Ambrose Bierce

A 'Mass' Meeting

It was a solemn rite as e'er
Was seen by mortal man.
The celebrants, the people there,
Were all Republican.

There Estee bent his grizzled head,
And General Dimond, too,
And one-'twas Reddick, some one said,
Though no one clearly knew.

I saw the priest, white-robed and tall
(Assistant, Father Stow)-
He was the pious man men call
Dan Burns of Mexico.

Ah, 'twas a high and holy rite
As any one could swear.
'What does it mean?' I asked a wight
Who knelt apart in prayer.

'A mass for the repose,' he said,
'Of Colonel Markham's'--'What,
Is gallant Colonel Markham dead?
'Tis sad, 'tis sad, God wot!'

'A mass'-repeated he, and rose
To go and kneel among
The worshipers-'for the repose
Of Colonel Markham's tongue.'

poem by Ambrose BierceReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Related quotes

William Butler Yeats

Colonel Martin

THE Colonel went out sailing,
He spoke with Turk and Jew,
With Christian and with Infidel,
For all tongues he knew.
'O what's a wifeless man?' said he,
And he came sailing home.
He rose the latch and went upstairS
And found an empty room.
The Colonel went out sailing.
'I kept her much in the country
And she was much alone,
And though she may be there,' he said,
'She may be in the town.
She may be all alone there,
For who can say?' he said.
'I think that I shall find her
In a young man's bed.'
The Colonel went out sailing.

III
The Colonel met a pedlar,
Agreed their clothes to swop,
And bought the grandest jewelry
In a Galway shop,
Instead of thread and needle
put jewelry in the pack,
Bound a thong about his hand,
Hitched it on his back.
The Colonel wcnt out sailing.
The Colonel knocked on the rich man's door,
'I am sorry,' said the maid,
'My mistress cannot see these things,
But she is still abed,
And never have I looked upon
Jewelry so grand.'
'Take all to your mistress,'
And he laid them on her hand.
The Colonel went out sailing.
And he went in and she went on
And both climbed up the stair,
And O he was a clever man,
For he his slippers wore.
And when they came to the top stair
He ran on ahead,
His wife he found and the rich man
In the comfort of a bed.
The Colonel went out sailing.
The Judge at the Assize Court,
When he heard that story told,
Awarded him for damages
Three kegs of gold.
The Colonel said to Tom his man,
'Harness an ass and cart,
Carry the gold about the town,
Throw it in every patt.'
The Colonel went out sailing.

VII
And there at all street-corners
A man with a pistol stood,
And the rich man had paid them well
To shoot the Colonel dead;
But they threw down their pistols
And all men heard them swear
That they could never shoot a man
Did all that for the poor.
The Colonel went out sailing.

VIII
'And did you keep no gold, Tom?
You had three kegs,' said he.
'I never thought of that, Sir.'
'Then want before you die.'
And want he did; for my own grand-dad
Saw the story's end,
And Tom make out a living
From the seaweed on the strand.
The Colonel went out sailing.

poem by William Butler YeatsReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

I still have an old painting the Colonel gave me. It was the first time the Colonel had been back to the Hilton since Elvis had passed away.

quote by Mac DavisReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

I remember serving in Vietnam in that war, and many of us at the major Lieutenant Colonel, colonel level were frustrated that no one in the U.S. wanted to debate it that way.

quote by William OdomReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

I met the Colonel when Elvis was recording some song I'd written for one of his movies. Elvis was just having fun with the gang and all the Memphis boys and Colonel Parker was sitting over here in like a theater seat.

quote by Mac DavisReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Yes. I was the first female colonel. I enjoyed being that kind of role model for young women watching the show. A woman can be a colonel! A woman can be in charge! Those were new ideas then.

quote by Erin GrayReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

The Separation

We knew too little of the world,
And you and I were good—
’Twas paltry things that wrecked our lives
As well I knew they would.
The people said our love was dead,
But how were they to know?
Ah! had we loved each other less
We’d not have quarrelled so.
We knew too little of the world,
And you and I were kind,
We listened to what others said
And both of us were blind.
The people said ’twas selfishness,
But how were they to know?
Ah! had we both more selfish been
We’d not have parted so.

But still when all seems lost on earth
Then heaven sets a sign—
Kneel down beside your lonely bed,
And I will kneel by mine,
And let us pray for happy days—
Like those of long ago.
Ah! had we knelt together then
We’d not have parted so.

poem by Henry LawsonReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

The Relief of Mafeking

Success to Colonel Baden-Powell and his praises loudly sing,
For being so brave in relieving Mafeking,
With his gallant little band of eight hundred men,
They made the Boers fly from Mafeking like sheep escaping from a pen.

