Outcast
Perchance for dear Life's sake - and life is sweet -
When work had failed and roads were deep in snow,
And this meant food and fire, she fell so low -
That painted creature of the midnight street.
Perchance that other, with the shoeless feet,
Was Nature's victim, too untaught to know
That all live buds are not allowed to blow -
Too starved and passion-blind to be discreet.
And their accuser? She within the fold
That walks in light, bejewelled and belaced,
Who in cold blood, and not for love or need,
Sold the white flower of womanhood for gold;
The wedded harlot, rich and undisgraced,
The viler prostitute in mind and deed.
poem by Ada Cambridge
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Fallen
For want of bread to eat and clothes to wear —
Because work failed and streets were deep in snow,
And this meant food and fire — she fell so low,
Sinning for dear life's sake, in sheer despair.
Or, because life was else so bald and bare,
The natural woman in her craved to know
The warmth of passion — as pale buds to blow
And feel the noonday sun and fertile air.
And who condemns? She who, for vulgar gain
And in cold blood, and not for love or need,
Has sold her body to more vile disgrace —
The prosperous matron, with her comely face —
Wife by the law, but prostitute in deed,
In whose gross wedlock womanhood is slain.
poem by Ada Cambridge
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In The Valley
Said the yellow-haired Spirit of Spring
To the white-footed Spirit of Snow,
“On the wings of the tempest take wing,
And leave me the valleys, and go.”
And, straightway, the streams were unchained,
And the frost-fettered torrents broke free,
And the strength of the winter-wind waned
In the dawn of a light on the sea.
Then a morning-breeze followed and fell,
And the woods were alive and astir
With the pulse of a song in the dell,
And a whisper of day in the fir.
Swift rings of sweet water were rolled
Down the ways where the lily-leaves grew,
And the green, and the white, and the gold,
Were wedded with purple and blue.
But the lips of the flower of the rose
Said, “where is the ending hereof?
Is it sweet with you, life, at the close?
Is it sad to be emptied of love?”
And the voice of the flower of the peach
Was tender and touching in tone,
“When each has been grafted on each,
It is sorrow to live on alone.”
Then the leaves of the flower of the vine
Said, “what will there be in the day
When the reapers are red with my wine,
And the forests are yellow and grey?”
And the tremulous flower of the quince
Made answer, “three seasons ago
My sisters were star-like, but since,
Their graves have been made in the snow.”
Then the whispering flower of the fern
Said, “who will be sad at the death,
When Summer blows over the burn,
With the fierceness of fire in her breath?”
And the mouth of the flower of the sedge
Was opened to murmur and sigh,
“Sweet wind-breaths that pause at the edge
Of the nightfall, and falter, and die.”
poem by Henry Kendall
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Blossom of Life
SO now she lies silent and sweet
With white flowers at her head and feet,
And she, the fairest flower, between.
The bud that with her bosom's swell
In dear delight once rose and fell
Now wafts her all it has to tell,
And wonders why she sleeps serene.
And yet in life how small a part,
With pretty face and petty heart,
She played! And in that form so fair
There never dwelt a deep desire,
Her bosom never thrilled a-fire:
She loved too lightly e'en to tire—
And all my heart was meant for her.
Was there a soul within those eyes
That seemed to speak my dear surmise,
That with no tears were ever wet?
Through life she laughed her careless way,
She knew not sorrow or dismay—
And I have sorrowed day by day,
While those pale lips are smiling yet!
And so she lies on her small bed,
With white flowers at her feet and head,
And she, the fairest flower between!
In life how false the little rôle —
The peerless face, the paltry soul!
But she is perfect now—the whole
Pale blossom of the Might-Have-Been.
poem by Arthur Henry Adams
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Fell Deed
a fell deed this night,
in the silent dark,
a dagger flashes,
and blood flows.
a fell deed this night,
done in candlelight,
the knife does fall,
as the victim tumbles.
a fell deed this night,
only a slight,
to the killer,
who doth run.
a fell deed this night,
running he be,
through the slight light,
a corner he turns.
a fell deed this night,
a bang a shot,
a gun doth drop,
a killer killed.
a fell deed this night,
a new killer laughs,
an evil sound.
a fell deed this night.
poem by Baden Ronie
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A Flower For You My Dear
A flower will bloom on my plant too one day
And I shall offer it to you my dear.
