The Newcomer
'There's something new in the river,'
The fish said as it swam.
'It's got no scales, no fins and no gills,
And ignores the impassable dam.'
'There's something new in the trees.'
I heard a bloated thrush sing.
'It's got no beak, no claws, and no feathers,
And not even the ghost of a wing.'
'There's something new in the warren,'
Said the rabbit to the doe.
'It's got no fur, no eyes and no paws,
Yet digs further than we dare go.'
'There's something new in the whiteness,'
Said the snow-bright polar bear.
'I saw its shadow on a glacier,
But it left no pawmarks there.'
Through the animal kingdom
The news was spreading fast.
No beak, no claws, no feather,
No scales, no fur, no gills,
It lives in the trees and the water,
In the soil and the snow and the hills,
And it kills and it kills and it kills.
poem by Brian Patten
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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She Is There
i see some bamboo poles
lining up
on the shallow sea
she is there
watching some fishes without fins
without scales
she is there on some exclamations
this cannot be!
this cannot be!
the fish i know have fins!
the fish i know have scales all over their elongated bodies!
the fish i know can swim!
why are these fishes dying?
why are these fishes swimless in the sea where they belong?
yes my dear, the fishes and the sea, you do not belong there
the fishes are not yours and you do not belong to them
they have their own salty, slimy, scaly world,
they have gills and fins and round eyes
that do not blink
so you cannot tell them what to do, what to become.
in fact, you are neither fish nor fowl
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Love That Kills
Will you take me slowly
Will you lead me all the way
Will you sing me your songs
Until I am ready for
The love that kills
Yeah!
I have known you in the
Sheets and folds of many lifetimes
You were there when I was made
And I will speak to you in the language of dream until
Love comes my way
Love that kills
Yeah!
Hey I will ride on a dolphin, rain in my face,
Wind in all of my sails
Theres a shadow hard on my heels now,
But Im still trying to, Im still trying to...
Get to the place, were [rolling like strippers over spill]
I have come a long way and I need my cup refilled
So when you come for me slowly
When you come knocking on my door
When the soul sings
And the man is still
I will be ready
I will be ready
Yes I will be ready for the love that kills
Yeah!
The love that kills
The love that kills, kills, kills
The love that kills
song performed by by Waterboys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Period Of Adjustment
In haste you accept me like
Whirlwind
Romancing the cliffs and stone
Then we settle for the nest of
An eagle
Up there where no one climbs
The eggs are safe
What have I become of myself?
Something you feed on
I am still this fish
With scales and gills
Unable to adapt to your lungs and beaks
and your threatening claws
and wings
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Love Kills
Sid was a punk rock king
Nancy was a broken queen
Their lives were so glamorous
Sid and Nancy were a mess
When you're hooked on heroin
Don't you know you'll never win
Drugs don't ever pay
You really did it your way
Love kills
Love kills
Love kills
We still believe in anarchy
It makes me so damn angry
Sid and Nancy meant a lot to me
You may be dead but your souls are free
Like Romeo and Juliet
You two made a pact of death
Like the needle that ya used
Sid and Nancy were born to lose
Love kills
Love kills
Love kills
Sid never meant any harm
He shot some dope into his arm
All he wanted was some fun
Now she's lying in a pool of blood
Always loaded
song performed by by Ramones from Animal Boy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Will To Love
It has often been my dream
To live with one who wasnt there
Like an ocean fish who swam upstream
Through nets, by hooks, and hungry bears.
When the water grew less deep
My fins were aching from the strain
Im swimming in my sleep
I know I cant go back again.
Got the will to love, the will to love.
Ill never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
Its like something from up above.
I can be like a fire in the night
Always warm and giving off light
But there comes a time when I shine too bright
Oh, Im just a fire in the night.
And now my fins are in the air
And my bellys scraping on the rocks
I still think someone really cares
And Ill keep swimming till I stop.
Got the will to love, the will to love.
Ill never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
Its like something from up above.
Im like a singer on the stage
With the golden lights and liquid rage
Down from the mountains to the sea
Cool running love keeps cleansing me.
It keeps my gills from getting dry
But it distorts things in my eyes
Sometimes I see what really isnt there
Like my true lover, and I care.
Got the will to love, the will to love.
Ill never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
Its like something from up above.
Sometimes I ramble on and on
And I repeat myself till all my friends are gone
And get lost in snow and drown in rain
And never feel the same again.
