Earthquakes
So many so small go on day and night
under your feet you barely notice.
A big bang sounds like someone in the upstairs apartment
knocking over their refrigerator, and you ask,
Why knock over your refrigerator?
while friends turn pale and head for the doorjambs.
No, no, it's just some guy
going ape-shit in his kitchen, you insist.
Maybe he's drunk. You're so good at making up explanations,
you miss the moments things shift
for real, red tulips beginning to wilt in their vase,
their lipstick mouths puckering like dowagers,
or the way a marriage curdles like milk left out too long.
You're standing on sand,
(you're always standing on sand,)
but its not the same sand as a wave ago,
everything has swept in and out,
regardless of whether you believe in death
who says, Alright, fine, don't believe in me,
or who doesn't say anything at all,
just goes about his death business,
loosening lovers arms from around each other's necks,
liberating teeth from their gums.
The yellow and brown crumpled gloves
of last year's fig leaves
lie abandoned in front of your house,
flaking detritus someone has to sweep up
and touch, someone has to notice and mourn.
poem by Alison Luterman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
In A Time Of Dearth
Before me,
On either side of me,
I see sand.
If I turn the corner of my house,
I see sand,
Long, brown
Lines and levels of flat
Sand.
If I could only see a caravan
Heave over the edge of it:
The camels wobbling and swaying,
Stepping like ostriches,
With rocking palanquins
Whose curtains conceal
Languors and faintnesses,
Muslins tossed aside,
And a disorder of cushions.
The swinging curtains would pique and solace me.
But I only see sand,
Long, brown sand -
Sand.
If I could only see a herd of Arab horses
Galloping,
Their manes and tails pulled straight
By the speed of their going;
Their bodies sleek and round
Like bellying sails.
They would beat the sand with their fore feet,
And scatter it with their hind feet,
So that it whirled in a cloud of orange,
And the sun through it
Was clip-edged, without rays, and dun.
But I only see sand,
Long, brown, hot sand -
Sand.
If I could only see a mirage,
Blue-white at the horizon,
With palm-trees about it;
Tall, windless palm-trees, grouped about a-glitter.
If I could strain toward it,
And think of the water creeping round my ankles,
Tickling under my knees,
Leeching up my sides,
Spreading over my back.
But I only feel the grinding beneath my feet.
And I only see sand,
Long, dry sand,
Scorching sand -
Sand.
If a sand-storm would only come
And spit against my windows,
Snapping upon them, and ringing their vibrations;
Swirling over the roof;
Seeping under the door-jamb;
Suffocating me and making me struggle for air.
But I only see sand -
Sand lying dead in the sun.
Lines and lines of sand -
Sand.
I will paste newspapers over the windows to shut out the sand;
I will fit them into one another, and fasten the corners.
Then I will strike matches
And read of politics and murders and festivals
Three years old.
But I shall not see the sand any more,
And I can read
While my matches last.
poem by Amy Lowell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Shifting Sand
Do you see that post a-stickin in the sand?
Just the point of it a-poking thro' the sand?
Me and Madge put in that fence.
Yes! We should have had more sense!
We was young, you see, and didn't understand.
Twenty years come next November we began;
There was nothing here but scrub when we began --
Sold the farm on 'Dingo Flat,'
And put all we had in that!
Into blasted shifting sand and 'Take-all pan.'
This here paddick--which? Why where you're standing now
(Oh! it was one, tho' you wouldn't think so now!)
Well, we grubbed it, nice and neat,
And we gut it in with wheat;
And we didn't reap enough to feed the cow!
In the early spring the sand began to shift ---
In a 'Norther' have you ever seen it shift?
Well, it all went in a night,
Not a blade was left in sight
When we come to look next morning at the drift!
Round the back there, by them stunted pepper-trees;
Hardly anything will live here but them trees.
Madge is lying there, asleep,
With the sand above her, deep:
Deep and loose enough to sink you to the knees!
