow, boys,
Will never get beer and bread.
The seed's waste, I know, boys,
There's not a blade will grow, boys,
'Tis cropped out, I trow, boys,
And Tommy's dead.
Send the colt to fair, boys,
He's going blind, as I said,
My old eyes can't bear, boys,
To see him in the shed;
The cow's dry and spare, boys,
She's neither here nor there, boys,
I doubt she's badly bread;
Stop the mill to-morn, boys,
There'll be no more corn, boys,
Neither white nor red;
There's no sign of grass, boys,
You may sell the goat and the ass, boys,
The land's not what it was, boys,
And the beasts must be fed:
You may turn Peg away, boys,
You may pay off old Ned,
We've had a dull day, boys,
And Tommy's dead.
Move my chair on the floor, boys,
Let me turn my head:
She's standing there in the door, boys,
Your sister Winifred!
Take her away from me, boys,
Your sister Winifred!
Move me round in my place, boys,
Let me turn my head,
Take her away from me, boys,
As she lay on here death-bed,
The bones of her thin face, boys,
As she lay on her death-bed!
I don't know how it be, boys,
When all's done and said,
But I see her looking at me, boys,
Whenever I turn my head;
Out of the big oak tree, boys,
Out of the garden-bed,
And the lily as pale as she, boys,
And the rose that used to be red.
There's something not right, boys,
But I think it's not in my head,
I've kept my precious sight, boys, --
The Lord be hallowéd!
Outside and in
The ground is cold to my tread,
The hills are wizen and thin,
The sky is shrivelled and shred,
The hedges down by the loan
I can count them bone by bone,
The leaves are open and spread,
But I see the teeth of the land,
And hands like a dead man's hand,
And the eyes of a dead man's head.
There's nothing but cinders and sand,
The rat and the mouse have fed,
And the summer's empty and cold;
Over valley and wold
Wherever I turn my head
There's a mildew and a mould,
The sun's going out overhead,
And I'm very old,
And Tommy's dead.
What am I staying for, boys,
You're all born and bred,
'Tis fifty years and more, boys,
Since wife and I were wed,
And she'd gone before, boys,
And Tommy's dead.
She was always sweet, boys,
Upon his curly head,
She knew she'd never see't, boys,
And she stole off to bed;
I've been siting up alone, boys,
For he'd come home, he said,
But it's time I was gone boys,
For Tommy's dead.
Put the shutters up, boys,
Bring out the beer and bread,
Make haste and sup, boys,
For my eyes are heavy as lead:
There's something wrong i' the cup, boys,
There's something ill wi' the bread,
I don't care to sup, boys,
And Tommy's dead.
I'm not right, I doubt, boys,
I've such a sleepy head,
I shall nevermore be stout, boys,
You may carry me to bed.
What are you about, boys?
The prayers are all said,
The fire's raked out, boys,
And Tommy's dead.
The stairs are too steep, boys,
You may carry me to the head,
The night's dark and deep, boys,
Your mother's long in bed,
'Tis time to go to sleep, boys,
And Tommy's dead.
I'm not used to a kiss, boys,
You may shake my hand instead.
All things go amiss, boys,
You may lay me where she is, boys,
And I'll rest my old head:
'Tis a poor world, this, boys,
And Tommy's dead.
poem by Sydney Thompson Dobell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My Decision
In a journey so far
my limits became that of a star
my head mind mingles in thought
yet my worse fears i fought
Alone i wreck my legs through grasses never worn
in this journey so far i struggle for a gold yet to be won
my head aches
my whole body scratches
Fear drags me backward
determination pulls me forward
Alas! in my journey so far
i became a shining star
Mortals read me for success
my history is happiness
My decision my life
i regret not holding my book as my wife
success i made in my academics
poem by Emmanuel Akinnagbe
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Am Missing
Sharp disaster in a fresh new coma
Was worth it when it was over
Proving yourself right
You'd make the biggest noise
Well I'd lock my hands behind my head
I'd cover my heart and hit the deck
I'd brace myself for the impact if I were you
(Its a long wait) is there anything
(For an answer) worth looking for
(Is there any news) worth loving for
(Is there any word) worth lying for
(Is there trauma) is there anything
(Or a struggle) worth waiting for
(Am I missing) worth living for
(Was the body found) worth dying for
song performed by by Dashboard Confessional
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
At the hole where he went in
Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin.
Hear what little Red-Eye saith:
"Nag, come up and dance with death! "
Eye to eye and head to head,
(Keep the measure, Nag.)
This shall end when one is dead;
(At thy pleasure, Nag.)