I remember the ocean from where I came
Just one of millions all the same
But somewhere someone calls my name
Im a harpoon dodger, and I cant, wont be tamed.
Got the will to love, the will to love.
Ill never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
Its like something from up above.
Baby, if I see boredom in your eyes
Ill know my river has run dry
But I wont turn back with that lonely tide
I bought that ticket and Ill take that ride.
If we meet along the way
Please sway beside me, let us sway together
Our tails together and our fins and mind
Well leave this water and let our scales shine
In the sun above and the sky below
So all the water and earth will know
It has often been my dream
To live with one who wasnt there.
song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The River that Slowly Rills
The Big Fish finds his lunch, and kills
In the river that slowly rills
The victim, caught up in the flood
First of water, now of blood
Death comes to him in blowing chills
While the river slowly rills
We see the blue is mixed with red
The prey surely now is dead
The carnivore has shown his skills
While the river slowly rills
The day has only just begun
Once of two fish, now of one
A strange home for slaught'ring gills
The river that slowly, slowly rills
poem by Bobby Crawford
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Vanity Kills
Have you heard the latest? (you love you)
Have you seen who just walked in (vain vain vain vain)
(uh huh, you love you) right over there
Shes so vain vain vain vain
Vain vain vain vain
Im glad youve found someone who loves you
But sad to say that someone is you
And now perhaps youll both be happy
Guess that makes two just you and you
Someone who cares so much about you
But does that someone have to be you
Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom bom yeah
Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom bom yeah
Vanity kills, it dont pay bills
Vanity kills, you love you
Vanity kills, it dont pay bills
Vanity kills, it kills
So glad I found you glancing in the mirror
Gazing deeply at loves patron saint
Admire the frame, survey the scenery
Or are you just inspecting the paint
Temptations strong modestys so weak
High on yourself humble you aint
Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom bom yeah
Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom bom yeah
Vanity kills, it dont pay bills
Vanity kills, you love you
Vanity kills, it dont pay bills
Vanity kills, you love you
Vanity kills, it dont pay bills (no way)
Vanity kills, you love you
Vanity kills, it dont pay bills
Vanity kills, it kills
So vain, vain vain vain
You love you (yeah)
Give it, give it us, give it us
So vain, so vain, so vain
Vanity kills, it dont pay bills
Vanity kills, you love you
Vanity kills, it dont pay bills
Vanity kills, you love you
Vanity kills, it dont pay bills
Vanity kills, you love you
Vanity kills, if the blast dont get you
Then the fallout will
You love you
song performed by by Abc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The End Of The Story Of The Creature Who Feared The Sun And Man
..and so the creature who had feet
and skin
for fear of the sun
learns to live on the water
evolving into a fish
with gills and scales &
some fins
and lots of slime
purposely to evade the
touch of the
fingers of the
moss and stones
its mouth forever silenced
by its
noble choice
just to be
its lonely and
isolated self
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Nothing To Tell, Begin With A Mermaid Story
Accept the fact
The fear that you have nothing to tell anymore
To amuse yourself
writers' block, shutting up, windows closing,
doors locked, mind shrinking,
like the fish vendor who sells rumors & rotten stories
To the streets
You go to the fish market today
Not buying any fish or selling any or even touching gills
so you can breathe
You’re looking for some
Salt
Taking notes of the fish scales discarded
Trashed
Some fish bones & broken fins
some fishermen catching
Broken hearts on their small eyed nets
You go back with fish fins
And fish tails, thicked lippes and round moving eyes
You will start with a mermaid story today.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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440
Accept the fact
The fear that you have nothing to tell anymore
To amuse yourself
writers' block, shutting up, windows closing,
doors locked, mind shrinking,
like the fish vendor who sells rumors & rotten stories
To the streets
You go to the fish market today
Not buying any fish or selling any or even touching gills
so you can breathe
You’re looking for some
Salt
Taking notes of the fish scales discarded
Trashed
Some fish bones & broken fins
some fishermen catching
Broken hearts on their small eyed nets
You go back with fish fins
And fish tails, thick lips and round moving eyes
You will start with a mermaid story today.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Strange Dog
this dog has no eyes, and so it feels most of the time
through its tongue
it believes it comes from the genealogy of the fish
and so its swims
against the current of the river
inventing its own gills
it closes and opens letting all the water of the river pass through
i am not surprised, in fact, i can relate to this dog without eyes
and inventing gills for it to breathe under water
that is what i do, most often than you know.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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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Winter Kills
green in your love on bright days
You grew sunblind you thought me unkind
To remind you how winter kills
Lost in daydreams you drove too fast and got nowhere
You drove on half fare when you got too scared
How winter kills
Tear at me searching for weak seams
Pain in your eyes makes me cruel
Makes me spiteful tears are delightful welcome your nightfall
How winter kills
I tear at you searching for weak seams
How winter kills
song performed by by Yaz
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Winter Kills
green in your love on bright days
You grew sunblind you thought me unkind
To remind you how winter kills
Lost in daydreams you drove too fast and got nowhere
You drove on half fare when you got too scared
How winter kills
Tear at me searching for weak seams
Pain in your eyes makes me cruel
Makes me spiteful tears are delightful welcome your nightfall
How winter kills
I tear at you searching for weak seams
How winter kills
song performed by by Yaz
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When you see a fish you don't think of its scales, do you? You think of its speed, its floating, flashing body seen through the water... If I made fins and eyes and scales, I would arrest its movement, give a pattern or shape of reality. I want just the flash of its spirit.
