At the End of Spring
The flower of the pear-tree gathers and turns to fruit;
The swallows' eggs have hatched into young birds.
When the Seasons' changes thus confront the mind
What comfort can the Doctrine of Tao give?
It will teach me to watch the days and months fly
Without grieving that Youth slips away;
If the Fleeting World is but a long dream,
It does not matter whether one is young or old.
But ever since the day that my friend left my side
And has lived in exile in the City of Chiang-ling,
There is one wish I cannot quite destroy:
That from time to time we may chance to meet again.
Related quotes
Swallows in the summertime
Swallows in the summertime
The swallows have returned again,
Reminding me of those halcyon days of my youth,
Many years have passed since those blissful days,
I would spend many happy evenings watch them dart around.
The swallows always return each summer,
Spreading their joyful wings over England's green and pleasant land,
Every summer I wonder how many more times will I see the return,
Although it's summer again, I ‘am approaching the winter of my life.
When the swallows return again next year again,
I wonder if I will still be here to see them again,
Flying on the wing under the clear blue skies of summer,
If I ‘am, I will sit by the babbling brook and watch their dance once more.
If I see the swallows return once more,
I will remember those summer days of long ago,
When I was a lad and the countryside seemed to go on forever,
And in my mind I will be young again.
By Christopher Tye
poem by Christopher Tye
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
When I Was A Young Girl
(A Song of Old Ballads)
WHEN I was a young girl, all in a green arbor,
When I was a young girl in Springtimes gone by
All the long days I went singing and smiling,
Down by the roses the sweet days beguiling,
Love in the arbor and love in the sky . . .
When I was a young girl, a young girl, a young girl,
When I was a young girl, how happy was I!
Oh, the long days I must sit at my sampler,
Oh, the slow way that the still time would go!
I longed to be running across the bright heather,
'Off with the silk gown and on with the leather,
Following the raggle-taggle gypsies, oh!'
When I was a young girl, a young girl, a young girl,
When I was a young girl, a long time ago!
When I was a young girl in days that were golden,
When I was a young girl, and life had no smart,
All the world seemed a place for my playing,
Full of great lovers to come to me, saying,
'Madam, I give you the keys of my heart . . .'
When I was a young girl, a young girl, a young girl,
When I was a young girl, and dreaming apart!
When I was a young girl, I dreamed of my lover,
A tall cavalier who should whisper me low,
'Love, on your lips are red roses a-blowing,
I am your true love, and fast is time going
Am I your true love? Oh, say yes or no!'
When I was a young girl, a young girl, a young girl–
When I was a young girl, a long time ago!
When I was a young girl there came my true lover,
Swiftly I knew him in glad days gone by;
Never a sword or a lovelock or feather,
But oh, at his touch 'twas our hearts came together,
Love in the arbor and love in the sky . . .
When I was a young girl, a young girl, a young girl,
When I was a young girl, how happy was I!
poem by Margaret Widdemer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Long Time Gone
by Bob Dylan
My parents raised me tenderly,
I was their only son.
My mind got mixed with ramblin'
When I was all so young,
And I left my home the first time
When I was twelve and one.
I'm a long time a-comin', Maw,
An' I'll be a long time gone.
On the western side of Texas,
On the Texas plains,
I tried to find a job o'work
But they said I's young of age.
My eyes they burned when I heard,
"Go home where you belong!"
I'm a long time a-comin',
An' I'll be a long time gone.
I remember when I's ramblin'
Around with the carnival trains,
Different towns, different people,
Somehow they're all the same.
I remember children's faces best,
I remember travelin' on.
I'm a long time a-comin',
I'll be a long time gone.
I once loved a fair young maid
An' I ain't too big to tell,
If she broke my heart a single time,
She broke it ten or twelve.
I walked and talked all by myself,
I did not tell no one.
I'm a long time a-comin', babe,
An' I'll be a long time gone.
Many times by the highwayside,
I tried to flag a ride.
