The Clinging Vine
“Be calm? And was I frantic?
You’ll have me laughing soon.
I’m calm as this Atlantic,
And quiet as the moon;
I may have spoken faster
Than once, in other days;
For I’ve no more a master,
And now—‘Be calm,’ he says.
“Fear not, fear no commotion,—
I’ll be as rocks and sand;
The moon and stars and ocean
Will envy my command;
No creature could be stiller
In any kind of place
Than I … No, I’ll not kill her;
Her death is in her face.
“Be happy while she has it,
For she’ll not have it long;
A year, and then you’ll pass it,
Preparing a new song.
And I’m a fool for prating
Of what a year may bring,
When more like her are waiting
For more like you to sing.
“You mock me with denial,
You mean to call me hard?
You see no room for trial
When all my doors are barred?
You say, and you’d say dying,
That I dream what I know;
And sighing, and denying,
You’d hold my hand and go.
“You scowl—and I don’t wonder;
I spoke too fast again;
But you’ll forgive one blunder,
For you are like most men:
You are,—or so you’ve told me,
So many mortal times,
That heaven ought not to hold me
Accountable for crimes.
“Be calm? Was I unpleasant?
Then I’ll be more discreet,
And grant you, for the present,
The balm of my defeat:
What she, with all her striving,
Could not have brought about,
You’ve done. Your own contriving
Has put the last light out.
“If she were the whole story,
If worse were not behind,
I’d creep with you to glory,
Believing I was blind;
I’d creep, and go on seeming
To be what I despise.
You laugh, and say I’m dreaming,
And all your laughs are lies.
“Are women mad? A few are,
And if it’s true you say—
If most men are as you are—
We’ll all be mad some day.
Be calm—and let me finish;
There’s more for you to know.
I’ll talk while you diminish,
And listen while you grow.
“There was a man who married
Because he couldn’t see;
And all his days he carried
The mark of his degree.
But you—you came clear-sighted,
And found truth in my eyes;
And all my wrongs you’ve righted
With lies, and lies, and lies.
“You’ve killed the last assurance
That once would have me strive
To rouse an old endurance
That is no more alive.
It makes two people chilly
To say what we have said,
But you—you’ll not be silly
And wrangle for the dead.
“You don’t? You never wrangle?
Why scold then,—or complain?
More words will only mangle
What you’ve already slain.
Your pride you can’t surrender?
My name—for that you fear?
Since when were men so tender,
And honor so severe?
“No more—I’ll never bear it.
I’m going. I’m like ice.
My burden? You would share it?
Forbid the sacrifice!
Forget so quaint a notion,
And let no more be told;
For moon and stars and ocean
And you and I are cold.”
poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Who Am I
Try to stay calm
As you open the door
But you can't remember
What you came here for
The edge of the sun
You think, "If God is here,
Why should this pain be done?"
Try to stay calm
But you can't understand
Why a man is begging
And it's not your hand
Go and ask why
And they tell you pray
It's insane
You take a ride thru the magic of life
As all of your fears surround you
You're all alone from beginning to end
While separating the lies from the truth
Who am I? And why are we here?
Who am I? And what do we fear?
Who am I? To say I believe?
Who am I?
Thou shall not kill
But the animal's dead
Because he doesn't count
It's what the good book says
Think about that
And you thinking may change
When the souless creature
Makes you feel ashamed
How can men say
That they can't understand
That the words they read
Were written by a man
How can men claim
That "He" teaches thru pain
It's insane
You look around for the answers to life
You're told that you have to have faith
You get a book explaining 10,000 years
But there are 5 billion more that remain
Who am I? And why are we here?
Who am I? And what do we fear?
Who am I? To say I believe?
Who am I?
Solo
Be a good boy and we'll open the door
But you better have faith or you'll be no more
Try to stay calm but you can't understand
Why the good is not counted in a faithless man
Who am I? The question of man
Who am I? Could love be the plan?
Who am I? To say I can see
Who am I?
Who am I? Why are you here?
Who am I? What you you fear?
Who am I? To say what to do?
Who am I?
Who am I?
Who am I?
Tell me, tell me, tell me
Who am I?
You've got to make us to see
Who am I?
To believe
song performed by by Zebra
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Late Summer
(ALCAICS)
Confused, he found her lavishing feminine
Gold upon clay, and found her inscrutable;
And yet she smiled. Why, then, should horrors
Be as they were, without end, her playthings?
And why were dead years hungrily telling her
Lies of the dead, who told them again to her?
If now she knew, there might be kindness
Clamoring yet where a faith lay stifled.
A little faith in him, and the ruinous
Past would be for time to annihilate,
And wash out, like a tide that washes
Out of the sand what a child has drawn there.
God, what a shining handful of happiness,
Made out of days and out of eternities,
Were now the pulsing end of patience—
Could he but have what a ghost had stolen!
What was a man before him, or ten of them,
While he was here alive who could answer them,
And in their teeth fling confirmations
Harder than agates against an egg-shell?
But now the man was dead, and would come again
Never, though she might honor ineffably
The flimsy wraith of him she conjured
Out of a dream with his wand of absence.
And if the truth were now but a mummery,
Meriting pride’s implacable irony,
So much the worse for pride. Moreover,
Save her or fail, there was conscience always.
Meanwhile, a few misgivings of innocence,
Imploring to be sheltered and credited,
Were not amiss when she revealed them.
Whether she struggled or not, he saw them.
Also, he saw that while she was hearing him
Her eyes had more and more of the past in them;
And while he told what cautious honor
Told him was all he had best be sure of,
He wondered once or twice, inadvertently,
Where shifting winds were driving his argosies,
Long anchored and as long unladen,
Over the foam for the golden chances.
