Condolence
They hurried here, as soon as you had died,
Their faces damp with haste and sympathy,
And pressed my hand in theirs, and smoothed my knee,
And clicked their tongues, and watched me, mournful-eyed.
Gently they told me of that Other Side-
How, even then, you waited there for me,
And what ecstatic meeting ours would be.
Moved by the lovely tale, they broke, and cried.
And when I smiled, they told me I was brave,
And they rejoiced that I was comforted,
And left to tell of all the help they gave.
But I had smiled to think how you, the dead,
So curiously preoccupied and grave,
Would laugh, could you have heard the things they said.
poem by Dorothy Parker
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Still Smiling........
Smiled When Mother Took Me Into Her Arms For The First Time,
Smiled When Saw World Outside The Hospital For The First Time,
Smiled Whenever Went To School,
Smiled Even Being Laughed At....
And Called A Fool....
Smiled When Stood First In The Class,
Smiled When I Wasn't Misunderstood..... At Last!
Smiled When My Poem Was Said Wow!
Smiled When Realised That Only Day Is Today....
And Time Is Now......
Smiled When Got My 'True' Love,
Smiled As I Always Felt We Are Two Doves,
Smiled Even When Came To Know He's Not Mine,
Smiled Even When He Married My Friend.....
And Raised A Toast Of Wine,
Smiled Even When Lost Every Hope,
Smiled Even When Wasn't Able To Cope,
Smiled Even When Knew My End Is Near,
Smiled And Enjoyed Cutting My Nerve.......
No Fear...............
Smiled At Every Moment Of My Life,
Whenever, Wherever And Never Cried.............
But Now, I'm Lying Under A White Cover,
Father Putting Me On Fire.........
With No Blessings Left To Shower.....
People Around Have Nothing To Do With My Death
But Are Crying.........
And I'm............
Still Smiling.................................
poem by Apurva Jain
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dead Men's Love
There was a damned successful Poet;
There was a Woman like the Sun.
And they were dead. They did not know it.
They did not know their time was done.
They did not know his hymns
Were silence; and her limbs,
That had served Love so well,
Dust, and a filthy smell.
And so one day, as ever of old,
Hands out, they hurried, knee to knee;
On fire to cling and kiss and hold
And, in the other's eyes, to see
Each his own tiny face,
And in that long embrace
Feel lip and breast grow warm
To breast and lip and arm.
So knee to knee they sped again,
And laugh to laugh they ran, I'm told,
Across the streets of Hell . . .
And then
They suddenly felt the wind blow cold,
And knew, so closely pressed,
Chill air on lip and breast,
And, with a sick surprise,
The emptiness of eyes.
poem by Rupert Brooke (1911)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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I pressed my father's hand and told him I would protect his grave with my life. My father smiled and passed away to the spirit land.
quote by Chief Joseph
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We Danced and Shook
We danced and shook,
took little steps and
tiptoed through
the darkness,
smiled in the wind,
spoke, reached
and touched,
we waltzed and shared
a multitude of
memories,
we stroked and opened,
whispered and cried,
held and caressed,
sang, stood, and ran,
we breathed each note
into each other's ear-
I understood,
you heard,
I smiled as you
revealed, rejoiced
and laughed-
we broke all
barriers and inhibitions,
with light and candor
in our hearts,
burnt, raged and dreamt
and never did
surrender.
October 1,2009
poem by Alexander Shaumyan
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Crossing Legs and Websites
She sat across from me
and crossed her legs
looking away from me.
I nodded a tiny nod
and she
looked back at me
to see
if I was looking still
at her
as she then uncrossed her legs-
her gaze
sweeping across me-
but not pausing to really look
just enough to see if I was looking still
at everything she did.
I gave her that satisfaction
and smiled.
She smiled back
flirtation accomplished
compliment received
.
I told her in my mind's eye
'you are beautiful
and I like looking at you.'
Her head tilted upward slightly
message received
and her hand plunged into her purse
and she rose
to walk past me
her card
floating gently
into my outstretched hand
on it her website and her name.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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The Tombstone Told When She Died
The tombstone told when she died.
Her two surnames stopped me still.
A virgin married at rest.
