The Shoelace
a woman, a
tire that’s flat, a
disease, a
desire: fears in front of you,
fears that hold so still
you can study them
like pieces on a
chessboard…
it’s not the large things that
send a man to the
madhouse. death he’s ready for, or
murder, incest, robbery, fire, flood…
no, it’s the continuing series of small tragedies
that send a man to the
madhouse…
not the death of his love
but a shoelace that snaps
with no time left …
The dread of life
is that swarm of trivialities
that can kill quicker than cancer
and which are always there -
license plates or taxes
or expired driver’s license,
or hiring or firing,
doing it or having it done to you, or
roaches or flies or a
broken hook on a
screen, or out of gas
or too much gas,
the sink’s stopped-up, the landlord’s drunk,
the president doesn’t care and the governor’s
crazy.
light switch broken, mattress like a
porcupine;
$105 for a tune-up, carburetor and fuel pump at
sears roebuck;
and the phone bill’s up and the market’s
down
and the toilet chain is
broken,
and the light has burned out -
the hall light, the front light, the back light,
the inner light; it’s
darker than hell
and twice as
expensive.
then there’s always crabs and ingrown toenails
and people who insist they’re
your friends;
there’s always that and worse;
leaky faucet, christ and christmas;
blue salami, 9 day rains,
50 cent avocados
and purple
liverwurst.
or making it
as a waitress at norm’s on the split shift,
or as an emptier of
bedpans,
or as a carwash or a busboy
or a stealer of old lady’s purses
leaving them screaming on the sidewalks
with broken arms at the age of 80.
suddenly
2 red lights in your rear view mirror
and blood in your
underwear;
toothache, and $979 for a bridge
$300 for a gold
tooth,
and china and russia and america, and
long hair and short hair and no
hair, and beards and no
faces, and plenty of zigzag but no
pot, except maybe one to piss in
and the other one around your
gut.
with each broken shoelace
out of one hundred broken shoelaces,
one man, one woman, one
thing
enters a
madhouse.
so be careful
when you
bend over.
poem by Charles Bukowski
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Things That May Greet You One Day
a faucet that leaks
a computer that shuts down
a cell phone on low batteries
a flashlight that does not light
a dark bathroom
a malfunctioning vcd
a car that does not start
a study lamp with a broken
switch
some things broken
you wish they were not
but just the same
you go on with what
this broken day has to offer
you relax on sad thoughts
you mend what you can
such are your days
and she never knew
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Everything Is Broken
Broken lines, broken strings, broken threads, broken springs
Broken idols, broken heads, people sleeping in broken beds
Aint no use jivin, aint no use jokin
Everything is broken
Broken bottles, broken plates, broken switches, broken gates
Broken dishes, broken parts, streets are filled with broken hearts
Broken words never meant to be spoken
Everything is broken
Seems like every time you stop and turn around
Someone else has just hit the ground
Broken cutters, broken saws, broken buckles, broken laws
Broken bodies, broken bones, broken voices on broken phones
Take a deep breath, feel like youre chokin
Everything is broken
Every time you leave and go off some place
Things fall to pieces in my face
Broken hands on broken plows, broken treaties, broken vows
Broken pipes, broken tools, people bending broken rules
Hound dog howlin, bullfrog croakin
Everything is broken
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Everything Is Broken
Broken lines, broken strings
Broken threads, broken springs,
Broken idols, broken heads,
People sleeping in broken beds.
Aint no use jiving,
Aint no use joking,
Everything is broken.
Broken bottles, broken plates,
Broken switches, broken gates,
Broken dishes, broken parts,
Streets are filled with broken hearts.
Broken words never meant to be spoken,
Everything is broken.
Seems like every time you stop and turn around
Something else just hit the ground
Broken cutters, broken saws,
Broken buckles, broken laws,
Broken bodies, broken bones,
Broken voices on broken phones
Take a deep breath, feel like youre chokin,
Everything is broken.
Every time you leave and go off someplace
Thangs fall to pieces in my face
Broken hands on broken ploughs,
Broken treaties, broken vows,
Broken pipes, broken tools,
People bending broken rules.
Hound dog howling, bull frog croaking,
Everything is broken.
song performed by by Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Broken Down
By simon climie & dennis morgan
Everything was wonderful when you were in my life.
