The Allies
August 14th, 1914
Into the brazen, burnished sky, the cry hurls itself. The zigzagging cry
of hoarse throats, it floats against the hard winds, and binds the head
of the serpent to its tail, the long snail-slow serpent of marching men.
Men weighed down with rifles and knapsacks, and parching with war.
The cry jars and splits against the brazen, burnished sky.
This is the war of wars, and the cause? Has this writhing worm of men
a cause?
Crackling against the polished sky is an eagle with a sword. The eagle is red
and its head is flame.
In the shoulder of the worm is a teacher.
His tongue laps the war-sucked air in drought, but he yells defiance
at the red-eyed eagle, and in his ears are the bells of new philosophies,
and their tinkling drowns the sputter of the burning sword. He shrieks,
'God damn you! When you are broken, the word will strike out new shoots.'
His boots are tight, the sun is hot, and he may be shot, but he is in
the shoulder of the worm.
A dust speck in the worm's belly is a poet.
He laughs at the flaring eagle and makes a long nose with his fingers.
He will fight for smooth, white sheets of paper, and uncurdled ink.
The sputtering sword cannot make him blink, and his thoughts are
wet and rippling. They cool his heart.
He will tear the eagle out of the sky and give the earth tranquillity,
and loveliness printed on white paper.
The eye of the serpent is an owner of mills.
He looks at the glaring sword which has snapped his machinery
and struck away his men.
But it will all come again, when the sword is broken to a million dying stars,
and there are no more wars.
Bankers, butchers, shop-keepers, painters, farmers - men, sway and sweat.
They will fight for the earth, for the increase of the slow, sure roots
of peace, for the release of hidden forces. They jibe at the eagle
and his scorching sword.
One! Two! - One! Two! - clump the heavy boots. The cry hurtles
against the sky.
Each man pulls his belt a little tighter, and shifts his gun
to make it lighter. Each man thinks of a woman, and slaps out a curse
at the eagle. The sword jumps in the hot sky, and the worm crawls on
to the battle, stubbornly.
This is the war of wars, from eye to tail the serpent has one cause:
PEACE!
poem by Amy Lowell
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Related quotes
It's time for a little timelessness
I said to the stone,
What time is it?
The stone was silent.
I said to the eagle,
What day is it?
The eagle looked fiercely at me,
Then turned its head away.
I said to the oak tree,
How long were you there?
Silently, the oak tree grew.
I said to the worm,
How long will you take?
The worm continued on its way.
I said to the river,
What takes you so long?
The river ran as ever.
I said to the sun,
Shall we meet here tomorrow?
Shining, the sun gave no sign.
I said to the milk,
When was I born?
Flowing, the milk had no answer.
I said to the earth,
When will you expect me?
The earth held its peace.
And Pooh Bear looked at me very seriously
and said,
‘It’s always time for something..’
poem by Michael Shepherd
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When The Eagle Cries
Another day, just like any other
out of the blue, it turned to horror
How could they? Why would they?
The innocents suffered hell's inferno
An senseless act that goes unforgotten
How could they? They will pay.
(Chorus)
When the Eagle Cries (5x)
Out of the ashes came a tempted vengeance,
but we are focused, we seek redemption
we are free, we'll stay free
All they've done, is make us stronger
The sleeping giant, is asleep no longer
If need be, we'll die free
(Chorus)
When the Eagle Cries (blood will flow)
When the Eagle Cries (for freedom's fight)
When the Eagle Cries (we love us all)
When the Eagle Cries (we'll sacrifice)
When the Eagle Cries
When the Eagle Cries (blood will flow)
When the Eagle Cries they made us stronger (for freedoms fight)
When the Eagle Cries we'll sacrifice (we love us all)
When the Eagle Cries for freedom's fight (we'll sacrifice)
When the Eagle Cries
song performed by by Iced Earth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Story About Guilt and Pity...
there are two kinds of people in this world. You know it. The swindler and the swindled. The one who felt swindled and the one who never admits that he swindled.They are brothers.
a man of high rank, feeling guilty about his rise to the skies, the lonely eagle
that eats monkeys for lunch and dinner and shares it to no one.
descends to the plains
walk on the grass and degrades
its being to be with
the simplest creature, the worm and the snail,
thinking that these two deserve
to be raised from their
lowly, damp, slow
and dark state,
only to be infected by the
virus of the worm
the bacteria of the snail
and these lowly creatures
claim the triumph over the eagle
who in its fancy to be
belittled
finds his ultimate death...