With bloodshot eyes and gritting teeth,
I'd watch the cars roll by.
The empty air hung in my head
I's thinkin' all day long.
I'm a long time a-comin',
An' I'll be a long time gone.
You might see me on your crossroads
When I'm a-passin' through.
Remember me how you wished to
As I'm a-driftin' from your view.
I ain't got the time to think about it,
I got too much to get done.
Well, I'm a long time comin'
An' I'll be a long time gone.
If I can't help somebody
With a word or song,
If I can't show somebody
They are travelin' wrong.
But I know I ain't no prophet
An' I ain't no prophet's son.
I'm just a long time a-comin'
An' I'll be a long time gone.
So you can have your beauty,
It's skin deep and it only lies.
And you can have your youth,
It'll rot before your eyes.
Just give to me my gravestone
With it clearly carved upon:
"I's a long time a-comin',
An' I'll be a long time gone.
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Celebrate Youth
Celebrate Youth
by H-Blockx
Album: No Excuses
I can see the older man
Looking at the younger man
I can see the younger man
Looking at the boy
Over there the older woman
Looking at the younger woman
I can see the younger woman
Looking at the girl
'Cause every man sees
In the younger man the hope
Every woman sees
In the younger girl the dream
Everybody lives
The pride and passion of the young
From the womb to the tomb
We will remember what it means
Refrain:
So celebrate youth - celebrate
Those who have it - young ones
Celebrate youth - celebrate
Give them sight
The future of the world's in the -celebrate
Hands of children - young ones
So celebrate youth - celebrate
Teach them right
Looking in a child's face
There's no pride and no disgrace
There's no struggle there's no fight
I can see the older man
And sometimes in the older man
I still see the young boy
Burning in his eye
And locked up here inside our spirit
Is the child that we are, hear it
Some of us will always fear it
And some will heed the cry
'Cause every man sees
In the younger man the hope
Every woman sees
In the younger girl the dream
Everybody lives
The pride and passion of the young
From the womb to the tomb
We will remember what it means
Refrain:
So celebrate youth - celebrate
Those who have it - young ones
Celebrate youth - celebrate
Give them sight
The future of the world's in the -celebrate
Hands of children - young ones
So celebrate youth - celebrate
Teach them right
Looking in a child's face
There's no pride and no disgrace
There's no struggle, there's no fight
Fight like a youth brigade
Tear down your baricades
I know fear's a blade
Time's up, another decade
Fight to be free indeed
Wrap up the things you need
Imaturity
Celebrates the youth in me
Looking in a child's eye
There's no hate and there's no lie
There's no black and there's no white
Refrain:
So celebrate youth - celebrate
Those who have it - young ones
Celebrate youth - celebrate
Give them sight
The future of the world's in the -celebrate
Hands of children - young ones
So celebrate youth - celebrate
Teach them right
Looking in a child's eye
There's no hate and there's no lie
There's no black and there's no white
song performed by by H-BlockX
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Youth and Age
Dance on, dance on, we see, we see
Youth goes, alack, and with it glee,
A boy the old man ne'er can be;
Maternal thirty scarce can find
The sweet sixteen long left behind;
Old folks must toil, and scrape, and strain,
That boys and girls may once again
Be that for them they cannot be,
But which it gives them joy to see,
Youth goes and glee; but not in vain
Young folks if only you remain.
Dance on, dance on, 'tis joy to see;
The dry red leaves on winter's tree,
Can feel the new sap rising free.
On, on, young folks; so you survive,
The dead themselves are still alive;
The blood in dull parental veins
Long numbed, a tingling life regains.
Deep down in earth, the tough old root
Is conscious still of flower and fruit.
Spring goes and glee but were not vain:
In you, young folks, they come again.
Dance on, dance on, we see, we feel;
Wind, wind your waltzes, wind and wheel,
Our senses too with music reel;
Nor let your pairs neglect to fill
The old ancestral scorned quadrille.
