Cleanliness
Come, my little Robert, near-
Fie! what filthy hands are here-
Who that e'er could understand
The rare structure of a hand,
With its branching fingers fine,
Work itself of hands divine,
Strong, yet delicately knit,
For ten thousand uses fit,
Overlaid with so clear skin
You may see the blood within,
And the curious palm, disposed
In such lines, some have supposed
You may read the fortunes there
By the figures that appear,-
Who this hand would choose to cover
With a crust of dirt all over,
Till it looked in hue and shape
Like the fore-foot of an ape?
Man or boy that works or plays
In the fields or the highways,
May, without offence or hurt,
From the soil contract a dirt,
Which the next clear spring or river
Washes out and out for ever-
But to cherish stains impure,
Soil deliberate to endure,
On the skin to fix a stain
Till it works into the grain,
Argues a degenerate mind,
Sordid, slothful, ill inclined,
Wanting in that self-respect
Which does virtue best protect.
All-endearing cleanliness,
Virtue next to godliness,
Easiest, cheapest, needfull'st duty,
To the body health and beauty,
Who that's human would refuse it,
When a little water does it?
poem by Charles Lamb
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Related quotes
Cool Water
Day by day ... whistle while you work ... our
Backs are breaking ... up from hollow earth ...
From end to end ... the noise begins ... in the
Human battle stations ... and the big ones
Coming in
Work, work, work, work ... work till holes are
Filled ... work, work, work, work ... bags of
Bone and skin ... lovers hold hands ... tossing
Their heads ... tangled in hair ... tied to earth
... with skin and glue
But their skin is the same as yours
Coming in for the world to see
They can sit at the table, too
The same blood as you and me
Speak very softly .. hold my hand ... someone is
Sleeping ... in my bed ... priests pass by ...
Worms crawl in ... one dreams to be ... one dream
For all
His skin is the same as yours
Is he not made the same as you?
And some have fallen down
And blood spilled on the ground
Work, work,work
Till his life is doneu
The old man .. is at our door ... and hes
Knocking ... knocking ... as his neighbors weep
... each day repeats ... are we nothing in your
Eyes? ... someone answer, someone answer ... this
Rusted garden gate ... can barely even stand ...
Their work is over now ... and rest will be at
Hand
Is their skin not the same as yours?
Can they sit at the table to drink
Cool water
Cool wateru
And his lungs are filled with rain...
And the waters rushing in...
song performed by by Talking Heads
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Judging Me
Isn't it funny, how you judge me?
You look at my hair and say I'm crazy
It is woolly and you call it kinky
Who cares what you think?
Judge yourself not me.
Isn't it funny, what you say about me?
You look at my clothes and say it's raggedy
It's patchy and you call it untidy.
But, that's good enough for me.
Please yourself not me.
Isn't it funny, how you think about me?
You look at my skin and think it's dirty.
I'm a farmer and I deal with dirt
Really! That does not hurt.
I live for me and not for you.
Isn't it funny, how you feel about me?
You look at me and think I'm a thief.
I till the soil so that we can eat.
I please myself and no one else.
Isn't it funny, the opinion you have about me?
You smell my sweat and say yak!
I work in the rain and get dirt and stains.
I ‘m an honest man, this you must understand.
Isn't it funny what the people talk about me?
I'm crazy, raggedy, dirty, yaky, a thief and untidy
It's too bad you don't know me
The good thing is, I am me.
poem by C. Albert Andrews
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Son Of The Soil
Black, strong tatooed by the sun.
He toils and never tires.
He is the son of the soil.
Forget all these fake wana be's! You see today
wanting to be everything they see on tv.
he is the Son of the soil, raised up in the language of the ancetrals.
Taught to hunter and respect the traditions.
Raised up in the secret sacred things of the land.
Spilt his blood in the soil at the riverside at the age of 13.
He knew where his destiny lay at the age of 16.
Had his first encounter at 18.
She was a true daughter of the soil breed well by the women of the land.
Son of the soil taught by the elders the ways of women.
Son of the soil, taught by nature the way to survive.
Son of the soil, taught to endure by the woman he shares his purity with.
Son of the soil,
arise and toil for your destiny calls.
Toil to protect the weak,
to safeguard the rites,
to up root all menace and vallians from the west.