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Dignity
at par
with you
my equal
in this fight
you are
so gentle
when i
lose the grip of
my sword and it falls
on the ground
you have the courage
to pick it up
for me and tell
me
i need it most now
and then
the point of the sword
now faces
frozen at the eye
of my heart
i stare
coldly and i perspire
to the thought
of my death
at this point
you say
tnanks it is fair
and i look at
you again
at par
shoulder to shoulder
my equal
you let me go
you put your sword
in your scabbard
and take the stride
on your white horse
and leave me
agape my mouth
opens
you are at par
with me
my equal
you have all the chance
to kill me at once
but you didn't
you make me live
now
a new man
a fighter rising from his fall
gentle and
brave as ever
to fight
my own wars.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Eagle When She Flies
Shes been there, God knows, shes been there
She has seen and done it all
Shes a woman, she know how to
Dish it out or take it all
Her hearts as soft as feathers
Still she weathers stormy skies
And shes a sparrow when shes broken
But shes an eagle when she flies
A kaleidoscope of colors
You can toss her around and round
You can keep her in you vision
But youll never keep her down
Shes a lover, shes a mother
Shes a friend and shes a wife
And shes a sparrow when shes broken
But shes an eagle when she flies
Gentle as the sweet magnolia
Strong as steel, her faith and pride
Shes an everlasting shoulder
Shes the leaning post of life
She hurts deep and when she weeps
Shes just as fragile as a child
And shes a sparrow when shes broken
But shes an eagle when she flies
Tag:
Shes a sparrow when shes broken
But shes an eagle when she flies
Oh, bless her, lord
Shes an eagle when she flies
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Links
The little and the great are joined in one
By God's great force. The wondrous golden sun
Is linked unto the glow-worm's tiny spark;
The eagle soars to heaven in his flight;
And in those realms of space, all bathed in light,
Soar none except the eagle and the lark.
poem by Emma Lazarus
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Lines on an incident observed from the deck of a steamboat on the Mississippi river
Where the dark primeval forests
Rise against the western sky
And "the Father of the Waters"
In his strength goes rushing by:
There an eagle, flying earthward
From his eyrie far above,
With a serpent of the forest
In a fierce encounter strove.
Now he gains and now he loses,
Now he frees his ruffled wings;
And now high in air he rises;
But the serpent round him clings.
In that death embrace entwining,
Now they sink and now they rise;
But the serpent wins the battle
With the monarch of the skies.
Yet his wings still struggle upward,
Though that crushing weight they bear;
But more feebly those broad pinions
Strike the waves of upper air.
Down to earth he sinks a captive
In that writhing, living chain;
Never o'er the blue horizon
Will his proud form sweep again.
Never more in lightning flashes
Will his eye of terror gleam
Round the high and rocky eyrie,
Where his lonely eaglets scream.
Oh majestic, royal eagle,
Soaring sunward from thy birth,
Thou hast lost the realm of heaven
For one moment on the earth!
poem by Anne Lynch Botta from Poems (1848)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Last battle
I have no wars
Left in me.
I am broken
Except in will.
My strength left
Is but for a few battles.
My sword
Has grown heavy,
My hand weak.
The only strength left
Is in my heart.
Let my will then
Carry the fight for me.
