Ambrose Bierce

The Valley Of The Shadow Of Theft

In fair Yosemite, that den of thieves
Wherein the minions of the moon divide
The travelers' purses, lo! the Devil grieves,
His larger share as leader still denied.

El Capitan, foreseeing that _his_ reign
May be disputed too, beclouds his head.
The joyous Bridal Veil is torn in twain
And the crepe steamer dangles there instead.

The Vernal Fall abates her pleasant speed
And hesitates to take the final plunge,
For rumors reach her that another greed
Awaits her in the Valley of the Sponge.

The Brothers envy the accord of mind
And peace of purpose (by the good deplored
As honor among Commissioners) which bind
That confraternity of crime, the Board.

The Half-Dome bows its riven face to weep,
But not, as formerly, because bereft:
Prophetic dreams afflict him when asleep
Of losing his remaining half by theft.

Ambitious knaves! has not the upper sod
Enough of room for every crime that crawls
But you must loot the Palaces of God
And daub your filthy names upon the walls?

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

Share

Related quotes

Half The World

Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
Half the world hates
What half the world does every day
Half the world waits
While half gets on with it anyway
Half the world lives
Half the world makes
Half the world gives
While the other half takes
Half the world is
Half the world was
Half the world thinks
While the other half does
Half the world talks
With half a mind on what they say
Half the world walks
With half a mind to run away
Half the world lies
Half the world learns
Half the world flies
As half the world turns
Half the world cries
Half the world laughs
Half the world tries
To be the other half
Half of us divided like a torn-up photograph half of us are
Trying to reach the other half
Half the world cares
While half the world is wasting the day
Half the world shares
While half the world is stealing away

song performed by by RushReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Video Crime

Aint got room for charity
Skeletons man
Me, Im crawling with no cash
Chop it up
Me, Im looking for hot flesh
Chop it up
This skeletons mine
Chop it up
Chop it up
Blood on video-video crime
Video crime
Needles and pins and video crime
Video crime
Ive got dollars-Ive got sense
Wonder where the third world went
Aint got time for honeymoon
Chop it up
Trash time bundy, death row chic
Chop it up
Haunt this street from half past ten
Chop it up
Blood on video-video crime
Video crime
Needles and pins and video crime
Video crime
Late night cannibal-cripples decay
Just cant tear my eyes away
Aint got no room for charity
This skeletons mine
Aint got room for hollywood
Chop it up
Me, Im crawling with no cash
Chop it up
Blood on video-video crime
Video crime
Needles and pins and video crime
Video crime
Ive got dollars Ive got sense
Wonder where the third world went
Video crime
Chop it up
Video crime
Chop it up
Video crime
Chop it up
Video crime
Chop it up
Video crime
Chop it up

song performed by by David BowieReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Afraid To Sleep

We slept in this room together but now youre gone
And its so quiet I turn the tv on
We lived in this room together we painted the walls
Now time doesnt stand still
It crawls
And Im afraid to sleep
Cuz if I do I dream of you
And dreams are always deep
On the pillow where I weep
I never realized how much I was in love with you
Until you started sleeping with someone new
Last night I dreamed again and you were there
You kissed my face you touched my hair
And Im afraid to sleep
Cuz if I do I dream of you
And dreams are always deep
On the pillow where I weep
Lying alone in the darkness with a memory in my head
Theres a big hole where my heart is
And a lonely feeling rollin round my bed
And Im afraid to sleep
Cuz if I do I dream of you
Im afraid to sleep
Cuz if I do I dream of you
And dreams are always deep
On the pillow where I weep
On the pillow where I weep
Im afraid to sleep.

song performed by by DidoReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Envy beclouds

Envy beclouds one’s judgment.
Envy beclouds one’s opinion.
Don’t seek them from one’s close ones.
07.07.2008

poem by Rm. Shanmugam ChettiarReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Half Blooded Brothers

You my blood half or full were brothers, regardless of what you do to each other, you my brother half or full, .

We keep each other good, you my brother half or full. We take care of each other, because we brothers half or full.

Imma stop trippin, it'll take a while, because im use to bullshittin and prickin, but you my brother half or full.

Stick together we will stay alive, all the bullshit I said, I've been a asshole, shit who hasn't, but you my brother half or full and I guess that's what family does.

