Only Time Can Tell
Just when you think something
has nothing more to give
it surprises you with a little bit more.
Forty-five years ago,
I wrote something at a fun fare
and it keeps coming back
with something exciting and new.
First, it became my best-loved poem
with over fifty-five people
making it one of their favourites.
Next, it was used in an English class
in a London college,
then it had a video make of it
and then incorporated into a symphony,
it was read out at a memorial service
for an American serviceman in Afghanistan.
Another surprise came when
it was translated into Russian
for a University in the Ukraine
and then yesterday I found
it had been turned into a country song,
which really made my day,
something I had always imagined it to be,
and the tune they used was similar
to what I envisaged when I wrote it
all those years ago.
I cannot even guess what more surprises
this piece holds in store,
only time can tell.
28 July 2011
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
What They Will Say
Some times, I wonder if I write for the future.
That may seem like a strange statement to make.
Forty-three years ago, I wrote a poem
that at the time no one wanted to know.
Now it is my best-loved poem
read by countless people around the world.
Thirty years ago, I wrote two poems
and each one won me an award,
but at the time I wrote them,
no one wanted to know.
All of which makes me wonder
if what I wrote in my yesteryears
that then none wanted to know.
Could they all be popular now?
Today I started collecting and retyping
short stories I wrote twenty years ago.
At the time, publishers and agents
didn’t want to know.
Now twenty year on
I am wondering what they will say.
24 January 2009
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Just Beyond The Sunset Revisited
Time flies by so quickly
almost in a blink of an eye
and years vanish almost completely.
It does not seem forty-three years ago
I put pen to paper and wrote
what has turned out to be my best poem ever.
The one that has attracted more attention
than any other I have written.
Its accolades still confound me
as I am in wonder of them all.
Especially as it was never written
as a poem at all, but a lyric for a song.
As a lyric, it was turned down
as being rather immature,
but as a poem, it is loved by everyone.
I find it hard to believe that forty-four people
have added it to their favourites list.
I am still rather in awe of its reception.
I am still trying to comprehend
that any one of my works would be so highly prized.
Every time I read it, I try to find
the essence everyone else sees.
The beauty within it that captures their imagination.
One day someone might explain to me
the beauty I actually captured,
at least I hope they will,
as I’d dearly love to know.
16 November 2009
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Favourites
Authors are funny creatures
whenever we write.
Most of the time
we don’t like what we’ve written,
but there are occasions
when we will write something
that we really do like,
then we hate
letting that fledgling out of the nest.
I’ve been writing for more years
than I really care to admit,
and yes, I have my favourites
among all the writing I’ve done.
A novel called Blind Tiger
has never left the nest
and a short story called
The Man Who Was Always Late,
again never seen by anyone.
However is saying that,
there have been a couple
I have actually let go.
Both were originally song lyrics,
which I’ve turned into poems.
One I actually sang in a concert at one time
with the curious title of
I’ll Take All The Blame.
The other has really done me proud,
it has reached the dizzy heights
of the top 500 poems here.
It was only released
because I felt it was the only good thing
I had at the time
and is called
Just Beyond The Sunset.
I loved it when I wrote it
on a merry-go-round
some forty odd years ago
as I looked towards the west
at a setting sun.
Now it is the best-loved poem I have
with another fifteen others
adding it to their favourites as well.
26 December 2007
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
This Years Girl
See her picture in a thousand places
cause shes this years girl.
You think you all own little pieces
Of this years girl.
Forget your fancy manners,
Forget your english grammar,
cause you dont really give a damn
About this years girl.
Still youre hoping that shes well spoken
cause shes this years girl.
You want her broken with her mouth wide open
cause shes this years girl.
Never knowing its a real attraction,
All these promises of satisfaction,
While shes being bored to distraction
Being this years girl.
Times running out. shes not happy with the cost.
Thered be no doubt, only shes forgotten
Much more than shes lost.
A bright spark might corner the market
In this years girl.