Many other things are buried on the land,
Things you can't get back from any kind of land,
Youth and hope, and tears and sweat,
Wasted work and vain regret,
In the sneaking, creeping, greedy, shifting sand!
poem by Charles Henry Souter
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
All I Want For Christmas Is A Real Good Tan
Ooooh, don't you think it's a pretty good plan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
Take me to the islands
Put my feet in the sand
Rockin' to and fro with the rhythm of the ocean
Singin' silent night with the palm trees a blowin'
Ooooh, don't you think it's a pretty good plan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
Well if you're thinkin' bout gettin' me a present this year
Let me put a bug in your cute little ear
How about two tickets to a tropical show
Where we don't have to wear these winter clothes anymore
Instead of turkey we'll have mahi mahi grillin'
And pina colodas in the blender chillin'
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
Take me to the islands
Put my feet in the sand
Singin' silent night with the palm trees a blowin'
Ooooh, don't you think it's a pretty good plan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
Well everybody's prayin' for a Christmas so white
Come to think about it that would be alright
As long as there is sand nor snow on the ground
And everyday our skin gets a little more brown
We'll string some lights in a coconut tree
I'll rub some oil on you and you can rub some on me
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
I can see us baby on the beach hand in hand
Rockin' to and fro with the rhythm of the ocean
Baby whats you say you and me we'll be goin'
Ooooh, I can almost feel my toes in the sand
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
And don't worry baby we'll celebrate plenty
I'll buy you some shades a brand new bikini
We won't have to worry about the holiday rush
It'll be you and me fallen' deeper in love
Ooooh, don't you think it's a pretty good plan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
song performed by by Kenny Chesney
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
A Rose To Remember....
i am reading about the death of a rose
i am reflecting about
death of freedom
it is all about a rose, a wilting rose, a brown rose,
a dry rose
each petal falling softly on the ground
a dry ground full of sand and pebbles
all footprints covered
abandoned, i am talking
about the death of a rose, the death of the freedom of the rose
the death of freedom, the rose of death, the freedom of death,
is it you now that i talk about? that i must remember?
have i met you before when i was but a thorn, a worm, a leaf?
was i the sand
a pebble, the wind? will you be a rose forever?
is there death in you?
i feel the wind, i smell the rose,
there is no death....
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
What If I Came Knocking
What if I came knocking
On your front door some night?
Would you open the window
And drop me down the key?
What if I came knocking
On your bedpost that same night?
Would you open up your heart
Or try to get the best of me?
What if I came knocking
On your brain the next day
And ask for your truth and your love and your honesty?
Would you build up your big walls
And try to hide behind that smile
Or would you try to pull the wool right over me?
So what if I came knocking?
So what if I came knocking?
So what if I came kicking
And it scared you a little bit
And I came on strong
Would you think
That theres something wrong with me?
Or could it be your fears
Of trying something real
Or just afraid to touch
A guy like me?
What if I came knocking?
What if I came knocking?
What if I came knocking
On your front door some night? ahh
So lets just say it worked out
Like a storybook dream
And we lived happily ever after
Fa la la la
But what if I came crying
After just a few weeks
And said I misread my heart
This is not really meant to be? yeah
So if you hear some knocking
On your window tonight
You can bet that its probably me
But let it be known
That were just a pair of tumbling dice
And the outcome of these crap shoots
Is hard to see
So what if I came knocking?
So what if I came knocking?
So what if I came knocking
On your front door tonight? ahh
So what if I came knocking?
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knocking
Kick, kick, kick
What if I came knocking
On your front porch tonight, tonight?
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Pull A String, A Puppet Moves
each man must realize
that it can all disappear very
quickly:
the cat, the woman, the job,
the front tire,
the bed, the walls, the
room; all our necessities
including love,
rest on foundations of sand -
and any given cause,
no matter how unrelated:
the death of a boy in Hong Kong
or a blizzard in Omaha ...
can serve as your undoing.
all your chinaware crashing to the
kitchen floor, your girl will enter
and you'll be standing, drunk,
in the center of it and she'll ask:
my god, what's the matter?
and you'll answer: I don't know,
I don't know ...
poem by Charles Bukowski
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Lost Dancer
Spatial depths of being survive
The birth to death recurrences
Of feet dancing on earth of sand;
Vibrations of the dance survive
The sand; the sand, elect, survives
The dancer. He can find no source
Of magic adequate to bind
The sand upon his feet, his feet
Upon his dance, his dance upon
The diamond body of his being.
poem by Jean Toomer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Death Is Calling At My Door
Death is calling at my door,
Knock Knock not another joke.
