Do Not Expect
Do not expect that if your book falls open
to a certain page, that any phrase
you read will make a difference today,
or that the voices you might overhear
when the wind moves through the yellow-green
and golden tent of autumn, speak to you.
Things ripen or go dry. Light plays on the
dark surface of the lake. Each afternoon
your shadow walks beside you on the wall,
and the days stay long and heavy underneath
the distant rumor of the harvest. One
more summer gone,
and one way or another you survive,
dull or regretful, never learning that
nothing is hidden in the obvious
changes of the world, that even the dim
reflection of the sun on tall, dry grass
is more than you will ever understand.
And only briefly then
you touch, you see, you press against
the surface of impenetrable things.
poem by Dana Gioia
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Related quotes
Morning
Look, my love, on the wall, and here, at this Eastern picture.
How still its scene, and neither of sleep nor waking:
No shadow falls from the tree or the golden mountain,
The boats on the glassy lake have no reflection,
No echo would come if you blew a horn in those valleys.
And look away, and move. Or speak, or sing:
And voices of the past murmur among your words,
Under your glance my dead selves quicken and stir,
And a thousand shadows attend where you go.
That is your movement. There is a golden stillnes,
Soundless and fathomless, and far beyond it;
When brow on brow, or mouth to mouth assembled,
We lie in the calm of morning. And there, outside us,
The sun moves on, the boat jogs on the lake,
The huntsman calls.
And we lie here, our orient peace awakening,
No echo, and no shadow, and no reflection.
poem by Henry Reed
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A Year and a Day
Slow days have passed that make a year,
Slow hours that make a day,
Since I could take my first dear love
And kiss him the old way;
Yet the green leaves touch me on the cheek,
Dear Christ, this month of May.
I lie among the tall green grass
That bends above my head
And covers up my wasted face
And folds me in its bed
Tenderly and lovingly
Like grass above the dead.
Dim phantoms of an unknown ill
Float through my tired brain;
The unformed visions of my life
Pass by in ghostly train;
Some pause to touch me on the cheek,
Some scatter tears like rain.
A shadow falls along the grass
And lingers at my feet;
A new face lies between my hands --
Dear Christ, if I could weep
Tears to shut out the summer leaves
When this new face I greet.
Still it is but the memory
Of something I have seen
In the dreamy summer weather
When the green leaves came between:
The shadow of my dear love’s face --
So far and strange it seems.
The river ever running down
Between its grassy bed,
The voices of a thousand birds
That clang above my head,
Shall bring to me a sadder dream
When this sad dream is dead.
A silence falls upon my heart
And hushes all its pain.
I stretch my hands in the long grass
And fall to sleep again,
There to lie empty of all love
Like beaten corn of grain.
poem by Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal
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Summer Wind
The summer wind, came blowin' in
From across the sea
It lingered there, to touch you hair
And walk with me
All summer long, we sang a song
And strolled the golden sand
Two sweethearts, and the summer wind
Like painted kites, the days and nights went flyin' by
The world was new, beneath a blue umbrella sky
Then softer than, a piper man one day it called to you
And I lost you, to the summer wind
The autumn wind, and the winter winds have come and gone
And still the days, the lonely days go on and on
And guess who sighs his lullabies through nights that never end
Well my fickle friend, the summer wind
That old summer wind
Talkin' 'bout the summer wind
The summer wind
song performed by by Barry Manilow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dippold the Optician
What do you see now?
Globes of red, yellow, purple.
Just a moment! And now?
My father and mother and sisters.
Yes! And now?
Knights at arms, beautiful women, kind faces.
Try this.
A field of grain—a city.
Very good! And now?
A young woman with angels bending over her.
A heavier lens! And now?
Many women with bright eyes and open lips.
Try this.
Just a goblet on a table.
Oh I see! Try this lens!
Just an open space—I see nothing in particular.
Well, now!
Pine trees, a lake, a summer sky.
That’s better. And now?
A book.
Read a page for me.
I can’t. My eyes are carried beyond the page.
Try this lens.
Depths of air.
Excellent! And now?
Light, just light, making everything below it a toy world.
