Night In A Foxhole
I sit in a foxhole with two other men
One of them sleeps while the other lies dead
Just three more long hours ‘til my nightly watch ends
But sleep will not instill rest in my head
Battle wounds are revealed by the moon
As the beams search our faces so aged
Finding not the tears internally kept, for as soon
As they were wept they were caged
Bombs sleep in their shells ‘til commanded ahead
Ready to burst like something unsaid
They whisper smoke and shake hands with destruction
They bring silent scenes with ears that don't function
Brothers, so many, eternally bound
By the blood that we've spilled here upon the ground
By the stains on our souls of the lives that we've taken
By the doubt that has found us, and our hope it has shaken
By the haunting memories that knock on Night's door
By the will to survive or else die in the arms of a fellow soldier at war
poem by Argentine Tango
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Related quotes
(V – 1990) War & Peace
War has stabbed the heart of peace
And peace lies bleeding now –
A peace which was healing slow
The wounds it had suffered hard,
A peace which was recovering
From the mind blowing blows
Of the decades past!
Now the precious blood of that peace is draining
And each dropp of dripping blood
Is singing the songs of savagery
To the frightened ears of civilizations!
Man mastered bombs but now bombs master man!
Man busy growing the world outside
How poor he forgot to grow his inside!
And now when he stands a helpless child
Before the giant of things he grew
Reason comes again and asks
Was this the progress you built through the years
And man has no answer
He just drops into wounds
Wounds inflicted by bullets of arrogance
Of selfishness, hatred, fear and greed!
Oh, these bombs that preach ‘might is right’
Oh, these merciless bloodthirsty bullets –
What answers are they? What justice makes they?
What battle is real than a battle for peace?
What victory, true, when won at the cost of peace? !
Peace was long destroyed on the minds of men
So no peace now remains outside!
Rising from narrow rooms of thought
Man armed with the mortal arms of passion
Smashes the skulls of his brethren
And when upon the fractured bones
And the boiled flesh, cries of anguish fall
And when the hands and limbs of innocents
Lie eaten and bitten by vultures of violence
Their hearts cracking into a fury of pain
And when thick clouds of smoke
Of the smoke of life, rises from the graveyards of war
A tear comes into the eyes of man and time asks:
Hasn’t History taught you anything still?
And man stands dumb!
With all his will and wisdom paralyzed
He searches for peace, for the solace of peace
But peace lies writhing there!
He knows he wants it dearly
The company of peace,
Wounded though he be!
But peace is dying there;
But peace is not dead!
His life lies in our hands
The wounds are many
But many more can be spared!
The wounds are sore
But they can be medicined still!
War is death
But war can be killed!
Stay With Me
Listen to the waves as I let them take it all away
Goodbye to you, this is the last line I'll say
Because all these trials they're just too much
I no longer feel the warmth of your loving touch
One mistake they make, it's a chance I'll take
I once again want to be in your arms when I fall awake
So I'll follow the clues they missed and watch their moves
And show you a truth those in black and white couldn't prove
You tell me that what I do isn't the right way to let it go
A memory of a time where I thought I should know
You shake your head and I take a pill, let the ghost lay
Because this blooded hope in my arms is the word I say
Walk silent, fallen into the shadows, please stay with me
They beg me to let them be, but I can't ignore the red I see
‘I'm scared don't let the red blood flow, don't make me go'
Sweet memories repeat in my mind as they die so slow
Take this away; make it all better like you did once before
Let me lay in your arms, the deed is done, I know they saw
From my bed made from their bones I kiss sweet lips now
I told you I'd make it better; I lost you to the same deed so foul
I sleep under a roof so white, stay with me until my last night
They tell me you're long gone but I know that they're not right
Your hands they were cold, so I made them feel the same ice
I took what they stole but men in white told me that wasn't nice
They tell me lots of lies; try to tell me you lie deep in the ground
But how can that be when I see you here, so free and unbound
So stay with me when they come for me and make them see
That they can't cage us, me and you we will always be free
poem by Rebecca Pepper
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He Giveth His Beloved Sleep
The long day passes with its load of sorrow:
In slumber deep
I lay me down to rest until tomorrow --
Thank God for sleep.