She married in this pouring place,
That I struck one day by luck,
Before I heard in my mother's side
Or saw in the looking-glass shell
The rain through her cold heart speak
And the sun killed in her face.
More the thick stone cannot tell.
Before she lay on a stranger's bed
With a hand plunged through her hair,
Or that rainy tongue beat back
Through the devilish years and innocent deaths
To the room of a secret child,
Among men later I heard it said
She cried her white-dressed limbs were bare
And her red lips were kissed black,
She wept in her pain and made mouths,
Talked and tore though her eyes smiled.
I who saw in a hurried film
Death and this mad heroine
Meet once on a mortal wall
Heard her speak through the chipped beak
Of the stone bird guarding her:
I died before bedtime came
But my womb was bellowing
And I felt with my bare fall
A blazing red harsh head tear up
And the dear floods of his hair.
poem by Dylan Thomas
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Hate
I had a bitter enemy,
His heart to hate he gave,
And when I died he swore that he
Would dance upon my grave;
That he would leap and laugh because
A livid corpse was I,
And that's the reason why I was
In no great haste to die.
And then - such is the quirk of fate,
One day with joy I read,
Despite his vitalizing hate
My enemy was dead.
Maybe the poison in his heart
Had helped to haste his doom:
He was not spared till I depart
To spit upon my tomb.
The other day I chanced to go
To where he lies alone.
'Tis easy to forgive a foe
When he is dead and gone. . . .
Poor devil! Now his day is done,
(Though bright it was and brave,)
Yet I am happy there is none
To dance upon my grave.
poem by Robert William Service
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A Matter of Trust on a Summer's Day
Jane's mother said
she was up by the church
and so you went up
the path leading
to the church of St Mary
and there she was
laying some flowers
on a gravestone
she looked up
as you approached
and smiled
your mother told me
you were here
you said
I think Mother
must like you
she wouldn't
have told you
otherwise
Jane said
getting up
from the graveside
and brushing her hands
on her summery dress
who are the flowers for?
you asked
looking at the flowers
placed in a small jar
on the grave
a parishioner
we used to know
who used to like
this type of flower
oh I see
you said
looking at the graves around
and the Downs further back
and the trees nearby
where did you want to go?
you asked
how about a walk to Cocking?
we can do some shopping
while we're there
and enjoy each other's
company in the process
is it far? you asked
a mile or so
she replied
ok
you said
and you followed her
down the path
and along the lane
to her house
and you waited outside
while she went inside
after a few minutes
her mother came out
with her and said
it's very good of you
to go with Jane
all that way
I wouldn't like her
to go alone
that's all right
you said
and she smiled
and went in side
and Jane said
see she trusts you
not many boys
around here
she'd say that to
oh right
you said
looking at
her dark hair
and her eyes
gazing at you
and her hand
holding a shopping bag
and her lips
breaking into a smile
come on
she said and
so she took
your hand
and you walked
along the lane
keeping close
to the hedgerow
the sun warm
and the sky blue
and you sensed a joy
of it being
just her and you.
poem by Terry Collett
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Mona Lisa
We stood together on the museum floor
and the Mona Lisa smiled.
You held my hand, then looked at me
with tender eyes so mild.
I smiled and heard you say to me
'I'd rather look at you.'
and as we left Mona Lisa watched
and once again she knew
what a smile can do.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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Mushanga
I cant forget you, my little mushanga, I keep a place in my heart for you
The days of waiting, they keep getting longer, and not a thing I can do
I was a poet, a magazine writer, sent to report on political views
It was by chance, through a lens that I met you, a kingston girl with no shoes
Chorus:
[
You were runnin down the road, I was going your way
You stopped and turned around, and lent you my hand
You smiled though you were suffering, I didnt understand, then
You broke into my heart, I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke into my heart, like the wind and rain that followed you
You broke into my heart, had the lord above forgotten you?
You broke in from the start, and all my tears belong to you
Mushanga, oh, mushanga, oh
]
I sat and watched as she danced by the fires
Through ancient songs did the tale unfold
They sang of diamonds that came from their mountains
And loss of lives mining white mans gold
I had to leave and go back to manhattan
Where all my stories are bought and sold
I know the city would surely be saddened, if what I knew could be told
Its been so long since I last heard your laughter
So many letters and still no news
I hope you find all the things that youre after
You know my heart is with you
Chorus
Mushanga, oh, mushanga, oh (repeats 3x)
song performed by by Toto
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Summerday Sands
I once met a girl with the life in her hands
And we lay together on the summerday sands.