My flower will have many petals,
Its colour will be that turns you envious of it and
Its fragrance will traverse beyond your stretches.
When I offer you my flower you will visit my garden perchance
And you will nip all the buds at once.
My flower will frown at me then and
I shall cry unto the skies
Till the stars invite me to join them for ever.
poem by M.d Dinesh Nair
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It Is You I Dream Of
a flower grows from beneath a blanket
of fine and purest white
it reaches toward the sun for warmth
for heat and for the light
my love for you grows stronger still
despite the surrounding cold
my heart is yours, bartered gone
for yours has it been sold
its petals shine from morning dew
its stem grows stiff and strong
it stands strong through the freezing cold
it stands the winter long
i long for you, for your soft touch
i miss the way you smile
the longer that we stay apart
the longer every mile
the flower stretches through the snow
it reaches toward the sun
and now without you the color is gone
the flower's petals, done
but as we talk, and as we learn
the flower comes back to life
the snow now melts and goes away
as you take away my strife
spring is here and growth abounds
as you and i are one
we are together, we are in love
the snow for now is done
i see the future, in dreams i have
of our life, long and true
i see the times where all i need
are comforting words from you
i see the times when winter comes
as winter tends to do
but we still love, and we still live
and i do still love you
trudy lynn gordon
poem by Trudy Gordon
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The Farewell
He rides away with sword and spur,
Garbed in his warlike blazonry,
With gallant glance and smile for her
Upon the dim-lit balcony.
Her kiss upon his lips is warm,
Upon his breast he wears her rose,
From her fond arms to stress and storm
Of many a bannered field he goes.
He dreams of danger, glory, strife,
His voice is blithe, his hand is strong,
He rides perchance to death from life
And leaves his lady with a song;
But her blue-brimmed eyes are dim
With her deep anguish standing there,
Sending across the world with him
The dear, white guerdon of her prayer.
For her the lonely vigil waits
When ashen dawnlights come and go,
Each bringing through the future's gates
Its presages of fear and woe;
For her the watch with soul and heart
Grown sick with dread, as women may,
Yet keeping still her pain apart
From the wan duties of the day.
'Tis hers to walk when sunsets yield
Their painted splendors to the skies,
And dream on some far battlefield
Perchance alone, unwatched, he dies;
'Tis hers to kneel in patient prayer
When midnight stars keep sentinel,
Lest the chill death-dews damp the hair
Upon the brow she loves so well.
So stands she, white and sad and sweet,
Upon the latticed balcony,
From golden hair to slender feet
No lady is so fair as she;
He loves her true, he holds her dear,
But he must ride on dangerous quest,
With gallant glance and smile of cheer,
And her red rose upon his breast.
poem by Lucy Maud Montgomery
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In Tempore Senectutis
When I am old
I will not have you look apart
From me, into the cold,
Friend of my heart,
Nor be sad in your remembrance
Of the careless, mad-heart semblance
That the wind hath blown away
When I am old.
When I am old
And the white hot wonder-fire
Unto the world seem cold,
My soul's desire
Know you then that all life's shower,
The rain of the years, that hour
Shall make blow for us one flower,
Including all, when we are old.
When I am old
If you remember
Any love save what is then
Hearth light unto life's December
Be your joy of past sweet chalices
To know then naught but this
"How many wonders are less sweet
Than love I bear to thee
When I am old."
poem by Ezra Pound
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A March Snow
Let the old snow be covered with the new:
The trampled snow, so soiled, and stained, and sodden.
Let it be hidden wholly from our view
By pure white flakes, all trackless and untrodden.
When Winter dies, low at the sweet Spring's feet
Let him be mantled in a clean, white sheet.
Let the old life be covered by the new:
The old past life so full of sad mistakes,
Let it be wholly hidden from the view
By deeds as white and silent as snow-flakes.
Ere this earth life melts in the eternal Spring
Let the white mantle of repentance fling
Soft drapery about it, fold on fold,
Even as the new snow covers up the old.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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It Was Meant For Me to Love You
It was meant for me to love you.
Meant for me to keep this love subdued.
Quiet and in discreet chambers.
Pretending my urges,
Would rather splurge my desires!
I'm on fire in heated memories of us.
Trusting in you I must!
It was meant for me to love you...
Complete I would be in your hold.
And this I can't release to be told!
It was meant for me to love you.