This time I'm actually scared.
The call of death is at my door,
Knocking..... Knocking.....
Awaiting an answer,
My body gets cold as I start to shiver.
All sorts of things are happening to my body,
Not accustom to it; it got me worried.
I am feeling like I am going to die,
I don't. I want to stay alive.
I don't know what it is,
For all I know it could be a disease.
I spoke to my mother who said it is normal and I am alright,
But the symptoms I am getting insist to pry.
The knocking on the door becomes more as I go closer.
I want it to go away let me live to see another day.
I open the door ready to take my last breath,
Shockingly death had the wrong address
poem by Anita Khelawan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sand Storm
We make our way along Bournemouth prom,
To a favourite pub of ours, for a lazy late lunch.
But long before we ever make it that far along,
Our mouths fill with sand, on which we crunch.
The sand from the beach is being blown by the wind.
We watch it as we walk along the almost endless prom.
Despite having to battle through the gusting gale,
It’s quite a novelty to see the sand being blown along.
The fine granules form ever moving designs.
Many an interesting pattern the sand makes.
As it’s perpetually blown this way and that,
It twists and turns and twirls, just like snakes.
The sand has collected in patches here and there,
And some of them really are pretty deep.
Rather than walking along the tarmac prom,
We could almost be walking along the actual beach!
As I walk through the large patches of sand,
The granules collect in both of my shoes.
But I walk through patch after patch en route:
I don’t mind, as, me, it does quite amuse.
The wind whips the sand up into a frenzy.
It’s in my mouth, my eyes and in my hair.
Sand is being blown all over the place.
In fact, it seems to be almost everywhere!
I happen to place my hand on the back of my neck,
And I can feel sand there, just below my head.
The next morning, when I get up and look,
There are grains of sand near the foot of my bed!
It was really nice to have a small reminder
Of our very enjoyable, but tiring, day out.
I do so love going down to Bournemouth.
We’ll be back there soon without a doubt!
poem by Angela Wybrow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Sand & The Sea
-artist: nat king cole
-peak billboard position # 23 in 1955
-words and music by hal hester and barry parker
If I find peace of mind in the sand and the sea
Theres a hope in my heart that youll soon be with me
Theres a prayer that I share with the sand and the sea
And it cries come to me, come to me.
As my eyes search the skies from the edge of the shore
You are here in my arms for a moment or more
Then a tear rushes down to the sand and the sea
And it cries come to me, come to me.
But as long as theres sand, as long as theres sea
As long as theres time Ill wait hopefully
As long as theres heaven up above
Let the sand and the sea bring my love to me
But as long as theres sand, as long as theres sea
As long as theres time Ill wait hopefully
As long as theres heaven up above
Let the sand and the sea bring my love to me
song performed by by Nat King Cole
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Never Empty
Do you ever muse what houses do
while you're at work, the kids at school,
how the traffic roars as it rolls on by
and the telephone rings with no reply.
The refrigerator sings its refrigerator tune
and the gas man calls in the afternoon.
How rain pours through that hole in the roof
and the ants infest all the children's shoes.
Have you ever thought on that dear folk,
when you're out all day and the front door's locked.
When the spiders dance and crickets chirp
with their clod hopper feet on the skirting boards,
making merriment while you're away,
assuming the house is empty all day.
Have you ever looked under old floor boards
where the mice all run when the cat's at play
and the spiders return at the break of day.
Only the house knows what goes on,
only its walls see the spiders run
and the crickets dance and the mice at play,
only the house when you're all away
except for the clock on the kitchen wall
with its heart ever beating the time of day.
poem by Ruth Walters
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Vanishing Act
my father is having to leave the house
with delicacy, easing the dead bolt open
in the dark. The house exhales him.
