To A Successful Man
(WHAT THE GHOSTS SAID.)
And after all the labour and the pains,
After the heaping up of gold on gold,
After success that locked your feet in chains,
And left you with a heart so tired and old,
Strange-is it not?-to find your chief desire
Is what you might have had for nothing then-
The face of love beside a cottage fire
And friendly laughter with your fellow-men?
You were so rich when fools esteemed you poor.
You ruled a field that kings could never buy:
The whisper of the sea was at your door,
And all those quiet stars were in your sky,
The nook of ferns below the breathless wood
Where one poor book could unlock Paradise. . . .
What will you give us now for that lost good?
Better forget. You cannot pay the price.
You left them for the fame in which you trust.
But youth, and hope-did you forsake them too?
Courage! When dust at length returns to dust,
In your last dreams they may come back to you.
poem by Alfred Noyes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Pride Of Man
Turn around go back down go back the way you came
Cant you see the flash of fire ten times brighter than the day
And behold the mighty city broken in the dust again
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
Turn around go back down go back the way you came
Babylon is laid to waste egypts buried in her shame
Their mighty men are beaten down the kings are fallen in the ways
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
Turn around go back down go back the way you came
Terror is on everyside though the leaders are dismayed
Those who put their faith in fire in fire their faith shall be repaid
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
Turn around go back down go back the way you came
Shout a warning to the nations that the sword of God is raised
On babylon that mighty city rich in treasure wide in fame
It shall cause thy towers to fall and make it be a pyre of flame
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
Thou that dwell on many water rich in treasure wide in fame
Bow unto a God of gold thy pride of might shall be thy shame
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
And only God can lead the people back into the faith again
Thy holy mountain be restored thy mercy on thy people lord
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pride Of Man
Turn around,
go back down,
back the way you came,
Can't you see that flash of fire ten times brighter than the day?
And behold a mighty city broken in the dust again,
Oh God, Pride of Man, broken in the dust again.
Turn around,
go back down,
back the way you came,
Babylon is laid to waste, Egypt's buried in her shame,
The mighty men are all beaten down, their kings are fallen in the ways,
Oh God, Pride of Man, broken in the dust again.
Turn around,
go back down,
back the way you came,
Terror is on every side, lo our leaders are dismayed.
For those who place their faith in fire, their faith in fire shall be
repaid,
Oh God, Pride of Man, broken in the dust again.
Turn around,
go back down,
back the way you came,
And shout a warning unto the nation that the sword of God is raised.
Yes, Babylon, that mighty city, rich in treasures, wide in fame,
Oh God, Pride of Man, broken in the dust again.
The meek shall cause your tower to fall, make of you a pyre of flame,
Oh you who dwell on many waters, rich in treasures, wide in fame.
you bow unto your God of gold, your pride of might shall be a shame,
For only God can lead His people back unto the Earth again.
Oh God, Pride of Man, broken in the dust again.
A Holy mountain be restored, and mercy on that people, that people
song performed by by Quicksilver Messenger Service
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Band Of Gold
(r. dunbar & e. wayne)
Producer for bonnie: jim steinman
Now that youve gone
All thats left is a band of gold
All thats left of the dreams I hold
Is a band of gold
And the memories
Of what love could be
If you were
Still here with me
You took me from the shelter of a mother I had never known
The love of any other
We kissed after taking vows
But that night on our honeymoon
We stayed in separate rooms
I waited in the darkness of my lonely room
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom
Hoping soon
That youd walk back through that door
And love me
Liked you tried before
Since youve been gone
All thats left is a band of gold
All thats left of the dreams I hold
Is a band of gold
And the dream of what love could be
If you were still here with me
Since youve been gone
All thats left is a band of gold
All thats left of the dreams I hold
Is a band of gold
song performed by by Bonnie Tyler
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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3 Chains O Gold
If I dont think about the fact that she left me
If I dont see the pearls fall from the sky
If I dont hear the accusations of blasphemy
If I dont feel the tears in my eyes
This is the best day of my life
U say ull call me and then and then u dont
Ill want 2 kiss u and then I wont
We both do nothing and call it love
Is this love?
Is this love?
This morning I wanted a cup of coffee
But I didnt have any cream
Last night I wanted some inspiration
But I didnt have any dreams
Coupled with the fact that u belong 2 another
Whose name is self-righteousness
So evil girl, if one of us has a date
With the undertaker, which one will it be?