I gave her my raincoat and told her, ''lady, be good!
And we made truth together, where no one else would.
I smiled through her fingers and ran the dust through her hands ---
The hour-glass of reason on the summerday sands.
We sat as the sea caught fire.
Waited as the flames grew higher
In her eyes.
We watched the eagle born ---
Wings clipped, tail feathers shorn
But we saw him rise ---
Over summerday sands.
Came the ten oclock curfew.
She said, ''i must start my car.
Im staying with someone I met last night in a bar.
I called from my wave top ---
''at least tell me your name!
She smiled from her wheelspin
And said, ''its all the same.
I thought for a minute, jumped back on dry land ---
Left one set of footprints on the summerday sands.
I once met a girl with the life in her hands
And we lied together on the summerday sands.
song performed by by Jethro Tull
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Pearls of Verna Boone
I'd been alone for a year or so
Since Norma Jean had died,
I stayed in the house I'd bought for her
At the end of River Drive,
I'd felt her death as a fatal blow,
A crippling twist of fate,
For Norma Jean was my one true love,
Though I'd met her a little late!
I was past my prime when our eyes had met,
And she'd looked so young to me,
Her eyes had sparkled like diamonds set
As scarabs in sand and sea,
She saw the desert behind my eyes,
The emptiness in my life,
I stumbled over the words, but she
Said 'Yes! ' - She would be my wife!
I didn't know that she carried then
The seeds of a painful death,
Her face was flushed at the altar stone
And she seemed so short of breath,
I thought it merely a passing faint
That excitement had brought on,
As we stood in front of the Minister,
And joined our lives as one.
But then at home, she fell apart,
Collapsed on the kitchen floor,
I saw her lying, and coughing blood
Like I'd never seen before,
The doctor called, and he shook his head
As he left her there in the bed,
'I'm very sorry, ' the doctor sighed,
'But your lovely wife is dead! '
I cried and raged, and swore at fate
I smashed each wedding gift,
I wouldn't go to the funeral
But stayed at home and wept.
I cursed the heavens and thought that hell
Could never have been as bad
As a love that I'd waited a lifetime for,
A love that I'd never had!
The house next door was a rental place,
Stood empty for months that year,
But then a couple had moved on in,
I didn't see him, just her.
I thought that he was a traveller,
Was constantly on the road,
He came at night, and he left at dawn
In a battered and ancient Ford.
I had no reason to talk to them,
I sat at home with my grief,
I wandered out in the garden then
At one with each falling leaf,
But then one day, I heard her there
The other side of the fence,
Breaking her heart, as crying there
She sobbed with vehemence.
After a week of this, I climbed
The fence, and spoke to her,
'Why do you sigh, why do you cry? '
But she cried then all the more.
I walked around and sat with her
Quite late in the afternoon,
She smiled, and dried her eyes, and said,
'My name is Verna Boone! '
She said she'd only been married
Just a year this coming Spring,
But now that she knew the man he was,
Regretted everything,
He'd lost her money, just gambled it,
Had spent it on other girls,
And now they were left with nothing, he
Just wanted her mother's pearls!
'They're all I have to remember her, '
She sobbed, like a frightened child,
'They're worth a lot, but they're more to me, '
She looked at me, and smiled.
She took me inside and pulled them out
Three strings, they were very fine,
'He said that he's going to pawn them! '
Then she put her small hand in mine.
I was sad, alone and vulnerable,
I looked at her lovely curls,
She smiled at me, and she asked me then
If I'd care for her mother's pearls?
'I'll say they're lost, misplaced, I'll say,
He'll rant and rage, and more,
But he won't be able to pawn them now...'
Then she walked me to the door.
I took her home, and I placed the pearls
With the gems my wife had once:
'They'll be all right in the downstairs safe.'
It was then that she saw the gun.
She looked afraid, but she picked it up
And weighed it there in her hand,
I took it gently and locked it up
With the rest of my contraband.
'She must have watched as I spun the dial,
I know - I was such a fool! '
The sergeant sat and he stared at me,
And his stare was distant, cool.
