All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
Oscar Wilde in The Picture of Dorian Gray
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their own peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their own peril.
Oscar Wilde in The Picture of Dorian Gray
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Initial Attraction
What lies beneath the surface smile?
which you display to everyone?
The mask you wear to be in style.
What lies beneath is yours alone.
Does it indicate interest?
What lies beneath the surface smile?
And will I perhaps pass the test
enjoy your company for a while.
Is it a sign of practiced guile?
or simple act of self defence.
What lies beneath the surface smile?
Must I rely on my sixth sense?
My need to know grows more intense
I am prepared to wait awhile
to try and gain your confidence.
What lies beneath the surface smile?
(poeticpiers/20/07/2007)
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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As with all my work, whether it's a leaf on a rock or ice on a rock, I'm trying to get beneath the surface appearance of things. Working the surface of a stone is an attempt to understand the internal energy of the stone.
quote by Andy Goldsworthy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The modern work of art, as I have said, is a symbol.
quote by Herbert Read
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Cross
The cross is a symbol,
It reminds us of Jesus and all that he did for us,
All the things he sacrificed for us,
To open the gates of heaven for us,
For us not him,
God Gave his only true son so we could go to heaven to find ever lasting happiness,
To live with the creaters of life,
It is a symbol that shows us even in the darkest of places there is light.
poem by Katelyn Ross
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Scratch The Surface
Scratch the surface serve a purpose
scratch the surface don't waste my time
Such empty life Such simple sheep night after night
herd to the creeps all hidden faults beauty is null
such shallow sight barely skin deep
What is the force that drives the superficial
tell me what keeps their minds remaining little
so afraid of what they'd see underneath the fantasy
so afraid to actually scratch the surface.
All mirrors hide Big money lies faillure inside
big lying eyes that's maybe why eyes are the soul
they take so much time big dollar signs
song performed by by Sick Of It All from Scratch The Surface
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Art of Symbol
Whether meaningful, or just beautiful
Whether easy to understand, whether full of mystery
A simply shape, or a detailed design
Symbol is created
From nature, from imagination
From dream, from experience
Whether adaptable, whether unchanged
Symbol is taken
For secrecy, for practical
The color, the code
To unite, to protect
Symbol is used
God's sign, devil's mark
Good luck, bad omen
A clear help, or a hidden warning
Symbol is interpreted
poem by Maria Sudibyo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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All Day
Well Im hiding my eyes from the morning sun
And I keep on working till the work is all done
But a voice in my head keeps ticking away
As the sweats hosed down from yet another day
Well he works hard
And he lives hard
And he breaks his back without nothing to gain
While the boss man sits around and drinks champagne
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one transition
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one decision
Well Im peeling the blisters off my working hand
Is that what it takes to make you understand?
That its something you read, not something you meant
To be slaving away without a shred of integrity
He worked hard
And he lived hard
And he broke his back without nothing to say
While the man in control was just laughing away
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one transition
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one decision
Was it something you read?
Was it something you meant?
Was it something you said?
Or was it heaven sent?
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one transition
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one decision
song performed by by Ministry
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Payment
A tortuous path of neurons arced a call: ‘Awake! ’
I did; in rising, peering, stretching, bearing,
Pained anticipation saw it all:
Foretold, another filthy day.
I drew the drape: diluvian lay the ground
Beneath a lazy leaden cloud – apissing out
The puddles; irksome on the roof –
The drumming drops of bitter glee
Were hounding out a hapless me –
Reinforcing doubt that I am sound.
I left the house
to go to work
to earn a crust
without a perk
then on to bust
another straining vessel.
Trudging on thro’ mud and clay, I pondered:
‘Why a drought of happy times?
Auspicious climes were
Old and fusty books
Atop a dusty shelf
Inside a morgue-of-a-room,
Somewhere in a long-forgotten library
Down a lane without a way.’
I thought again: ‘And still I pay.’
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2010
O how I
work work work work work work work work
work work work work work work work work
work work work work work work work work
work work work work work work work work
work work work work work work work work
work work work work work work work work
work work work work work work work work
work work work work work work work work
poem by Mark R Slaughter
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Introductory Verses
Oh, you who read some song that I have sung –
What know you of the soul from whence it sprung?
Dost dream the poet ever speaks aloud
His secret thought unto the listening crowd?
Go take the murmuring sea-shell from the shore-
You have its shape, its colour – and no more.
It tells not one of those vast mysteries
That lie beneath the surface of the seas.