Turn for turn and twist for twist--
(Run and hide thee, Nag.)
Hah! The hooded Death has missed!
( Woe betide thee, Nag!)
poem by Rudyard Kipling
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Ice Burns
Let the ice burn upon my skin.
Oh how I need to feel it yet again.
Yeah get inside my head.
Twist and turn me from the outside in.
You don't have to manipulate me baby.
I'm more then willing.
In the heart you think your stealing.
Maybe that's what I wanted, with the pain you tried to deliver.
Sorry but you lost a friend.
I warned you from the start.
Before we went any farther.
Attachments, have to be numbed.
Let the ice burn upon my skin.
Oh how I need to feel it yet again.
Yeah get inside my head.
Twist and turn me from the outside in.
You don't have to manipulate me baby.
I'm more then willing.
In the heart you think your stealing.
But what is it you really think, your feeling.
With tears in your eyes you say goodbye.
You met the white knight.
And now you meet the black knight.
I warned you that we shouldn't go that way but you do not listen.
I can't be a friend to someone who so easily can rip some ones heart out.
Let the ice burn upon my skin.
Oh how I need to feel it yet again.
Yeah get inside my head.
Twist and turn me from the outside in.
You don't have to manipulate me baby.
I'm more then willing.
In the heart you think your stealing.
What is done is done.
So I had to walk away.
Pretending it was okay.
Accepting my own self inflicted wounds.
No tears in my eyes, but still it aches.
So I have to be cold.
This has grown old.
Let the ice burn upon my skin.
Oh how I need to feel it yet again.
Yeah get inside my head.
Twist and turn me from the outside in.
You don't have to manipulate me baby.
I'm more then willing.
In the heart you think your stealing
A warning from him but I already new.
Be done with you.
Another wasted sacrifice.
It meant nothing but caused so much pain.
Like nails on a chalk board.
It drives me insane.
Let the ice burn upon my skin.
Oh how I need to feel it yet again.
Yeah get inside my head.
Twist and turn me from the outside in.
You don't have to manipulate me baby.
I'm more then willing.
In the heart you think your stealing
You cheated and I know.
A confrontation we had.
He said he didn't do it, but I knew it.
He didn't care, and neither did I.
I attacked him at my front door.
By bringing that women right to my home.
That was the last night I ever spent with her.
Let the ice burn upon my skin.
Oh how I need to feel it yet again.
Yeah get inside my head.
Twist and turn me from the outside in.
You don't have to manipulate me baby.
I'm more then willing.
In the heart you think your stealing.
What would you do in my shoes?
If she wanted to be suddenly wanted to be just friends right after you heard about him.
So be it, I'm done with you.
I can't be friends with such a person.
Sell you soul girl I don't even care.
Let the ice burn upon my skin.
Oh how I need to feel it yet again.
Yeah get inside my head.
Twist and turn me from the outside in.
You don't have to manipulate me baby.
I'm more then willing.
In the heart you think your stealing
I wouldn't even dare, at a betrayal to myself.
You crossed the line.
Hope you survive.
Upon your families money.
Never holding your own.
Claiming to be all alone.
Let the ice burn upon my skin.
Oh how I need to feel it yet again.
Yeah get inside my head.
Twist and turn me from the outside in.
You don't have to manipulate me baby.
I'm more then willing.
In the heart you think your stealing.
Bring him, and watch him steal everything.
You did it already before.
The broken door.
Hurt me once more.
Let me not be that man.
Let it end before it begins.
Let the ice burn upon my skin.
Oh how I need to feel it yet again.
Yeah get inside my head.
Twist and turn me from the outside in.
You don't have to manipulate me baby.
I'm more then willing.
In the heart you think your stealing.
poem by Ace Of Black Hearts
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Bud of Pain
Shut the door, shut the door.
Shut out the burning light.
Lock me in, lock me away,
away from eyes and sight.
Turn the world away.
Leave them at the door.
Creep into a cosy corner.
Bother me no more.
Alone, I want to be alone.
Alone, I need no one.
Alone inside my private mask.
Alone, alone, alone.
Turn me off, turn me off.
Switch off the flickering light.
Leave me be, leave me be.
I have no strength to fight.
© Morney Wilson
poem by Morney Wilson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Stay Yourself
No body
You are no body
To do anything
No body
You are nobody
To speak anything
No body
You are nobody
To do anything
No body
You are nobody
To go anywhere
No body
You are nobody.
It is not yours place
It is not yours work
It is not your turn.
