I Have Been Through The Gates
His heart to me, was a place of palaces and pinnacles and shining towers;
I saw it then as we see things in dreams,--I do not remember how long I slept;
I remember the tress, and the high, white walls, and how the sun was always on the
towers;
The walls are standing to-day, and the gates; I have been through the gates, I have
groped, I have crept
Back, back. There is dust in the streets, and blood; they are empty; darkness is over
them;
His heart is a place with the lights gone out, forsaken by great winds and the heavenly
rain, unclean and unswept,
Like the heart of the holy city, old blind, beautiful Jerusalem;
Over which Christ wept
poem by Charlotte Mary Mew
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Related quotes
The Boy Crusader
“Oh father, is that Jerusalem—
Those walls and towers so strong!”
“Ho, boy, we are yet in our own fair France,
That is only Avignon.”
* * * * *
“Oh father, are these the Jordan's banks?
Let us rest in those vineyards fair”
“Ho, boy, these are only the banks of the Rhone,
And we may not linger there.”
* * * * *
“Oh father, I fear them—the waves! the waves!
Is Jerusalem over the sea?”
“Ay, over the sea and then over the hills—
But cling, my boy, to me.”
* * * * *
“Oh father, is that Jerusalem,
Like a shell of gold in the bay?”
Nay, it is only Palermo, boy;
And this is Saint Rosalie's day.”
* * * * *
“Oh father, I feared the sea, but more
I fear this burning sand”
“Good cheer, my boy; take heart of grace,
We tread upon holy land.”
* * * * *
“Oh father, can it be Holy Land,
With all this blood and death?”
“That was Acre we stormed, my boy;
Now let us to Nazareth.”
* * * * *
“Oh father, the hills are so high—so high!
Is Jerusalem very far?”
“Hush, hush, my boy, and I'll tell you the tale
Of the Kings who followed the Star.”
* * * * *
“Oh father, the hills are so steep—so steep!
Will Jerusalem soon be near?”
“Boy, what had it been had you carried the cross,
Instead of your father's spear?”
* * * * *
“Oh father, I am weary and faint;
This must be Calvary!”
“Good cheer, my boy; but one hill more;
Jerusalem is nigh.
“The men-at-arms have passed the ridge.
Hark, boy, how the warriors sing!”
“I only hear the sound of harps,
And waters murmuring.”
‘Wake, boy, this is no time to fail!
Oh best of happy hours!
Behold at length Jerusalem—
Its gates, and domes, and towers!”
“Father, I see Jerusalem,
Ah, nearer than you deem!”
“Your eyes are closed, you see it not,
Or see it in a dream!
“Your eyes are closed, my boy, my boy!
Your face is to the West!”
“Father, I see it overhead,
And, oh, so full of rest!
“There are little children clothed in white,
And angels leading them;
There are streets of gold and gates of pearl!
At last—Jerusalem.
“And our little Marie is beckoning me,
In her hand a diadem.
Father, I must go on before
We'll meet in Jerusalem.”
poem by James Brunton Stephens
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Montsgur
I stand alone in this desolate space
In death they are truly alive
Massacred innocence, evil took place
The angels were burning inside
Centuries later I wonder why
What secret that they took to their grave
Still burning heretics under our skies
Religion's still burning inside
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
As we kill them all so god will know his own
The innocents died for the pope on his throne
Catholic greed and its paranoid zeal
Curse of the grail and the blood of the cross
Templar believers with blood on their hands
Joined in the choruse to kill on demand
Burned at the stake for their soul's liberty
To stand with the cathars to die and be free
The book of old testament crippled and black
Satan his weapon is lust
Living this evil damnation of flesh
Back to the torture of life
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
As we kill them all so god know his own
Laugh at the darkness and in god we trust
The eye of the triangle smiling with sin
No passover feast for the cursed within
Facing the sun as they went to their grave
Burn like a dog or you live like a slave
Death is the price for your soul's liberty
To stand with the cathars and to die and be free
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montsgur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
song performed by by Iron Maiden
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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See The Snake In Her Eyes
Look into the wind, your empty thoughts wrapped up and thrown out in the bin, the igloo was cold, you should have been told, life can be good if you don't have no soul. The pictures that fall from your marshmallow walls, keep reminding me of times, out on the street, no skin on my feet, the blood opens up from hands and thighs, and yet I remember, yet I remember.