U can cry 4 ever, but ull get no sympathy
This is the best day of my life
Ive got 3 chains o gold
And they will shine 4 ever
They are the nucleus of my soul
Melt down, no, they will never
Ive got 3 chains o gold
And they will shine 4 ever
They are the nucleus of my soul
Melt down, no, they will never
Give back the chains - if you dont you will die
Nothing should come between you and i
Ive got 3 chains o gold
And they will shine 4 ever
If one of us has 2 go
U will go before me
If one of us has 2 go (3 chains o gold)
U will go before me
(3 chains o gold)
U will go before me, baby (they will shine 4 ever)
Cuz I sho nuff say u will
(3 chains o gold)
(u will go before me)
(u will go before me)
(u will go before me)
(u will go before me)
Ive got 3 chains o gold
They gonna shine...
Forever, forever, forever
(3 chains o gold)
song performed by by Prince
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Poor Mans Roses Or A Rich Mans Gold
(milton delugg, bob hilliard)
I must make up my mind today
What to have what to hold
A poor mans roses
Or a rich mans gold
Ones as wealthy as a king in a palace
Though hes calice and cold
He may learn to give his heart for love
Instead of buying it with gold
Then the poor mans roses
And the thrill when we kiss
Will be memories of paradise
That Ill never miss
And yet the hand that brings a rose tonight
Is the hand that I will hold
For the rose of love means more to me
More than any rich mans gold
Repeat verses #3 and #4
song performed by by Reba Mcentire
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To Timarion
HAD I the thrush's throat, I could not sing you
Songs sweeter than his own. And I'm too poor
To lay the gifts that other lovers bring you
Low at your silver door.
Such as I have, I give. See, for your taking
Tired hands are here, and feet grown dark with dust.
Here's a lost hope, and here a heart whose aching
Grows greater than its trust.
Sleep on, you will not hear me. But to-morrow
You will remember in your fragrant ways,
Finding the voice of twilight and my sorrow
Lovelier than all men's praise.
poem by Marjorie Lowry Christie Pickthall
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dust
When the white flame in us is gone,
And we that lost the world's delight
Stiffen in darkness, left alone
To crumble in our separate night;
When your swift hair is quiet in death,
And through the lips corruption thrust
Has stilled the labour of my breath-
When we are dust, when we are dust!-
Not dead, not undesirous yet,
Still sentient, still unsatisfied,
We'll ride the air, and shine, and flit,
Around the places where we died,
And dance as dust before the sun,
And light of foot, and unconfined,
Hurry from road to road, and run
About the errands of the wind.
And every mote, on earth or air,
Will speed and gleam, down later days,
And like a secret pilgrim fare
By eager and invisible ways,
Nor ever rest, nor ever lie,
Till, beyond thinking, out of view,
One mote of all the dust that's I
Shall meet one atom that was you.
Then in some garden hushed from wind,
Warm in a sunset's afterglow,
The lovers in the flowers will find
A sweet and strange unquiet grow
Upon the peace; and, past desiring,
So high a beauty in the air,
And such a light, and such a quiring,
And such a radiant ecstasy there,
They'll know not if it's fire, or dew,
Or out of earth, or in the height,
Singing, or flame, or scent, or hue,
Or two that pass, in light, to light,
Out of the garden, higher, higher. . . .
But in that instant they shall learn
The shattering ecstasy of our fire,
And the weak passionless hearts will burn
And faint in that amazing glow,
Until the darkness close above;
And they will know-poor fools, they'll know!-
One moment, what it is to love.
poem by Rupert Brooke (1910)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Behind That Locked Door
(harrison)
Why are you still crying
Your pain is now through
Please forget those teardrops
Let me take them from you
The love you are blessed with
This worlds waiting for
So let out your heart, please, please
From behind that locked door
Its time we start smiling
What else should we do
With only this short time
I know to be here with you
And the tales you have taught me
From the things that you saw
Makes me want out your heart, please, please
From behind that locked door
And wherever my love goes
If Im rich or Im poor
Please let out my heart, please, please
From behind that locked door
From behind that locked door
song performed by by Olivia Newton-John
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Behind That Locked Door
Why are you still crying?
Your pain is now through
Please forget those teardrops
Let me take them from you
The love you are blessed with
This worlds waiting for
So let out your heart, please, please
From behind that locked door
Its time we start smiling
What else should we do?
