Elizabeth Gone
1.
You lay in the nest of your real death,
Beyond the print of my nervous fingers
Where they touched your moving head;
Your old skin puckering, your lungs' breath
Grown baby short as you looked up last
At my face swinging over the human bed,
And somewhere you cried, let me go let me go.
You lay in the crate of your last death,
But were not you, not finally you.
They have stuffed her cheeks, I said;
This clay hand, this mask of Elizabeth
Are not true. From within the satin
And the suede of this inhuman bed,
Something cried, let me go let me go.
2.
They gave me your ash and bony shells,
Rattling like gourds in the cardboard urn,
Rattling like stones that their oven had blest.
I waited you in the cathedral of spells
And I waited you in the country of the living,
Still with the urn crooned to my breast,
When something cried, let me go let me go.
So I threw out your last bony shells
And heard me scream for the look of you,
Your apple face, the simple creche
Of your arms, the August smells
Of your skin. Then I sorted your clothes
And the loves you had left, Elizabeth,
Elizabeth, until you were gone.
poem by Anne Sexton
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Related quotes
He Cried
I need you
Simple words
But words which had never been heard
By the soul
Stoned to death
But still living
And so he froze where he stood
And he looked to the ground
And he cried
He cried
Ride our minds
If you must
But theres always a line you dont cross
Time is short
Dont be cruel
Oh you dont know the power
In what youre saying
Oh ...
And so he froze where he stood
And he looked to the ground
And he cried
He cried
People where
I come from
They survive without feelings or blood
I never could
Was stoned to death
But Im still living
So he froze where he stood
And he looked to the ground
And he cried
He cried
So he froze
And he looked, and he looked
To the ground
And he cried
He cried
song performed by by Morrissey
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Elizabeth
_May 1, 1891_.
I.
Elizabeth! Elizabeth!
The first May-morning whispereth
Thy gentle name in every breeze
That lispeth through the young-leaved trees,
New raimented in white and green
Of bloom and leaf to crown thee queen;--
And, as in odorous chorus, all
The orchard-blossoms sweetly call
Even as a singing voice that saith
Elizabeth! Elizabeth!
II.
Elizabeth! Lo, lily-fair,
In deep, cool shadows of thy hair,
Thy face maintaineth its repose.--
Is it, O sister of the rose,
So better, sweeter, blooming thus
Than in this briery world with us?--
Where frost o'ertaketh, and the breath
Of biting winter harrieth
With sleeted rains and blighting snows
All fairest blooms--Elizabeth!
III.
Nay, then!--So reign, Elizabeth,
Crowned, in thy May-day realm of death!
Put forth the scepter of thy love
In every star-tipped blossom of
The grassy dais of thy throne!
Sadder are we, thus left alone,
But gladder they that thrill to see
Thy mother's rapture, greeting thee.
Bereaved are we by life--not death--
Elizabeth! Elizabeth!
poem by James Whitcomb Riley
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We Cry
The 10th of June, passing of our Son
We Cried
9mins holding him tight, words not spoken
We cried
Time of Death given,8pm
We Cried
Just 7 doors down from home, is all we keep saying
We Cried
6 Drunken teens, drove down our son that night
We Cried
The Fifth Commandment, thou shall not kill
We Cried
Four days later, our son lays beneath the earth
We Cried
The Driver receives 3yrs, is that my sons worth
We Cried
Two years good behavior, he walks the streets
We Cried
We only had One son his name was Micheal, our son
We Cry
It shouldn't have been his NUMBER calling
Still here we Cry
poem by Brad Phillips
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Ten Thousand Angels Cried
Stillness Filled The Heavens On Crucifixion Day
Some Say It Rained I Don't Know If It's True
Well I Can Just I'magine Ten Thousand Angels Cried
That Would Seem Like Rain To Me And You
The Angels All Stood Ready To Take Him From The Tree
They Waited For The Words From His Voice
And When He Asked The Father Why Has Thou Forsaken Me
They Watched The Saviour Die Of His Own Choice
I've Never Seen Ten Thousand Angels Cry
But I'm Sure They Did
As They Stood By
And Watched The Saviour Die
God Turned His Head Away
He Couldn't Bear The Sight
It Must Have Looked Like Rain
When Ten Thousand Angels Cried
As The Sun Slipped Away
The Skies Turned To Grey
And When Jesus Gave His All
That's When The Tears Began To Fall
I've Never Seen Ten Thousand Angels Cry
But I'm Sure They Did
As They Stood By
And Watched The Saviour Die
God Turned His Head Away
He Couldn't Bear The Sight
It Must Have Looked Like Rain
When Ten Thousand Angels Cried
It Must Have Looked Like Rain
When Ten Thousand Angels Cried
song performed by by LeAnn Rimes from You Light Up My Life
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Death Whispers in My Ear
The doctors said: ‘Take her away,
There's nothing we can do,
The life is seeping from her blood
Her soul is weeping too,
But keep her in a darkened room
And hidden from the light,
Perhaps you'll gain a week or two
Before her soul takes flight! '
I drove her to ‘The Grange' at that,
Post haste, in coach and four,
I veiled her in black crepe and lace,
She fainted at the door.