Very well, we’ll make the glasses accordingly.
poem by Edgar Lee Masters
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Summer Wind
The summer wind, came blowin' in - from across the sea
It lingered there, to touch your hair and walk with me
All summer long, we sang a song - and then we strolled that golden sand
Two sweethearts, and the summer wind
Like painted kites, those days and nights - they went flyin' by
The world was new, beneath a blue - umbrella sky
Then softer than, a piper man - one day it called to you
I lost you, I lost you to the summer wind
The autumn wind, and the winter wind - they have come and gone
And still the days, those lonely days - they go on and on
And guess who sighs his lullabies - through nights that never end
My fickle friend, the summer wind
song performed by by Westlife
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Nothing
The truth comes over me
Like wine, like summer heat
The world, it moves too fast
I miss my simple past
And I can see
For all the things I think I need
Brother take me out to where the reef ends
Where theres only, only green sea
Brother take me out to where the reef ends
I only want to want
Nothing
Child, she knows its good
She plays the way she should
Her days, they taste like lime
She moves in perfect time
And I can see
For all the things I think I need
Brother take me out to where the reef ends
Where theres only, only green sea
Brother take me out to where the reef ends
I only want to want
Nothing, nothing, no
Theres no promises
Today is all there is
And I cant see
For all the things I think I need
Brother take me out to where the reef ends
Where theres only, only green sea
Brother take me out to where the reef ends
I only want to want
Nothing, oh nothing, nothing
song performed by by Heather Nova
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A pond above, a pool below,
A pond above, a pool below,
And between, water flows
Down moss green cement
Then white about rounded stones.
You stroll by me,
Your hand hooked upon my shoulder,
My hand warm in your back pocket.
Sun and shade dapple your hair,
Our legs, they make us one.
You pause upon the dam
And look across the still pond.
Two leaves float on the smooth surface,
Autumn yellow, separate and still,
Serene amongst reflected clouds and sky.
A breeze nudges them against the concrete race
And over and down the green dropp they glide.
You cross the path and watch
As briefly they touch
As they toboggan upon the flow.
Then separate and reaching the pool below,
Again they float quiet, apart and slow.
That day now seems so long ago.
Today I searched your name
And got a scattering of hits,
References to children's summer soccer
And on a company's marketing site, your picture.
Your hair's gray, your skin's no longer clear.
Oh, that that moment on the dam together
Had not left us drifting apart.
poem by William L Roberts
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Where do I go from here?
The sun was hidden on the autumn seasons
And the wind whistled in their sadness song
The leaves start to fall scattered on the ground
They are like the memories that blew inside my mind
I bended my knees and pick them one by one
Hoping I could picture them in my palm
A long and wading road that I had to walk on
Following the footsteps that I could not be seen
It was vanished by the golden leaf of autumn
Here I am alone sat on a bench of memory lane
I kept wondering why, thinking I was lost and gone
Hoping for tomorrow, I will face the rising sun
Where do I go from here?
I don’t had the eyes to see the shades of green
Everything is like a shadow of gray
I was alone in this journey
I could not be able to see the beauty of spring
Looking for someone to hold my hands
Sometimes I forgot, how life is beautiful
To face the morning comes to inhale them,
I forgot to feel the magic of the sunrise
The wind that touches me every time I shiver
The rain that washes my pain and sorrow
and enjoys every dropp that falls inside my being
Where do I go from here?
I see the lights shining from a distant
I heard voices whisper in my ear
Perhaps, they are the angels that lead me
in this journey within the distant
and search the world, where I belong.
poem by Cheryl Aldea
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Autumn can make me laugh or cry...
I saw the golden aspens glow,
In the bright sun of the day;
I was transported to a place,
Three thousand miles away.
The color of the autumn trees,
Shone in autumn's light;
And the reflection of it all,
Gave me reds and yellows bright.
The splendor of the leaves,
As they are dying,
Can make you weep,
and start you crying.
Tears for all the things that are,
Tears for all the things to be;
Tears for all the things now past,
and tears for pleasant memories.
Fall can make me laugh or cry,
Fall can bring me joy or sorrow;
The changing of the seasons,
Make me anticipate tommorow.
Autumn goes away too soon,
God, please, make it linger;
Tuck away your summer's ring,
and put autumn on your finger.
poem by David Lessard
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Not Make Believe
Written by Stevie Nicks
Isn't just that we cause each other such pain
Everywhere we go now, at home or at play
It hurts my self esteem, it hurts my everything
I am reeling... oh, it hurts my feelings
Sometimes it was heavenly (Sometimes it was heavenly)
Sometimes it was too heavy (Sometimes it was too heavy)
Sometimes it's just too much for me (Sometimes it's just too much for me)
Well I want to run away (Oh, well I want to run away)
Then there are the things, cast this doubt away
Those things that made me stay for so long
Not make believe then, I'm not make believe now
Not make believe then, I'm not make believe now
I didn't understand then, but I understand now
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
And they both rushed by, like a thief in the night
Taking no prisoners, just like the first time
Adventures in paradise
Just like the first time
Then there are the things, cast this doubt away
Those things that made me stay for so long
Not make believe then, I'm not make believe now
Not make believe then, I'm not make believe now
I didn't understand then, but I understand now
Then there are the things, cast this doubt away
Those things that made me stay for so long
Not make believe then, I'm not make believe now
It's not make believe then, I'm not make believe now
I didn't understand then, but I understand now
song performed by by Fleetwood Mac
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Farewell To Summer
It has begun: a few leaves are falling;
Autumn has started its gentle calling.