Let my will
Bring me honor
Let my will
Swing the sword
For freedom
Let my will
Carry me to
My last battle
'Live free or die'
poem by James Timothy Jarrett
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Even leaves beg me'' says Eagle
eagle, niggard and black
perched on sycomore on Nile bank
tasty fish gambolled in water
at lightening speed eagle caught
tasty fish and scrambled out
eagle flew and perched on a tree
man was under a tree
and glanced at what sat on tree
eagle and man eyes met at ninety angle
eagle flew away saying
''man may conjure him
by evil eyes''
eagle flew and perched on second tree
some birds were on that tree
Eagle and others birds eyes met at ninety angle
eagle flew away saying he
'' choke as birds watch him eating''
Eagle flew and perched on third tree
the breeze shook leaves of tree
eagle saw leaves unfolded shaking
like a begging hand
eagle flew away saying
'' everything beg me , even leaves
beg me too''
Eagle flew and perched on fourth withered tree
no birds, men and leaves around there
only exrtreme silence around there
eagle ate tasty fish
sang in loudest resounding voice
''eel fish and tasty fish are not the same
I ate tasyty fish until heart palpitated in happiness''
poem by David Aoloch Bion
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Modern Love XXVI: Love Ere He Bleeds
Love ere he bleeds, an eagle in high skies,
Has earth beneath his wings: from reddened eve
He views the rosy dawn. In vain they weave
The fatal web below while far he flies.
But when the arrow strikes him, there's a change.
He moves but in the track of his spent pain,
Whose red drops are the links of a harsh chain,
Binding him to the ground, with narrow range.
A subtle serpent then has Love become.
I had the eagle in my bosom erst:
Henceforward with the serpent I am cursed.
I can interpret where the mouth is dumb.
Speak, and I see the side-lie of a truth.
Perchance my heart may pardon you this deed:
But be no coward:--you that made Love bleed,
You must bear all the venom of his tooth!
poem by George Meredith
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We Walk Together
An eagle that can't fly
Is no longer and eagle
A wolf that can't howl
Is no longer a wolf
A man that can't love
Is no longer a man...
I feel of the eagle and of the wolf,
I am the man who has lost his love.
I walk the long dirt road
The wolf by my side
And the eagle on my shoulder
Together we walk
All having lost,
None knowing what the future may hold...
poem by Jeffery Brunner
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The Eagle and The Bear
The eagle's strength to compare that
of the bear this is how they fair the bear
can rip apart anything standing there
yet the eagle can fly through the air
the mighty physical strength of the bear must
stay on the ground in a limited area
around yet the eagle's strength of us do share
it's in every heart and on something's we wear
it shows the strength of the eagle for all to share
the eagle and the bear.
poem by David J. Pipkin
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An Old Eagle.
An Eagle Stands on the top of cliff,
Waiting for a way West Wind,
It stands so long in waiting,
Just for the wind to come.
The right wind comes,
This eagle feels so lonely to start flying,
It is ready to fly six thousand miles away,
How a long and lonely journey to go?
Suddenly it wants to give up a great dream.
How a great eagle will struggle on its way?
Why it did not do it earlier and younger?
The right wind passes vainly with no use.
The pitiful eagle is growing older and older.
What will be the next great job for this eagle?
Oh poor eagle, take it easy don’t look up so high.
You are not the new hero at nowadays.
Suddenly a way west wind blows pass,
that only brings you a loneliness.
poem by Albert Wong
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The Eagle wasn't always the Eagle. The Eagle, before he became the Eagle, was Yucatangee, the Talker. Yucatangee talked and talked. It talked so much it heard only itself. Not the river, not the wind, not even the Wolf. The Raven came and said The Wolf is hungry. If you stop talking, you'll hear him. The wind too. And when you hear the wind, you'll fly. So he stopped talking. And became its nature, the Eagle. The Eagle soared, and its flight said all it needed to say.
quote by Robin Green
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Slithering Serpent
Slithering down a slimy slope,
the serpent dared to hope,
for the eagle's nest left an egg,
to satisfy his hunger dread.
This eagle soared with wings held high,
far away through the sky,
for the egg was rotten, stinking vile,
for the snake it would be so satisfying to rile.
This present became a nail too,
for the snake only wanted to avoid the blue,
through the mountains it slithered away,
though its gnawing hunger would not abate,
Writhing in agony it stroke out,
at all the world did it silently shout,
as its wings worry did send
that its journey was almost at an end.