Arguments and verbal brutality towards one another is what we do, because we will always be brothers half or full. Blood half or full, it doesn't matter, because we are brothers till the end of time, your my brother half or full.

poem by Arthur V. Miller IIIReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Coming Down Hard On Crime

They're coming down hard on crime.
And this you can believe.
All eyes will open wide.
And deceit and thieves,
Will cease to be.

So hold your head erect!
And know this will happen soon.
And sing a happy song.
Knowing we'll soon be crook free!

Come from behind those bushes,
Children.
Come...
Come sing along with me!
The 'boogeyman' is gone.

They're coming down hard on crime.
Sing...
('Coming down hard on crime...')
And this you can believe.
('This we can believe...')
I think you've got it.
All eyes will open wide
('Our eyes are open wide...
And deceit and thieves have ceased to be.')

Very nice!

Yes...
Deceit and thieves.
('Yes deceit and thieves')
Yes...
Deceit and thieves.
('Yes deceit and thieves')

YES...
DECEIT and THIEVES.
('DECEIT and THIEVES')
Together and raise our voices high!
YES...
DECEIT and THIEVES...
HAVE CEASED
TO
BE!

Marvelous children!
Wasn't that a 'happy tune'?


NOTE:
Doesn't this remind you of 'something' from...
Let's see...
The Sound of Music?
Yes!
When the hills became alive with it!

poem by Lawrence S. PertillarReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Change Myself

Half of me wants to knock you out
Half of me wants to tell you that Im sorry, so sorry
Meanwhile, half of the world wants to scream and
Shout at half of the world
Just like you and i
Just another fact of life
We plan and we scheme
til theres nothing left of our little dream
But half of the time I cant decide and
Half of the time Im petrified
I want to change the world
I want to make it well
How can I change the world
When I cant change myself
Try again tomorrow
Id love to change your mind
Capture your citadel
How could I change your mind
If I cant change myself
Try again tomorrow
Both of us want to win this fight
Both of us think the other is mistaken, so mistaken
Meanwhile, everyone wants to take up sides
So everyone helps us to fall apart
Just another fact of life
Its hard to play fair
And its so easy to pretend to care
But if nobody wants to share the blame
Then everyone gets more of the same
If I want more peace in the world
Then I must make peace with myself
If I want more trust in the world
Then Ive got to trust in myself
If I want more love in the world
I must show more love to myself

song performed by by Todd RundgrenReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Picking Teachers For Their Leader

Strangers!
Come before the darkness of night,
Crawls.
As twilight escorts the rising moon!
Strangers...
Known in dreams.
Whisper of their presence unseen.
But felt...
By a familiar comfort embraced.

My steps cease to seek a quickened pace.
There is no wish for leaving.
I am told in my mind I should stay.
Soft voices dance within rainbowed light!
Sparkling to convince...
I should pray with faith.
And they would make my life right!

Picking teachers for their Leader.
For the One never shown.
The One who through scriptures...
Repeated to make appear,
But left still for them to go unknown.

Picking teachers for their Leader.
How they do it like it's done...
When they come,
Nobody knows.

Their picking teachers for their Leader.
They say He's number One.
Like none other like He,
Upon me with gifts bestowed!

Strangers!
Come before the darkness of night,
Crawls.
As twilight escorts the rising moon!
Strangers...
Known in dreams.
Whisper of their presence unseen.
But felt...
By a familiar comfort embraced.

Their picking teachers for their Leader.
As God demands.
Their picking teachers for their Leader.
As God Commands.
Their picking teachers for their Leader.
And I understand...
Something that I give,
Must be done with giving hands.
And instantly I'm comprehending...
My relationship with my fellowman.

Their picking teachers for their Leader.
Picking teachers for their Leader.
Their picking teachers for their Leader.
Picking teachers for their Leader
Picking teachers for their Leader.
Picking teachers for their Leader!

Strangers!
Come before the darkness of night,
Crawls.
As twilight escorts the rising moon!
Strangers...
Known in dreams.
Whisper of their presence unseen.
But felt...
By a familiar comfort embraced.