Yesterday we were on a roll, baby, then we end up in a fight.
Everywhere I look, I see problems, where I never seen before.
The cracks in the sidewalk, when I get home my key dont even fit the door.
The moon dont shine, its broken down.
The clouds are crying, theyre broken down.
The car wont start, its broken down.
And this shattered heart, its broken down.
My whole damn world, its broken down.
Since you left me girl, Ive broken down.
Stepped outside into the night, I took a walk around the block.
I stopped by the church that I used to go inside but even that door was locked.
So I came back home, feeling so alone, a light had burned out in the hall.
My tv is broke, said Im out of smoke, theres no one I can even call.
Chorus
Said my whole damn world, its broken down.
Since you left me girl, Ive broken down.
Till you come back, come back to me, Im going to be broken down.
Till you come back, come back to me, Im going to be broken down.
Chorus
I mean my whole damn world, its broken down.
Since you left me girl, Ive broken down.
My whole damn world, its broken down.
Since you left me girl, its broken down.
song performed by by Eric Clapton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Just A Bit Of Light Is Enough
A bit of light will be enough
To reach again for my lost delights
With a bit of light may I can revive to get back my broken wings
With bit of light I will try
May I can fly
With bit of light may I can once again touch far skies
A bit of light may gives me the courage to scream
May I can freely cry even smile or fall
In love
Just a bit of light will be enough
To gather one more time again to put together my broken spirit
May my soul from the dark escapes free and finds the light.
poem by Sossi Khachadourian
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Next Poem
this is the next poem that i am telling you about.
it wants to tell you something, but not in secret really,
i am open, and i like open fields, like open ideas
wanting to embrace and be embraced by the world.
absence too, is open. The open arms wait for the coming
of absence. Absence is a wide space wanting to be filled by
love, and love is elusive, and love is unresponding to the
emergencies we are in.
but let me not talk about it. Let me tell you and take you back
to what i have started. I like the mirror in the living room broken
into a hundred pieces, all in the name of love.
i like to have as many mirrors as i can have. Tiny broken pieces.
I will take one. And all i want in this short life that we have,
the life of a fruitfly inside that experimental cupboard,
or that transparent cellophane, let death come.
i have this piece of broken glass. I want to reflect my light.
Do you like it? I want to reflect the light of God, do you like it?
Take it for what it is. Each piece has a reflective index of its own.
The face value of things. Do you like it?
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Born Of A Broken Man
My fears hunt me down
Capturing my memories
The frontier of loss
They try to escape across the street where
Jesus stripped bare
And raped the spirit he was supposed to nurture
In the name of my in the name of my
Born of a broken man
But not a broken man
Born of a broken man
But not a broken man
Like autumn leaves
His sense fell from him
An empty glass of himself
Shattered somewhere within
His thoughts like a hundred moths
Trapped in a lampshade
Somewhere within
Their wings banging and burning
On through endless nights
Forever awake he lies shaking and starving
Praying for someone to turn off the light
Born of a broken man
But not a broken man
Born of a broken man
But not a broken man
song performed by by Rage Against The Machine
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Thank You For The Light
thank you for the light
i am just the broken mirror
capturing and reflecting
the light to those who
have not seen your truth
thank you for the light
for i am not the light,
i am not with the light
i am in the dark corner
always waiting for your
coming and in your
departure, i am left with
a memory of light and
remain in my shattered
state with all the pieces.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Broken Hearted
By eric clapton and greg phillinganes
When the wind blows down this hard,
Many a bond is broken.
See the water lie on the ground
From where the heavens opened.
Lord, how will you get through this night
With your dreams departed?
And who alone will comfort you?
Only the broken hearted.
So youve gone beyond your means,
Every wound is open,
Your best laid plans are out of reach,
And all your fears unspoken.
Chorus
Sweet revenge is spoken then;
In the twilight it is gone.
To living lies with no escape,
Lord, I would rather be alone.
I press my fingers to the wood
To tell you of my dreaming,
To sing you songs from olden times,
To keep the love light gleaming.
cause theres a place where we can go,
Where we will not be parted.
And who alone will enter there?
Only the broken hearted.
Only the broken, broken hearted.