Thank God for all respite from weary toiling,
From cares that creep
Across our lives like evil shadows, spoiling
God's kindly sleep.
We plough and sow, and, as the hours grow later,
We strive to reap,
And build our barns, and hope to build them greater
Before we sleep.
We toil and strain and strive with one another
In hopes to heap
Some greater share of profit than our brother
Before we sleep.
What will it profit that with tears or laughter
Our watch we keep?
Beyond it all there lies the Great Hereafter!
Thank God for sleep!
For, at the last, beseeching Christ to save us
We turn with deep
Heartfelt thanksgiving unto God, who gave us
The Gift of Sleep.
poem by Andrew Barton Paterson
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He Giveth His Beloved Sleep
The long day passes with its load of sorrow:
In slumber deep
I lay me down to rest until tomorrow,
Thank God for sleep.
Thank God for all respite from weary toiling,
From cares that creep
Across our lives like evil shadows, spoiling
God's kindly sleep.
We plough and sow, and, as the hours grow later,
We strive to reap,
And build our barns, and hope to build them greater
Before we sleep.
We toil and strain and strive with one another
In hopes to heap
Some greater share of profit than our brother
Before we sleep.
What will it profit that with tears or laughter
Our watch we keep?
Beyond it all there lies the Great Hereafter!
Thank God for sleep!
For, at the last, beseeching Christ to save us
We turn with deep
Heartfelt thanksgiving unto God, who gave us
The Gift of Sleep.
poem by Andrew Barton Paterson
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Sleeping with the angels
sleeps keep the immortal soul at peace with
the eternity calls, the tranquility of our warm
heart recalls
as angels watch our deep snoring, every
breath wakes our imagination of what we want
in the most astonishing super hero of our dreams
the sole witness of our moving spirit to venture
beyond our human faculty, of being more than
we come to guide our steps for only
by following our strings of aspiration our mortal
body reaches beyond human satisfaction
lives not the fears of every immortal of tears, for
the night comes like lightning of the sky, swifting
thunders of the angels fury where echo of souls
cried for mercy, of the slaying angels of darkness
let every sleeps be a moment of unifying souls of
beauty, lying with angels memory, where each
stay is with in heaven's nest of rest, for every day
is a good sleep with an angel’s best
as you sleep, always make yourself happy, for in
every snoring, lying the angel’s touch of cooled
sleep, leaving you its angelic breath ready
to wake and see angels sleep
then you come to know that it’s the angels who sleep
with you...until Today
poem by Antonio Liao
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And I Thank You...
A young soldier takes a deep breath before battle,
Now millions of miles away from the golden plains and the cattle,
Fearing for his life, and another battle loss,
He closes his eyes, and grips tight on his golden cross.
The sergeant yells, and he gets into line,
The troop marches to the battlefield, early morning, about nine,
With sweat running down their faces, and dirt in their hair,
The men look to the sky, and say a silent prayer.
A grenade explodes and the troop scurries on the run,
The young soldier hides in a foxhole, griping onto his gun,
He pops up, but too much smoke he can’t see,
Squinting as hard as he can to find the enemy.
The day is gone, and the young soldier still holds his gun to his shoulder,
Bruised and battered, he feels the night become colder,
As he looks to his left, he wants to break down and cry,
Because he had to watch his best friend get shot, and then he died.
The stale scent of tragedy in the air hovers,
Because this young soldier lost many of his band of brothers,
And now the enemy has fallen back with a retreat,
Because they now know that they have been beat.
You fought for the red, white, and blue,
And for this I greatly thank you,
You fought to allow me to speak my mind freely behind this ballpoint pen,
So once again I thank you, my hero, my dear veteran.
poem by Ryan McNicholas
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The Soldier's Funeral
The muffled drum rolled on the air,
Warriors, with stately step, were there;
On every arm was the black crape bound,
Every carbine was turned to the ground;
Solemn, the sound of their measured tread,
As silent and slow, they followed the dead.
The riderless horse was led in the rear;
There were white plumes waving over the bier;
Helmet and sword were laid on the pall,
For, it was a soldier's funeral.
That soldier had stood on the battle plain,
Where every step was over the slain;
But the brand and the ball had passed him by,
And he came to his native land, to die.