I know this more each day as I grow old!
You ignited me with passion when I was cold!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Joan
Power generation
You live up your life and it feels like fire
Suspended in animation
A trick of the light and it drives you higher
Blind vision blind faith
You really can be sold
If you dare to disagree
Its just not within the scheme of things
To give up your life so easily
Thats not the way youre meant to be
What a waste of time and energy
Its just not within the scheme of things(live your life)
To give up your life so easily, easily(Ill be there)
Psychic celebration
Look up in the stars and see venus rising
Rapture, fascination
You live for the night and your own desire
Blind vision blind faith
You really cant rely
On what they tell you for effect
Its not just within the scheme of things(live your life)
To give up your life so easily
Thats not the way youre meant to be(I do care)
What a waste of time and energy
Its just not within the scheme of things(live your life)
To give up your life so easily
Thats not the way youre meant to be(Ill be there)
What a waste of time and energy, energy
song performed by by Erasure
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Buckskin Bag of Gold
Last night I met him on the train--
A man with lovely eyes;
And he gave me a searching glance
Of sweet charm'd surprise!
I knew 'twas he the lady meant,
Who once my fortune told,
By his jet black eyes, his grand moustache,
And his buckskin bag of gold.
Yes! (Ha! ha!) Yes! (ha! ha!) his is the man
Who does your fortune hold!
He has jet black eyes, a grand moustache,
And a buckskin bag of gold.
Tall! (Ha! ha!) slim! (ha! ha!) quick as a flash!
And twenty two years old;
He has jet black eyes, his grand moustache,
And his buckskin bag of gold.
The dearest man you ever saw
How much I love him now!
And if I should live a thousand years,
No other hears my vow.
Like Judas--no, like Jupiter,
He look'd so brave and bold,
With his jet black eyes, his grand moustache,
And his buckskin bag of gold.
Sweet boy bring me the "Morning Call"
Perchance I'll find his name;
At the "Grand Hotel" he must have stopp'd,
I wonder when he came!
He must have charm'd those Lumpkin girls,
So haughty, proud and cold,
By his jet black eyes, his grand mousetache,
And his buckskin bag of gold.
How can I seek a name unknown?
Oh, tell me where he went!
What is this I read! why Papa's bank
Is robb'd of ev'ry cent!
The thief, it seems, left town last night,
Well, well! I'm nicely sold!
He had jet black eyes, his grand mousetache,
And his buckskin bag of gold.
poem by Henry Clay Work
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Don’t Take My Life, My Dear Mother!
Don’t take my life,
My dear mother!
For heaven’s sake,
Please let me live!
Don’t take my life;
Give me a chance;
I’ve life like you;
I want to live.
Don’t take my life;
God’s love made me;
God talks to me,
And calls my name!
Don’t take my life;
The womb’s my home;
God feeds me well
And helps me grow.
Don’t take my life;
I yearn to live,
And see the world
That God has made.
Don’t take my life;
Do charity;
I’ll repay back
Your act of love.
Don’t take my life,
I want some love
From my parents;
So, spare me please!
Don’t take my life;
Do spare my frame;
The clay is baked;
It’s time for birth!
Don’t take my life
God has allowed;
I want to see
His lovely world.
Don’t take my life;
I’ll pay you well,
When I grow big,
And you turn old!
Don’t take my life,
My dear mother;
God will bless you
And too, father!
Don’t take my life,
Dear dad and mum;
Don’t turn the womb
Into my tomb!
Don’t take my life,
For God’s sake please;
My dear parents,
‘LET ME BE BORN! ’
Copyright by Dr John Celes 5-9-2009
poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Proposition
You cant have the flower without the root
You cant have the fire without the soot
Even a stripper needs her red tasseled suit
And we were meant to be
In every war the north needs the south
And everyone knows all assholes have a mouth
Without mystery what would writers talk about
And we were meant to be
An apple needs pits the way melons need seed
Your foot needs your arm and your arm needs your knee
And one of these days I know you will need me
We were meant to be, ooohhh, we were meant to be
Youre mothers an ogre your fathers a scamp
You wont see my parents honored on any stamp
But just like a bulb screws into a lamp
We were meant to be
The way the aids needs a vaccine, somewhere a vaccine needs
Aids, the way a victim needs life, a life needs to be saved
And out of all of this will come a better way
We were meant to be
So you can go to europe, los angeles or mars
You can stand on a building throwing cinder blocks on cars
You can practice deep voodoo, but like me youll see
We were meant to be, we were meant to be
We were meant to be
We were meant to be
We were meant to be
We were meant to be
We were meant to be
We were meant to be
We were meant to be
We were meant to be
song performed by by Lou Reed
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Three Songs
I
Where love is life
The roses blow,
Though winds be rude
And cold the snow,
The roses climb
Serenely slow,
They nod in rhyme
We know--we know
Where love is life
The roses blow.