'Twas in the year of 1900 and on the 18th of May,
That Colonel Baden-Powell beat the Boers without dismay,
And made them fly from Mafeking without delay,
Which will be handed down to posterity for many a day.

Colonel Baden-Powell is a very brave man,
And to deny it, I venture to say, few men can;
He is a noble hero be it said,
For at the siege of Mafeking he never was afraid.

And during the siege Colonel Baden was cheerful and gay,
While the starving population were living on brawn each day;
And alas! the sufferings of the women and children were great,
But they all submitted patiently to their fate.

For seven months besieged they fought the Boers without dismay,
Until at last the Boers were glad to run away;
Because Baden-Powell's gallant band put them to flight
By cannon shot and volleys of musketry to the left and right.

Then long live Baden-Powell and his brave little band,
For during the siege of Mafeking they made a bold stand
Against yelling thousands of Boers who were thirsting for their blood,
But as firm as a rock against them they fearlessly stood.

Oh! think of them living on brawn extracted from horse hides,
While the inhuman Boers their sufferings deride,
Knowing that the women's hearts with grief were torn
As they looked on their children's faces that looked sad and forlorn.

For 217 days the Boers tried to obtain Mafeking's surrender,
But their strategy was futile owing to its noble defender,
Colonel Baden-Powell, that hero of renown,
Who, by his masterly generalship, saved the town.

Methinks I see him and his gallant band,
Looking terror to the foe: Oh! The sight was really grand,
As he cried, "Give it them, lads; let's do or die;
And from Mafeking we'll soon make them fly,
And we'll make them rue their rash undertaking
The day they laid siege to the town of Mafeking."

Long life and prosperity to Colonel Baden-Powell,
For there's very few generals can him excel;
And he is now the Hero of Mafeking, be it told,
And his name should be engraved on medals of gold.

I wish him and his gallant little band every success,
For relieving the people of Mafeking while in distress;
They made the Boers rue their rash undertaking
The day they laid siege to the town of Mafeking.

For during the defence of Mafeking
From grief he kept the people's hearts from breaking,
Because he sang to them and did recite
Passages from Shakespeare which did their hearts delight.

poem by William Topaz McGonagallReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

You can live a lifetime and, at the end of it, know more about other people than you know about yourself.

quote by Beryl MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Political Wreath Thirteen Jet Black Roses

Mr Sarkozy cast into limelight faces
huge pressure to explain himself;
his patron Colonel Gaddafi is dead
Mr Sarkozy disloyal bit hand that fed;

French jets bombed his patron Gaddafi's
Libya at beck and call of Barack Obama;
Gaddafi George W. Bush's intimate friend
in Holy Grail ‘War On Terror' declared;

now view dearest dictator friends
who have so recently prey fallen;
Libya's Leader Colonel Gaddafi
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak;

Iraq's President Saddam Hussein
master of state torture mass murders;
infamous secret police, rape, abductions,
method assassinations, chemical weapons;

politics is a dirty deck of cards
dealer deals stealth death cards
did Sarkozy send patron Gaddafi
wreath thirteen jet black roses?


See also the poem ‘A Nail In Nicolas Sarkozy's Coffin'.

poem by Terence George CraddockReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

Oft when the white, still dawn lifted the skies and pushed the hills apart, I have felt it like a glory in my heart.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

It is better to rust out than wear out.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

There is a destiny which makes us brothers; none goes his way alone. All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; let us now commit it to life.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

There is a destiny That makes us brothers None goes his way alone All that we send into the lives of others Comes back into our own.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

To throw oneself to the side of the oppressed is the only dignified thing to do in life.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

A good action is never lost; it is a treasure laid up and guarded for the doer's need.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

The crest and crowning of all good, life's final star, is Brotherhood.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Tim Horton's Trattoria

How can it be

Lasagna in the world of fast food parody
Of course its factory frozen long ago
Things are getting weird along fast food row

Try eating this on the go
Fowl cries the Colonel of long ago
With his famous finger liken jingle in tow

Is this the fate of Tim Horton’s we know
Can sailor’s share A ground soldier’s battle field and still hold the line
The Colonel of chicken fame knew this ethical line

His advertisement never did patronize
Poke fun, lead on or try to manipulize
Now along comes Timmies to shake down the free
All over a simple cup of coffee

poem by Nick krakanaReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Edwin Markham

For all your days be prepared, and meet them ever alike. When you are the anvil, bear - when you are the hammer, strike.

quote by Edwin MarkhamReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share