Let hand the hand uplifted seek,
And pleasure fly from cheek to cheek;
Love too; but gently, nor astray,
And yet, deluder, yet in play.
Dance on; youth goes: but all's not vain,
Young folks, if only you remain.
Dance on, dance on, 'tis joy to see;
We once were nimble e'en as ye,
And danced to give the oldest glee;
O wherefore add, as we, you too,
Once gone your prime cannot renew;
You too, like us, at last shall stand
To watch and not to join the band,
Content some day (a far-off day)
To your supplanters soft to say,
Youth goes, but goes not all in vain,
Young folks, so only you remain,
Dance on, dance on, 'tis joy to see.
poem by Arthur Hugh Clough
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy!
Krafty
Some people get up at the break of day
Gotta go to work before it gets too late
Sitting in a car and driving down the road
It ain't the way it has to be
But that's what you do to earn your daily wage
That's the kind of world that we live in today
Isn't where you wanna be
And isn't what you wanna be
*chorus*
Give me one more day (one more day)
Give me another night (just another night)
I need a second chance (second chance)
This time I'll get it right (This time I'll get it right)
I'll say one last time (one last time)
I've got to let you know (I've got to let you know)
I've got to change my mind (I've got to change my mind)
I'll never let you go (I'll never let you go)
You've got to look at life the way it oughta be
Looking at the stars from underneath the tree
There's a world inside and a world out there
With that on tv you just don't care
They've got violence, wars and killing too
All shrunk down a two-foot tube
But out there the world is a beautiful place
With mountains, lakes and the human race
This is where I wanna be
And this is what I wanna do
Give me one more day (one more day)
Give me another night (just another night)
I need a second chance (second chance)
This time I'll get it right (This time I'll get it right)
I'll say one last time (one last time)
I've got to let you know (I've got to let you know)
I've got to change my mind (I've got to change my mind)
I'll never let you go (I'll never let you go)
Just give me one more chance (one more chance)
Give me another night (just another night)
With just one more day (one more day)
You know I'll get it right (You know I'll get it right)
I'll say one last time (one last time)
I've got to let you know (I've got to let you know)
If I could change your mind (If I could change your mind)
I'll never let you go (I'll never let you go)
song performed by by New Order
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
When We Were Young
WHEN WE WERE YOUNG
1)
When we were young
The world was young
Now we are old
And the world is old too.
2)
When we were young
The world was young
Now we are old
And the world is younger
than we are.
3)
When the world was young
I was not young
Now I am old
And the world is older- also.
4)
To be old is to be sadder
So much is not here any more
One will never be
What one was-
One can still hope faintly to be
One what longed to be-
But one knows
This too probably
Will not be given.
5)
Oh how Youth flies by in it all its glory
Oh how Time leaves us alone
With our memories and sadnesses
Our fears
For what is yet to come.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Duty Done - 1935
The swallows are back, and I'm tuning my lyre,
For today 'tis my duty to sing
A melodious lay that is graciously gay
To welcome - officially - spring
Ting-a-ling
So let's have a song with a swing.
Bing!
High cockalorum and fal-de-rah, whack!
Young Spring's in the offing! The swallows are back!
To put sense in the song matters little so long
As the lift and the lilt of it ring.
And a mention be made of the wattle-hung glade
Where the blithering birds are a-wing
Ting-a-ling
And the clamorous honey-bees cling.
Z-z-z-ing!
Tho' I'm scarce in the humor, alas and alack!
Ho, merry-down-derry! The swallows are back!
So - officially - Hi! Oh, salubrious sky!
What a dear and delectable thing
To behold such a blue as old Arcady knew
When - er - Strephan or someone was king
Ting-a-ling
And life held nor arrow nor sling.
Ping!
Ah, the fervor is forced; but I mustn't get slack,
Tho' the rhymes may run low, for the swallows are back!
But - privily - oh, my vitality's low,
And a sneer at the season I fling
For I gasp and I wheeze in the weary unease
Of the plagues that the pollen days bring
Ting-a-ling
I'm insipid as second-hand string.