I'm thinking of a driving lay-up, of a girl
in homeroom, blue necklace, brown skin.
Transistor radio on my pillow, volume low.
I know some things, not enough. My eyes
are closed, I'm listening hard, that song
again, Knock down the old gray wall,
my father standing beside his car—gone,
key in his hand, snowflakes in his hair.
At dawn, an Indian head test pattern will stare
from the TV, the freezer will churn out
its automatic ice. On the windowsill
an iris in a vase will have taken
the last water into its cut stem. I will
notice it, how it is there, and had
stood there the whole time, that flower.
poem by Chris Forhan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sand On My Shoes
As I sit by the sea
Drink tequila by the shade of a tree
Theres a seniorita sat on my knee
Sprinkling sand all over me
Ive got sand on my shoes
Ive lost everything that Im gonna lose
Ive got nothing but the sun and the moon
And the sand thats on the beach
I am happy though my shoes are tattered and torn
Because the sea is so shiney
Ba ba-um-ba
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba-um-ba
Ive got sand on my shoes
Thought I was civilized
Till I saw the sea and I realized
That the city life was just not for me
Left my troubles behind me
Ba ba-um-ba
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba-um-ba
Ive got sand on my shoes
Ive got nothing else that Im gonna lose
Ive got nothing but the sun and the moon
And thats plenty for me
Ive got sand on my shoes
Ive got sand on my shoes
Ive got sand on my shoes
Sand on my shoes
Ba ba ba ba-um-ba
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba-um-ba
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Who are you?
Are you a chameleon?
Always slow and innocent
Ostensibly minding own business
But really employing your camouflage
To escape suspicion and notice
From hideous crimes perpetrated
Are you a mirage?
Always basking in the blazing sun
Seemingly within easy reach
But using your ability to swing swiftly
To avoid a mere touch
Selfishly ensuring your safety.
Are you quick-sand
Always appearing harmless
Obviously just sand to be trodden on
Deceptively using you resemblance of sand
To invite people to trample on you
Swallowing them in the process.
Are you a fair-weather friend
Around when the going is good
Seen when happiness is the mood
Present when partying is the mode
But melts away during hard times
And is never a witness to high tide
Are you an all-weather friend
Around for better or for worse
Seen during parties and funerals
Sincerely sharing in pleasure and pain
A faithful friend in real need
A firm friend indeed.
poem by Emmanuel Oduro
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Promised Land
Watching the sand fall, listening for the knock
Upon my door,
And waiting... for promised land.
Standing neck deep in life,
My ring of brass lay rusting on the floor.
Is this all?
Because its not what I expected.
Somewhere along the way
Friends I once held close fled the fast lane.
I didnt notice, I just had to make it.
Head down, nose in the grindstone;
The kiss of life placed on my brow
Kept sliddin to the ground
And now its buried six feet under.
Preaching from the floor again
The same old sad song,
Bartender... bring another drink for their favorite son.
Where did it all go wrong?
Whats the use in even holding on?
Heres to love, hate... and promises.
Almost called it today.
Turned to face the void
Numb with the suffering
And the question,
Why am i...?
So many times Ive tried and failed to
Gather my courage, reach again for that nail.
Lifes been like
Dragging feet through sand,
And never finding... promised land.
Preaching from the floor again
The same old sad song,
Bartender... bring another drink for their favorite song.
Where did it all go wrong?
I feel like Im dying.
Heres to love, to hate,
To promises and promised land lies.
song performed by by Queensryche
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Written In Sand
Your eyes are the color of the sea
You look my way and the waves
Wash over me
Your body shivers with the
Fading light
You say, baby, lets just make
It last tonight.
And when the morning comes
You take me by the hand
And say our love is written in sand
Written in sand
We hear the ocean roar
Were swept away on to some
Distant shore
You whisper secrets of the heart
They keep us close when the
World keeps us apart
Until tomorrow comes
Time is on our hands
Because this love is written in
Sand
Written in sand
Solo
Nothing lies between
A woman and a man
When their love is written in sand
When their love is written in sand
When their love is written in sand
song performed by by Santana
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Wind bride
Without you my days are empty,
as if blown by the wind,
as if everything is swept away
like pieces of sand
into another place,
into another sombre world
where clouds knot through the air
melting into each other
and even some of the flowers
have the colours of your eyes
the winter grass
looks almost like your hair (only the colour differs)
and when you suddenly knock on the front door
standing there with rain and wind
stringing your hair
your arms shoot round my neck.