You see yourself rolling on the carpet
With this years girl.
Those disco synthesizers,
Those daily tranquilizers,
Those body building prizes,
Those bedroom alibis,
All this, but no surprises for this years girl.
All this, but no surprises for this years girl.
All this, but no surprises for this years girl.
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
My Cross
I wrote a poem to the moon
But no one noticed it;
Although I hoped that late or soon
Someone would praise a bit
Its purity and grace forlone,
Its beauty tulip-cool...
But as my poem died still-born,
I felt a fool.
I wrote a verse of vulgar trend
Spiced with an oath or two;
I tacked a snapper at the end
And called it Dan McGrew.
I spouted it to bar-room boys,
Full fifty years away;
Yet still with rude and ribald noise
It lives today.
'Tis bitter truth, but there you are-
That's how a name is made;
Write of a rose, a lark, a star,
You'll never make the grade.
But write of gutter and of grime,
Of pimp and prostitute,
The multitude will read your rhyme,
And pay to boot.
So what's the use to burn and bleed
And strive for beauty's sake?
No one your poetry will read,
Your heart will only break.
But set your song in vulgar pitch,
If rhyme you will not rue,
And make your heroine a bitch...
Like Lady Lou.
poem by Robert William Service
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Linda Song
Music: Barry Manilow
Lyrics: Enoch Anderson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He never wrote a song for Linda
He wrote as though he lived alone
He wrote of dreams that end
And of sad brave men
Inventing worlds he'd never known
But he never wrote a song for Linda
And she was right there all along
Loved him back to life
When his luck ran low
But he never wrote a Linda song
He nearly broke his heart at writing
Linda kept him from despair
Standin' by his side
through the hungry days
But he hardly seemed to see her there
And he never wrote a song for Linda
And she was right there all along
The one real thing in his crazy world
And he never wrote a Linda song.
When the bills piled up
He couldn't pay
He couldn't dream no more
So he hitched a ride and he rode away
And he left a note for Linda by the door
By the door
When times got rough he'd phone her
Once or twice she took the call
Then she changed her number and she turned her head
And Linda never looked back at all
He'll never write a song for Linda
And she was right there all along
All he knows is no one understands
And he never wrote a Linda song
No he never wrote a Linda song
song performed by by Barry Manilow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Poem I Wrote Yesterday/ The Poem I Write Today
THE POEM I WROTE YESTERDAY/THE POEM I WRITE TODAY
The poem I wrote yesterday
The poem I write today
The poem I will write tomorrow
What do they all mean?
Life goes on
Even my life will go on for a time
Without them.
True they give me hope now
But hope is another kind of delusion-
Creature of hopes and dreams delusions and poems
I go on now writing another poem hoping that you somewhere
Will want to know and read and remember it.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Learning How To Get It Right
When I started writing,
I was a young eighteen
and I can still remember
the first piece I ever wrote.
To say it was terrible
is an understatement to say the least,
but I am not ashamed I wrote it
no matter how bad it was.
It’s a part of my history now,
the beginning point
for everything I have achieved,
the first step that I took.
It was a bit clumber some
as all first steps usually are,
unless you are a genius
of which I am clearly not.
They say the more you practice,
the better you are going to get.
I have been practicing
for forty years now
and I am still not perfect yet.
Nor do I think I will ever be,
for if I thought I was perfect
I would give up completely.
I am still learning
and I’ll remain that way
until the day I eventually die.
So, if you see mistakes in my work
you’ll understand the reason why,
I am still learning
on how to get it right.
19 July 2008
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I Wrote No Poem Today/ I Wrote No Poem Yesterday
I WROTE NO POEM TODAY/ I WROTE NO POEM YESTERDAY
I wrote no poem today-
I wrote no poem yesterday-
Will I write a poem tomorrow?
Perhaps all my lines are done-
And I must live out
The rest of my life
In silence-
God is Great
Am I a small small small voice still?