Summer is slowly coming to an end;
Now autumn wants to be our friend.
During autumn, we may feel a little cold,
But, in return, we've been promised gold.
Golden leaves will be found all around:
Up in the trees, and down on the ground.
Leaves of yellow, brown, orange, and fiery red,
Will form a coloured carpet to soften our tread.
We'll be presented with a whole wealth of riches,
As, from summer to autumn, the season switches.
The tall, towering trees will be set ablaze,
As traces of summer are slowly erased.
Sorely missed will be summer's long days;
Sorely missed will be summer's warm rays.
But time moves on, and the summer must go;
No doubt we'll be dazzled by autumn's show.
Autumn prefers to paint us a different scene;
It likes to wipe summer's colour palette clean.
Some say farewell to summer with a sad tear,
But, others much prefer this time of the year.
Chill September mornings may be here again,
But our memories of this summer will remain.
poem by Angela Wybrow
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Primrose
Yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow!
It is not a color.
It is summer!
It is the wind on a willow,
the lap of waves, the shadow
under a bush, a bird, a bluebird,
three herons, a dead hawk
rotting on a pole--
Clear yellow!
It is a piece of blue paper
in the grass or a threecluster of
green walnuts swaying, children
playing croquet or one boy
fishing, a man
swinging his pink fists
as he walks--
It is ladysthumb, forget-me-nots
in the ditch, moss under
the flange of the carrail, the
wavy lines in split rock, a
great oaktree--
It is a disinclination to be
five red petals or a rose, it is
a cluster of birdsbreast flowers
on a red stem six feet high,
four open yellow petals
above sepals curled
backward into reverse spikes--
Tufts of purple grass spot the
green meadow and clouds the sky.
poem by William Carlos Williams
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Raking Leaves
Look to the tallest tree
and see how the noon-day sun
glints through slender grey limbs
to where leafless Life contracts
to its tender core
(this year’s ring
complete)
and waits for winter’s storms.
Leaves lie,
golden harvest, luxuriant carpet
to kick and scatter like
brittle snow...
... years ago
playing through long autumn days,
we built castles and smashed them,
diving deep into fragrant mounds
as the incense of burn piles
filled the chilled air of November.
Today I just rake,
scraping turf
making smaller heaps to haul
into my big green recycle bin
and see how golden autumn light
softly glows in gleaming grass,
free at last
from the detritus
of summer.
poem by Steven Federle
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Golden Autumn Day
Well I heard the bells ringing, I was thinking about winning
In this God forsaken place
When my confidence was well, then I tripped and I felt
Right flat on my face
Now Im standing erect, and I feel like coming back
And the sun is shining gold
Put a smile on my face, get back in the human race
And get on with the show
And Im taking in the indian summer
And Im soaking it up in my mind
And Im pretending that its paradise
On a golden autumn day, on a golden autumn day
On a golden autumn day, an a golden autumn day
In the wee midnight hour I was parking my car
In this dimly lit town,
I was attacked by two thugs, who took me for a mug
And shoved me down on the ground
And they pulled out a knife, and I fought my way up
As they scarpered from the scene
Well this is no new york street, and theres no bobby on the beat
And things aint just what they seem
And Im taking in the indian summer
And Im soaking it up in my mind
And Im pretending that its paradise
On a golden autumn day, on a golden autumn day
On a golden autumn day, an a golden autumn day
Who would think this could happen in a city like this
Among blakes green and pleasant hills,
And we must remember as we go through september
Among these dark satanic mills
If theres such a thing as justice I could take them out and flog them
In the nearest green field
And it might be a lesson to the bleeders of the system
In this whole society
And Im taking in the indian summer
And Im soaking it up in my mind
And Im pretending like its paradise
On a golden autumn day, on a golden autumn day
On a golden autumn day, on a golden autumn day, golden autumn day ...