Our songs are shells, cast out by waves of thought;
Here, take them at your pleasure; but think not
You’ve seen the beneath the surface of the waves,
Where lie our shipwrecks, and our coral caves.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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If The Surface For Them Did Not Exist
If the surface didn't exist,
Many wouldn't have a thought to cling to.
Many wouldn't know,
Which gossip heard was true.
If the surface for them did not exist.
If the surface didn't exist,
The many dependent on having lives not their own...
Would be lost without being told what to do.
Many absolutely would not have a clue...
How to find their way around,
Without following in someone's footsteps.
If the surface they sniffed did not exist.
And if the surface for them did not exist...
They would not be able to sit alone,
Doing something completely on their own...
And appreciating life,
With the minding of their own business.
If...
The surface for many did not exist,
It would be taumatic for them to seek a thought process.
Many would not know where or how to begin.
So many are accustomed to living lives that are shallow.
With an ability only to identify with that...
Which is supplied and arrives to them surfacely.
Even a dog sniffing tries to find a place to bury a bone.
And doing that alone.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Surface Expressions
If I should greet you with a grin
It hardly expresses all that’s within
If I should extend an open hand
It barely tells you where we stand
The surface expressions we select
Are not good mirrors and don’t reflect
So much which beneath the surface lies
One need scratch below for deeper ties
Yet if we think in hardly meeting eyes
We see the truth as known by other guys
We do injustice from the start
To those who keep things close to heart
Or those who have learned by path of pain
To shy from trusting lest be hurt again
To know a heart requires patience taking
Rare a face reveals a heart that’s breaking
poem by Mary Havran
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Symbol of love
When you and your wife had your baby, he became the ultimate symbol of love that you two share.
He represents a love that will stand the test of time and that shines brighter than a flare.
Some people think that wedding rings are the symbol of love between a man and his wife.
But wedding rings are just pieces of metal and they can't touch the symbol of love that comes from this tiny life.
poem by Randy Johnson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Four Letter 'Work' Song
Work me up, work me out, work me flip side down.
Work me here, work me there, work me with renown.
Work me hot, work me greedy,
work me through and through.
Work me to the very marrow,
work me just like I'd work you.
Work me proud, work me late,
work me do not hesitate.
Won't you let me work for you?
Work me til I'm black and blue.
Work me steady, work me needy, work me to a lather.
Work me til my backbone breaks, and the buzzards gather.
Work me in, work me under, work me til I bleed,
Work me over red hot coals, work me like a boss in need.
Work me nasty, work me silly, work me through the clover.
Up down, 'n' in between, into a slipknot sweet Jehovah.
Work me, work me, go ahead.
Work me, work me, til I'm dead.
Buddy Bee Anthony
poem by Buddy Bee Anthony
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Lovingly Do The Work
Work is
Life...
Life is work...
Any work is not
Wrong...
Without work is
Worng...
Human every budy works
Wny way too work...s
Work is making you...
Work is given good life
For you...and your's...
So...
Understand too work
Earn money too work...
Live life with your work...
Love too work...
Learn to do the work...
Lovingely do the work...
poem by Otteri Selvakumar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Mr. Burns is a father symbol to me, and you can omit the word symbol.
quote by Bobby Darin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Back then
I don't want to work nine to five,
Just to end up barely alive,
I would rather sharpen a sword,
So to win myself a gold-hoard,
I don't want a means to an end,
I want to live solely to live,
To live like they did way back when,
Life surely was much simpler then,
I don't want to use wit and style,
Without going the extra mile,
I want to use chivalrous feats,
To tempt Madame beneath the sheets,
I don't want chess played as eyes meet,
I want love that's won through peril,
Women as women, men as men,
An age that's not to come again.
poem by Christian Lacdael
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I hate the whole reluctant sex-symbol thing. It's such bull. You see these dudes greased up, in their underwear, talking about how they don't want to be a sex symbol.
quote by Ben Affleck
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Whether he admits it or not, a man has been brought up to look at money as a sign of his virility, a symbol of his power, a bigger phallic symbol than a Porsche.
quote by Victoria Billings
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Shaka The Zulu
Here he comes with his muscular
body, in his hands lay the symbol
of Africa the symbol that have sent
many great warriors six feet beneath.
The sound of his voice bring silence
among the bird of the sky.
Shaka the son of Zulu he believe that he
is a true son of Africa.In the battle field
with the great symbol of Africa in his hands
he believe that nobody can defeat him, his
peer believe that he is a god among the
living creature.
Shaka the Zulu he believe in the black power
with iron hands he rule the people of Zulu with
the help of the witch doctors he conquer the
Africa.The name Shaka bring fear in the camp
of the white.
poem by Enyinwa Okechukwu Enyinwa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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