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Happy Fourth Of July
Today is your independence day,
the fourth of July.
The English and Americans
were not always friends and allies
as we are today.
If we travel back in time,
we were at war with one another
over a hundred years ago.
You won and we lost;
now you celebrate today
the fourth of July
for the independence you earned.
Now this may sound strange
coming from an Englishman.
Be proud of your Country,
as I am proud of mine.
May we always stand together
in any future troubled time.
It is strange
in over a hundred years
how we all have changed.
Be proud, Walk tall
and value your land.
Value your people
whatever race or creed,
for these mixture of people
make your country strong.
You fought hard
for your independence,
even went through a civil war.
Respect your values
and hold your head up high.
This is your day to celebrate,
and this why I write this poem
to say a sincere Happy Independence Day
to all of you.
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Dick Cavett Tv Interview
Janis it's a shame you couldn't do an up tune for us but i liked that one.
Later in the show.
Yeah, maybe later we'll be talking too. you're really shot after, after a number, let alone a whole evening i would think.
Yeah, yeah.
You tell me you kind of collapse after a show ?
Well, i'm used to it because i'm so turned on by doing one that it's hard to do, it's hard to stop after one to tell you the truth, because it just makes you wanna do more.
Your engine is revved up ?
Yeah, sort of!
I know all the hip expressions, you see. your engine is revved up.
You're a real swinger, i can tell by your shoes, man!
Wait a minute, janis, janis. these were good enough for my grand-father, they're good enough for me.
I had a lot of trouble, last week i, er, it wasn't that tune, we opened with another tune and i tore a muscle.
I heard about this. you tore a mussel somewhere near maryland. er ...
It was closer to home than that!
Well, er ...
But i played forty minutes, man! i did forty minutes!
Yeah, but how do you, how do you tear a muscle singing, was it from the exhaustion or ...
No, i went ... like that.
You actually, literally tore a muscle ... i mean like that ...
Every time, it hurt.
Could you feel it go ?
Yeah.
Phew!
Yeah.
What do they do, do they set a muscle or do they tape you up or something ?
They told me to keep still.
Janis you wrote that tune that you were just singing like we just agreed to ask about. you er, you wrote the first tune, right ?
I wrote the first tune. it's, er, yes i did, it's about men.
It's about men. it's a little hard to tell what it was about 'cause i was standing over there where the sound is a little distorted.
Well in my story that's what it is anyway.
Yeah.
D'you ever see those mule carts ?
Yeah.
They, er, there's a dumb mule on there right and a long stick with a string and a carrot, and it hangs over the mule's nose, and it runs after it all day long. some ...
Who is the man in this, in this parable, the mule, or the person holding the carrot ?
No, the woman is the, is the mule. chasing something that somebody's holds her way.
Constantly chasing her man ...
Yeah.
... who always eludes her.
Well, they always hold something more than they're prepared to give.
I have to defend my entire sex, ladies and gentlemen! the burden of the defense.
Go right ahead!
Well, one-arm wrestling i can take you two out of three.
I hope so.
Do you, er, do you actually sit down when you get up in the morning and, and write out a song, or do you . . . when you say you write it, you compose it you write it on a paper.
You just make it up, i don't write songs, i make them up.
They don't exist on paper your songs, don't they ?
Sometimes i just write down the words so i don't forget 'em, but i mean i don't write songs, that's a whole different concept. i just make 'em up.
Yeah. did you ever get back to port arthur, texas ?
No, but i'm going back next in august, man. and guess what i'm doin' ?
I don't know.
I'm going to my 10th annual high school reunion.
Oh! oh! take movies and bring 'em back to show us, will you ?
Hey would you like to go ?
Well, i don't remember, i don't have any friends in your high school class.
I don't either. i don't either, believe me.
You don't either ?
It's hard going, man!
Weren't you a kind of a, weren't you kind of a business administration major or something in high school. no, it's something in your past. you were ...