quote by Constantin Brancusi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sex Kills
I pulled up behind a cadillac;
We were waiting for the light;
And I took a look at his license plate-
It said, just ice.
Is justice just ice?
Governed by greed and lust?
Just the strong doing what they can
And the weak suffering what they must?
And the gas leaks
And the oil spills
And sex sells everything
And sex kills ...
Sex kills ...
Doctors pills give you brand new ills
And the bills bury you like an avalanche
And lawyers havent been this popular
Since robespierre slaughtered half of france!
And indian chiefs with their old beliefs know
The balance is undone-crazy ions-
You can feel it out in traffic;
Everyone hates everyone!
And the gas leaks
And the oil spills
And sex sells everything
And sex kills ...
Sex kills ...
All these jackoffs at the office
The rapist in the pool
Oh and the tragedies in the nurseries-
Little kids packin guns to school
The ulcerated ozone
These tumors of the skin-
This hostile sun beating down on
This massive mess were in!
And the gas leaks
And the oil spills
And sex sells everything
And sex kills ...
Sex kills ...
Sex kills ...
Sex kills ...
Sex kills ...
song performed by by Joni Mitchell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pads, Paws And Claws
Shes a feline tormentor, not any vaudeville wife
But with a drunk-town lament he leads her a miserable life
But when hes full of that beer-champagne
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
And if he should wake up in some terrible dive
And he dont know if hes so-so
But hes so surprised hes alive
"come on little honey, let me under your hive"
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, pads around the bedroom, practicing ways to flirt
He paws, pours another drink and anything in a skirt
Anything wearing a necklace
He thinks of claws scratching his back hes
Going out there hes not coming back
Shes got spider-leg fingers, sharpened whenever he strays
And she carries a bird-purse, with all of her womanly ways
til hes drinking hairspray, she knows that he never would dare
She could be in pictures if she wasnt all covered in fur
Hes coming home now and heres the surprise
You wouldnt believe the lies that he tries
She cut him down to her favourite size
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pads, Paws & Claws
Shes a feline tormentor, not any vaudeville wife
But with a drunk-town lament he leads her a miserable life
But when hes full of that beer-champagne
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
And if he should wake up in some terrible dive
And he dont know if hes so-so
But hes so surprised hes alive
Come on little honey, let me under your hive
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, pads around the bedroom, practicing ways to flirt
He paws, pours another drink and anything in a skirt
Anything wearing a necklace
He thinks of claws scratching his back hes
Going out there hes not coming back
Shes got spider-leg fingers, sharpened whenever he strays
And she carries a bird-purse, with all of her womanly ways
til hes drinking hairspray, she knows that he never would dare
She could be in pictures if she wasnt all covered in fur
Hes coming home now and heres the surprise
You wouldnt believe the lies that he tries
She cut him down to her favourite size
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Suddenly A Shadow Falls
Suddenly a shadow falls from above
where a rock-rabbit bathes in the sun,
it moves to the fountain in the mountain,
hear baboons barking higher up on the cliffs
stops in fear, would have run if it could,
against the rock that animal is very small.
The shadows gets shape, it gets dangerous,
with deadly, piercing claws, beak stretched out
lightning quick and precise something falls,
the rock-rabbit screeches and just escapes,
disappears into a split of rock
waits for moments that lasts a eternity
but the flying danger is still there,
with yellow-gold eyes staring from the heights.
poem by Gert Strydom
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He who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, but he who destroys a good book kills reason itself.
quote by John Milton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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