The Lost Garden
If ever we see those gardens again,
The summer will be gone—at least our summer.
Some other mockingbird will concertize
Among the mulberries, and other vines
Will climb the high brick wall to disappear.
How many footpaths crossed the old estate—
The gracious acreage of a grander age—
So many trees to kiss or argue under,
And greenery enough for any mood.
What pleasure to be sad in such surroundings.
At least in retrospect. For even sorrow
Seems bearable when studied at a distance,
And if we speak of private suffering,
The pain becomes part of a well-turned tale
Describing someone else who shares our name.
Still, thinking of you, I sometimes play a game.
What if we had walked a different path one day,
Would some small incident have nudged us elsewhere
The way a pebble tossed into a brook
Might change the course a hundred miles downstream?
The trick is making memory a blessing,
To learn by loss the cool subtraction of desire,
Of wanting nothing more than what has been,
To know the past forever lost, yet seeing
Behind the wall a garden still in blossom.
poem by Dana Gioia
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Making Memory A Blessing
MAKING MEMORY A BLESSING
Making memory a blessing,
is hard, since it more often is a curse,
the dissonance and dispossessing
of the past, which when put into verse
is seen in its full beauty and
reminds us painfully that paradise
is lost, which, we must understand,
we can't by means of poetry reprise.
Some find great pleasure being sad
in its surroundings, but I'd rather dwell
in a future not yet bad,
although I fear it may become a hell.
Inspired by a poem by Dana Gioia:
THE LOST GARDEN
If ever we see those gardens again,
The summer will be gone-at least our summer.
Some other mockingbird will concertize
Among the mulberries, and other vines
will clib the high brick wall to disappear.
How many footpaths crossed the old estate-
The gracious acreage of a grander age-
So many trees to kiss or argue under,
And greenery enough for any mood.
What pleasure to be sad in such surroundings.
At least in retrospect. For even sorrow
Seems bearable when studied at a distance,
And if we speak of private suffering,
The pain becomes part of a well turned tale
Describing someone else who shares our name.
Still thinking of you, I sometimes play a game.
What if we had walked a different path one day.
Would some small incident have nudged us elsewhere
The way a pebble tossed into a brook
Might change the course a hundred miles downstream?
The trick is making memory a blessing,
To learn by loss the cool subtraction of desire,
Of wanting nothing more than what has been,
To know the past forever lost, yet seeing
Behind the wall a garden still in blossom.
5/6/12 #10,092
poem by Gershon Hepner
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Wall
I've hit a wall that I have to climb,
a wall I have to scale.
It frightens me as I look at it
and yet I know without fail
that many have slowly ascended it
but not without some scratches.
Scratches are small reminders
that occur as you climb a little higher.
They bleed for a time and give you concern
and you rest because you tire.
The rest is healing, the time you need
to see the wall get smaller.
When you reach the top and feel the thrill
of how you kept on going,
the climb itself is exhilaration
and the satisfaction in knowing
that no wall is too high, too high to defy.
It's a wall where fear was growing.
Walls don't stand forever.
They can be taken down.
One brick at a time you dismantle it
and then look back around.
It's no longer there. It's behind you now.
You've ascended to higher ground.
poem by Edwina Reizer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Another Brick In The Wall: Parts 1, 2, 3
[Part 1]
Daddy's flown across the ocean
Leaving just a memory
A snapshot in the family album
Daddy what else did ya leave for me?
Daddy, whatcha leave behind for me?
All in all it was just another brick in the wall
All in all it was just bricks in the wall
[Part 2]
We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher, leave them kids alone
Hey, Teacher, leave us kids alone
All in all its just a nother brick in the wall
All in all you're just a nother brick in the wall
We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers, leave them kids alone
Hey, Teacher, leave us kids alone
All in all you're just a nother brick in the wall
All in all you're just a nother brick in the wall
[Part 3]
I don't need no arms around me
I don't need no drugs to calm me
I have seen the writing on the wall
Don't think I need anything at all
No, don't think I need anything at all
All in all it was just bricks in the wall
All in all you were all just brick in the wall
[Goodbye Cruel World (included in the live version)]
Goodbye, cruel world
I'm leaving you today
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, all you people
There's nothing you can say
To make me change my mind
Goodbye
song performed by by Korn
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A White, Blank Wall
I don’t talk
I sit and stare
At a blank wall
A blank, white wall
Like some things, a waste of space
In need of improvement
If walls could talk
Share smiles and happiness
Tears and pain
Laughter and sorrow
Some people would say
“This wall needs color, change”
What’s wrong with it?