I carried her, she was so slight
I feared she might be dead,
And laid her on the davenport
A pillow at her head.
I covered her with red damask
And drew the velvet drapes,
There'd be no light for her again
This side of heaven's gates,
She stirred in her delirium
And sighed with every tear,
‘Once you were mine, but now I find
Death whispers in my ear! '
I lit a single candle, and
The beam fell on her face,
Though she was in extremis she
Had lost but little grace,
If only she had looked at me
To whisper words of love,
But he was near, Sir Ralph de Vere,
And ruled her from above.
He'd lured her from our marriage bed
And had his way with her,
He'd dazzled her with sweet perfumes
And trinkets by the score,
He'd danced her off her pretty feet
And turned her face from me,
And like a fool, I fought a duel
With aristocracy.
Two pistols primed, he turned and fired
But most erratically,
His Second begged to cease it there
But I aimed carefully,
My first had pinged his shoulder
But he stood his ground, and stared,
The second bullet, true and straight
Left Ralph de Vere quite dead!
The Seconds swore it legal when
The Magistrate was called,
But not so my Elizabeth;
No! - She was quite appalled.
She sank into a stupor there
Of shock and binding grief,
‘You've taken all my love, ' she cried,
‘You're just a petty thief! '
A week she lay within these walls
A week of no respite,
I heard some ghostly mutterings
Around The Grange at night,
And then an apparition formed
Beside that davenport,
That wraithlike Peer, Sir Ralph de Vere
That I had set at naught.
The wraith leant over where she lay,
Held out a bony hand,
She rose up from the davenport
And laughed that she could stand,
They drifted from that hateful room,
Where I would have to stay,
Her body on the davenport
They faded both away.
I paced about that fateful night
And raged there in the gloom,
Her stolen soul had taken flight
From dearth, within that room.
And now I find my nightly plight
Is worse than dreamless fear,
Its bony hands caught at my throat,
Death whispers in my ear!
poem by David Lewis Paget
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Night Close
Under night close
Death rose to greet me.
I turned; looked back,
Though nothing beckoned -
No one cried or mourned.
Scorned by all
- My fellow race -
I shed the byes to empty space, then
Gazed upon the stony face
Of Death anon, and
So chose our treaty.
Line of Death
death death death death death death death death death death death
poem by Mark R Slaughter
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Tell Me Why
Well I gave you everything I had
But you left me sittin here all alone
Did you have to treat me so bad
All I do girl, is hang my head and moan
Tell me why you cry, and why you lied to me
Tell me why you cried baby
Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me
If its somethin that I might have said
Just tell me girl, and Ill apologize
If you dont I really cant go on
Holdin back the tears, holdin back the tears from my eyes
Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me
Tell me why you cried, baby
Just tell me whyd you cry, and whyd you lie to me
Well I beg you on my bended knees
Baby please please, listen to what I say
If theres anything that I could do
Just tell me girl, cause Im so in love with you
Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me
Tell me why you cried, baby
Just tell me whyd you cry, and whyd you lie to me
song performed by by April Wine
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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So Glad Youre Mine
(words & music by arthur crudup)
My babys long and tall,
Shes like a cannonball.
Say, everytime she loves me,
Lordly, you can hear me squall.
She cried, ooo-wee.
I believe Ill change my mind.
She said, Im so glad Im living.
I cried, Im so glad youre mine.
My baby knows just how
To treat me right.
Gives me plenty loving
Morning, noon, and night.
She cried, ooo-wee.
I believe Ill change my mind.
She said, Im so glad Im living.
I cried, Im so glad youre mine.
When my baby does what she does to me,
I climb the highest mountain,
Dive in the deepest sea.
She cried, ooo-wee.