Ring.
Ah, ring down the curtain! I've gone to the pack!
But, a last word in closing: the swallows are back.
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ching-a-ling Song
(as heard on the deram antholgy 1997)
Whilst flying through an azure cloud
A crystal girl Id spy
She kissed the blue birds honey tongue
And stuttered as she sighed
I wish to sing the chicken song
Ching-a-ling song is fine
Id give my jewels and caviar
To make this daydream mine
Ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling,
Ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling,
Ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling
Doo dah doo doo dah dah, doo dah dah dah dah dah dah dah
While stepping through a heavens eye
Two lover souls we spied
They wished the cloud boys sang to me
A cheerful happy cry
We love to play our love-strong hearts
No better do we know
No gifts of money do we give
For love is all we own
Na na na na na na, na na na na na na na na
Ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling,
Ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling,
Ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling
Na na na na na na, na na na na na na na na
Ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling,
Ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling,
Ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling, ching-a-ling
song performed by by David Bowie
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Where have all the trees gone Dad?
Dad! When I was in school the teacher showed me a picture of a tree
I've never seen one of those before, tall and handsome and brown and green you see
Do you remember seeing a tree when you were young? My teacher says there were many
She says that they grew all over the world but now days there aren't any
What did they look like? Did they blow in the wind?
Did the leaves fall in the autumn or was it in spring?
How high did they grow? Did they sway to and fro?
Did they look pretty covered in winters first fall of snow?
Dad, teacher says they'll grow no more, she says the climate has changed forever
She says we're all poorer now and explained to us how we'll have to suffer together
I heard that there was a tree that grew as tall as a skyscraper
But they cut it down and mulched it up to make us all new paper
It would be nice to see trees growing proud and strong
Reaching up to the sky with their branches so long
But that's just a dream I know I'll never see
It's just a vision in a picture never to be reality for me
My teacher said there used to be birds that lived amongst the bows
They flew around from branch to branch but we don't have those either now
What are nuts and berries and fruit the trees all used to bear?
My teacher says they were things we could eat at the end of every year
Well do you remember seeing a tree when you were young then Dad?
The like of which I have just explained and a pleasure I've never had
What do you mean they died out long ago, long before you were born
Now I'll never know why we cut them all down and my heart will always be torn.
poem by Glenn Ford
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Reservation For One
This is my tree, my tree, my tree,
My one lone tree, pear tree,
It grows, overflows, it grows it’s fruit,
Alone, only for me.
If I could go to a far-away place,
With just me and my tree, pear tree,
I’d pack my bags, my bags I’d pack,
I’d pick up my bags and flee.
There’s nothing at all, no nothing,
At all, that films me more with glee,
Than those globes, those globes,
Of precious fruit in my tree, pear tree.
I sit beneath, beneath I sit,
Its laden canopy, I polish it’s leafs then,
Set a table of fruits,
Of wine, and bread and brie.
This tree, my tree, could feed the world,
Find me a wife and camaraderie,
It’s powers, it’s powers are vast but I
Can’t pass on its secret sadly.
I’d tell the world, the world I’d tell,
If they weren’t all so hungry, you see.
But my fruit, my fruits, my laboured.
Fruits, I grew only for me, for me,
No none are as hungry as me.
poem by Suzanne Louise Bishop
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sixty to Sixteen
If I were young as you, Sixteen,
And you were old as I,
I would not be as I have been,
You would not be so shy—
We should not watch with careless mien
The golden days go by,
If I were young as you, Sixteen,
And you were old as I.
The years of youth are yours, Sixteen;
Such years of old had I,
But time has set his seal between
Dark eyebrow and dark eye.
Sere grow the leaves that once were green,
The song turns to a sigh:
Ah! very young are you, Sixteen,
And very old am I.
Red bloom-times come and go, Sixteen,
With snow-soft feet, but I
Shall be no more as I have been
In times of bloom gone by;
For dimmer grows the pleasant scene
Beneath the pleasant sky;
The world is growing old, Sixteen—
The weary world and I.