With only this short time
Im gonna be here with you
And the tales you have taught me
From the things that you saw
Makes me want out your heart, please, please
From behind that locked door
And if ever my love goes
If Im rich or Im poor
Please let out my heart, please, please
From behind that locked door
From behind that locked door
song performed by by George Harrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Bequeathal
THE night-birds cry in the bush outside,
And I write here, though the hour be late;
And what shall I write of the man who died?
'He gave his gold to the poor at his gate!'
The line is written. Was that his all,
And did that all exhaust his love?
'Nay, nay, write on, while the night-birds call:
‘He gave his soul to his God above’!'
Say on; for in so rich a vein
More gold lay waiting to be proved.
' 'T was so! Write this, and write it plain:
‘He gave his heart to the wife he loved’!'
What more? 'What more dost thou require?
What more was left to give or take?
Yet more there was. Write this in fire:
‘He gave his life for his country's sake’!'
'Last gift of all, with courage fine,
Though far from stars that watched his birth.
He fell. Write then this final line:
‘He gave his clay to the aliens' earth’!'
poem by Roderic Quinn
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Aya
Why should there be rich people in my country and,
The government still go begging?
Why should many people put on gold chain and,
Still say that they are hungry?
I do not understand it because,
I am Aya in the land of the poor.
Ten years of love and ten years after,
And of the governments begging left and right;
But if it looks like an apple and tastes like an apple then,
It is an apple!
Twenty years of love and twenty years after,
And my people are still hungry with gold chains around their necks!
I still do not understand it.
How long will you stay in poverty with these gold chains around you?
How long will you keep on begging with all these rich people around?
I still do not get it;
For many people are still sleeping under the bridges!
And their governments clam to have rule over them.
If it looks like a woman and performs like a woman then,
It is a woman!
For the blood has stopped and the soldiers are advancing in;
And i need a cover to safegard myself in this world.
I cannot count the stars in the heavens above,
But do give me some water to quench my thirst;
For i am from Ur with love and,
I am prepared to visit my people in the village of love.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Prelude
How could I love you more?
I would give up
Even that beauty I have loved too well
That I might love you better.
Alas, how poor the gifts that lovers give
I can but give you of my flesh and strength,
I can but give you these few passing days
And passionate words that, since our speech began,
All lovers whisper in all ladies' ears.
I try to think of some one lovely gift
No lover yet in all the world has found;
I think: If the cold sombre gods
Were hot with love as I am
Could they not endow you with a star
And fix bright youth for ever in your limbs?
Could they not give you all things that I lack?
You should have loved a god; I am but dust.
Yet no god loves as loves this poor frail dust.
poem by Richard Aldington
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lost In The Laughter
the shell of a snail
long since departed....
ghosts whisper, cannot touch!
layers of anger
devouring from within,
till nothing is left but dust.
flesh cries out for flesh,
old or young, doesnt matter.
water seeks itself, stone is stone.
a lover, a small fire
too far away to name....
and God's face is lost
in the laughter!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Tears of the poor man (alternative version)
The tears of the poor are
The drinks of the rich,
Yet the shedding of blood
Is the rich man's headache...
And what of the poor man's justice?
In truth, water is too cool
To bring forth your anguish!
Fire is the only solution!
Drink fire to end your injustice.
Silence is each lover's desire,
Yet the poor man's unbearable pain.
Making a din is the only right choice
To put forth your final demand.
Dew is but the conspiracy
Hatched between the rich and their kings,
While morning is but the first step
Of each poor man's sufferings..
poem by Abdul Wahab
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Tears Of The Poor Man
The tears of the poor are
The drinks of the rich,
Yet the shedding of blood
Is the rich man's headache...
And what of the poor man's justice?
In truth, water is too cool
To bring forth your anguish!
Fire is the only solution!
Drink fire to end your injustice.
Silence is each lover's desire,
Yet the poor man's unbearable pain.
Making a din is the only right choice
To put forth your final demand.