I believe Ill change my mind.
She said, Im so glad Im living.
I cried, Im so glad youre mine.
My babys lips are red
And sweet like wine,
And when she kisses me,
I get high every time.
She cried, oo-wee.
I believe Ill change my mind.
She said, Im so glad Im living.
I cried, Im so glad youre mine.
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Miguel
Never had much to say
He traveled alone with no friends
Like a shadowy ghost
At dawn he came and he went
Through the woodland swiftly gliding
To the young maid he came gliding
Where shed run to meet him
By the garden wall
Oh my sweet miguel
I will never tell
No one will ever know
What I know too well
And hed smile and lay his head on her breast
And hed say I have no fear
Theyre waiting for me to cross the border, to swim the river
But Ive done that before
To see my true loves smiling face
A hundred times or more
Oh my sweet miguel she cried
Ill love you till I die
He was born to the south
In mexico they say
The child of a man
Who had soon gone away
But his mother loved him dearly
And she would take him yearly
To the great cathedral in st. augustine
Oh my young miguel
Listen to the bell
Of my poverty
You must never tell
And he cried himself to sleep in the night
And he vowed to make things right
So he took the gun down from the wall and he paid a call
He knew shed understand
A lawman came to capture him
The gun jumped in his hand
Oh miguel the mother cried
You must run son or youll die
So the story is told
Of his true love cross the line
As strong as the oak
And as sweet as the vine
And the child she bore him
Came on that fateful mornin
When they sent him to his final rest
Oh my sweet miguel
Listen to the bell
No one will ever know
What I know too well
And shed smile and lay the child on her breast
And shed say I have no fear
Im waiting for you to cross the border, to swim the river
cause youve done that before
To see your true loves smiling face
A hundred times or more
Oh my sweet miguel she cried
Ill love you till I die
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Wait For Me
Wait for me; oh, wait for me
I cried out as I sailed away.
My words were lost to the wind
for you didn’t wait for me.
Years passed on so quickly by,
we grew up, got married,
but my heart still cried.
Wait for me, oh, wait for me.
Our lives moved on in directions
of which we had no control.
Our circumstances changed
within every passing year
and every so often in the wind
my plaintive cries could be heard.
Wait for me; oh. wait for me
as I had so long waited
for you to fill my empty arms.
Finally as we grew older
and all hope seemed fading fast
we met up again by chance.
My heart still sang its song,
wait for me, oh wait for me.
We met one sunny day
and as our glances caught,
we knew right away
across that crowded room.
Our love was to be again
as it was so long before.
My heart now sings a different song.
I waited for you; oh, I waited for you,
now I can sing our September song.
18 December 2008
poem by David Harris
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Lying Still
She came thru the door round my place
She was not the same
I reached out my hand to touch her face
She turned her head away
Her words flew in empty circles
Reasons unexplained
I saw that her thoughts were somewhere else
We made love anyway
Lying still in your arms
And the tears came down
She cried her pain
And like the rain that draws a cloud across the sun
The tears flow on
She cried the pain she felt inside
As night touched the sky with moonglow
She opened up her heart
The tides of emotions ebb and flow
Washing us apart
We talked thru the night in whispers
As the silent city lay
Reasons she gave cut deep and hard
The dawn broke angry grey
Lying still in your arms
Heartbeats cold
She cried my pain
Like thunder rolling thru an aching winter sky
Heartbeats cold
Her pain
Lying still in your arms
But the tears came down
She cried my pain
And like the rain that draws a cloud across the sun
The tears flow on
She cried the pain I felt inside
The future dissolves in the tears
The morning surrenders the years
How can you say our love wasnt real
When I can see how you feel
Another time
Another place
I wont cry for her
No more
The days go on
But the nights are long
Ill remember her
For sure
Still in your arms
song performed by by Level 42
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Too Many Nights
(nick martinelli/a.brown/b.wayy)
Too many nights
Too many tears
Too many years
Too many nights Ive waited around for you
As the nights turn into weeks, I couldnt even sleep
Too many tears Ive cried but now Im through
Im ready to dry my eyes again, this time I wont pretend
I thought that I could make it on my own
And the thought of starting over again
Scared me into staying here with you
Long after all the heartache began
Im through with waiting in an empty bed
One for dinner when it should be two
Im tired of holding back what should be said
Im gonna let it go and stand up to you