He didn't believe a word I said
I could see that now, I'm done!
They put me back in a cell to wait
To be charged with Murder One!
She told them I had come over when
Her husband came home one night,
Waving a gun and ranting, then
Her husband put up a fight!
I'd shot him once through the head, she said,
Then taken her on the bed,
Stolen a fine pearl necklace,
Then beaten and left her for dead!
They found the gun on the floor, they said,
I knew that the gun was mine,
They found the pearls in my safe, they said,
It was only a question of time.
She sat at the back of the court while I
Was stood in the prisoner's dock,
And I noticed she wore her mother's pearls
With a nice new evening frock.
10 August 2009
poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Fool To Believe
You told me you loved me and wanted to be with me. So i gave you my love in return but you threw it back in my face. Then you told me your heart was for the taken, so I gave you mine but you broke it into pieces.You whispered sweet lies how you would cherish me. So i gave you body but you took it savagely. Then i cried my last tear because all the sweet lies you told me I was a fool to believe and kept on believing until you finally broke me.
poem by Tiffany R Cooper
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If I were dead
'IF I were dead, you'd sometimes say, Poor Child!'
The dear lips quiver'd as they spake,
And the tears brake
From eyes which, not to grieve me, brightly smiled.
Poor Child, poor Child!
I seem to hear your laugh, your talk, your song.
It is not true that Love will do no wrong.
Poor Child!
And did you think, when you so cried and smiled,
How I, in lonely nights, should lie awake,
And of those words your full avengers make?
Poor Child, poor Child!
And now, unless it be
That sweet amends thrice told are come to thee,
O God, have Thou no mercy upon me!
Poor Child!
poem by Coventry Patmore
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Calico Cat
I walk down the road
And what do I see?
A Calico cat is
looking at me.
I smile at the cat
So refreshingly free.
I sit down and wait
And he deigns to come see.
I ask why his name
Is the Calico Cat.
He rubs on my knee
And he says 'it's just that'
For the Calico Cat
Is not commonly seen.
Don't you know why we're so called?
Just where have you been?
I had to admit I never had heard
Why the Calico Cat was so named.
He flicked up his tail,
Said 'don't be ashamed,
I'll tell you the story'.
The word on the street
Is uttered in whispers
These cats are elite.
The legends do tell
Of the history true
That the Calico Cat
Carries blood only blue.
For he once did a favour
For the King and the Queen.
When his task was complete
Such reverence was seen.
Honoured in the circles
Of royalty was he
And frequently sat
On the pretty queen's knee.
But the secret of trust
He will carry to grave
For the Calico Cat
In whose honour was gave.
In awe and in wonder
Regarded was he,
And to this day the Calico
Still sits on 'the knee'
So hush little darlings
As the tale will be told
And we'll all keep the secret
To have and to hold.
So his story he told me,
Then he went on his way
And I never was wiser
To the end of my day.
The tale of the Calico cat
Is oft relayed,
But the secret of such
In the closing is laid.
poem by Rosi Caswell
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Her Refrain
Do you love me?' she said, when the skies were blue,
And we walked where the stream through the branches glistened;
And I told and retold her my love was true,
While she listened and smiled, and smiled and listened.
Do you love me?' she whispered, when days were drear,
And her eyes searched mine with a patient yearning;
And I kissed her, renewing the words so dear,
While she listened and smiled, as if slowly learning.
“Do you love me?” she asked, when we sat at rest
By the stream enshadowed with autumn glory;
Her cheek had been laid as in peace on my breast,
But she raised it to ask for the sweet old story.
And I said: 'I will tell her the tale again—
I will swear by the earth and the stars above me!'
And I told her that uttermost time should prove
The fervor and faith of my perfect love;
And I vowed it and pledged it that nought should move;
While she listened and smiled in my face, and then
She whispered once more, ' Do you truly love me? '
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Eyes Of Mr D (Part 5)
Mr D took off his glasses,
and raised his white cane.
He struck the dark figure,
hard with the crook of the handle
in the middle of the back.
The dark figure bends backwards
revealing his mask of death.
Quickly he recovered and twisted around.
He went to strike out at Mr D,
who hooked the white cane
around one leg and pulled.
