On A Cape May Warbler Who Flew Against My Window
She's stopped in her southern tracks
Brought haply to this hard knock
When she shoots from the tall spruce
And snaps her neck on the glass.
From the fall grass I gather her
And give her to my silent children
Who give her a decent burial
Under the dogwood in the garden.
They lay their gifs in the grave:
Matches, a clothes-peg, a coin;
Fire paper for her, sprinkle her
With water, fold earth over her.
She is out of her element forever
Who was air's high-spirited daughter;
What guardian wings can I conjure
Over my own young, their migrations?
The children retreat indoors.
Shadows flicker in the tall spruce.
Small birds flicker like shadows--
Ghosts come nest in my branches.
poem by Eamon Grennan
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Trees And Dreams
Wooden soldiers
Tall and strong
Guarding woodlands
In rows so long.
Hard and fast
Taller than grass
Grown to last
of old, cut as a mast.
Reaching skyward
Surveying all around
Casting long shadows westward
Towering flora that abound.
New saplings now old
One story they have told
Deep roots make them bold
As branches unfold
Some older than man
Cast deep in the ground
Hid the old clan
Felt the wet nose of a hound.
Lovers lay beneath it's branches
basking in the sun
Exhausted from their horizontal fun
Beads of sweat, down their bodies run.
Words of love trip off their tongue.
Tall and mighty
Bark textured rough
Their leaves small and flighty
Young children's shoes did scuff
Catching their dreams
As they climb so high
Of rescuing maidens
From pirates near by.
With bows and not so straight arrows
They grin and they smile
As they aim at a sparrow
and miss by a mile.
From it's branches they do swing
Hanging by a limb
Lot of noise, not muffled din.
Hot summer, time to swim.
poem by Robert Green
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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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Children Of Shadows
Children of bullying wake to a befallen doom
As they prepare for school
Not knowing what the day will behold
Everyone wants to be understood
Why must they be bullied?
You just don't know how it tarnishes their self esteem
It hurts so bad
Please stop!
Let me be
The pain is unbearable
So they see themselves as a shadow
Children of shadows don't want to be spit on
Children of shadows don't want to be laughed at
Children of shadows don't want to be humiliated
No one wants to be thrown in the trash
Children of shadows can overcome
Children of shadows can be loved
Children of shadows can be understood
Because we are not a shadow
But a fierce soul
poem by Alisha Ricks
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The Greatest Days Of All
(Dolly Parton)
A dirt dobber built its nest
On my only Sunday dress
And the roof leaked in my shoes
And when they dried they were too small
And the rats chewed a great big hole
In my only winter coat
And at night I'd hear them gnaw
The paper on my bedroom wall
But I still say
Those were the greatest days of all
Some happy and some sad
Some good and some bad
But I still say
Those were the greatest days of all
I used to wait by the garden gate
Where the hummingbirds came ev'ry day
To kiss the yellow roses
Growing up the garden wall
And in the tall grass I would lie
'Til ev'ning shadows brought the night
Thru the window of my room
I'd hear the whippoorwill's sad call
And I still say
Those were the greatest days of all
Some happy and some sad
Some good and some bad
But I still say
Those were the greatest days of all
Now as I make my way
Along the busy city sidewalks
My head arouring from the deafening city sound
You can't hear a whipporwill in this noisy city
And tall green grass don't grow
Along the sidewalks of this town
And hummingbirds don't fly around
These artificial roses
Like they did around the garden wall
And, oh, so often in my mind
I'll go back to another time
And I still say
Those were the greatest days of all
I still say
Those were the greatest days of all
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Way I Feel
The way i feel is like a robin
Whose babes have flown to come no more
A tall oak tree alone and cryin'
When her birds have flown and the nest is bare
Now a woman lord is like a young bird
And the tall oak tree is like a young man's heart
Among his boughs you will find her nesting
When the nights are cool she's warm and dry
Your coat of green will protect her
Her wings will grow your love will too
But all too soon your mighty branches
Will cease to hold her she'll fly from you
If i'd wings to fly
I'd follow you
If you'd wait for me
I'd fly away
I'd fly away
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Give Love To The Children
Give Love to the children Children need love everyday
Give love to the children Guide them on their way
Love's like a burning flame consumes all that stands in the way
Love is the only power on earth to take all the hatred away
GIVE LOVE TO THE CHILDREN set the children free
To make their own decisions then they will clearly see
Love is the sun the moon and the stars love is a golden ring
Love is the one thing the whole world desires be it beggar or king
GIVE LOVE TO THE CHILDREN youth has not long to stay
Love is a long term investment the best you will find any day
Love like the rising sun takes all the darkness away
Our children will tell their children and their childrens children will say
Give love to the children they are our crock of gold
and if perchance they ever stray they will come back to the fold
Give love to the children the children of today
Give love to the children and love will come to stay.