See the snake in her eye’s.
The dentist he smiles with a toothless reply, neon lights like a hawk, they gazed down, sodden, brazen only to frown. I'm fumbling around, lost and stupid around on the ground. I've come to the end, the sound of waves crashing a remarkable friend. But long distant pier, and some more frothy beer, curled up in comfort before she dies, and yet I remember, yet I remember.
See the snake in her eye’s.
The world, she's looking in, but I have to remember, she's just made of tin, she smiles as she crawls, up and down my marshmallow walls, sucking the sweet, caressing my feet, but they have no skin, extra blood is an added treat. Sense the tingle, even the needle. She sends me high, yet I remember, yet I remember.
See the snake in her eye’s.
So now, I cried by the walls, of Jerusalem walls, wish to climb and linger and I long to fall. I talk to the tree’s, for they talk to me, just make a nonsense of it all. I dance with the crows, for they are so bold, so black and so very old. Temptation calls, they point to a cross that makes me look so small and dross, I find my own nails, dipped them in such a holy Grail, the Grail has no time and throws me back to rhyme and rhyme. So I must seek the way back to the street, where my love I trusted to blue skies, yet I remember, must always remember.
See the snake in her eye’s.
poem by Fergus Michael Condron
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The House Of Dust: Part 01: 02: One, from his high bright window in a tower
One, from his high bright window in a tower,
Leans out, as evening falls,
And sees the advancing curtain of the shower
Splashing its silver on roofs and walls:
Sees how, swift as a shadow, it crosses the city,
And murmurs beyond far walls to the sea,
Leaving a glimmer of water in the dark canyons,
And silver falling from eave and tree.
One, from his high bright window, looking down,
Peers like a dreamer over the rain-bright town,
And thinks its towers are like a dream.
The western windows flame in the sun's last flare,
Pale roofs begin to gleam.
Looking down from a window high in a wall
He sees us all;
Lifting our pallid faces towards the rain,
Searching the sky, and going our ways again,
Standing in doorways, waiting under the trees . . .
There, in the high bright window he dreams, and sees
What we are blind to,—we who mass and crowd
From wall to wall in the darkening of a cloud.
The gulls drift slowly above the city of towers,
Over the roofs to the darkening sea they fly;
Night falls swiftly on an evening of rain.
The yellow lamps wink one by one again.
The towers reach higher and blacker against the sky.
poem by Conrad Potter Aiken
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The Tower
One, from his high bright window in a tower,
Leans out, as evening falls,
And sees the advancing curtain of the shower
Splashing its silver on roofs and walls:
Sees how, swift as a shadow, it crosses the city,
And murmurs beyond far walls to the sea,
Leaving a glimmer of water in the dark canyons,
And silver falling from eave and tree.
One, from his high bright window, looking down,
Peers like a dreamer over the rain-bright town,
And thinks its towers are like a dream.
The western windows flame in the sun's last flare,
Pale roofs begin to gleam.
Looking down from a window high in a wall
He sees us all;
Lifting our pallid faces towards the rain,
Searching the sky, and going our ways again,
Standing in doorways, waiting under the trees . . .
There, in the high bright window he dreams, and sees
What we are blind to,-we who mass and crowd
From wall to wall in the darkening of a cloud.
The gulls drift slowly above the city of towers,
Over the roofs to the darkening sea they fly;
Night falls swiftly on an evening of rain.
The yellow lamps wink one by one again.
The towers reach higher and blacker against the sky.
poem by Conrad Potter Aiken
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Jericho
Hop a fast train out of town
Downside up and upside down
Going fast is going slow
What could of been we'll never know
In this place that has no name
I can't remember why I came
Then I hear you whisperin'
One more mile to Jerico
Nothing is ever what it seems
When you live inside your dreams
[chorus]
The walls will tumble
The walls will tumble
But I'm not gonna cry
My heart won't crumble
My heart won't crumble
If we ever say goodbye
Everybody gets the joke
Where's the fire?
Where's the smoke?