'Twas hard to come to that native land,
And not clasp one familiar hand;
'Twas hard to be numbered amid the dead,
Before he could hear his welcome said.
But, 'twas something to see its cliffs once more,
And to lay his bones on his own loved shore;
To think, that the friends of his youth might weep,
O'er the green grass turf of the soldier's sleep.
The bugles ceased their wailing sound,
As the coffin was lowered into the ground;
A volley was fired, a blessing said,
One moment's pause, and they left the dead.
I saw a poor and aged man -
His step was feeble, his cheek was wan;
He knelt him down on the new-raised mound,
His face was bowed on the cold damp ground;
He raised his head, his tears were done -
The father had prayed o'er his only son.
poem by Letitia Elizabeth Landon
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A Dream Fallen Out Of Sleep
Outside the abode of our sleep
Somewhere a dream burns
Somewhere tears sparkle
Somewhere a moon smoulders
Outside the abode of our sleep
Somewhere the sun rises
Somewhere the black beauty - night
Street walks
Somewhere an earthen lamp
Hides behind a facade
Outside the abode or our sleep
Somewhere bright birds flutter
Somewhere beasts of prey prowl
Somewhere there's a memory - forest
A desert there is - and a watershed
Somewhere a snowscape burns
Outside the abode of our sleep
Somewhere there's a cloud-burst
Eyes stare in longing
Somewhere in the ocean of the heart
Someone burns to a dry death
Outside the abode of our sleep
Somewhere two flowers bloom
Somewhere we see each other every day
Somewhere the wounds are sutured
Outside the abode of our sleep
Somewhere a roof is lit up
A door is afire
Somewhere hidden
Somewhere revealed
Outside the abode of our sleep
A dream burns.
Poem by: Naseer Ahmed Nasir,1979.
Translated from Urdu into English by Dr. Satyapal Anand
Copyrights (C) All rights reserved.
poem by Naseer Ahmed Nasir
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Dream On
(being, in love)
Been travelling this road for so long
My eyes are tired but I carry on
The sun lays down its golden threads
I need a place to rest my head
Although I am far from home now
My souls with you
Its hard to be out here on my own
So far away, so far from home
I need to touch and feel your skin
To live this dream in sleep again
Although I am far from home now
My souls with you
So dream on, dream on
Freedom comes with timeless sleep
Dream on, dream on
In the arms of night
Your silent shadow gently speaks
Dream on, dream on
This hotel rooms a lonely place
Its a one night cell I must escape
So I drink away my loneliness
So I can sleep and dream again
Although I am far from home now
My souls with you
And as I fall into
The darkness of the night
You come to rescue me to
Shield me in your light
I feel your touch
The softness of your skin
You hold me close before
The day breaks in
This dreams so true
My heart it beats, it beats
It beats for you, for you
Although I am far from home now
My souls with you
So dream on, dream on
Freedom comes with timeless sleep
Dream on, dream on
In the arms of night
Your silent shadow gently speaks
So dream on, dream on
Dream on, dream on
So dream on, dream on
Dream on
song performed by by Uriah Heep
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When I Sleep
When I sleep
Where do I go
I go where
The Blue bird
Is red
Where
Red
Is
Blue
In the head
And the door
Opens on
A red sky
When I sleep
Where do I go
I go where
There is no where there
And the door
Have eyes
To see
Its opening
When I open
My sleep
I am there
Where I am not
And blue drops
Into a red pool
When I sleep
All my theres
Open in the head
And the door
Is blue
And new
And opens nightly
To a where
When I loose
Myself
To all my
Blues and reds
You may think
That I am dead
In my head
But I am much
Alive
When I sleep
Where do I go
I fain not to know.
poem by David E. Patton
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The Gift Of Restorative Rest
When is predetermined time reached to rest?
Does mind or body know clockwork answer best?
Is a set bedtime always the best way to rest?
A lack of rest plays havoc on both mind and body.
Yet need requires extra night hours worked in emergency.
An art of make up sleep becomes a sweat necessity.
Sleep a strange bed fellow; we all must dues court.
To stay awake for extended periods; is scale battle fought.