Ah, would that once again, Sixteen,
A kissing mouth had I;
The days would gaily go, I ween,
Though death should stand anigh,
If springtime’s green were evergreen,
If Love would never die,
And I were young as you, Sixteen,
And you were old as I.
poem by Victor James Daley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Time Spent In Dress
In many a lecture, many a book,
You all have heard, you all have read,
That time is precious. Of its use
Much has been written, much been said.
The accomplishments which gladden life,
As music, drawing, dancing, are
Encroachers on our precious time;
Their praise or dispraise I forbear.
They should be practised or forborne,
As parents wish, or friends desire:
What rests alone in their own will
Is all I of the young require.
There's not a more productive source
Of waste of time to the young mind
Than dress; as it regards our hours
My view of it is now confined.
Without some calculation, youth
May live to age and never guess,
That no one study they pursue
Takes half the time they give to dress.
Write in your memorandum-book
The time you at your toilette spend;
Then every moment which you pass,
Talking of dress with a young friend:
And ever when your silent thoughts
Have on this subject been intent,
Set down as nearly as you can
How long on dress your thoughts were bent.
If faithfully you should perform
This task, 'twould teach you to repair
Lost hours, by giving unto dress
Not more of time than its due share.
poem by Charles Lamb
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
In These Last Few Days
In these last few days, you've been on my mind.
An' we should get together an' talk about old times.
An' put the past behind us before life slips away.
I been thinkin' 'bout you in these last few days.
In these last few days, I have felt my age.
I wish that I was younger, but time has turned the page.
I sure miss the water and the rhythm of the waves.
I've been feelin' fragile in these last few days.
But I have been a father, a husband and a son.
Lookin' back is bitter sweet now that my race has run.
I've tried to be a witness from the cradle to the grave.
Time has felt so precious in these last few days.
Instrumental break.
In these last few days, I have seen the light.
And I'll be waitin' for you on the other side.
My old friend, I love you: that's really all there's left to say.
Lay down here beside me in these last few days.
My old friend, I'll miss you, but I'm trying to be brave.
Lay down here beside me in these last few days.
song performed by by Vince Gill
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Haunts Me
It was a long time ago but it still haunts me,
Well the good times are paying, but the bad times they come free,
Its been a good few years in the lonely lane, but still it lingers like a stain,
It was a long time ago but it still haunts me.
Ive got a hole in my head and it just wont let me be,
But some days Im happy, and other days I just weep,
Well if I told you what Id done that day, I know youd never talk to me again,
It was a long time ago but it still haunts me.
All the time Im hanging round, Im dodging all the danger,
I dream of days when I was young, and I was just a stranger.
Now dont you worry yourself, cos your friend now lives in peace,
Even though you had to bury all the evidence in the sea,
They found his hair and his brains in an open bag, at the bottom where the wartime ship had sank,
It was a long time ago but it still haunts me.
All the time Im hanging round, Im dodging all the danger,
I dream of days when I was young, and I was just a stranger.
Haunts me,
Haunts me,
Haunts me,
Haunts me,
Haunts me,
Haunts me
Haunts me, yah yah yah yah yah.
song performed by by Zutons
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Every Minute, Every Hour
Another day has gone by
Still have you picture, by my side
I cant forget when you left
When we said goodbye
I know its hard to carry on,
Can I survive?
