Related quotes: Of course, the familiar rustling...

Peripeteia

Of course, the familiar rustling of programs,
My hair mussed from behind by a grand gesture
Of mink. A little craning about to see
If anyone I know is in the audience,
And, as the house fills up,
A mild relief that no one there knows me.
A certain amount of getting up and down
From my aisle seat to let the others in.
Then my eyes wander briefly over the cast,
Management, stand-ins, make-up men, designers,
Perfume and liquor ads, and rise prayerlike
To the false heaven of rosetted lights,
The stucco lyres and emblems of high art
That promise, with crude Broadway honesty,
Something less than perfection:
Two bulbs are missing and Apollo’s bored.

And then the cool, drawn-out anticipation,
Not of the play itself, but the false dusk
And equally false night when the houselights
Obey some planetary rheostat
And bring a stillness on. It is that stillness
I wait for.
Before it comes,
Whether we like it or not, we are a crowd,
Foul-breathed, gum-chewing, fat with arrogance,
Passion, opinion, and appetite for blood.
But in that instant, which the mind protracts,
From dim to dark before the curtain rises,
Each of us is miraculously alone
In calm, invulnerable isolation,
Neither a neighbor nor a fellow but,
As at the beginning and end, a single soul,
With all the sweet and sour of loneliness.
I, as a connoisseur of loneliness,
Savor it richly, and set it down
In an endless umber landscape, a stubble field
Under a lilac, electric, storm-flushed sky,
Where, in companionship with worthless stones,
Mica-flecked, or at best some rusty quartz,
I stood in childhood, waiting for things to mend.
A useful discipline, perhaps. One that might lead
To solitary, self-denying work
That issues in something harmless, like a poem,
Governed by laws that stand for other laws,
Both of which aim, through kindred disciplines,
At the soul’s knowledge and habiliment.
In any case, in a self-granted freedom,
The mind, lone regent of itself, prolongs
The dark and silence; mirrors itself, delights
In consciousness of consciousness, alone,
Sufficient, nimble, touched with a small grace.

Then, as it must at last, the curtain rises,
The play begins. Something by Shakespeare.
Framed in the arched proscenium, it seems
A dream, neither better nor worse
Than whatever I shall dream after I rise
With hat and coat, go home to bed, and dream.
If anything, more limited, more strict—
No one will fly or turn into a moose.
But acceptable, like a dream, because remote,
And there is, after all, a pretty girl.
Perhaps tonight she’ll figure in the cast
I summon to my slumber and control
In vast arenas, limitless space, and time
That yield and sway in soft Einsteinian tides.
Who is she? Sylvia? Amelia Earhart?
Some creature that appears and disappears
From life, from reverie, a fugitive of dreams?
There on the stage, with awkward grace, the actors,
Beautifully costumed in Renaissance brocade,
Perform their duties, even as I must mine,
Though not, as I am, always free to smile.

Something is happening. Some consternation.
Are the knives out? Is someone’s life in danger?
And can the magic cloak and book protect?
One has, of course, real confidence in Shakespeare.
And I relax in my plush seat, convinced
That prompt as dawn and genuine as a toothache
The dream will be accomplished, provisionally true
As anything else one cares to think about.
The players are aghast. Can it be the villain,
The outrageous drunks, plotting the coup d’état,
Are slyer than we thought? Or we more innocent?
Can it be that poems lie? As in a dream,
Leaving a stunned and gap-mouthed Ferdinand,
Father and faery pageant, she, even she,
Miraculous Miranda, steps from the stage,
Moves up the aisle to my seat, where she stops,
Smiles gently, seriously, and takes my hand
And leads me out of the theatre, into a night
As luminous as noon, more deeply real,
Simply because of her hand, than any dream
Shakespeare or I or anyone ever dreamed.

poem by Anthony Evan Hecht
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Related quotes

I dream..

I dream of floating away on a cloud
I dream of catching a falling star
I dream of my prince charming
I dream of how I'll save him from the dragon
I dream of cows on the moon
And pink grass

I dream of old ladies knitting socks
I dream the twelve Olympians are real
I dream I'll meet them someday
I dream of vast sugar cane fields
I dream of a bed of roses
And how prickly that must be

I dream of firefly friends
I dream of a lighting bug show
I dream of riding a striped horse down the aisle
I dream of hot air balloons
I dream of polar bears
And penguins

I dream of snow
I dream of rain
I dream of summer
I dream of fall
I dream of day
And night

I dream of the moon
I dream of stars
I dream of going to Mars
I dream of how I'll be queen of the Martians
I dream of how I'll love my subjects
And people always said I belonged on another planet

I dream of love
I dream of faith
I dream of hope
I dream of culture
I dream of life
And I dream sweet dreams

poem by Sai Srujana
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Do you have dreams?