None understood, this serpent had a chance
to be more than just a thief, and enhance
those others around, by being that which they did not fear,
till no longer could those lies it hear,
Its cries filled the world at this last cruel joke,
for the paltry few it had dared to poke.
poem by Kevin Maroney
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Gravitational Defiance
Flying like an eagle
Every day of my life
Not like a chicken
Just to avoid strife
Defying gravity
Refusing to lose
Not by luck or chance
But because I Choose
I am bold and brave
Mounting in the sky
Ever Conquering
Until the day I die
Like an eagle
Fly eagle fly
poem by Howard Simon
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Today... 'The Glorious Sword
There is a Sword that is so sharp and so keen
the most Glorious Sword that has ever been.
Mighty in battle He has slain all His foes
and will have victory wherever He goes.
The Word of Truth and the Sword of the Spirit
overcame death and shall all things inherit.
He breaks our shackles and scatters all His foes
with His glory heaven and earth overflows.
Christ the Son of God is that Glorious Sword
Saviour of the world and Everlasting Lord.
Devils fear and angels sing as He draws near
And all creation waits for Him to appear.
(see also the additional information in the Poet's notes box below)
A War Song Of Tyrol
'WILD eagle of the Tyrol,
Why are thy feathers red?'
'I 've been to greet the morning
On Ortler's crimsoned head!'
'Gray eagle of the Tyrol,
'T is not the morning light
Drips from the soaring pinions
That wing thine airy flight.
'Proud eagle of the Tyrol,
Why are thy claws so red?'
'I 've been where Etschland's maidens
The ruddy vintage tread.'
'Gray eagle of the Tyrol,
Red runs our Tyrol wine;
But redder ran the vintage
That stained those claws of thine.
'Wild eagle of the Tyrol,
Why is thy beak so red?'
'Go ask the gorge of Stilfes,
Where lie the Saxon dead!
'The grapes were ripe in August
Wherewith my beak is red;
The vines that gave that vintage
No other wine will shed:
My beak is red with battle;
I've been among the dead!'
poem by Silas Weir Mitchell
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Sumter In Ruins
I.
Ye batter down the lion's den,
But yet the lordly beast g'oes free;
And ye shall hear his roar again,
From mountain height, from lowland glen,
From sandy shore and reedy fen--
Where'er a band of freeborn men
Rears sacred shrines to liberty.
II.
The serpent scales the eagle's nest,
And yet the royal bird, in air,
Triumphant wins the mountain's crest,
And sworn for strife, yet takes his rest,
And plumes, to calm, his ruffled breast,
Till, like a storm-bolt from the west,
He strikes the invader in his lair.
III.
What's loss of den, or nest, or home,
If, like the lion, free to go;--
If, like the eagle, wing'd to roam,
We span the rock and breast the foam,
Still watchful for the hour of doom,
When, with the knell of thunder-boom,
We bound upon the serpent foe!
IV.
Oh! noble sons of lion heart!
Oh! gallant hearts of eagle wing!
What though your batter'd bulwarks part,
Your nest be spoiled by reptile art--
Your souls, on wings of hate, shall start
For vengeance, and with lightning-dart,
Rend the foul serpent ere he sting!
V.
Your battered den, your shattered nest,
Was but the lion's crouching-place;--
It heard his roar, and bore his crest,
His, or the eagle's place of rest;--
But not the soul in either breast!
This arms the twain, by freedom bless'd,
To save and to avenge their race!
poem by William Gilmore Simms
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American Bald Eagle
American bald eagle
The American eagle took to flight
Soared into the valley, with its wings of might.
An endangered species it became in 1973
To protect the heritage of you and me.
On our currency and in our hearts
Of the united states it has become a big part.
With a wing span of 79 to 90
And a body length of 35 to 37
And a neck and tail as white as snow
This is something that many don’t know.
The beauty of this bird so rare
Is something that we’re proud to share.
They have been here even before
The birth of the united states
And this is what makes them great
For they survived from the
Destruction of man
And taught us how to take a stand.
So to the American eagle we honor you
In everything that we say and do.
Keep us standing tall and proud
For throughout this world
You do get around.
poem by Louis Rams
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