Only the broken, broken hearted.
Only the broken, broken hearted.
Only the broken, broken hearted.
song performed by by Eric Clapton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dead And Broken
Too many things I've never spoken
I'm not feeling fine
I never told you what to do
I never made you a promise that you could hold me to
That'll be the day you see me crying
Everyday, I still say you're dead and broken
Everyday, I still say you're dead and broken
You're dead and broken
How many different faces can you show me?
How many times can you be right?
Another world of fantasy
Another reason for dramatizing everything
Taking it all in just one more time
I'm dying
Everyday, I still say you're dead and broken
Everyday, I still say you're dead and broken
You're dead and broken
Sorry to see that you're underestimated lately
I'd rather be dead and broken than living in your grace
Everyday, I still say you're dead and broken
Everyday, I still say you're dead and broken
You're dead and broken
You're dead and broken
You're dead and broken
You're dead and broken
You're dead and broken
You're dead and broken
You're dead and broken
song performed by by Godsmack
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Light The Way
(eric carmen)
Recorded by oliver
United artists ua50735 / 1970
Dreams
All those silver dreams,
Though destined to be broken
Still linger in my memories as tarnished pages
Loves
That have been and gone,
Left saccharin and ashes
Scattered in a wind of silent indifference
Light the way, light the way
Where do I belong?
Light the way, light the way
Oh, where do I belong?
Tears
Bitter sweatened tears
Have left their burning traces
Of bridges soaked in kerosene and expectation
Light the way, light the way
Where do I belong?
Light the way, light the way
Where do I belong?
Hopes
For a time of peace
Left many broken hearted
For causes that are lost are felt far more deeply
Light the way, light the way
Where do we belong?
Light the way, light the way
Oh, where do we belong?
Oh, where do we belong?
song performed by by Eric Carmen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Tire Tracks And Broken Hearts
(andrew lloyd webber/ jim steinman)
Producer for bonnie: jim steinman
Recorded in 1998 as part of the 'songs from whistle down the wind' project. the lyrics are from careful listening.
Another aimless day, another useless night
I want peroxide hair, i want some neon light
I got a new life waiting, i can't wait to begin it
The thing that gets me down, being young in this town
Is there's no future in it
I want a fine perfume, how 'bout a blue corvette?
If there's a slower death than living here and now
They haven't found it yet
I need a man who knows what i'm really worth
And i don't give a damn about life after death
But i gotta get some proof that there's a life after birth
Tire tracks and broken hearts, that's all we're leaving behind
It doesn't matter what we lose, it only matters what we're going to find
Tire tracks and broken hearts, let's get away from the past
So many ways to stay hungry baby, so many ways to go fast
I want a push-up bra, i want some satin sheets
Give me some real rich food, i want some succulent sweets
I want you by my side, you'll be all my own
I don't know what i want half the time, but i know know
That i don't want to spend another minute alone
Tire tracks and broken hearts, that's all we're leaving behind
It doesn't matter what we lose, it only matters what we're going to find
Tire tracks and broken hearts, let's get away from the past
So many ways to stay hungry baby, so many ways to go fast
(do do, da do do, da do do, da down down down)
Those good girls never know what they're missing
But us bad girls almost always do
And what we're missing most are the real good times
I want them bad and i want them now
I was born going faster than the limits allow
I want it bad and i want it now
We were born going faster than the limits allow
Faster than the limits allow
Right here, right now!
Tire tracks and broken hearts, that's all we're leaving behind
It doesn't matter what we lose, it only matters what we're going to find
Tire tracks and broken hearts, let's get away from the past
So many ways to stay hungry baby, so many ways to go fast
I wanna show you what i want you to do
Where and when and how
I want it bad and i want it now
We were born going faster than the limits allow
I wanna show you what i want you to do
Where and when and how
I want it bad and i want it now
We were born going faster than the limits allow
Tire tracks and broken hearts, that's all we're leaving behind
It doesn't matter what we lose, it only matters what we're going to find
Tire tracks and broken hearts, let's get away from the past
So many ways to stay hungry baby, so many ways to go fast
song performed by by Bonnie Tyler
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When Broken, Nothing Can Be Made Anew!
A broken door can"t be made like one new;
A broken fence needs to be mended well;
A broken wall has to be rebuilt much;
A broken branch cannot be fixed again!