When I draw you in through the front door
your hair is swept against me,
while I am lost in your eyes,
and you are like Kokoschka’s wind bride.
[References: After the painting of Oskar Kokoschka. Windsbruid (Windy-bride) by H. J. Pieterse.]
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Shifting the House
He lived in my heart for a long time
When life was in its metre and rhyme.
When the house became shabby
He was reminded of his old hobby.
He searched out a house newly raised
Day and night its beauty he praised.
Then one day he took all his luggage
And left the house bag and baggage.
He was welcomed with open arms
He got lost in its fascinating charms.
He enjoyed a long passage of time
As long as life was in its rhyme.
Insted of house now he became old
Over the change he had no hold.
Now the house wanted to shift him
Because the light of his eyes was dim.
Wrinkles are not to be cherished
Now he was only to perish.
According to the misery's demand
He was proper for dust or sand.
He wa kinly sent to a house of clay
It was the dropp scene of life's play.
As it was a house most shabby
To change house was his hobby.
He was waiting for a good shift
That may prove a good gift.
poem by Prof Niamat Ali Murtazai
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I miss my little girl
I miss my little girl
who came into my world
so tiny and so small.
I still remember fondly
the very day you're born
and being so afraid
to hold you in my arms
scared to drop you down.
I miss you being little,
playing hide and seek.
I miss going to the park,
pushing your swing away,
or playing together in the sand.
I miss carrying you on my back,
running thru the house,
giggling and laughing away.
I miss so much those little big things...
But time flies fast...
You are a teenager now,
not little anymore,
not playing any games
with your old dad,
not going to the park,
and playing in the sand,
or swinging in the swing,
and no more hide and seek.
Now you are a little rebel
in your own little world,
with your teenagers friends,
socializing on Tik Tok
or talking on the phone away,
Dad still missing his little girl
remembering the fun old days
when you were little and innocent...
But no matter how old you will be,
or wherever you will go,
I will always stick by you.
You will never grow big enough
to outgrow your daddy’s heart!
There will always be someone,
who needs you and love you
and that someone is - Dad!
poem by Viorel Vintila
Submitted by Viorel Vintila
Vote! | Copy!
Mad Man Moon
Was it summer when the river ran dry,
Or was it just another dam.
When the evil of a snowflake in june
Could still be a source of relief.
O how I love you, I once cried long ago,
But I was the one who decided to go.
To search beyond the final crest,
Though Id heard it said just birds could dwell so high.
So I pretended to have wings for my arms
And took off in the air.
I flew to places which the clouds never see,
Too close to the deserts of sand,
Where a thousand mirages, the shepherds of lies
Forced me to land and take a disguise.
I would welcome a horses kick to send me back
If I could find a horse not made of sand.
If this deserts all therell ever be
Then tell me what becomes of me.
A fall of rain?
That must have been another of your dreams,
A dream of mad man moon.
Hey man,
Im the sand man.
And boy have I news for you;
Theyre gonna throw you in gaol
And you know they cant fail
cos sand is thicker than blood.
But a prison in sand
Is a haven in hell,
For a gaol can give you a goal
[and a] goal can find you a role
On a muddy pitch in newcastle,
Where it rains so much
You cant wait for a touch
Of sun and sand, sun and sand...
Within the valley of shadowless death
They pray for thunderclouds and rain,
But to the multitude who stand in the rain
Heaven is where the sun shines.
The grass will be greener till the stems turn to brown
And thoughts will fly higher till the earth brings them down.
Forever caught in desert lands one has to learn
To disbelieve the sea.
If this deserts all therell ever be
Then tell me what becomes of me.
A fall of rain?
That must have been another of your dreams,
A dream of mad man moon.
song performed by by Genesis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!