To burn candle at both ends frequently; is not wisdom sought.
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Angels Lie
She sent me to a place where Angels scream me to sleep
Swallowing mouthfuls of pain, I'm in too deep
A place where my soul fails to exist
Pretty little flowers carve away at my wrist
Heaven sent for my demise
It suffocated me with your lies
I hold back the tears until it's blood I cry
I bleed myself to sleep when Angels lie
Lies Lies Lies
I'm choking on your lies
A summers day with acid rain
Head held high I fight the pain
Crimson drips from the corner of my eyes
Behind your innocent smile there's a thousand lies
Heaven sent for my demise
It suffocated me with your lies
I hold back the tears until it's blood I cry
I bleed myself to sleep when Angels lie
Lies Lies Lies
I'm choking on your lies
The clouds pierce right through my vision
Cherubs with razorblades drive me into collision
My ears bleed like hanging Angel cries
Sleep smotheres my face and all I see are lies
Heaven sent for my demise
It suffocated me with your lies
I hold back the tears until it's blood I cry
I bleed myself to sleep when Angels lie
Lies Lies Lies
I'm choking on your lies
poem by TyjaRae Guy
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A Soldier's Nightmares
The sounds were like thunder
As men fell under
In heaps like cattle
‘Win the bloody battle'
Was what was on a soldier's mind
The thought made him kill his own kind
Once the battle was won
All bravery was suddenly gone
As he looked on the fallen faces
Faces of dads, husbands, brothers and lovers
With his false conviction of victory
The soldier raised his shoulders
He inhaled the air of praises
As the army rode home on horses
In the arms of his love
He felt this was enough
But as the night fell
Fear gripped the soldier's heart
Reality was very tough
After the triumph of battle
Came the nights he evaded
It was time to faces the ghosts
Of men slaughtered without care
This was a soldier's nightmare
poem by Hilda Ndenecho
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Love Letter to a Soldier
Blind men go to battle
Like blind mice running towards water,
Fighting for a cause.
What cause?
You're only told parts of the whole story.
The rest is shrouded in mystery.
It will cover you,
Like a gauzy funeral cloth,
You will be bound in
By your beliefs,
Based on your limited experience.
After all,
You never knew what was the reality of your enemy.
While waiting for bullets to tear into you,
A bomb to blow you to bits,
Did you ever wonder,
Soldier,
If war is worth your cause?
And,
What of the blood now staining your hands
It will never wash out in your nightmares.
And,
What of the faces of the children, the babies
Those that never get mentioned?
Those that become faceless under the umbrella of
'Casualties'?
Friendly fire,
Does not burn me with love and kisses.
It does not leave me composed with inner satisfaction.
Soldier,
Don't you long for peace?
Do you escape in your sleep,
To pleasant memories?
Your childhood?
Your family?
Coffins line the bases waiting to go home.
A flag
A Purple Heart.
It would become purple after the blood had
Stopped flowing to it.
So would lips that speak no more..
Why does the blood of the young
Quench Lusty Thirsts?
Man is an animal.
Made more so by greed,
A fierce creature whose talion have a far reaching grasp
Made more powerful by metal, gunpowder, and steel.
Soldier,
As night approaches what do you think of?
As blood flows like wine to goblets
Have you made some sense?
Are you able to find peace?
poem by Rabia Minhas
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In The Harbour: Decoration Day
Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest
On this Field of the Grounded Arms,
Where foes no more molest,
Nor sentry's shot alarms!
Ye have slept on the ground before,
And started to your feet
At the cannon's sudden roar,
Or the drum's redoubling beat.
But in this camp of Death
No sound your slumber breaks;
Here is no fevered breath,
No wound that bleeds and aches.
All is repose and peace,
Untrampled lies the sod;
The shouts of battle cease,
It is the Truce of God!
Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!
The thoughts of men shall be
As sentinels to keep
Your rest from danger free.
Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Slumber Songs
I
Sleep, little eyes
That brim with childish tears amid thy play,
Be comforted! No grief of night can weigh
Against the joys that throng thy coming day.
Sleep, little heart!
There is no place in Slumberland for tears:
Life soon enough will bring its chilling fears
And sorrows that will dim the after years.