No, i worked.
Yeah.
But a high school major in art does have plenty of time.
Yeah. and do you think you'll have a lot to say to your old high-school classmates ?
I don't have a lot, man.
You were not surrounded by friends in high school ?
They laughed me out of class, out of town, and out of state, man.
Hmm ...
Somethin' goin' on.
Thank you.
Thank you.
song performed by by Janis Joplin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Almost
I almost got drunk at school at 14
Where I almost made out with the homecoming queen
Who almost went on to be miss texas
But lost to a slut with much bigger breasts
I almost dropped out to move to LA
Where I was almost famous for almost a day
And I almost had you
But I guess that doesn't cut it
Almost loved you
I almost wished u would've loved me too
I almost held up a grocery store
Where I almost did 5 years and then 7 more
Cuz I almost got popped for a fight with a thug
Cuz he almost made off with a bunch of good drugs
That I almost got hooked on cuz you ran away
And I wish I would had the nerve to ask you to stay
And I almost had you
But I guess that doesn't cut it
Almost had you
And I didn't even know it
You kept me guessing and now I'm destined
To spend my time missing you
I almost wish you would've loved me too
Here I go thinking about all the things i could've done
I'm gonna need a forklift cuz all the baggage weighs a ton
I know we had our problems I can't remember one
I almost forgot to say something else
And if I can't fit it in I'll keep it all to myself
I almost wrote a song about you today
But I tore it all up and then I threw it away
And I almost had you
But I guess that doesn't cut it
Almost had you
And I didn't even know it
You kept me guessing and now I'm destined
To spend my time missing you
And I almost had you
I almost wish you would've loved me too
song performed by by Bowling For Soup
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Little Did I Know
Little did I know forty-two years ago
when I put pen to paper
after getting off a fairground ride
at sunset that day.
That what I was about to write
would be a crowning achievement
in my writing life.
That what I wrote would be read and used
in all the four corners of the world.
It would be used to compliment
photos, painting, and memorials
to those who had passed away.
A piece of writing
which would evoke so much in many.
For everyone who reads it
get their own impressions from within it.
Little did I know
more than any other of my work,
it would make my name.
Although I have written poems
for one reason or another
that have become favourites of mine,
Just Beyond The Sunset is a dream
and beyond that sunset
my dreams have come true
in a lot more ways than one.
For little did I know
what I was writing then.
21 April 2008
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
My Brother
Some moments are more momentous
than ever you could believe.
They are so great
that they take your breath away.
It started with a letter from an Aunt
who wrote and said your half brother Bill
would love to hear from you.
I did not have a half brother.
She had that all wrong,
the only Bill I remember
was adopted by my grandparents.
He was her half brother not mine.
However as it turned out
she was right and I was wrong.
For over fifty years,
his existence had been kept from me.
In the proceeding weeks that followed,
I found his address and then his telephone number,
then I phoned him.
For the first time in more than forty years,
I spoke to him.
At first, he could not believe it
and was sad because I never knew about him,
though he did know about me.
He thought I did not want to know him.
I made plans there and then to see him.
In 2001 we had our reunion
and I went back to see him again in 2002.
I could not go back to see him anymore
as my brother Bill passed away in 2003.
They say as one chapter closes another will soon begin.
In 2006, another chapter began,
but that is another story.
13 November 2008
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
English Jan
She still has her English accent the one known as English Jan
And she never was a mother nor a wife to any man
She ages without dyes or makeups her hair is silver gray
But do not say about her she has known a better day.
She migrated to Melbourne from Blackpool her Hometown by the Irish sea
When she was in her early twenties in nineteen fifty three
Fifty one years in Australia yet she remains undimmed by time
And more than forty years have passed since she was in her prime.
For forty years a school teacher her retirement she enjoy
And she will make the most of every day until the day she die
She plays bowls on a saturday and on sunday evening after eight
She socializes with her friends and always until late.