A broken mirror cannot be made whole;
A broken toy cannot be glued like new;
A broken home cannot be back reset;
A broken marriage can't blossom once more!
A broken heart remains anguished for long;
A broken friendship stays estranged for sure;
A broken bone may heal but weakened stays;
A broken soul struggles for want of grace!
All things when newly made look simply great!
You cannot mend life's broken slate at all!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 17-08-12
poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Little Red Light
Sitting in traffic on the Tappan Zee
Fifty million people out in front of me
Trying to cross the water but it just might be a while
Rain's coming down I can't see a thing
Radio's broken so I'm whistling
New York to Nyack feels like a hundred miles
It's not right
It's not fair
I'm still a mess
And you still don't care
I go to work
I come back home
But you're still gone
And I'm still alone
And the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
On my big black plastic Japanese cordless phone
Oh no
Stuck in a meeting on Monday night
Trying to get the numbers to come out right
I'm getting tired, I think I just might need a drink
And as I'm reaching in the bottom drawer
I'm dreaming 'bout the way it was before
Life was so easy I never really had to think
It's not right
It's not fair
I'm still a mess
And you still don't care
I go to sleep
When I wake up
The pain sets in
And it never stops
And the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
On the desktop mailbox of my big black laptop
Oh no
It's not right
It's not fair
I'm still a mess
And you still don't care
I go to work
I come back home
But you're still gone
And I'm still alone
And the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
On my big black Radio Shack digital portable phone
Oh no
song performed by by Fountains Of Wayne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When Day met Night
When Day met the Night,
there was a story to tell.
About heavenly Light,
falling in love with Dark Hell.
The Light was nice,
and curtsied when due.
the Dark had no manners,
not a noted a' due.
So when Light found Dark,
she hugged him deep.
Instead he slithered away,
making Light weep.
Dark looked back before he ran,
Seeing Light kneeling and broken down.
Dark ran over and pulled her lips up,
'Upside down goes that frown! '
He snickered and fled,
back down to Hell.
Light blushed and smiled,
leaving as well.
So when Light met Dark,
on that faithful day.
Dark gained a moon,
to lead Light's way.
poem by Samantha Bush
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Old Song
A livid sky on London
And like the iron steeds that rear
A shock of engines halted
And I knew the end was near:
And something said that far away, over the hills and far away
There came a crawling thunder and the end of all things here.
For London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down,
As digging lets the daylight on the suken streets of yore,
The lightning looked on London town, the broken bridge of London town.
The ending of a broken road where men shall go no more.
I saw the kings of London town,
The kings that buy and sell,
That built it up with penny loaves
And penny lies as well:
And where the streets were paved with gold the shrivelled paper shone for gold,
The scorching light of promises that pave the streets of hell.
For penny loaves will melt away, melt away, melt away,
Mock the men that haggled in the grain they did not grow;
With hungry faces in the gate, a hundred thousand in the gate,
A thunder-flash on London and the finding of the foe.
I heard the hundred pin-makers
Slow down their racking din,
Till in the stillness men could hear
The dropping of the pin:
And somewhere men without the wall, beneath the wood, without the wall,
Had found the place where London ends and England can begin.
For pins and needles bend and break, bend and break, bend and break,
Faster than the breaking spears or the bending of the bow,
Of pagents pale in thunder-light, 'twixt thunderload and thunderlight,
The Hundreds marching on the hills in the wars of long ago.
I saw great Cobbett riding,
The horseman of the shires;
And his face was red with judgement
And a light of Luddite fires:
And south to Sussex and the sea the lights leapt up for liberty,
The trumpet of the yeomanry, the hammer of the squires;
For bars of iron rust away, rust away, rust away,
Rend before the hammer and the horseman riding in,
Crying that all men at the last, and at the worst and at the last,
Have found the place where England ends and England can begin.
His horse-hoofs go before you
Far beyond your bursting tyres;
And time is bridged behind him
And our sons are with our sires.
A trailing meteor on the Downs he rides above the rotting towns,
The Horseman of Apocalypse, the Rider of the Shires.