Sleep, little heart!
II
Ah, little eyes
Dead blossoms of a springtime long ago,
That life's storm crushed and left to lie below
The benediction of the falling snow!
Sleep, little heart
That ceased so long ago its frantic beat!
The years that come and go with silent feet
Have naught to tell save this -- that rest is sweet.
Dear little heart.
poem by John McCrae
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Soldier of War
I am a soldier with the will to live
I wonder if my family knows that I'm still here
I hear the sound of the guns blasting in my ears
I see my friends lives coming to a end
I want to go home and hold my loved ones again
I am a soldier with the will to live
I miss my family and my friends
I feel scarred as the bombs go off around the zone we have to defend
I touch the riffle and put the scope up to my eye
I worry if a bullet hits me will I die
I cry as my best friend slowly passes away in my arms
I am a soldier with the will to live
I understand only the strong will survive
I say to my best friend I'm sorry but this is good bye
I dream of hanging out with my best friend again
I try not to cry but the tears still descend
I hope all of the bomb explosions have finally come to a end
I am a soldier with the will to live
~Jacob Ailes~ (Me)
poem by Jake Ailes
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Run Silent,run Deep
(harris/dickinson)
The convoy lights are dead ahead
The merchantmen lay in their bed
The thump of diesels hammers down
In the oily sea-the killing ground
His knuckles white his eyes alight
He slams the hatch on the deadly night
A cunning fox in the chickens lair
A hound of hell and the devil dont care
Chorus
Runing silent,runing deep,we are your final prayer
Warriors in secret sleep,a merchantmans nightmare
A silent death lies awaiting,for all of you below
Running silent,running deep,sink into your silent sleep
Chill the hearts of fighting men
In open ocean wondering when?
The lethal silver fish will fly
The boat will shiver-men will die
A cast of millions-a part to play
Killer? victim? or fool for a day
Obeying an order-men have to die
Us or them - a well rehearsed lie
Chorus
The lifeboats shattered the hull is torn
The tar black smell of burning oil
On the way down to davy jones
Every man for himself - youre on your own
The wolf eyes watch the crosswire
stern tubes ready,aim and fire|
They can pin some medal on your chest
But in two more weeks - dead like the rest
Chorus
song performed by by Iron Maiden
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Airs for the Lute
I
When the sobbing lute complains,
Grieving for an ancient sorrow,
This poor sorrow that remains
Fain would borrow,
To give pleading unto sorrow,
Those uncapturable strains.
All, that hands upon the lute
Helped the voices to declare,
Voices mute
But for this, might I not share,
If, alas, I could but suit
Hand and voice unto the lute?
II
If time so sweetly
On true according viols make
Her own completely
The lawless laws of turn and shake;
How should I doubt then
Love, being tuned unto your mood,
Should bring about then
True time and measure of your blood?
III
Why are you sorrowful in dreams?
I am sad in the night;
The hours till morning are white,
I hear the hours' flight
All night in dreams.
Why do you send me your dreams?
For an old love's sake;
I dream if I sleep or wake,
And shall but one heart ache,
For the sake of dreams?
Pray that we sleep without dreams!
Ah, love, the only way
To put sorrow away,
Night or day, night or day,
From the way of dreams!
IV
Strange, to remember tears!
Yet I know that I wept;
And those hopes and those fears,
Strange, were as real as tears!
What's this delicate pain,
Twilight-coloured and grey?
Odour-like through my brain
Steals a shadowy pain.
What's this joy in the air?
Musical as the leaves,
When the white winds are there,
Faint joy breathes in the air.
poem by Arthur Symons
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Sleep
The night is grey -
Deeply buried inside the faint of black -
The breeze blow with the touch of blood -
Dead beats the drum -
Of a ridden heart -
The sleep which creeps -
By the bullet which sleeps -
Barrel to my gun -
Dormant she plays during the day -
Filled the promises of a sleep -
Creep to be well away -
Sleep -
Sleep -
Sleep my beauty queen -
Sleep to the unseen -
Sleep upon the nightmare -
Sleep in between my dreams -
Succumb by sleep -
Succumb by screams -
Inside where I sleep
poem by Unic Cjonr
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