The dark figure with the mask of death
fell upon the ground.
He pulled a blade from his pocket
that glinted under the moonlight.
Mr D used the cane again
to knock the blade from his hand
into the dark waters of the lake.
The sound of sirens and blue lights filled the air.
The figure with the mask of death
tried his best to flee.
Mr D went after him.
He ran onto the wooden bridge.
Mr D caught him there.
They struggled with each other,
one getting the upper hand for a moment,
then the other.
Mr D finally hit him with his fist.
The figure spun and stumbled against the wooden guardrail.
The rail snapped under the sudden weight.
Into the dark waters,
the figure plunged and disappeared below.
Mr D came off the bridge
moments before the police arrived.
It was over now he said to himself.
The pretty woman waited there for him.
She looked, smiled, and held her hand out
to the man who saved her life.
“How did you know? ” she asked.
“My eyes told me it was going to happen.”
He then went on to explain.
When they were allowed to leave,
they left hand in hand.
“I don’t know your name.” She said,
“And here you save my life.”
He smiled. “Are you sure you want to know? ”
She nodded.
“My name is Henry De Ath,
but just call me Henry or Mr D.
On the far side of the lake,
a figure emerged
from the dark waters of the lake.
He crawled up onto the shore,
and then removed the mask of death that he wore.
He waited for a few moments
while he caught his breath,
and then hurried back to his black car.
He gave a quick glance at the blue lights,
on the far shore,
before disappearing
into the swirl of traffic for another day.
The End……………………..or is it?
poem by David Harris
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Everything You Wanted To Know About
I took my fantasy to deborah
You know shes always been a friendly girl
Youll see her cruise the picadilly streets
And she winks at every man she meets
Ive been a fan of hers for quite a time
I tried to pull her with a bummer line
I asked her would she like a cigarette
And she said lets go to bed
('cause thats what you want)
And so I went
And I was shocked
I was so green
Ground I wish youd swallow me up
She had to laugh
I nearly died
Some superstud!
Theres more to this than meets the eye
I hurried back to read the manual through
You know the one that tells you what to do
But all I needed was the confidence
To start and break the ice
Experience would be a boon for life
And debbie smiled as I came strolling by
I said Id like to have a second shot
And Id give it all Ive got
And with a twinkle in her eye
She led me by the hand
Through a door to a room
Above a soho restaurant
And she smiled and told me
Not to look so serious
But by the time shed talked me down
I was delerious, I was away
I had to window shop in amsterdam
But down the troubador in hollywood
I found a lover who was bold enough
To live my fantasy (this isnt a dream)
I was away
Up in the blue
Emmanuelle
How you gonna make it in a jet
The need to shock
Was coming through
Where would it end
Youll never know
song performed by by 10 Cc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Colin Instructed
Young Colin was as stout a boy
As ever gave a maiden joy;
But long in vain he told his tale
To black-eyed Biddy of the Dale.
Ah why, the whining shepherd cried,
Am I alone your smiles denied?
I only tell in vain my tale
To black-eyed Biddy of the Dale.
True Colin, said the laughing dame,
You only whimper out your flame,
Others do more than sigh their tale
To black-eyed Biddy of the Dale.
He took the hint &c.
poem by Thomas Chatterton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Watched
Pediatric E.R, R.I.P 11/5/09 (Volunteer work can be tough)
I watched…
A heartbreaking scene today
But I couldn’t take
my eyes away
I watched …
I feel shamed to say
I watched
a little girl die today
I watched …
an anguished EMT cry
I watched nurses drawn faces
I watched a little girl die
I watched …
Just outside the doors
The Frantic CPR applied
With frantic, futile force
I watched
Her mother fearfully enter the room
To be seated by her side
To share in her impending doom
I watched
A strange, unsettling scene
Upturned faces as if in prayer
hopefully watch the vitals screen
I watched
A life dissipate and fade
On a bed
That I had newly made
I watched…
At least a half hour they tried
With wondrous machines, marvelous medicines
Yet still, this little girl died
I watched…
Then I heard a small whimpering cry!
But It was only the mother
As she saw her child die
I watched…
Her arms outspread, her mom at her side
Young staring eyes so angelicly appealing
I watched, sadly watched….then I also cried.
poem by David Whalen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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