Their picking teachers for their Leader.
Picking teachers for their Leader.
Their picking teachers for their Leader.
Picking teachers for their Leader
Picking teachers for their Leader.
Picking teachers for their Leader!

poem by Lawrence S. PertillarReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

The Greatest Crime

The greatest crime is
Silence
The Acquiescence
In Coexistence
Of Palaces and Pavements.
What punishment the crime entails?
Earth looked from Moon
Be Red, Black Red, Thick Red, Blood Red.

poem by Vibhash SurekaReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Love is not a crime, denying it is. Having dreams is not a crime, not chasing them is. Making mistakes is not a crime, not learning from them is. Life is not a crime, not living it is.

quote by Alexander SenturiaReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Crime, And Justice...

crime, and justice,
how do we decide?
the crime committed,
but what caused the crime?

poverty, need,
addiction, hopelessness.
the anger of the owned,
lashing out indiscriminately.

but the choice is still there.
in the final it is!
but violence breeds violence,
and greed breeds violence.

we bury the victim,
listening for footsteps down the hall.
the executioner closes his eyes
as if to absolve.

and we bury another.
those that have still have.
well protected, well insulated,
and the courtroom is empty.

choices?
who owns the choice?
in the final judgement,
whose hands will be clean?

poem by Eric CockrellReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Apathy 83

(ian hunter)
Standin on the edge of vesuvius - my mouth is runnin dry
Drunk on wine & wisdom - giving it all away
Old enough to hate tomorrow - young enough not to know where to run
Oh there aint no rockn roll no more - just the music of the young
Apathy for the devil apathy for the devil
Apathy for the devil ,n apathy for the son.
The moon shines brightly on some summer lawn -
And envy caught like a leaf
Comes floating down upon this frozen desert sand -
Spitting bullets through the night
The siren wails on the ambulance - compassion touches my head n it bleeds
There aint no rockn roll no more just the sickly sound of greed.
And its apathy for the devil and its apathy for the devil
And its apathy for the devil n apathy for the creed
No more gardens for the gardenless - no more - havens for the havenless
No more helpers for the helplessness - no more - somethings for a less
For the law is now the lawless
n the flaw is now the flawless
n the crime is now accepted
n the criminal respected
n now evil gets elected
n now sinful get selected
Heed a president proven rotten now officially forgotten
Was it your general sheridan who once said the only good, good man is a dead good man.
It was not me babe
I just said keep your head n your bread well down under them floorboards
n you - you look like you gone with the wind
Running naked through the streets
Wired out - tired out - transcendental mental - only laughing in your sleep
Nostalgia is starting to focus too late, imagination is starting to itch
There aint no rockn roll no more just the music of the rich
n its apathy for the devil n its apathy for the devil
n its apathy for the devil apathys at fever pitch

song performed by by Ian HunterReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Cultivated Is My Valley

Cultivated Is My Valley

Peaceful is the landscape and the lane that meanders
amongst olive trees, stone walls neatly divide the land
a bit for everyone, but not enough to make you rich.
Here dogs only bark at night have cowardly, yellow eyes
there is no wolf left in these subjugated canines.
In Stockholm when spring comes ice shards fall off roof
tops, split brains in half, gore on snow. On paradise
islands too one has to look out for falling coco- nuts
they can so easily kill a man; but here, in my valley, only
petals of the almond tree flower fall.

Birdsongs and breeze that caresses olive trees, now that’s
peace, ok, so should I not be happy as I contemplate
a carob tree? I see a woman bending down, weeding her
potato field, clouds on the sky are as soft as the mustachio
on a Romanian girl’s upper lip. All this herald peace so
why shouldn’t I be happy, when seeing a flock of cows
with full udders ready to be milked at five? Yet I dream of
galloping horses on the pampas of Argentine, flying mane,
flaring nostrils. This place I tell myself lacks passion, it’s
too tame, or is it me that has been restrained by age?

poem by Oskar HansenReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Sonnet- On Insurance

The modern trend's to insure everything,
Like house and house-hold articles from theft;
As unnatural events, the world can bring,
And penniless, a man can then be left.

Even our life must be insured these days,
As accidents and diseases afflict;
Our profession too must be safe always!
As losses great, life can on us inflict.

Does man insure his soul from devil's theft?
What Policy will guard his soul's good health?
What is the use of soul with grace bereft?
The purity of soul is our best wealth.