Money, Love and Jealousy
Something's got a hold on me
But I will follow where you go
One more mile to Jericho
[chorus]
The walls will tumble
The walls will tumble
But I'm not gonna cry
My heart won't crumble
My heart won't crumble
If we ever say goodbye
One more mile
One more kiss
One more word
One more wish
And love will save us
This I know
From this place called Jericho
[chorus]
The walls will tumble
The walls will tumble
But I'm not gonna cry
My heart won't crumble
My heart won't crumble
If we ever say goodbye
song performed by by Hilary Duff
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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City gate
Men may say a “natural state”
With city walls and city gates
Is superfluous in it’s greed
And in attempts to make believe
We’re all in honest company.
Yet give a thing autonomy
And choice: Order or anarchy
You’ll find that things like property
And city walls and city gates
Come often all too easily
To a truly “human” state
poem by Lazarus Knix
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Jerusalem
AT last, at last the Crescent
Falls back before the Cross.
Great spirits, incandescent
With longing and with loss,
Gleam from the clouds, crusaders
Who knew no requiem
While Saladin's invaders
Possessed Jerusalem.
King David harps for Zion
A glad, celestial psalm;
The face of the young lion
Is toward the sacred palm;
New Europe's noblest nation
Has won the diadem
Of him who brings salvation
To thee, Jerusalem.
Isaiah, Hosea, Amos,
Who cried against thy sin,
Whose vision saw thy famous
Bright bulwarks beaten in
And made a cup of trembling,
God's house a broken gem,
On all the winds assembling
Comfort Jerusalem.
The Christ, Messiah proven,
Whose Gentile armies free
Thy walls, not battle-cloven,
But won with jubilee;
As when thy people, pressing,
Would touch His garment's hem,
Enters with love and blessing
Thy gates, Jerusalem.
Arise and shine, O City,
The joy of all the earth!
Show poverty God's pity;
Teach misery God's mirth.
Be thou to all the nations
A light, ay, even to them
Who wrought thy tribulations,
Holy Jerusalem!
poem by Katharine Lee Bates
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Temptations Pass You By
As I think about things in the darkness of night,
There is something that turns that darkness into light.
The darkest of night is presented by the things that happened and not planned,
And the Light is presented by what the Lord does for us and we try to understand.
So as we all walk and wander lost and go around,
We need to seek the LORD and ask him to help us get found.
This makes me want to make that I do everything for Christ and be fair,
Taking this time to develop the daily strength and discipline the bonding time and prayer.
It is also good for me to think of the positive things in life and put them in their place,
Living a life like this will keep Christ in your heart and showing of your face.
So as we think about the things that and go and tempt us from the start,
We should remember Do What Jesus Would Do in our heart.
By remember the Story of Jesus being tempted in the desert by Satan for 40 Days/Nights.
And how Jesus looked at him and then bent and prayed until He saw the True Light.
Satan asked Him if you are hungry and you are the Son of God then you can turn this stone to bread.
Jesus answered, and said I am the Son of God and man cannot live on bread alone, but on the words that come out of God's mouth instead.
As Satan took Christ up to the top of the Holy City, and He asked Christ if you the Son of God then throw yourself down and have the angles lift you up and prove me that you are the best.
Well Christ answered him that it is written not to put god to the test.
Finally Satan took Jesus up very high and showed him the kingdoms of the world and said this can be yours if you bend down and worship me.
Jesus looked at him and told to back away because it is written that I am here to worship my Father only.
But also think of the things that Christ would want us to do,
For God will help you and deliver you through.
poem by Frank Pulver
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Everything In Its Own Time
Remember everything I told you
Keep it in your heart like a stone
And when the winds have blown things round and back again
What was once your pain will be your home
All around the table the white haired men have gathered
Spilling their sons blood like table wine
(spilling their sons blood)
Remember everything I told you
Everything in its own time
The music whispers you in urgency
Hold fast to that languageless connection
A thread of known that was unknown and unseen seen
Dangling from inside the fifth direction
(dangling from inside the fifth direction)
Boys around the table are mapping out their strategies
Kings all of mountains one day dust
A lesson learned a loving God and things in their own time
In nothing more do I trust
We own nothing
Nothing is ours
Not even love so fierce it burns like baby stars
But this poverty is our greatest gift
(nothing is ours)
The weightlessness of us as things around begin to shift
(the weightlessness as things begin to shift)
Remember everything I told you
(remember everything I told you)
Keep it in your heart like a stone
(keep it in your heart like a stone)
And when the winds have blown things round and back again
(when the winds have blown things round)
What was once your pain will be your home
Everything in its own time
Everything in its own time
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
song performed by by Indigo Girls
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Jerusalem, Jerusalem How Glad
Jerusalem, Jerusalem how glad
am I in prayer to have stood;
in thee blessed city at remains
of thy second temple’s walls.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem Oh how glad
am I sacred Via Dolorosa walked;
in remembrance atonement passed
stations of The Cross to have passed.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem Oh how glad
am I who before entering sacred;
Garden of Gethsemane to view aged
olive trees was cast down humbled.