poem by Elizabeth Quinn
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Kamasutra Poetry Series 2 - Flickering Candles of Bliss
chinese wedding
two red candles
stand tall and straight
on an altar of bliss
flicker, flicker
to esctacy
flicker, flicker
to the wishes of
the ancestors and gods
flicker, flicker
to the shadows
of lithe torsos
lively as the candles' flames
burning with an air
of subdued,
charmed secrecy
at exclusive zone of bliss
the newly married
so young
they could burn
the whole town down
with their fiery libido
scratches, tears and tear
are part of the heavenly sport
the only one drawn up
by god for man
guaranteed to make
the world go round
game played in twosome
savoured with delight
excitements, and pleasure
the exploration of hidden horizons
that propel sighs, mourns
and explosions
the physiques intertwine
so tightly as Nirvana dawns
in some spilling seconds
prove that they need not be
a hindrance to paradise
a foretaste of all orgiasmic games
waiting in His other world
the whole night
the next door maid, sleepless
experiences thunder and storm
next day is spent
straightening waves
in the bedspread,
blanket covers and pillows
the aftermath of a hurricane
the young wife
in colourful loose frock
moves around a butterfly
and lifts her lips to smile -
throwing light to her wedding night
like flickering candles
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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Give Love To Children
Give Love to the children Children
need love everyday
Give love to the children Guide
them on their way
Love's like a burning flame
consumes all that stands in the way
Love is the only power on earth
to take all the hatred away
Give Love to set the children free
To make their own decisions
then they will clearly see
Love is the sun the moon and the
stars love is a golden ring
Love is the one thing the whole
world desires be it beggar or king
Give Love to youth
has not long to stay
Love is a long term investment
the best you will find any day
Love like the rising sun takes all
the darkness away
Our children will tell their
children and their childrens
children will say
Give love to the children they are
our crock of gold
and if perchance they ever stray
they will come back to the fold
Give love to the children the
children of today
Give love to the children and love
will come to stay.
poem by Akingbehin Daniel Murphy
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Atavism
I was always afraid of Somes's Pond:
Not the little pond, by which the willow stands,
Where laughing boys catch alewives in their hands
In brown, bright shallows; but the one beyond.
There, where the frost makes all the birches burn
Yellow as cow-lilies, and the pale sky shines
Like a polished shell between black spruce and pines,
Some strange thing tracks us, turning where we turn.
You'll say I dreamed it, being the true daughter
Of those who in old times endured this dread.
Look! Where the lily-stems are showing red
A silent paddle moves below the water,
A sliding shape has stirred them like a breath;
Tall plumes surmount a painted mask of death.
poem by Elinor Morton Wylie
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Colorful Autumn
The fountain sings, the clouds stand
In clear blueness, white, delicate;
Silent people wander thoughtfully
Down there in the evening-blue garden.
The ancestors' marble has turned grey.
A line of birds streaks into the distance
A faun with dead eyes gazes
On shadows that glide into darkness.
Leaves fall red from the old tree,
Rotate inside through the open window.
The room glows in dark fires,
In it shadows, like ghosts.
Opal smoke weaves over the grass,
A cloud of wilted, bleached scents,
In the fountain the sickle moon shines
Like a green glass in freezing air.
poem by Georg Trakl
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The women with the coin
There’s a French coin
hanging around your neck
that every now and then
catches the light
between your big breasts
and there’s something fragile
and soft in your dark brown eyes
while you pour
another glass of Adelprag.