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Like That You Stay
i like that you stay,
for a moment inside my room.
i will ask you, those little things
that you can do for me, so you will stay for a while
so i may have a smell of you
so i may see you even for a few seconds
so i may have life.
i ask you to pull the calendar page. It is not
october anymore. Time flies.
you display me the face of november. a sad one.
a face of uncompromising stance. Not not you. Not your love.
you may refuse my feelings, like the way you resist
some sweeter spaces between us. i like you.
i like you to stay even for a moment.
you flatten a crumpled piece of paper and you ask:
there is still something important on this page.
i look at it. some words, not supposedly written
some words, not to be read by anybody.
you read it. how can you understand?
when i always conceal the meaning
of my pain. i am only for me. I understand the rules
of this game.
i like you to stay really. i like you.
but then, i open the door and then you leave.
you have never understood, the silent beats
of my dying heart.
i like it this way. i touch myself still wanting to touch you.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Last Days of Summer
Whatever the way the summer days end,
In the type of summer is how it has been,
Whether a good one or bad one,
The last days of summer,
Can be sad or happy endings,
As each season ends,
With another one beginning,
The summer could have been,
Miserable yet,
Sun scorching us everyday,
And sunlight shining on all our faces,
It is how it is,
Out there where all is seen,
In,
Summer days of fun,
Summer days of love,
Summer days of seeing,
Summer days of been,
Out and about where summer is,
And when summer came and went?
With a mundane feeling that it left?
Was the last days of summer,
And the begining of another,
Autumn as we know it,
Fall in other places,
Where the ending of one season shows,
By the decaying of it,
When Autumn Fall shows,
Where we will wrap up and snuggle,
With warm cuppas drinks,
With a book,
Or,
Catch up on watching films,
Yet,
Still,
Musing over the summer days,
Of sunshine memories,
Now,
Warm hats and gloves,
With rustle leaves,
That rustle beneath,
Our feet as we walk,
Through the park,
And see,
The summer leaves turn,
To autumn shades,
Taking in,
The last days of summer,
Reflecting,
And remember,
The falls of Autumn's,
Is the signs of summer,
That has ended,
And minglings with,
All that falls,
From the summer ending,
To autumn beginnings,
Is the,
Decaying,
Of summer,
To regrow itself,
For next season's of summer,
When it begins again,
Yet,
In between,
There's,
Autumn,
Winter,
Spring,
Till,
Again,
Last days of summer,
And all in bloom again.
poem by Ellen Ni Bheachain
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Autumn Day
Lord: it is time. The summer was immense.
Lay your shadow on the sundials
and let loose the wind in the fields.
Bid the last fruits to be full;
give them another two more southerly days,
press them to ripeness, and chase
the last sweetness into the heavy wine.
Whoever has no house now will not build one
anymore.
Whoever is alone now will remain so for a long
time,
will stay up, read, write long letters,
and wander the avenues, up and down,
restlessly, while the leaves are blowing.
poem by Rainer Maria Rilke
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Clouds That Cover The Sun
Clouds that cover the sun
A dark shadow over passing
An extinguished light
Gone from view
As days fade away
A sleeping world awakens
To the silver tinged beauty of
A silent summer night
Dreams come and go
Hidden messages in the sand
Across the dark of midnight
A shooting star moves
Bring lovers eyes with it
Encompassing and alluring
A kindled flame of childish hope
Burns bright and true
Destiny unfolded, untold
A book with no words
Black ink spattered and scattered
Across a wide spread world
Death of the beautiful and innocent
No fuel to feed the fire
Burning it self and destroying
Every thing else in the end
poem by Autumn Winds
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New Life, New Love
The breezes blow on the river below,
And the fleecy clouds float high,
And I mark how the dark green gum trees match
The bright blue dome of the sky.
The rain has been, and the grass is green
Where the slopes were bare and brown,
And I see the things that I used to see
In the days ere my head went down.
I have found a light in my long dark night,
Brighter than stars or moon;
I have lost the fear of the sunset drear,
And the sadness of afternoon.
Here let us stand while I hold your hand,
Where the light’s on your golden head—
Oh! I feel the thrill that I used to feel
In the days ere my heart was dead.
The storm’s gone by, but my lips are dry
And the old wrong rankles yet—
Sweetheart or wife, I must take new life
From your red lips warm and wet!
So let it be, you may cling to me,
There is nothing on earth to dread,
For I’ll be the man that I used to be
In the days ere my heart was dead!
poem by Henry Lawson
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Make A Difference Today
Make A Difference Today
i want to be a blessing to you
with all my might, i can give it to you
i can offer a ride, a penny or two
just to make you smile, please don't be blue
i can send you a card, a gift, a call
so you will be standing tall
i want to give you the best today
and make a difference for you to stay
so light up that gloomy side
there is always a light that never hide
God will always be there for you
And my hugs to keep you through
Smile..and the world will smile back at you
and make a difference today and for me..
poem by Meggie Gultiano
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