Faith is the Policy all men must take;
And preserve soul from sins for Heaven's sake.

poem by John CelesReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

What clever man has ever needed to commit a crime? Crime is the last resort of political half-wits.

quote by Charles Maurice de TalleyrandReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Aim for Success

Past is gone and present today

I recall the events of yesterday

Time sways but future awaits

Of unexpected tidings and joyous dates

So always hope and aim for the best

No doubt you will make up with the rest

What ever your contriving's will end up soon

Just look up at the twinkling stars and moon

You may envy the moon so bright

Wanting to reach up to it's height

So if you have a will so strong

Don't just keep waiting for long

And always remember and bear in mind

To hope for the best and rest you will find

poem by Meena MustafaReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Half The World

Half the world lives,
Half the world makes,
Half the world gives
While the other half takes.

Half the world hates,
Half the world runs away,
Half the world's late,
Half the world praises the day.

Half the world is,
Half the world was,
Half the world thinks,
Half the world does.

Half the world lies,
Half the world burns,
Half the world cries
While the other half turns.

Half the world cares,
Half the world weeps,
Half the world shares,
Half the world keeps.

Half the world sings,
Half the world laughs,
Half the world brings,
Half the world tries to be the other half.

End.

poem by DaegalReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Cuban Crime of Passion

Well now Billy Voltaire was a piano player up from Miami way
He used to play in the bars, he could sound like the stars
Ladies would pay and pay
One night he did wind up playin' in Havana town
Nobody knew, least Billy Voltaire that these were his final sounds
He met up with Meritta, a dancer in from the coast
Half woman, half child, she drove him half wild
He loved that lady the most
One night he did find her in the arms of shrimper Dan
So he pulled a knife, took poor Danny's life
And then he turned his own cold hand

Chorus:
And it's just a Cuban crime of passion
Messy and old fashioned
Yeah, that's what the papers did say
It's just a Cuban crime of passion

Anjejo and knives a slashin'
Yeah but that's what the people like to read about
Up in America, up in America
Well now they never found Meritta, some people say she got ill
Billy Voltaire had no one to claim him, he was buried on paupers hill
And no one talks about em no more, it happened just a week ago
But people get by and people get high
In the tropics they come and they go

Chorus:
And it's just a Cuban crime of passion
Messy and old fashioned
Yeah, that's what the papers did say
It's just a Cuban crime of passion

Anjejo and knives a slashin'
But that's what the people like to read about
Up in America, up in America

song performed by by Jimmy Buffett, music by Jimmy Buffett, Tom Corcoran (1973)Report problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Devil Inside

(a farriss & m hutchence)
Here come the woman
With the look in her eye
Raised on leather
With flesh on her mind
Words as weapons sharper than knives
Makes you wonder how the other half die
Other half die
Here come the man
With the look in his eye
Fed on nothing
But full of pride
Look at them go
Look at them kick
Makes you wonder how the other half live
The devil inside
The devil inside
Every single one of us the devil inside
The devil inside
The devil inside
Every single one of us the devil inside
Here come the world
With the look in its eye
Future uncertain but certainly slight
Look at the faces
Listen to the bells
Its hard to believe we need a place called hell

song performed by by INXSReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Why There's No Peace

Too many people are half asleep.
With one eye closed,
And the other that peeks.
When they are alone,
They hear a door that creaks.
And maybe to their feet,
They just might leap!

Where is that peace,
We've been praying to believe in?
And where do gossipers at night go?
The ones who claim to see,
Everything from their windows?

Too many people are half asleep.
With one eye closed,
And the other that peeks.
When they are alone,
They hear a door that creaks.
And maybe to their feet,
They just might leap!

Nobody's feeling safe behind doors anymore.
And those who snore loudly,
Are told they bore!

Where is that peace,
We've been praying to believe in?
Too many people are half asleep.

Where is that peace,
We've been praying to believe in?
Too many people are half asleep.

And where do gossipers at night go?
The ones who claim to see,
Everything from their windows?

Nobody's feeling safe behind doors anymore.
And those who snore loudly,
Are told they bore!

Too many people are half asleep.
And bored with each other,
That is why there's no peace!

Too many people are half asleep.
And bored with each other,
That is why there's no peace!

Too many people are half asleep.
Too many people are half asleep.
And bored with each other,
That is why there's no peace!

poem by Lawrence S. PertillarReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share