Stay yourself
Have patience
And wait
And see
You are favourite.
poem by Gajanan Mishra
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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New Mountains
Each day I climb new mountains
in the struggle for life.
Sometimes my limbs get weary
and I want to give, but I have to go on.
Giving up would mean losing
everything my life was meant for.
Therefore, I must struggle
never giving my body a rest.
I must climb these new mountains
or I am doomed forever more.
There is no turning back once started,
as it doesn’t work that way.
Each day there is a new mountains
that gets bigger with each day
and we must reach the summit by nightfall
or get stuck on the mountain going nowhere.
The harder we climb,
the higher we get
until we reach
the pinnacle of our dreams.
8 November 2009
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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0201 Two skins, one thick, one thin
No, don’t open that door. Don’t try.
It’s locked anyway. Or should be. Some people say
it’s worse than seeing their first dead body
half dead half alive, they never quite forget it.
Me I’m used to them. Them? Well OK,
I shan’t let you look but I’ll tell you.
It’s my two body suits.
Thin skin, thick skin.
When I go out in the thin skin
life’s more exciting but god it’s tiring.
A trip on public transport and I come back finished.
I see things, feel things rather, that are scary.
I see people’s next lives they’re creating for themselves.
There’s this blind school round the corner;
I saw them all on the station platform once and I could see
those who were going to see properly, next time,
those who were making themselves blinder…
then next day I saw an ordinary ‘seeing’ man talking to a friend
without using his eyes, just dead ahead…how could I tell him?
Another time, I sat next to a man
who looked as if he’d slept rough
but the scary thing was, he was giving off such intense heat
that I knew sure as sure, he’d just murdered somebody…
I never knew that was a clue…
I see everybody’s perfection and their present self
simultaneously. You might think it’s wonderful.
Yes and no. Not when you’re wearing your thin skin.
Yes, of course it’s great for poetry…that’s why
I bought it, why I wear it.
The thick skin’s for business, interviews, being fired,
the Editor’s office, the dentist, the doctor,
the mother-in-law, the footfall
in the dark alley, all the times you just
want to be tough, insensitive, eff the lot of them,
guess I don’t need to list all that?
And yes, sometimes you can go out in the wrong one.
A friend tells you of some awful family disaster
and you think, thick-skinned, well that’s their problem,
let them sort it out… and hate yourself for even thinking it.
Or someone looks at you on the wrong day
like you’re looking at me now,
sorta disbelieving, disgusted and pitying..
gotta go. Seeyerlater.
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Logic Error
Sitting, hating, waiting, aching,
pushing to be pulled, working to be destroyed,
walking forward and being pulled backwards,
a mental struggle between good and evil,
the sarcasm bites like a spider injecting poision,
slow, weak, tired, scared,
i fall, and try to pull together my strength,
to pull myself to the doorway,
the floor begins to shift and wheel me backwards,
but the struggle continues,
my legs no longer work, and i have no strength,
yet i keep up with the struggle,
it feeds off of giving up, it feeds off of fear,
but i believe im stronger than that,
I believe i can overcome,
i hope this time im right,
before i maybe exhausted.
poem by Matthew Boisjolie
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Stop Stop Stop
(clarke - hicks - nash)
See the girl with cymbals on her fingers
Entering through the door
Ruby glistening from her navel
Shimmering around the floor
Bells on feet go ting-a ling-a linging
Going through my head
Sweat is falling just-a like-a tear drops
Running from her head
Now shes dancing, going through the movements
Swaying to and fro
Body moving, bringing back a memory
Thoughts of long ago
Blood is rushing, temperature is rising
Sweating from my brow
Like a snake, her body fascinates me
I cant look away now
Stop, stop, stop all the dancing
Give me time to breathe
Stop, stop, stop all the dancing
Or Ill have to leave
Now shes moving all around the tables
Luring all in sight
But I know that she cannot see me
Hidden by the light
Closer, closer, she is getting nearer
Soon shell be in reach
As I enter into a spotlight
She stands lost for speech
Stop, stop, stop all the dancing
Give me time to breathe
Stop, stop, stop all the dancing
Or Ill have to leave
Break
Stop, stop, stop all the dancing
Give me time to breathe
Stop, stop, stop all the dancing
Or Ill have to leave
Now I hold her, people are staring
Dont know what to think
And we struggle knocking over tables
Spilling all the drinks
Cant they understand that I want her
Happens every week
Heavy hand upon my collar
Throws me in the street
Stop, stop, stop all the dancing
Give me time to breathe
Stop, stop, stop all the dancing
Or Ill have to leave
song performed by by Hollies
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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