At the candlelight dinner
you tell me about your failed life,
your previous lovers,
why you are divorced again
and begs for sympathy,
that lies deeper
than just the glass.
You say that you cannot
comprehend life
and why relationships fail
while your eyes
watches every other man
that passes by
and you try to tempt me.
You do not want to
care for your children anymore
and one is in a boarding school,
since his father is dead
and the man
that brought him up
is now out of your life
and it was a mistake
to have children.
The coin around your neck
shines every now and then
while it draws eyes
to the place
where it hangs luring
between your big breasts
that is naked with hard nipples
under your blouse.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Shadows And Tall Trees
Back to the cold restless streets at night
I talk to myself about tomorrow night
Walls of white protest
A gravestone in name
Who is it now
It's always the same
Who is it now
Who calls me inside
Are the leaves on the trees
Just living disguise
I walk sweet rain tragicomedy
I'll walk home again
to the street melody
But I know, oh no
But I know, oh no
But I know...
Shadows and tall trees
Shadows and tall trees
Shadows and tall trees
Shadows and tall trees
Life through a window
Discoloured pain
Mrs. Brown's washing is always the same
I walk street rain tragicomedy
I'll walk home again
to the street melody
But I know, oh no
But I know, oh no
But I know...
(Out there)
Do you feel in me...
Anything redeeming
Any worthwhile feeling
Is love like a tightrope
Hanging from the ceiling
But I know, oh no
But I know, oh no
But I know...
Shadows and Tall Trees
song performed by by U2
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Jamaica Say You Will
Jamaica was the lovely one, I played her well
As we lay in the tall grass where the shadows fell
Hiding from the children so they would not tell
We would stay there till her sister rang the evening bell
Jamaica, say you will
Help me find a way to fill these empty hours
Say you will come again tomorrow
The daughter of a captain on the rolling seas
She would stare across the water from the trees
Last time he was home he held her on his knees
And said the next time they would sail away just where they pleased
Jamaica, say you will
Help me find a way to fill these lifeless sails
And stay until my ships can find the sea
Jamaica was a sweet young one, I loved her true
She was a comfort and a mercy through and through
Hiding from this world together, next thing I knew
We had brought her things down to the bay -- what could I do
Jamaica, say you will
Help me find a way to fill these sails
And we will sail until our waters have run dry
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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P’eng-ya Road
I remember fleeing the rebels
through dangerous northern canyons,
the midnight moon shining bright
on narrow P’eng-ya Road.
So poor we went on foot,
we were embarrassed meeting strangers.
A few birds sang in the valleys,
but we met no one returning.
My daughter was so starved she bit me,
she screamed her painful hunger.
I damped her mouth shut tight,
fearful of wolves and tigers.
She struggled hard against me,
she cried and cried.
My son was sympathetic
and searched the wilds for food.
Then five days of heavy rain arrived,
and we trudged through freezing mud.
We had no coats, no shelter,
we were dressed in cold, wet clothes.
Struggling, struggling, we made
but a mile or two each day.
We ate wild fruits and berries,
and branches made our roof.
Mornings we slogged through water;
evenings we searched for skyline smoke.
We stopped at a marsh
to prepare our climb to the pass,
and met a Mr. Sun
whose standards are high as clouds.
We came through the dark
and lamps were lit, gates opening before us.
Servants brought warm water
so we could bathe our aching feet.
They hung paper banners
in our honor.
Mrs. Sun came out with all her children.
They wept for our condition.
My children slept, exhausted,
until we roused them with food.
Our host took a vow
he’d always remain my brother.
His home was made our home,
to provide for every comfort.
Who could imagine in such troubled times
he’d bare his heart and soul?
A year has passed since that fated night.
The Barbarians still wage war.
If I had the wings of the wild goose,
I’d fly to be at his side.