There’s no need for change
All it is
Is a blank, white wall
Wanting to scream out, to cry
Wanting to stay, to live
Desperate to live
Needing to live
Not improve of change
It’s just a blank, white wall
poem by Anna Dietze
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lookin' For The Summer
Look deep into the April face
A change has clearly taken place
Looking for the summer
The eyes take on a certain gaze
And leave behind the springtime days
Go looking for the summer
This ain't no game of kiss and tell
The implications how you know so well
Go looking for the summer
The time has come and they must go
To play the passion out that haunts you so
Looking for the summer
Remember love how it was the same
We scratched and hurt each others growing pains
We were looking for the summer
And still I stand this very day
With a burning wish to fly away
I'm still looking
Looking for the summer
song performed by by Chris Rea
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Looking For The Summer
Look deep inside the april face
A change is clearly taking place
Looking for the summer
The eyes take on a certain gaze
And leave behind the springtime days
Go looking for the summer
This aint no game of kiss and tell
The implications how you know so well
Go looking for the summer
The time has come and they must go
To play the passion out that haunts you so
Looking for the summer
Remember love how it was the same
We scratched and hurt each others growing pains
We were looking for the summer
And still I stand this very day
With a burning wish to fly away
Im still looking, looking for the summer
song performed by by Chris Rea
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Empire State Human
Since I was very young I realised
I never wanted to be human size
So I avoid the crowds and traffic jams
They just remind me of how small I am
Because of this longing in my heart
Im going to start the growing up
Im going to grow now and never stop
Think like a mountain, grow to the top
Tall, tall, tall, I want to be tall, tall, tall
As big as a wall, wall, wall, as big as a wall, wall, wall
And if Im not tall, tall, tall, then I will grow, grow, grow
Because Im not tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall
Tall, tall, tall, I want to be tall, tall, tall
As big as a wall, wall, wall, as big as a wall, wall, wall
And if Im not tall, tall, tall, then I will grow, grow, grow
Because Im not tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall
With concentration
My size increased
And now Im fourteen stories high
At least!!
Empire state human
Just a bored kid
Ill go to egypt to be
A pyramid
Tall, tall, tall, I want to be tall, tall, tall
As big as a wall, wall, wall, as big as a wall, wall, wall
And if Im not tall, tall, tall, then I will grow, grow, grow
Because Im not tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall
Tall, tall, tall, I want to be tall, tall, tall
As big as a wall, wall, wall, as big as a wall, wall, wall
And if Im not tall, tall, tall, then I will grow, grow, grow
Because Im not tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall
Brick by brick
Stone by stone
Growing till hes fully grown
Brick by brick
Stone by stone
Growing till hes fully grown
Fetch more water
Fetch more sand
Biggest person in the land
Fetch more water
Fetch more sand
Biggest person in the land
song performed by by Human League
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Cant Seem To Get Over You
Time is moving fast to the point of no return
Im reaching for tomorrow leaving bridges that Ive burned
Here I stand alone with my back against the wall
Tortured by your memory and the feelings I recall
I cant seem to get over you
No matter where I go
No matter what I do
The wall of denial
Has broken in two
And I cant seem to get over you
Everywhere I turn I see shadows on the wall
A silhouette of sorrow of a man who had it all
Your kiss forever haunts me like a ghost out of the past
Its peaceful for a moment but it never seems to last
I cant seem to get over you
No matter where I go
Np matter what I do
The wall of denial
Has broken in two
And I cant seem to get over you
Im getting tired of living with these questions in my mind
Is it hopeful to imagine or just a waste of time
For now I go on dreaming,thats whats keeping me alive
But dreams wont last forever,tell me how will I survive
I cant seem to get over you
No matter where I go
No matter what I do
The wall of denial
Has broken in two
And I cant seem to get over you
song performed by by Travis Tritt
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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And There is... a Brick
And there is a brick
A wall that not speak
Silent and still
and doesn't have any will
That is a brick
Some may pray, some may weep
Some kick the brick
That is a brick
Shield not to hurt
Human that lock their minds
But let the brick
takes the wind of change
without regretting
what both sides couldn't send
poem by Maria Sudibyo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Always Suffering
Let's take a walk
Just you and me
And talk of days gone by
Across the fields
Under the trees
Let's speak of you and I
While the whole world
Was wandering
We walked a steady line
When all our friends
Were wavering
We kept on trying
Now we're always suffering
Already lost
Always suffering
Already lost
Remember when
On summer days
I would sing a lovers son
How you would smile
Shower me with praise
And the sun shined on
Now the rain is falling slow
And the nights grow long
And the train
Cries out so hauntingly
She is gone
Now we're always suffering
Already lost
We're always suffering
Already lost
Please take these flowers
Smell the perfume
Let your soul come alive
Let there be hope
Hope in your heart
That our love may revive
For life is but a chance
On a wind swept hill
And the seeds of love
Are swirling above
Let them be still
But we're always suffering
We're already lost
Always suffering
Already lost
song performed by by Rolling Stones from Bridges To Babylon
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Another Brick In The Wall
Daddy's flown across the ocean
Leaving just a memory
A snapshot in the family album
Daddy, what else did you leave for me?