Do you have dreams, Well I do
I dream of wonderful things
I dream of things yet to come
I dream of things some may say is dumb
I dream of love not just the word I mean real love
I dream of of a place where there is no war
I dream of a good answer to what we fight for
I dream of floating in the clouds free with no worry
I dream of a president who can just say sorry
I dream of reading a book thats begins with 'what is hate'
I dream of a country, thats completely great
I dream of life beyond the one we live today
I dream of a time when all kids do is learn and play
Ok time to wake up to reality
I was loving my dream now im mad at me for waking up
Life here in the real world can be so crazy
I guess the bigger part of me wishes I was stil a baby
Some of my dreams may come true
I know thats not true and so do you
But I will continue to believe my dream will come true
Because my dream was so wonderful, so I shared it with you

poem by Cheyanne Whien
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I Dream, Do You

poem by Daniel Chapman
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Dream Dream Dream

Dream dream dream
And dream untill dream come true
Life is nothing but dreams
Some accomplished, some unfinished
Some dreams are trifle, some cherished

You are nothing but a result of dreams
Dreams, dreams and nothing but dreams
A dream of someone
Or a dream of your own

Dream is not what you dream while asleep
Dream is what that don't let you sleep
You live for dream
And you die for dream
Your unattained desires are dreams
What you all desire are dreams

You can't accomplished unless you dream
What you accomplished was a dream
The law of attraction and power of passion
All say dream, dream and dream

{Published in Annual Magazine of NOSPLAN- Organisation of the Students of Planning in January,2012 by the same poet.}

poem by Shashikant Nishant Sharma
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My Lullaby (Song)

Close your eyes
Go to sleep.
Find your soul
In arms I'll keep
Dream you Little dark Dream
In your eyes
There's a glow
See your dreams
Now you know
Dream you Little dark Dreams
See your dreams
Come alive
Watch them dance
Through your eyes
Dream you Little dark Dreams
Coming now into eternal
Slumber, Sleep your Life's infernal
Lies called dreams within our sorrow
Never waking for tomorrow
Bow your head
Lay on down
Wipe your tears
Do not frown
Dream Dream Dream Dream Dream Dream
Dream you Little dark Dreams
Tonight.

poem by Sans Serif
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Waiting... For My Dream Girl

Who is my Dream Girl?
Who is my Dream Girl?

Who is made just for me,
Who is only such girl made by Thee,
Who is no less than an angel,
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

The moon and the star
Bow down in honour,
Seeing the beauty marvel
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

The 'Goddess of Beauty'
Who is titled
In the Bible,
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

Not only for her gorgeous nature,
But also for her beautiful heart like a shinig mirror
Who is worshipped in temple
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

Who is as purified
As the innocence of a child
From mind nad body, heart and soul,
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

Who is innocent of anger
Whose sweet voice can never be heard louder,
In front of everyone who is always humble,
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

Whose eyes so resplendent
Express every feeling hidden,
Who is so much adorable
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

For whom I am the only one,
Who makes me feel like Heaven,
For whom I am so special,
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

For whom the courtesy strictly matters,
For her family, from the core of her heart, who cares,
Who can't be more liable
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

Who can distinguish very well between wrong and right
Who can be the most responsible wife,
The family remains at whose disposal
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

For whom I am the life,
For whom I survive,
Till my last breath, who is still loveable
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

Now let Fate, Luck and Time play the game of Love
For they will someday make me meet my Lady Dove,
And for whom I can wait for Time Eternal
She is my Dream Girl...She is my Dream Girl.

poem by Akash Agrawal
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If You Can Dream

If you can dream,
Why don’t you dream
For a good family
Who can stay with us
In our peaceful home.

If you can dream,
Why don’t you dream
For a sweet song
Which fills in every one’s heart
The joy to share with people.

If you can dream,
Why don’t you dream
For the innocent creatures
They can get their world
To play in a melodious tune.

If you can dream,
Why don’t you dream
For the flowers
Which can spread all the hues
In poor’s eye.

If you can dream,
Why don’t you dream
For quiet moments
In which everybody can live
Peacefully to weave
A kind of bond among us.

If you can dream,
Why don’t you dream
For doing all the good deeds
Through which you can
Get the perfect rest.

If you can dream,
Why don’t you dream
For believing in maker
Who is holding our hand
In each and every moment.

If you can dream,
Why don’t you dream
For sacrificing your life
For those whose eyes
Searching you for help.

poem by Cheyanne Whien
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In Wait!

Your arms are warm wrapped around my body
Your breath, sweet, lazily it wafts over my face
I can feel your chest rise and fall next to mine
Your hair and eyes shine brightly in the dark
As I close my eyes to dream off
I wake in this dark room to find I left the dream behind
The cold air from the window swings its fanged head and bites at my exposures
To think, you were just here
Not a memory but a dream, a wish, my wish
To have that dream in reality
Given two or four years time
That dream will be real
For now I live in a real nightmare until the sun comes
Due to the darkness and lone dreamer
It is hard to find comfort and return to a calm sleep
As thoughts of you press hard on my mind and sway thus
It only deepens the wounded thought that I must wait hours to see you
Hours to hold and years to fulfill that dream
For now I shall dream and dwell upon them
Because dreams give me insight to the future
Let it be a De’javu.

poem by Ryan Collins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My Juliet, My Love My Dragon-fly

When I dream the dream of paradise
I see a picture of you
And when I dream the dream of love and care
I see a picture of us two

And when I dream a dream of loneliness
I see a shadow on the wall
Looking back at me like
I'm nothing at all

But those dreams a quickly chased away
When I wake up to a sunny day
And I see your pretty face right by my side

When I dream a dream of smiling
The room is full of you
And if I dream a dream of candy land
The sweetest thing is you

And if the nightmare comes along
To say its fond goodbyes
The thought of you will stop it
before those dreams arise

Because with you sharing my bed at night
My dream will always come out right
And tomorrow will always be another day

If I dream a dream while I'm awake
That dream will be of you
If I dream a dream of wedding cakes
I'll dream a dream of you

And when I dream a dream of a loving wife
That dream will be of you
And if I dream a dream of growing old
I'll be growing old with you

And if my dream were ever to come true
I know it will be because of you
And that's the reason that I love you so.

poem by Mbaimbai Phathutshedzo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dream a Dream