Shadows On The Wall
When the fantasy we live in
Lies in pieces on the ground
And there is no false illusion
That can turn your heart around
Nothing can change the way I feel
Nothing can take your love from me
If only I didnt worry
If only I could see
If only I could see
Chasing shadows on the wall
Chasing shadows as they dance on the floor
Chasing dreams that were forever young
Now Im on my own
Chasing shadows on the wall
Shadows on the wall
On the sea of mediocrity
Drifting from a distant shore
No goodbyes no celebration
No-one there to close the door
Only the silence that I feel
Only the lonely road is real
If only I didnt loose you
If only we could be
If only we could be
Chasing shadows on the wall
Chasing shadows as they dance on the floor
Chasing dreams that were forever young
Now Im on my own
Chasing shadows on the wall
Shadows on the wall
Chasing shadows on the wall
Chasing shadows as they start to fall
Chasing dreams that were forever young
Chasing shadows on the wall
Chasing shadows on the wall
Chasing shadows as they dance on the floor
Chasing shadows on the wall
song performed by by Moody Blues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Day In The Life Of A Tree
Feel the wind burn through my skin
The pain, the air is killing me
For years my limbs stretched to the sky
A nest for birds to sit and sing
But now my branches suffer
And my leaves dont bear the glow
They did so long ago
One day I was full of life
My sap was rich and I was strong
From seed to tree I grew so tall
Through wind and rain I could not fall
But now my branches suffer
And my leaves dont offer
Poetry to men of song
Trees like me werent meant to live
If all this world can give
Pollution and slow death
Oh lord I lay me down
No lifes left to be found
Theres nothing left for me
Trees like me werent meant to live
If all this earth can give
Is pollution
Trees like me werent meant to live
(oh lord I lay me down)
If all this earth can give
(my branches to the ground)
Is pollution and slow death
(theres nothing left for me)
Oh lord I lay me down
My branches to the ground
Theres nothing left for me
song performed by by Beach Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Forever Young
We don't change inside,
we only learn to subdue emotions.
Fundamentally - we stay the same.
On the outside we wrinkle,
our skin pales and crepes,
our eyes sink in _
but we don't change.
We still think like children,
feel like children
take falls like children,
cry and hurt and act like children,
hide like children,
for despite being tall
and knowing more
we are and always will be
_ forever young.
poem by Ruth Walters
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Now you know for MLady Ann Beard
Without a light no shadow can
display itself before your eyes.
Although the light be pale and wan
it can a shadow realise.
The shadows dance upon the wall.
When tapers flicker in the breeze.
They mean and do no harm at all.
But dowse the flame and shadows cease.
Fear not the dark without a light.
You only need to kindle flame,
then shadows dance for your delight.
The shadows to the light source came.
Beware the man with no shadow
and no reflection in the glass.
These are the signs by which you know
your worst nightmare has come to pass.
You have become a vampire’s prey.
You don’t believe such tales are true,
that vampires walk the earth today.
A single bite will convince you.
26-May-08
http: // blog.myspace.com/poeticpiers
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
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Shadows
(Hillary Lindsey)
Show me your shadows
Let down the guard that you hold so high
Come all unraveled
Give me the pieces you always hide
I will not judge you
I will not run
When you let me see you come undone
Uncover your secrets
Give me your trust
Oh, my love is strong enough
For your shadows
I don't know what haunts you, baby
The ghosts that you fight with the lone at night
The fears that confront you
I wanna see you from every side
I will not judge you
I will not run
When you let me see you come undone
Uncover your secrets
Give me your trusts
Oh, my love is strong enough
For your shadows
Let me lie down in your dreams
Let me see and touch everything
Everything
Walk me through your shadows
I will not judge you
I will not run
When you let me see you come undone
Uncover your secrets
Give me your trust
Oh, my love, my love is strong enough
For your shadows
song performed by by Faith Hill
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Child
The young child, Christ, is straight and wise
And asks questions of the old men, questions
Found under running water for all children
And found under shadows thrown on still waters
By tall trees looking downward, old and gnarled.
Found to the eyes of children alone, untold,
Singing a low song in the loneliness.
And the young child, Christ, goes on asking
And the old men answer nothing and only know love
For the young child. Christ, straight and wise.
poem by Carl Sandburg
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