Son of the soil its your time to stand and be heard.
poem by Tigana Chileshe
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Not Supposed To Break Down
Youre not supposed to be human
Youre not supposed to really feel
Not supposed to get involved
With anything completely real
Fifteen families starving
All around the corner block
Here were standing so alone
Just like gibraltar rock
Not supposed to break down
Youre not supposed to break down
Swallow the dirt
Keep listening to the hurt
Youll be safe and sound
Supposed to be super human
Cover everything
Just like a bird
Cover an egg with its wing
And knowing theres nothing sacred
And what is the use
>no point trying to find
What is worth, what is true
Not supposed to break down
Youre not supposed to break down
Swallow the hurt listen to the dirt
Youll be safe and sound
Youre not supposed to break down
Youre not supposed to break down
Swallow the hurt
Listen to the dirt
And youll be safe and sound
A fool and his mainline connection
By-pass going to the well
But that doesnt matter anymore
Im sure that we can tell
Whos a puppet on a string
An who really holds the glove
But it aint up you and me
Its up to the lord above
Youre not supposed to break down
Youre not supposed to break down
Swallow the hurt
Keep on listening to the dirt
And Ill bet youll be safe and sound
Youre not supposed to break down
Youre not supposed to break down
Swallow the hurt
Listen to the dirt
Ill bet youll be safe and sound
And Ill bet youll be safe and sound
And Ill bet youll be safe and sound
Ill bet youll be safe and sound
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Purifier
Water for shower washes away bodily dirt
Drinking water washes away dirt of body’s internal organs
And cleanses blood
Tears washes away dirt of mind
Thus teardrops carry away sins of all kind
And make people good
And give them the power to control mood.
From the lowermost paradise
Breeze will be blown sometimes
In the uppermost hell
So the sinners living there will be able to cry
And become good people
That’s why they will be forgiven someday or other
But the sinners of other hells
Will not be able to shed tears
Because of extreme hot weather
So they will be punished forever and ever.
poem by Asif Andalib
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Musclebound
Were building fires that will burn until morning
The smell of books and hot stone surround us
Tough is the leather that strapped to my skin
Strong are the bonds that we make
We feel the steam as it rises around us
Up from the soil that is cracking its back
Tough is the leather that strapped to my skin
Strong are the bonds that sing
Work till youre musclebound all night long
Work till youre musclebound all night long
Gotta work till youre musclebound all night long
Gotta work till youre musclebound all night long
Were building fires that will burn until morning
The smell of books and hot stone surround us
Tough is the leather that strapped to my skin
Strong are the bonds that we make
To hear a pulsing from chanter to mountain
Down through the vein and into the grain
Strong is the shoulder that moves to the time
Here is the land it can break
Work till youre musclebound all night long
Work till youre musclebound all night long
Gotta work till youre musclebound all night long
Gotta work till youre musclebound all night long
song performed by by Spandau Ballet
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Singular Indestructible Droid
Blood of my blood
Skin of my skin
A normal human being
Solder and wires
Circuitry
We're far from human beings
He's sick of his skin
It's time to trade it in
A galaxy of emotions
Your soul is what it costs
We walk the same path
No body could get in our way
Dangerously
We passionately never hesitate
Keep the soul
That's control
Now you put in the metal
Biological
Spiritual
Electrical
Digital
S.I.D.
Willing to make the change
Surrender the flesh and bones
Against the grain
Pushing beyond the limits of ourselves
This body is just a cage
You're dead and you're in a grave
We're losing our minds
That's just fine
Living forever
Bleed out my blood
Skin off my skin
Solder the wire
Transformation
Take my body and
Release me from this cage
You can't put a spirit in a grave
Singular Indestructible Droid
Bloody-human-robot
song performed by by Papa Roach from Lovehatetragedy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Old Dirt Road
Aint no people on the old dirt road
No more weather on the old dirt road
Its better than a mudslide mamma when the dry spell come, yeah
Oh oh oh old dirt road
Aint no difference on the old dirt road
Tarred and feathered on the old dirt road
Trying to shovel smoke with a pitchfork in the wind, yeah yeah yeah
Breezing thru the deadwood on a hot summer day
I saw a human being lazybonin out in the hay
I said uh, hey mr. human can ya rainmaker too?
He said I guess its o.k. ya know the only thing we need is water
Cool, clear water, water
Aint no people on the old dirt road
No more weather on the old dirt road
Better than a mudslide mamma when the morning comes, yeah
Oh oh oh oh old dirt road
Keep on keeping on
Keep on keeping on
So long, so long
Bye bye
song performed by by Lennon John
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Non Sequitor
Just because she smiles, laughs, dances, plays, says she is ok, seems fine, plays tag, say hello and looks happy,
these are not (un) true (un) necessarily.