On sunday mornings at the Corner cafe she is one I always see
And she does always say hello and smile and wave at me
So down to earth and carefree and untainted by conceit
And one of those good people I feel happy for to meet
She does not use dyes or makeups and she ages in the natural way
And she is one of those nice people who makes a new friend every day
From the English Town of Blackpool by the cold Irish sea
She migrated to Melbourne in nineteen fifty three.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Surprises 2
Life is filled with surprises
and I have had my fair share of them.
Imagine going to a friend’s funeral
and months down the line,
you end up marrying his widow.
Yes, that has happened to me.
Imagine after fifty-six years
discovering you had a brother
you never knew you had.
Yes, that has happened to me.
Imagine going to school with someone
you never remember speaking to
and then fifty-one years later
they become your best friend.
Yes, that has happened to me.
Imagine this friend
introducing you to a friend of theirs
and between them both
turn your life around.
Yes, that has happened to me.
Surprises happen when you least expect them,
they can happen anytime anywhere.
You can never predict when they will occur,
they just happen for a reason,
a reason for which we are never sure.
However, never turn your back on them;
count them as a blessing
that might never come again.
5 October 2009
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Wrote A Song For Everyone
Met myself a comin' county welfare line.
I was feelin' strung out, hung out on the line.
Saw myself a goin', down to war in june.
All i want, all i want is to write myself a tune.
Chorus:
Wrote a song for ev'ryone,
Wrote a song for truth.
Wrote a song for ev'ryone
And i couldn't even talk to you.
Got myself arrested, wound me up in jail.
Richmond 'bout to blow up, communication failed.
If you see the answer, now's the time to say.
All i want, all i want is to get you down to pray.
Chorus
Chorus
Saw the people standin' thousand years in chains.
Somebody said it's diff'rent now, look, it's just the same.
Pharoahs spin the message, round and round the truth.
They could have saved a million people, how can i tell you?
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
song performed by by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Writing A Valentine Comp Poem
Many years ago, I wrote a Valentine poem (the year was 1992)
for a competition on the local radio.
The first one I wrote seemed to me OK,
and then my wife told me that it was too long.
Out came the pen and paper
and I sat down and wrote another one.
I sent it in and lo and behold
it was read out on the radio
and neither of us heard it.
We did not even know
that it had been aired
until a box of heart shaped chocolates
came landing on our door.
Being such a kind person,
I’m going to share the poems with you.
They are called appropriately
Valentine Comp Poem 1 and 2.
Read and enjoy what this silly sod
would do to win a box of chocolates
for his love so true.
31 January 2008
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The poem
I wrote a poem that didn't
ryhme,
i wrote a poem that didn't ryhme to the one I love,
i wrote a poem that didn't ryhme to the one I love
more than life,
i wrote a poem that didn't ryhme to the one I love more than life,
of which she did more than like,
the poem was short,
repeated myself alot,
but the one I loved more than life,
felt that love is like the poem I wrote,
full of joy and full of hurt,
the poem I wrote when I was full of hype,
coz the one I loved more than life is the one that now fills in my life all gaps,
the one that brings me up when am down,
a smile on my face from a frown,
music to my ears when we talk,
love in my heart when I'm near,
i wrote a poem that didn't ryhme for the one I love more than life.
poem by Kennedy Musyoka
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Happy Birthday Jesus
Written by j.p. pennington and teddy gentry
Happy birthday, jesus, its that time of year
All the lights on the trees say christmas time is near
Another years behind us, you helped us make it through
So, happy birthday, jesus, this song is just for you
We all get so hung up on material things at times it seems liek we forget
What christmas really means
It should be thanks were givin, thats why I wrote this tune
Happy brithday, jesus, this sing is just for you
Theres a gift for everyone but you underneath the tree
No, its not much, but I hipe you like this song to you from me
Happy birthday jesus, thats why I wrote this tune
So, happy birthday, jesus, my song is just for you
song performed by by Alabama
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!