Daddy, whatcha leave behind for me?
All in all it was just a brick in the wall
All in all it was all just bricks in the wall
We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey teachers
Leave those kids alone
All in all it's just another brick in the wall
All in all you're just another brick in the wall
We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey teachers
Leave those kids alone
All in all you're just another brick in the wall
All in all you're just another brick in the wall
I don't need no arms around me
I don't need no drugs to calm me
I have seen the writing on the wall
Don't think I need anything at all
No, don't think I'll need anything at all
All in all it was all just bricks in the wall
All in all you were all just bricks in the wall
Goodbye cruel world
I'm leaving you today
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye all you people
There's nothing you can say
To make me change my mind
Goodbye
song performed by by Korn
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lament of the Frontier Guard
By the North Gate, the wind blows full of sand,
Lonely from the beginning of time until now!
Trees rail, the grass goes yellow with autumn.
I climb the towers and towers
to watch out the barbarous land:
Desolate castle, the sky, the wide desert.
There is no wall left to this village.
Bones white with a thousand frosts,
High heaps, covered with trees and grass;
Who brought this to pass?
Who has brought the flaming imperial anger?
Who has brought the army with drums and with kettle-drums?
Barbarous kings.
A gracious spring, turned to blood-ravenous autumn,
A turmoil of wars-men, spread over the middle kingdom,
Three hundred and sixty thousand,
And sorrow, sorrow like rain.
Sorrow to go, and sorrow, sorrow returning.
Desolate, desolate fields,
And no children of warfare upon them,
No longer the men for offence and defence.
Ah, how shall you know the dreary sorrow at the North Gate,
With Rihaku's name forgotten,
And we guardsmen fed to the tigers.
When We Meet Again Sometime This Summer
i tell you, i do not like winters, and i do not wish
to go where winter lies. I am intolerant of anything
that freezes me, that thaws, that gives me frost,
that bites like an ant, that solidifies me like
refrigerator ice.
i like summers. Flowers blooming. Green grass
spreading. Butterflies in different colors in the garden.
Bees just enough for the buzz. I love trees. I love
rivers, and springs and creeks.
Bamboo trees beside the rocks beside the pebbles
beside the river. I like the songs of the rivers. Lots of rivers.
Gentle rains. Hush winds. Cool shades. Shadows of mountains.
When we meet again, i like it to be this summer.
Lots of sun. Warmth., Sweat. Perspirations. Palpitations
of the hearts of the young on summer time.
Under the cool shades of the trees on summer nights.
I always remember summer nights.Strong summer winds.
Flown hair. Drying pants and underwears. My legs exposed
Beside the brook. I like being naked. I like being on top of
everything.
With you, on you, by you, within you, in your mouth all over your face.
Oh summer breeze. See you. Feel you. Love you.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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One Hundred Punks
They customised their gear and synchronised
(They)flame out in the streets with flame in their eyes
Guerilla operator ain't heard of cool
Check out any wall - one hundred punks rule
One hundred punks rule
A hundred punks run with London town
Down Wardour Street to the Soho Sound
Don't sleep all week only when they fall down
A hundred Rumble boys and Tumble girls
Protected by steel in a private world
Tomorrow's famous faces advertise today
And the studs on their back say
One hundred punks rule
A hundred punks run the loaded gun
They look so sharp they look like one
If you ain't got the look you'll never be one
A hundred punks run with total suss
A hundred good mates you know you can trust
There's never no bother and there's no fuss
Check out any wall - one hundred punks rule
One hundred punks rule
And Jimmy's no.101 knows one day he'll be One
Watch him - watch him Go!
A hundred punks run the leather army
I know whose by my side not at home with TV
Even when I'm down I hear them sing for me
Check out any wall - One hundred punks rule
One hundred punks rule
Check out any wall - One hundred punks rule
One hundred punks rule
Check out - One hundred punks rule O.K.
song performed by by Offspring
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sweet As the Rose Is
Sweet as the rose is
So should your summer be
A breeze with flickering kiss
For you and for me
Our dreams coming again true
And holding over its love
In everything that's new
Like a cloudless sky above
A day of morning's blessing
New in its daybreak
Without the gloomy stressing
That winter once did wake
Much sweet in greenery leaves
Hours of summer thought
Our longings for new believes
That kindness has taught
What into the stars has gone
With nightly skies in dream
And summer of worth has won
That nowhere sometimes seem
Oh garden of hope is blooming
In stress less ways complying
Each color in bleach resuming
And the morning of wish dyeing
poem by Peter S. Quinn
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Boy And The Brook. (Armenian Popular Song, From The Prose Version Of Alishan)
Down from yon distant mountain height
The brooklet flows through the village street;
A boy comes forth to wash his hands,
Washing, yes washing, there he stands,
In the water cool and sweet.