(i am bored, and i am yawning, and i am simply pressing words
that i think do not have any sense of meaning at all, i am afraid i am
not authentic or i am just being autistic, chase me, like a child, wanting
to be out from this enclosure, where is mommy? mumbles, rambles,
grumbles, rambles,
fingers running wild wanting to escape the hold of my hands
and feet arguing with my shoes and windows still sleepy for
an opening of a new day, tell me? what is it.
what is it? tell me. do you ever get lonely? do you ever get bored?
tell me? tell you. i am telling you i am bored and fed up and i am yawning
like a cat at the peak of the heat of a tomcat.
words flow like a river and they all rush to the sea of nowhere.sunless.
moonless. grab the hand of your lover. kiss him, and forget that you are
still you. bless the truth and kill all the lies.
stay put. stay foot. steady body. body body.
eyes open. heart bleeds.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Dirt Bike
Here comes the dirt bike
Beware of the dirt bike
Because I hear theyre coming to our town
Theyve got plans for everyone
And now I hear theyre over their sophomore jinx, so you had better check it out
All hail the dirt bike
Philosopher dirt bike
Silence as we gathered round
We saw the word and were on our way
Now its
Brain washing dirt bike
Ground shaking dirt bike
Mind bending dirt bike
In control
Soul crushing dirt bike
Self propelled dirt bike
You see I never thought Id understand
til that bike took me by the hand
Now I ride
Ride
Ride
song performed by by They Might Be Giants
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It Was Raining Every Night
Spatter scraping oblique lines
in the dark of night thick curtains
The lines are sharper
Chills dipped to earth
Since the skin was peeling off his skin soil crust
due to prolonged dry heat
soil crust full of pus
Peeling due to heat
exposed to rain water droplets
without stopping,
overnight.
While dozens of coconut-leaf penjor
In the aisles, wilted down listless
young couples kissed my cheek
ask for intercession
while in the corner of the building party
spinster, shredding wishful anganya
With sword swords reality
held tightly in his right hand
At the top of his age,
When it fell on the edge of the lips Kabah
As I asked in prayer,
Is this the end of all trips
Dreams
At the edges, relentless
She was crying in the rain first remarks
When he moved into the realm of real
From the dreams that had long
He pujas, in the struggle of desire
current drought
He cries and notes, this first rain
The first date in the year 1434 Hijri
The men were passing in front of the door
Go away, no matter
With every season,
And all the struggles that have passed
In the years hijrah or BC
Bah, what did she care
With a record of it.
I'm hungry,
Not to breakfast,
poem by Prasetya Utama
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Us to God
Who does not love
the Lord?
Who does not love
the beautiful sadness of a
sunset in the
boulevard?
The luscious strawberries
that the tiny hands of the vines
offer to your
solitude
The coolness of the clear river
that soothes your naked body
wrapped by the water
facing the gentle sun with rays
as fingers to your
skin
Who does not see the Lord in all
these?
We are but the smiling children of God
who in awe and wonder
shall praise Him in all the days of our
lives
For who are we?
Ants crawling shamelessly under His feet
biting the soles, his Heels?
Parasites to the goodness of the Host
sucking every good blood and spitting the bile?
Flowers to crown His Hair
Birds above Him singing songs for his Divine Ear?
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Here
I am a man now.
Pass your hand over my brow.
You can feel the place where the brains grow.
I am like a tree,
From my top boughs I can see
The footprints that led up to me.
There is blood in my veins
That has run clear of the stain
Contracted in so many loins.
Why, then, are my hands red
With the blood of so many dead?
Is this where I was misled?
Why are my hands this way
That they will not do as I say?
Does no God hear when I pray?
I have no where to go
The swift satellites show
The clock of my whole being is slow,
It is too late to start
For destinations not of the heart.
I must stay here with my hurt.
poem by Ronald Stuart Thomas
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The Stolen Child
(wb yeats)
Come away, human child
To the water
Come away, human child
To the water and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
For the worlds more full of weeping than you can understand
Where dips the rocky highland
Of sleuth wood in the lake
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There weve hid our faery vats
Full of berries
And of reddest stolen cherries
Come away, human child
To the water
Come away, human child
To the water and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
For the worlds more full of weeping than you can understand
Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light
Far off by furthest rosses
We foot it all the night
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles
While the world is full of troubles
And is anxious in its sleep
Come away, human child
To the water
Come away, human child
To the water and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
For the worlds more full of weeping than you can understand
Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above glen-car
In pools among the rushes
The scarce could bathe a star
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
We give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams
Away with us hes going
The solemn-eyed:
Hell hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside;
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast
Or see the brown mice bob
Around and around the oatmeal-chest
For he comes, the human child
To the water
He comes, the human child
To the water and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
From a world more full of weeping than he can understand
Human child
Human child
With a faery, hand in hand
From a world more full of weeping than he can understand...
Than he can understand...