Where life is love
The roses blow,
Though care be quick
And sorrows grow,
Their roots are twined
With rose-roots so
That rosebuds find
A way to show
Where life is love
The roses blow.
II
Nothing came here but sunlight,
Nothing fell here but rain,
Nothing blew but the mellow wind,
Here are the flowers again!
No one came here but you, dear,
You with your magic train
Of brightness and laughter and lightness,
Here is my joy again!
III
I have songs of dancing pleasure,
I have songs of happy heart,
Songs are mine that pulse in measure
To the throbbing of the mart.
Songs are mine of magic seeming,
In a land of love forlorn,
Where the joys are had for dreaming,
At a summons from the horn.
But my sad songs come unbidden,
Rising with a wilder zest,
From the bitter pool that's hidden,
Deep--deep--deep within my breast.
poem by Duncan Campbell Scott
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PaSSioN FLoWeR
He was a young lad
Endless dreams she had
She was a flowered rose
She made all sacrifices to make him her spouse
For days, he was the Helios
Without him, she was in pathos
The white dress she wears
No matter how living; there are no fears
Love could un-shed all her tears…
Even on removing the white dress
It seems that the life was full of gladness
In the times before the wedding
Life was as sweets as pudding
Now the time of the vow has gone
She removes the white dress
And is forced into love’s black dress
The life seems full of stress
The gentleman removed the mask of softness and gentleness…
He was showing her his flair
But it was a built castle in the air
Passion Flower she has become
She bathes on a sad realm
She wears a heart of mourning
Passion Flower is crying
'''''From Zenith to Nadir I letdown
Just prayers and pleas I own'''''
Her eyes are in perplexity
All things developed to complexity
The white dress was forsaken leaving obscurity
And finished are the days of serenity and tranquility
What a pity! ! ! ! ! ! !
Little by little, Passion Flower has faded away
My Passion Flower is wilted and is fading away
Little by little, Passion Flower has bowed to the sadness
Little by little, Passion Flower has bent to the faintness
Her Heaven turned into haziness
Her Bliss turned into darkness
Her Dreamland turned into fogginess
Her Paradise turned into distress
For the sake of her children she is fighting
Really now, there is no more lighting…
Pretty Passion Flower
May ALLAH send you power
To pull up your thorn
Pretty Passion Flower
May ALLAH send you power
To stay nice in your cocoon
May ALLAH send you Peace
To live your life at ease
Without any male disease...
Pretty Passion Flower please keep scenting
For the sake of your Angels, Love and care try sending
Pretty Passion Flower please don’t be withered
Pretty Passion Flower you wrongfully suffered
But, ''Pretty Passion Flower please don’t be withered! ’'
From now on he is far! ! !
Free from his pain you are…
{August 20,2009}
poem by Glamorous Enigma
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Be So Boy
The riches I emerge with are strange so cold,
Innocent gold! Higher wealth is around that is told.
A rich man hurried towards his house
Finding a woman called his wife with a white blouse.
The rich life has arrived for all the luck,
Melting far away, just far too far like muck.
The gambler is to be, a corpulent man
Shall pain the hurt, the sane man is in Afghanistan.
How rich will life be now that gold is not silver?
Silver is like a snake, whilst gold shines so quieter.
My wife likes new clothes and new food
In the realm of our understanding, our attitude.
You shall blame the innocence of tense muscles,
You shall climb new veins with blood and angels.
May life enjoy, feel too much a toy,
And then let Winston Churchill be so boy.
poem by Naveed Akram
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To The Old Year
Old year, farewell !
Much have you given which was ill to bear :
Much have taken which was dear, so dear :
Much have you spoken which was ill to hear ;
Echoes of speech first uttered deep in hell.
Pass now like some grey harlot to the tomb !