Hey, too many nights Ive waited around for you
As the nights turn into weeks, I couldnt even sleep
Too many tears Ive cried but now Im through
Im ready to dry my eyes again, this time I wont pretend
My pride was swallowed one too many times
Ive kept on turning my back on the truth
Now Im as serious as a heart attack
coz Ive decided baby, were through
Im growing stronger from experience
The woman in mes taking a stand
You taught me good, I learned my lesson well
And Im never gonna let it happen again, no
Too many nights Ive waited around for you
As the nights turn into weeks, I couldnt even sleep
Too many tears Ive cried but now Im through
Im ready to dry my eyes again, this time I wont pretend
Im gonna turn the page
Put heartache in the past
I gotta think about getting strong
And Ill put all those memories on the shelf
And make the space for someone else
(too many nights Ive waited around for you)
Too many nights
(too many nights)
Too many nights
Hey, too many tears Ive cried but now Im through
(Im through)
Im ready to dry my eyes again, this time I wont pretend
Too many nights Ive waited around for you
Ive waited around for you
As the nights turn into weeks, I couldnt even sleep
Too many tears Ive cried but now Im through
I cried, cried, cried
Too many nights
Too many tears
Too many years
song performed by by Diana Ross
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When I Was Young I Cried
When I was young I cried when I was sad, when I was young I cried when I was happy, when I was young I cried when I wanted something, when I was young I cried when I was lonely, when I was young I cried when I had to say goodbye, when I was young I cried when my feelings were hurt, when I was young I cried when I wasn't accepted, when I was young I cried when I was mocked, when I was young I cried for attention, when I was young I cried when I was scared, when I was young I cried when I hurt others, when I was young I cried when I felt physical pain, when I was young I cried when I was jealous, when I was young I cried when I lost someone or when I was lost somewhere, when I was young I cried when I didn't know, and now as an adult I cry because I understand.
poem by Kevin Michael Murphy
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Cordova
words and music by amy ray
The volunteers come for your prayers
and some souvenirs,
With ivory skin and boycott lessons
Year after year.
Well I'm tracing your face up in the space of the bottom bunk,
Oh Cordova.
Where I cried and I cried,
I knew I was trading on things that I didn't have,
The things that I didn't have.
Now you come to me
With revolution's infidelity,
With blacklisted friends and tupperware kin,
And your big history.
Well I'm tracing your face up in the space of the bottom bunk,
Oh Cordova.
Where I cried and I cried,
I knew I was trading on things that I didn't have,
The things that I didn't have.
I memorize the lullabies
of dwindling lives.
The lay of the land, the touch of each hand
We lose by and by.
I'm tracing your face up in the space of the bottom bunk,
Oh Cordova.
Where I cried and I cried,
I knew I was trading on things that I didn't have,
The things that I didn't have.
song performed by by Indigo Girls
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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They Used Up All My Tears
They used up all my tears
I cried for the mother that left me
I cried for the man who took her away
I cried for the brothers I couldn’t see
I cried for the family that abandoned me
I cried for the people that hurt me
I cried for those that were supposed to protect me
I cried for the family I lost
I cried for the family I needed
But when I went to cry those tears of happiness
There was nothing left
The tears had all gone
poem by Claire Fowler
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Misery n
Ive been misery n,
Ever since my daddy gone, yeah.
Ive been, honey, Ive been misery n, yes I have, now.
Ever since my, since my daddy gone, gone, gone.
But I believe that it wont,
Baby, it wont be too long,
If I just could hang on,
Yeah, until my, till my misery
Will all be gone.
Whoa, I said my rooms, you know,
Theyre so empty, empty, empty, empty, empty.
Filled up with sadness, sometimes, yeah.
My rooms are so empty, empty, empty, empty.
Child, filled up with sadness, honey, sometimes, sometimes.
Oh well it just, it just moves in,
Like the fog rolls in.
And I find i, well I cant see you, baby,
For my tears.
But Ive tried.
Dont you know Ive tried.
Cried, cried, cried, cried, cried.
Baby now, Ive been missin you.
Oh, Ive been missin you, babe!
Yeah, and it all seems to bother me
Much more that it seems it should be.
So, baby, now, now,
Baby, now, now,
Baby, tell me why,
Does it have to be
Oh, so wrong for me ?
I never thought I could ever want anybody,
No, no, no, never did, I never did.
Why am I feelin so strange ? ? ?
Whoaaaaa, I never, never, never needed nobody, no, no,
But maybe you could help me
Why am I feelin so strange ?