Brook, from what mountain dost thou come,
O my brooklet cool and sweet!
I come from yon mountain high and cold,
Where lieth the new snow on the old,
And melts in the summer heat.
Brook, to what river dost thou go?
O my brooklet cool and sweet!
I go to the river there below
Where in bunches the violets grow,
And sun and shadow meet.
Brook, to what garden dost thou go?
O my brooklet cool and sweet!
I go to the garden in the vale
Where all night long the nightingale
Her love-song doth repeat.
Brook, to what fountain dost thou go?
O my brooklet cool and sweet!
I go to the fountain at whose brink
The maid that loves thee comes to drink,
And whenever she looks therein,
I rise to meet her, and kiss her chin,
And my joy is then complete.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lament of the Frontier Guard
By the North Gate, the wind blows full of sand,
Lonely from the beginning of time until now!
Trees fall, the grass goes yellow with autumn.
I climb the towers and towers
to watch out the barbarous land:
Desolate castle, the sky, the wide desert.
There is no wall left to this village.
Bones white with a thousand frosts,
High heaps, covered with trees and grass;
Who brought this to pass?
Who has brought the flaming imperial anger?
Who has brought the army with drums and with kettle-drums?
Barbarous kings.
A gracious spring, turned to blood-ravenous autumn,
A turmoil of wars - men, spread over the middle kingdom,
Three hundred and sixty thousand,
And sorrow, sorrow like rain.
Sorrow to go, and sorrow, sorrow returning,
Desolate, desolate fields,
And no children of warfare upon them,
No longer the men for offence and defence.
Ah, how shall you know the dreary sorrow at the North Gate,
With Rihoku's name forgotten,
And we guardsmen fed to the tigers.
By Rihaku. [Li Po?]
poem by Ezra Pound
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Still The Same
Words and music by bob seger
You always won, everytime you placed a bet
Youre still damn good, no ones gotten to you yet
Everytime they were sure they had you caught
You were quicker than they thought
Youd just turn your back and walk
You always said, the cards would never do you wrong
The trick you said was never piay the game too long
A gamblers share, the only risk that you would take
The only loss you could forsake
The only bluff you couldnt fake
And youre still the same
I caught up with you yesterday
Moving game to game
No one standing in your way
Turning on the charm
Long enough to get you by
Youre still the same
You still aim high
There you stood, everybody watched you play
I just turned and walked away
I had nothing left to say
cause youre still the same
Youre still the same
Moving game to game
Some thlngs never change
Youre still the same
song performed by by Bob Seger
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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August 05
M) The month of August
In the summer of 2005
In June I turned 18
My best friend moved back in state
In April I got a girlfriend since our first date
I met her last August
Later that year went to dust
H) I received a call on a hot summer day
The mood went a different way
She sounded like she cried
Like someone or something died
M) We started to change
Said I had become strange
We started to change
Hands against the wall
H) You wanted to escape
Cried, a victim of rape
I offered my help
M) What happened to the past?
A time that didn’t last
We changed too fast
H) You wanted to die
Then started to cry
I said I would help
You fought against the pain
Didn’t let your life dwain
You didn’t go insane
You won against the pain
M) Close to one year
Faced another fear
I broke your heart
I tore us apart
You chose a different fate
Tried to save us too late
I know there is nothing to save
I will bare this to my grave
H) M) I failed and succeeded
Helped you through his crime
We died in our prime
We are separate now
We were not meant to last
And you excepted your past
August 31,2005
My problem= M) helping her=H)
poem by Isaac Helms
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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One Hundred Punks
They customised their gear and synchronised
(they)flame out in the streets with flame in their eyes
Guerilla operator aint heard of cool
Check out any wall - one hundred punks rule
One hundred punks rule
A hundred punks run with london town
Down wardour street to the soho sound
Dont sleep all week only when they fall down
A hundred rumble boys and tumble girls
Protected by steel in a private world
Tomorrows famous faces advertise today
And the studs on their back say
One hundred punks rule
A hundred punks run the loaded gun
They look so sharp they look like one
If you aint got the look youll never be one
A hundred punks run with total suss
A hundred good mates you know you can trust
Theres never no bother and theres no fuss
Check out any wall - one hundred punks rule
One hundred punks rule
And jimmys no.101 knows one day hell be one
Watch him - watch him go!
A hundred punks run the leather army
I know whose by my side not at home with tv
Even when Im down I hear them sing for me
Check out any wall - one hundred punks rule
One hundred punks rule
Check out any wall - one hundred punks rule
One hundred punks rule
Check out - one hundred punks rule o.k.
song performed by by Billy Idol
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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