He can understand...
song performed by by Waterboys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ink, Allover My Skin
I sit here with ink allover my skin
dropped here by my dancing tears
tears that won't leave my skin
till the song has faded away
it seam each tear writes it own song
and in each song it sings
a feeling a melody of wanting pain
the pain I sing, each time i cry, in melody for you
lyrically leads to invisible ink stains
allover my tear soaked skin
what if you could see my love
in each and every tear drop
writing its only love song
would you cover me up and hide me away
be ashamed, or take me as something broken
but someone who you could love a new
Dancing Teardrops
singing allover my skin
poem by Verlecia fields
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A Lifetime In Your Hands
Baby.
On the floor they lay
Not a wrinkle or crease to save
Little hands do wave
Wanting to play
Young child.
In dirt and muck
Hands still mild and soft
More by youth than luck
Plays the young child hands aloft
Teenager.
Learning in school
For peers appear cool
In paint and ink
Their hands do stink
Young adult.
Now working hard
Sweat and toil
midday sun, mad
Hands now a trowel
Middle age.
Hands hard and worn
Some cut, sworn
Holds a child
Strong and mild
50 - 60
Wrinkles appear
Fingers and thumbs
On the rear
Liver spots like speckled crumbs
Old age (ish)
Wrinkled and lined
Courted and dined
Etched in their story of life
Sprinkled with some strife
End of time.
Transparent and Boney
Face hard set, maybe lonely
Hands wave a sigh
Soon to say goodbye
RG
poem by Robert Green
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Old Dirt Road
Aint no people on old dirt road,
No more weather on the old dirt road.
Its better than a mudslide, mama, when the dry spell come, yeah,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, old dirt road.
Aint no diffrence on old dirt road,
Tarred and feathered on the old dirt road.
Trying to shovel smoke with a pitchfork in the wind, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Breezing thru the deadwood on a hot summer day,
I saw a lazybonin out in the hay.
I said, ah, hey, mister human, can ya rainmaker too?
He said, I guess its okay, you know the only thing we need is water,
Cool, clear water , (water) water, (water).
Aint no people on old dirt road,
No more weather on the old dirt road.
Its better than a mudslide, mama, when the morning come, yeah,
Oh - oh - oh - oh - old dirt road.
Ah!
Mm, good night.
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
So long,
So long,
Bye, bye,
Bye,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on,
Keep on, keep on, keep on.
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pain Flows
my pain flows with my blood
it flows to my heart
it flows to my mind
my pain floods my body with hurt
its traped in side, not way out
i grab my knife and open my skin
lettin out my pain
with every cut i feel my pain leavin me
i sigh with every slit
cuttin till all of my pain is gone
but with every day more pain i get
my pain floods my body with hurt
tryin to get out
waitin till that knife slides acorss my skin
New Niche....
at first we walk hand in hand
tighter is her grip on my palm
my fingers are getting numb
choked
existential disaster
so i slowly slip my hands from your hold
and you notice
so you also let the slip lose
and my hands are free now
and we do not speak about this matter
perhaps because we like it
to happen
and you have seen another part of this life
a slice
sweeter to your taste
the one than can please and appease you
and i let you go
and i imagine myself as the new wind from the sea
spreading in all directions
as i too let myself go
thinking that i may be happier in this
ah, you throw me away as a cat from the window
midway
i have become a turtle now
gladly
swimming in my new river
which i must invent in order to survive
and thus
be not hurt
as you must too understand
as we both look for the same thing
something loose and free
windy and cool
and worth inhaling
i like this water
that makes me fluid
like a squid.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I'll Never Stop
Ooh yeah
I'll...
I'll...
I'll never stop
I don't know
Will you believe me
After all that's said and done
All the lies
How I regret them baby now
I'm the loser
And you're shining like the sun
Tell me why can't I still be the one
Alright
Chorus:
I'll never stop untill you'll mind
I can wait forever till the end of time
Cause my hart is in your hands
Don't you understand
I'll never stop
I'll never stop
How could I ever
When my hart is in your hands
And I know
Baby there is no turning back
I'll
Say that I'm crazy
And I kind of understand
How I wish for this nightmare...to end
Oh yeah
Chorus:
I'll never stop untill you'll mind
I can wait forever till the end of time
Cause my hart is in your hands
Don't you understand
I'll never stop
yeaa
I'll never stop
ooh ooh ooh ooohohoh
Do you believe me
When your hart is in my hand
Don't you understand
I'll never stop (I'll never stop)
Till the end of time (I can wait forever)
My heart is in your hand (My hart is in your hand)
I'll never stop
Until your mine
I'll wait forever till the end of time
Cause my hart is in your hand
Don't you understand
I'll never stop
song performed by by N Sync
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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