Yeah, an Ive got me a great,
An Ive got a great big bed
With two pillows for my head.
Hey, but lately I been sleepin, sleepin alone.
But Ive tried,
Dont you know Ive tried.
Cried, cried,
You know how Ive cried.
An, an baby, Ive been missin you.
Tried,
Dont you know Ive tried.
Cried,
Cried, cried, cried, cried,
Baby now, Ive been missin you.
Tried,
Dont you know Ive tried.
Cried, cried,
You know how Ive cried.
An, an baby, Ive been missin you,
Yeah ...
song performed by by Janis Joplin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Death’s Too Near
Death, you’re standing rather near!
Don’t you understand the fear
You trigger deep within my soul–?
The terror sprung by such a ghoul
Of dark and hideous hue!
Now you’re rattling on my door!
I’m sure I threw you out before –
Methinks you really need to learn!
So leg it please and ne’er return
To haunt me ‘gain, now shoo!
Gain a sense of social pride, and
Keep your bearing far and wide –
Perform the deed when I am done –
Be free and loose to have your fun
When I’m too frail to turn and run,
But now I’ve living to do!
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2010
Death, death, nearing death, death, death nearing death
Death, death, nearing death, death, death nearing death
Death, death, nearing death, death, death nearing death
Death, death, nearing death, death
Death, death, nearing death
Death, death, death
Death, death
Death
Death, death
Death
poem by Mark R Slaughter
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Prisoner Of War
he waited from night to night
he waited till the son started peeling over the horizon
he waited till he heard the morning birds chirp
he waited for a long time
he waited for his father
his father lost at war
his father he knew since he was born
but as time grew
the boy felt so weary
the boy waited and waited and waited
his mother giving him the same face
the same face when his father left
and the same face when he didn't comeback
but the boy did not notice this
the boy never knew his dad has been lost
but until
until he strayed up one night
a night he would never forget
he saw his father walking about in the streets
his uniform on but he noticed something else
his father had many medals
but he knew nothing of them
all that he cared about was his father was home
the boy waited 10 years
his mother fell asleep in tears
for all those years
but then he finally came home
this poem is dedicated to all POW
poem by Montana Hohensee
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Missing My Friend
You weren’t supposed to leave that way
So smart
So caring
So uniquely you
And you were supposed to be here longer
The four of us: physically inseparable for three years
But hearts and minds were connected for much longer
Indian summers of us in the grass after running from old ladies,
Dreamed up in your head but never fulfilled
Big dreams, big thoughts, big heart
An even bigger sadness
I want you to be here
Reading this
So that its not about you so that maybe I wouldn’t be so mad
And I never admitted it;
Cried when I heard the news,
Cried when I told our friends,
Cried even harder at the memorial service
But I never acknowledged the anger
Im mad at you for leaving like this
Im mad that for making me cry this much
Mad at myself for not calling
We were supposed to grow old still connected
In rocking chair reminiscing about Cle-otis
But your gone
And bringing the 3 back together would only
Invoke thoughts, works, stories, conversations of you
Tears would follow
I don’t want to miss you
I want to pick up the phone and scream a quote in your ear
And be mockingly amazed when u know who it’s by
I want to run into you at the mall and laugh for what seems like forever
Of times from eternity past
I don’t want to be crying these tears,
Tears that hold my sorrow of trying to lay your memory to rest;
But I am
I don’t want this to end sappy or with some inside joke which makes me remember
That I can’t go back to the past when you were still here
But it has to
For a long time you were my smile when I couldn’t find my own
We laughed, we cried, we sang, we screamed, we danced (or tried to)
We liked, we loved, we hated, we marched to our own beat
You’re the reason im comfortable in my own skin
May you rest in peace,
My friend, One of those important corners in my old square,
Lauren Elizabeth Edgerton
poem by Alissa Greene
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Psalm 40
I waited patiently upon the Lord
That He may hear my cry
Surrounded by darkness on every side
In this place I will surely die
Where is this place I thought I knew
Its dark, its dimply lit
I looked around and all I could see
Was the bottom of the bottomless pit
I looked up and could see no light
And cried out ' O God help me.'
And in an instant His hand came down
And before I knew it I was free
I was out of the pit and standing on the Rock
I could feel the sun on my face
My heart was warm, there was a song on my lips
I was engulfed in a warm embrace
And now I delight to do your will
Your law is written on my heart
Neither death nor life or anything
Shall ever keep us apart
poem by Frank McEleny
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