For Jesus in agony fear here sweated
blood in prayer to heaven to father God;
when last among these olives he stood
thus rejoice all bowed before our Lord.
In pilgrimage to Calvary where our Lord
for my sins humanities Christ was Crucified;
where a group of witnesses Marys stood
bewailing in heart soul worship as we should.
This most Holy City Jerusalem City of our God
site of our Saviour’s Cross where our Saviour trod;
Almighty God this is thy most sacred Holy City still
at Messiah’s return here raise holy men at thy will.
The Via Dolorosa (Latin for Way of Grief or Way of Suffering) is the sacred two part street, within the Old City of Jerusalem; where Jesus walked carrying the cross, on the way to his crucifixion.
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Long May You Run
(neil young)
Weve been through some things together
With trunks of memories still to come
We found things to do in stormy weather
Long may you run
Long may you run
Long may you run
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run
Well it was back in blind river in 1962
When I last saw you alive
Rollin down that empty ocean road
Gettin to the surf on time
Long may you run
Long may you run
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run
Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Long May You Run
Weve been through some things together
With trunks of memories still to come
We found things to do in stormy weather
Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run.
Well, it was back in blind river in 1962
When I last saw you alive
But we missed that shift on the long decline
Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run.
Maybe the beach boys have got you now
With those waves singing caroline no
Rollin down that empty ocean road
Gettin to the surf on time.
Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run.
song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Walls of My Heart
Within the walls of my heart,
I can hold you close...
I can hold you to me...
Where you belong,
Safe in the walls of my heart.
Within the walls of my heart,
I can see your happy smile,
Keeping me warm and alive...
Your smile is forever mine,
Safe in the walls of my heart.
Within the walls of my heart,
I can hear you whisper my name,
While I lie so still in your arms...
Listening to the gentle sounds of your breathing,
Safe in the walls of my heart.
Within the walls of my heart,
I can taste your kiss,
The sweetest wine I ever tasted
Like the most precious memory ever,
Safe in the walls of my heart.
Within the walls of my heart,
You will never leave....
You will stay here beside me forever,
Holding me close forevermore,
Safe in the walls of my heart.
Gates Of Eden
Guy Allison, Keith Knudsen
EarthWalk Music (ASCAP) / K-KUAD Music (ASCAP)
We've been together for a long, long while
We've seen some bad and better days.
But heart and soul are meant for all time
These are the keys we can't replace.
Let's go back to Eden,
Don't make the garden wait.
At the gates of Eden,
This golden key is all it takes.
Simple things are better said in simple ways,
I'm a simple man in love with you.
These are the gates of Eden,
Take my hand we'll walk on through.
Let's go back to Eden,
Don't make the garden wait.
At the gates of Eden,
This golden key is all it takes.
Remember we're the ones who make.
You and me
This golden key that's what it takes.
There's only one.
Let's go back to Eden,
Don't make the garden wait.
At the gates of Eden,
This golden key is all it takes.
Guest Artists:
George Hawkins, Jr. - Bass
Chris Thompson - Background Vocals
song performed by by Doobie Brothers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Fuse
Its coming from so far away
Its hard to say for sure
Whether what I hear is music or the wind
Through an open door
Theres a fire high in the empty sky
Where the sound meets the shore
Theres a long distance loneliness
Rolling out over the desert floor
And the years that I spent lost in the mystery
Fall away leaving only the sound of the drum
Like a part of me
It speaks to the heart of me
Forget what life used to be
You are what you choose to be
Its whatever it is you see
That life will become
Whatever it is you might think you have
You have nothing to lose
Through every dead and living thing
Time runs like a fuse
And the fuse is burning
And the earth is turning
Though the years give way to uncertainty
And the fear of living for nothing strangles the will
Theres a part of me
That speaks to the heart of me
Though sometimes its hard to see
Its never far from me
Alive in eternity
That nothing can kill
Oh lord
Are there really people starving still?