For London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down;
Blow the horn of Huntington from Scotland to the sea -
...Only flash of thunder-light, a flying dream of thunder-light,
Had shown under the shattered sky a people that were free.
poem by G.K. Chesterton
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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The Old Song
A livid sky on London
And like the iron steeds that rear
A shock of engines halted
And I knew the end was near:
And something said that far away, over the hills and far away
There came a crawling thunder and the end of all things here.
For London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down,
As digging lets the daylight on the suken streets of yore,
The lightning looked on London town, the broken bridge of London
town.
The ending of a broken road where men shall go no more.
I saw the kings of London town,
The kings that buy and sell,
That built it up with penny loaves
And penny lies as well:
And where the streets were paved with gold the shrivelled paper
shone for gold,
The scorching light of promises that pave the streets of hell.
For penny loaves will melt away, melt away, melt away,
Mock the men that haggled in the grain they did not grow;
With hungry faces in the gate, a hundred thousand in the gate,
A thunder-flash on London and the finding of the foe.
I heard the hundred pin-makers
Slow down their racking din,
Till in the stillness men could hear
The dropping of the pin:
And somewhere men without the wall, beneath the wood, without
the wall,
Had found the place where London ends and England can begin.
For pins and needles bend and break, bend and break, bend and break,
Faster than the breaking spears or the bending of the bow,
Of pagents pale in thunder-light, 'twixt thunderload and thunderlight,
The Hundreds marching on the hills in the wars of long ago.
I saw great Cobbett riding,
The horseman of the shires;
And his face was red with judgement
And a light of Luddite fires:
And south to Sussex and the sea the lights leapt up for liberty,
The trumpet of the yeomanry, the hammer of the squires;
For bars of iron rust away, rust away, rust away,
Rend before the hammer and the horseman riding in,
Crying that all men at the last, and at the worst and at the last,
Have found the place where England ends and England can begin.
His horse-hoofs go before you
Far beyond your bursting tyres;
And time is bridged behind him
And our sons are with our sires.
A trailing meteor on the Downs he rides above the rotting towns,
The Horseman of Apocalypse, the Rider of the Shires.
For London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down;
Blow the horn of Huntington from Scotland to the sea --
...Only flash of thunder-light, a flying dream of thunder-light,
Had shown under the shattered sky a people that were free.
poem by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Broken Man
Now I am a broken man now I am a broken man
Now I am a broken man now I am a broken man
Its no good being here with me
Im a little scared of the things you see
Its no good having friends at all
They do me no good they dont do me no good at all
Its no good living in the past
Its no good at all you know it dont last
Its no good making a change
Theres nothing to change I dont want to rearrange
But what I wanna do is spend some time with you
But I know I cant because all you want is you
So now I am a broken man
Now I am a broken man
Now I am a broken man
I am a broken man
I saw my shadow on the wall
It looked at me then left me
Im hoping somebody will call
But I hope they dont come and get me at all
Because what I wanna do is spend some time with you
But I know I cant because all you want is you
So now I am a broken man
Now I am a broken man
Now I am a broken man
I am a broken man
song performed by by Simply Red
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dead & Broken
Too many things Ive never spoken
Im not feeling fine
I never told you what to do
I never made you a promise that you could hold me to
Thatll be the day you see me crying
Everyday, I still say youre dead and broken
Everyday, I still say youre dead and broken
Youre dead and broken
How many faces can you show me?
How many times can you be right?
Another world of fantasy
Another reason for dramatizing everything
Taking it all in just one more time
Im dying
Everyday, I still say youre dead and broken
Everyday, I still say youre dead and broken
Youre dead and broken
Sorry to see that youre underestimated lately
Id rather be dead and broken than living in your grace
Everyday, I still say youre dead and broken
Everyday, I still say youre dead and broken
Youre dead and broken
Youre dead and broken
Youre dead and broken
Youre dead and broken
Youre dead and broken
Youre dead and broken
Youre dead and broken
song performed by by Godsmack
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Recued From Darkness
Clear is the way that we must go,
Don't look behind!
All that you've known soon will be gone.
Now you must feed your soul with light,
No more despair, no broken dreams,
Your time has come to see the light.
Pick-up your sword and follow me!
A ray of light has made it through,
Your broken soul has payed the prize.
The light has come, no more despair.
poem by Luz Hanaii
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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