Every mintue, every hour
I just cant get you out of my mind
No matter how hard I try
Every day, every night
I wish you were back in my life
Can we give it just one more chance,
This time
Looking back on it now
Oooo
Where we went wrong
I cant figure out
Wish I could turn back the time
And make you mine
Is it too late
For us to try
A second time
Every mintue, every hour
I just cant get you out of my mind
No matter how hard I try
Every day, every night
I wish you were back in my life
Can we give it just one more chance,
This time
I just dont see things the same
I cant get out of the way
(its clouding my mind)
Its clouding my mind
Ill make it all up to you
Just tell me what I should do
I want you back in my life
Gimme one more chance
Every mintue, every hour
I just cant get you out of my mind
No matter how hard I try
Every day, every night
I wish you were back in my life
Can we give it just one more chance,
Every mintue, every hour
I just cant get you out of my mind
No matter how hard I try
Every day, every night
I wish you were back in my life
Can we give it one more chance,
This time
Can we give it just one more chance
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
song performed by by 2gether
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The World Is Full Of Angry Young Men
Gone are the days,
When hate filled my heart,
I feel now I am a happy man,
I laugh now at values that I had.
All through my youth,
I was shouting and no one would hear.
Blind to the ways,
Of the people who now I hold dear.
Its loud and clear.
The world is full of angry young men,
Chip on the shoulder,
An ideal in their head.
The world is full of angry young men,
Who think life owes them something,
But you only get out what goes in.
There was a time,
When I fought the worldm
I see now,
It was just an actors stage.
I see clear,
The colours through the haze.
As time goes on,
Your opinion will change like the weather.
Things that you said,
Now seem small,
They just dont seem to matter,
I learned for the better.
The world is full of angry young men,
Chip on the shoulder,
And an ideal in their head.
The world is full of angry young men,
Who think life owes them something,
But you only get out what goes in.
There was a time I was lost in the dark,
I ran a race I didnt know where to start.
Now Ive changed my ways,
Seeing better days,
Im turning my world upside down.
The world is full of angry young men,
Chip on the shoulder,
And an ideal in their head.
The world is full of angry young men,
Who think life owes them something,
But you only get out what goes in.
Angry young men,
What you put in is what you get out.
song performed by by Xtc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
In The Fields By The Sullane
In the fields by the Sullane that flows through Macroom
The wildflowers of Nature are now in full bloom
And the ageing migrant remembers today
The place where he lived in as a boy near a town far away.
His soul mate and the best friend he ever did know
His Aussie wife passed on a few years ago
Their grandchildren teenagers and time ticking on
And his best Seasons to the forever long gone.
To the young mind the far off hills always look green
And he left friends and family when he turned nineteen
The wanderlust in him for the big World out there
From the fields by the Sullane he would live elsewhere
Forty eight years out of Macroom in time quite a span
In this Southern Country a gray haired ageing man
The years telling on him the years never lie
Far from the Sullane he is destined to die.
To this Southern Land his best years he did give
And on his retirement pension he now has to live
The passing of time has left him walking slow
The one from the fields where Sullane waters flow.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Suppress
When we are young, we suppress our feelings
for they say we’re too young to know.
We let love pass us by too many times
and in later years we look back
tears forming in our eyes
for those who got away
because we were too young to try.
Each life is filled with heartaches
such as these I describe
and we’ll regret those mistakes
until the day we die.
Sometimes we meet an old love
and all those yesterdays once more
before us begin to unfold.
Can love blossom a second time
long passed the winters of discontent,
long passed the flower of our youth.
What happens when love’s feelings
again begin to awake,
do we suppress them once again
or let our feeling flow.
The answer is not ours to make,
but for time to only know.
28 July 2010
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
We Teach Them Young
We teach them young,
What to dislike.
And...
To separate into divisons,
With preferences selected.
We teach them young,
How to hate and who to fight.
With weapons used to kill.
And incite with mindless deeds.
We...
Teach them this!
We teach them,
With a rehabilitation done...
To respect laws when broken.
With the best of pretentions kept.
We...
Teach them this!
We teach them young,
The art of deception.
Self righteousness and hypocriscy.
And then when they reflect these lessons taught...
We teach them denial to have others believe.
We teach them young with a doing done they do!
And yet we get upset with regrets to protest those tests,
They have passed.
With accusations directed at others to blame,
For implimenting those tasks we teach.
We...
Teach them young!
With a doing of this not to admit.
As we wish for escape from their commitments,
Made.
We...
Teach them young.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!