Look out beyond the walls of babylon
How long will their needs go unfilled
I want to say right now Im going to be around
Im going to be around
When the walls and towers are crumbling
When the towers are tumbling down
And I will tune my spirit to the gentle sound
I want to hear the sound
Of the waters lapping on a higher ground
Of the children laughing
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Rebuilding Megiddo
Wearing her zippered jumpsuit of lime
My queen loves to survey the valley's field.
She dreams of finding a perfect place and time
She can make her dream city something real.
Megiddo was an ancient and famous city
Where starting at Solomon's gate then entering in,
Delight, pleasance and joy showed no pity,
And t'was no comfort not to be found within.
This proud city of great power and zeal-
The glory of some rare ancient engineer-
Has seen dust fly from many a chariot wheel,
When victorious kings came to holiday here.
Perhaps ancient Israel's most splendid city,
It soon captured every kingdoms' eye.
A diadem of the Jezreel Valley so pretty,
It invoked the kiss of the Assyrian sky.
Surrounded by its high double-thick stone walls,
Megiddo’s palaces did lavishly and amply abide,
Containing their ornamentally furnished halls,
With towers, storehouses, and courtyards alongside.
And then there are temples—believed to be three,
With vestibules for believers to enter in.
Then of course the altar for only the holy to see,
Where doctrines are given a positive spin.
Where’er perfect foundation might lay,
My queen shall find a delightful field.
And there to be in full domain and array,
The promise of Eden most empyreal.
poem by Albert Price
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Find Your Way Back
You know its been a long long road
Since I packed up and left on my own
And I can carry a heavy load
Just try n get back to her heart
I sure aint got no home
I seem to find love where I ramble
And when its time to go
I hear that voice again, say n
Chorus:
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Leave a message with the rain
You can find me where the wind blows
The snow across the pain
And the frost upon the heart
You got no place to be
Still you wonder where youre goin
And why I had to leave
I hear a voice and it says to me
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
To her heart, cmon
I know its too late now
But I wish I could go back in time
And start all over somehow
And get it right from the start
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Find your way back (find your way back) find your way back
Find your way back (find your way back) find your way back
Find your way back (find your way back) find your way back
Find your way back (find your way back) find your way back...
song performed by by Starship
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Find Your Way Back
You know its been a long long road
Since I packed up and left on my own
And I can carry a heavy load
Just try n get back to her heart
I sure aint got no home
I seem to find love where I ramble
And when its time to go
I hear that voice again, say n
Chorus:
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Leave a message with the rain
You can find me where the wind blows
The snow across the pain
And the frost upon the heart
You got no place to be
Still you wonder where youre goin
And why I had to leave
I hear a voice and it says to me
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
To her heart, cmon
I know its too late now
But I wish I could go back in time
And start all over somehow
And get it right from the start
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Find your way back
Find your way back to her heart
Find your way back (find your way back) find your way back
Find your way back (find your way back) find your way back
Find your way back (find your way back) find your way back
Find your way back (find your way back) find your way back...
song performed by by Starship
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Place in my heart
Nothing compares to a mother's love,
A hiding place when push comes to shove.
Cinderella dreams,
Dimond Rings,
I try to fill my heart with earthly things.
Still there is a place
that seems so empty.
It's the deepest part of me
that only you can fill.
Just the other day,
I turned my thoughts astray.
From a history of reason to
give my heart away.
This thought progressed
through time the path seemed unkind.
Lonely and unclear it overwhelmed my mind,
And if I release this part of me,
Dear Lord,
Is it true what you say,
'Am I received as your child'.
Life is hard
this world is cold.
I need you more and more today.
I build walls to stop the pain,
It still won't go away.
Surrendering on bended knees
this part of me,
I surrender to you.
There's a place in my heart
that I want you near.
It's the place in my heart,
I hold most dearly.
There's a place in my heart,
That wants you so,
And I won't let it go.
poem by Amanda Barr
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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