Yet die in child-birth, and from out your womb
Leap the young year unsullied ! He perchance
Shall bring to man his lost inheritance.
poem by Frederick William Harvey
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Cold Feet
There was a little boy once upon a time
Who in spite of his young age and small size knew his mind
For every copper penny and clover he would find
Make a wish for better days the end of hard times
For no more cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
His clothes were always clean
His face was always scrubbed
There was food on the table enough to fill him up
His house was full of life - his house was full of love
But when winter days arrived
There was never money enough to shod his cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
He grew up to be a worker determined to succeed
He made a life for himself, free from worldly wants or needs
But with nobody to share the life hed made
No body to keep him warm at night
When hed go to sleep hed sleep alone with his cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
One night he walked the street looking to the heavens above
Searching for a shooting star a benevolent god
When a woman passing by brushed his arm
He turned and found love
He then wished for the courage to ask this stranger
Who she was to not have cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
He thought shed like the party life and want the finer things
So he promised more than he could buy
And he promised her the sun and moon to not have cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
He worked day and night his fingers to the bone
Hi worried mind guilty conscience drive him on
He cant give her what she needs
He wants to give her what he thinks she wants
Her sad-eyed face, his empty pockets drive him on and his cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
Hed struggled all his life to be an honest man
Proud that the dirt on his palms was the soil of the land
But some guys he knew from high school days
Said they had a plan to get rich quick
And they could count him in if he dont have cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
He thought about their offer accepted it without qualms
Dreamt about the life hed buy
The comfort that would come without cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
He decided to tell his wife things would soon turn around
He said the little boy is dead
A man stands with you now without cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
Without cold feet - cold cold cold cold feet
He thought hed set his clock right - he though hed read his watch
He left in such a hurry he didnt think to wish for luck
Makes no difference if youre early - no difference if youre late
When youre out of time - the flowers have been laid
Youre six feet underground
With cold feet
Cold cold cold cold feet
song performed by by Tracy Chapman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hermaphroditus
I.
LIFT UP thy lips, turn round, look back for love,
Blind love that comes by night and casts out rest;
Of all things tired thy lips look weariest,
Save the long smile that they are wearied of.
Ah sweet, albeit no love be sweet enough,
Choose of two loves and cleave unto the best;
Two loves at either blossom of thy breast
Strive until one be under and one above.
Their breath is fire upon the amorous air,
Fire in thine eyes and where thy lips suspire:
And whosoever hath seen thee, being so fair,
Two things turn all his life and blood to fire;
A strong desire begot on great despair,
A great despair cast out by strong desire.
II.
Where between sleep and life some brief space is,
With love like gold bound round about the head,
Sex to sweet sex with lips and limbs is wed,
Turning the fruitful feud of hers and his
To the waste wedlock of a sterile kiss;
Yet from them something like as fire is shed
That shall not be assuaged till death be dead,
Though neither life nor sleep can find out this.
Love made himself of flesh that perisheth
A pleasure-house for all the loves his kin;
But on the one side sat a man like death,
And on the other a woman sat like sin.
So with veiled eyes and sobs between his breath
Love turned himself and would not enter in.
III.
Love, is it love or sleep or shadow or light
That lies between thine eyelids and thine eyes?
Like a flower laid upon a flower it lies,
Or like the night’s dew laid upon the night.
Love stands upon thy left hand and thy right,
Yet by no sunset and by no moonrise
Shall make thee man and ease a woman’s sighs,
Or make thee woman for a man’s delight.
To what strange end hath some strange god made fair
The double blossom of two fruitless flowers?
Hid love in all the folds of all thy hair,
Fed thee on summers, watered thee with showers,
Given all the gold that all the seasons wear
To thee that art a thing of barren hours?
IV.
Yea, love, I see; it is not love but fear.
Nay, sweet, it is not fear but love, I know;
Or wherefore should thy body’s blossom blow
So sweetly, or thine eyelids leave so clear
Thy gracious eyes that never made a tear—
Though for their love our tears like blood should flow,
Though love and life and death should come and go,
So dreadful, so desirable, so dear?
Yea, sweet, I know; I saw in what swift wise
Beneath the woman’s and the water’s kiss
Thy moist limbs melted into Salmacis,
And the large light turned tender in thine eyes,
And all thy boy’s breath softened into sighs;
But Love being blind, how should he know of this?
Au Musée du Louvre, Mars 1863.
poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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