Dew is but the conspiracy
Hatched between the rich and their kings,
While morning is but the first step
Of each poor man's sufferings...
poem by Denis Martindale
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Journey
Violent dreams in the tempest gate
Two visions meet like a hurricane
Cain and Abel, paradise lost
A double-minded man tossed
Lust is a bloody sword unsheathed
Divided nature hidden beneath
Defiled with pride, wrapped in chains
The battle rages on every page
Pompous temples sold for gold
The wilderness is lonely and cold
Dressed in poise shallow and hollow
Conscience is a compass we follow
Meaning shines like a newborn friend
Death appears in dark lament
Funerals and tears shatter illusions
Pain wakes our sleeping delusions
Time will never stop its marching hand
Hope cannot survive on surface sand
No roots grow in the glitter and gold
Beauty fades and everything exposed
No where to run nothing too lose
The soul is truly a place of refuge
Oblivion cannot stop the lion of light
I stare at the wondrous stars tonight
Caravans of searchers seeking too trust
All that I am returns back to the dust
Into the desert where sinners must go
There in the wise stars I see my soul
The journey home is truly within
poem by Joseph Narusiewicz
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The Borrowed Axe
The prophets sons, in time of old,
Though to appearance poor;
Were rich without possessing gold,
And honoured, though obscure.
In peace their daily bread they eat,
By honest labor earned;
While daily at Elisha's feet,
They grace and wisdom learned.
The prophet's presence cheered their toil,
They watched the words he spoke;
Whether they turned the furrowed soil,
Or felled the spreading oak.
Once as they listened to his theme,
Their conference was stopped;
For one beneath the yielding stream,
A borrowed axe had dropped.
Alas! it was not mine, he said,
How shall I make it good?
Elisha heard, and when he prayed,
The iron swam like wood.
If God, in such a small affair,
A miracle performs;
It shows his condescending care
Of poor unworthy worms.
Though kings and nations in his view
Are but as motes and dust;
His eye and ear are fixed on you,
Who in his mercy trust.
Not one concern of ours is small,
If we belong to him;
To teach us this, the Lord of all,
Once made the iron swim.
poem by John Newton
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Handful Of Dust
Your pressed your face against my heart
I felt that you could look right through me
We live in days that have no time
We live in times that now refuse me
And somewhere out beyond his town
There lies a world that now can turn us round
And we need it and we need it
Oh got to have some thing to believe in
Ive got enough to believe in you
What can I give just to know that its true ?
But Ive gotta begin to say
Now theyve taken my pride in this way.
How can you give me your love ?
I just cant give you enough
How can you give me your trust
With a handful of dust ?
I feel to thin before your eyes
I feel so naked under open skies
I once stood tall within this town
But now the time has come to bring us down.
We must have more with his power in hand
We must believe things will go as we planned
But Ive gotta begin to say
Now theyve taken my pride in this way.
How can you give me your love ?
I just cant give you enough
How can you give me your trust
With a handful of dust,
With a handful of dust ?
Making love through electric skies
Now I know where my fortune lies
Breathe the air and feel this land
cause its slipping through me
Like dust from my hand.
How can you give me your love ?
I just cant give you enough
How can you give me your trust
With a handful of dust ?
How can you give me your love ?
I just cant give you enough
How can you give me your trust
With a handful of dust ?
How can you give me your love ?
How can you give me your love ?
Now give me your love!
How can you give me your trust
With a handful of dust ?
How can you give me your love ?
Give me
How can you give me your trust
With a handful of dust ?
song performed by by Spandau Ballet
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Youth And Knowledge
What price, child, shall I pay for your bright eyes
(How large a debt!) the light they shed on me?
What for your cheeks, so red in their surprise,
Your lips, your hands, your maiden gestures free,
Your fair brows crowned with grave nobility,
All the delight which in your presence lies,
The words unsaid, the deeds which dare not be,
The dreams undreamed, my meed of Paradise?
--Nay, I can pay naught; your poor bankrupt I,
Since gold may not nor frankincense nor myrrh
Serve my account nor any gift of kings.
Yet be my wealth yours, joys that fools deny,
Knowledge of life, love, power as presbyter,
The wit to teach youth's zeal to use its wings.
poem by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Poor Baby
Orbison/c & r price
Glittery eyes; witchy smiles
A good time is all you are after
Skin tight thighs; little white lies
Put you in the center of the laughter
But your reign of queen is over
Your fortress has been broken down
You're still the center of the laughter
But your role has changed to the clown
Chorus
Ooh poor baby
Someone broke your heart in two
Ooh poor baby
Who would have thought it could happen to you
Poor baby
A pretty face; sweet talkin' ways
Got you a part of the action
A come-over-touch, glances and such
You always had to be the main attraction
Now you're the one who's crying
You lost at your own lonely game
You're still the center of attraction
But now i'm gone, you've got yourself to blame
Chorus
Ooh poor baby
Do what you said you'd never do
Ooh poor baby
You let someone get much too close to you
Poor baby
Poor baby,poor baby
Poor baby,poor baby
song performed by by Roy Orbison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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