“If men were not for killing so carelessly,
And women were for wiser endurances,”
He said, “we might have yet a world here
Fitter for Truth to be seen abroad in;
“If Truth were not so strange in her nakedness,
And we were less forbidden to look at it,
We might not have to look.” He stared then
Down at the sand where the tide threw forward
Its cold, unconquered lines, that unceasingly
Foamed against hope, and fell. He was calm enough,
Although he knew he might be silenced
Out of all calm; and the night was coming.
“I climb for you the peak of his infamy
That you may choose your fall if you cling to it.
No more for me unless you say more.
All you have left of a dream defends you:
“The truth may be as evil an augury
As it was needful now for the two of us.
We cannot have the dead between us.
Tell me to go, and I go.”—She pondered:
“What you believe is right for the two of us
Makes it as right that you are not one of us.
If this be needful truth you tell me,
Spare me, and let me have lies hereafter.”
She gazed away where shadows were covering
The whole cold ocean’s healing indifference.
No ship was coming. When the darkness
Fell, she was there, and alone, still gazing.
poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I Am Calm In The Pain
I AM CALM IN THE PAIN
I am calm in the pain,
And calm in the rejection,
And calm through the insult,
And calm through the anger,
And calm calm calm,
Though I feel so deeply
How I have failed
I am calm
Very calm
So calm
Until suddenly
In the middle of the morning prayer
I begin to cry to God
Cry with a terrible crying
And then when the prayer done
Calm calm calm calm calm.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I love the word 'calm
I love the word ‘calm’
‘The sea lies calm tonight’
‘Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
‘And calm of mind, all passion spent’
I love the word ‘calm’
And the feeling of peace,
And the joy in quiet,
And the sense of all things well,
It gives.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
This tsunami in Me
heartless tsunami
how calm the sea lies today
please rush to me
raise your fury
console me
how calm the sea lies
after all the ravages
the loved ones that have gone
how calm the sea lies today
this tsunami in me
that would take years to tame
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Tsunami In Me
heartless tsunami
how calm the sea lies today
please rush to me
raise your fury
console me
how calm the sea lies
after all the ravages
the loved ones that have gone
how calm the sea lies today
this tsunami in me
that would take years to tame
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Freedom Lies
Freedom, theres more to your life so now[? ]
Old laws, man has made only blind.
Oh, give us freedom, a call to the brave and the strong,
To stand in the face of all wrong and show the way.
Freedom lies, freedom lies, freedom lies.
Freedom to live out the dream in a song,
Give hope to the hearts of the young.
Oh, give us freedom to act out of love and not fear,
So all that is true will be clear.
Hear tomorrow, calling hold me, show me.
Freedom lies, freedom lies, freedom lies.
Freedom lies, freedom lies, freedom lies.
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Bob (medley)
(ferry)
I dreamed last night about your face
Your star shone all night
Over the moon it shone brighter
Star shining so bright
You were so pure not for this world
So gentle and light
How could I hear their stories?
They told me not right
Too many times beautiful
Too many times sad
Too many times wonderful
Too bad
Spoken: "but when the party was over, and all was quiet and still,
We walked together in moonlight and looked down over the calm lake,
Hand in hand, the stars in our eyes."
So in my dream you still loved me
Gave time reason last night
But this was only lifes story
Made simple thats right
song performed by by Roxy Music
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Bob
(ferry)
I dreamed last night about your face
Your star shone all night
Over the moon it shone brighter
Star shining so bright
You were so pure not for this world
So gentle and light
How could i hear their stories?
They told me not right
Too many times beautiful
Too many times sad
Too many times wonderful
Too bad
Spoken: "but when the party was over, and all was quiet and still,
We walked together in moonlight and looked down over the calm lake,
Hand in hand, the stars in our eyes."
So in my dream you still loved me
Gave time reason last night
But this was only lifes story
Made simple thats right
song performed by by Roxy Music
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Fears of a teenage mafioso
Fear of love,
Fear of pain,
Fear of the unforgiving cane,
Fear of lies,
Fear of sighs,
Fear of those distraught eyes,
Fear for the unknown,
Fear for the known,
Fear of everything combined,
Fear is what makes me blind,
Fear is what makes me think,
and act in blind accordance,
Hindering the world around me,
Hence, My Fear of myself
Fear is when you run away,
Fear is when you’re scared to love someone,
Fear is when the sky turns grey,
Fear of confusion,
Fear is like a dark blue ocean,
Fear won’t let me escape
Fear mocks me, watching
Fear taunts me, waiting
Fear of losing,
Fear you cannot see,
Fear dealt upon thee.
Fear of darkness and death,
Fear of a dead comrade,
Fear of a gun being cocked,
Fear of being endlessly stalked,
Fear of time,
Fear of all the crime,
Fear of the undesirable truth,
Fear for the good.
Fear for the sake of life,
Fear of the neighbors next door,
Fear of the secretive man in the subway,
Fear of the revolutionary uproar,
Fear is to not rejoice your living,
Fear for the sake of your life,
But to fear is to forsake it.
Fear is to have no hope in life,
Fear of the fear of fear,
We need no reason to fear,
For fear has no reason for itself.
I guess life is just like that,
To fear for no reason,
For to fear is not to reason,
But to reason is to fear.
To fear for the sake of fear,
Is fear for fear,
So let me think,
What else do I fear?
What else do I fear?
What else do I fear?
poem by David daveres
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ego
Day passeth day in sunshine or shadow,
Night unto night each cycle is told;
Sun, moon and stars in whirling and glamour,
All unto all the creation unfold.
What of the strivings, what of the gropings,
Out from the darkness into the light?
What of the weepings, what of the grievings
Now from the day to the passionate night?
Stars of the stars, heavens of the heavens,
Rising or falling or pausing a span,
Each to the great "I am" replying
E'en as the crystal, e'en as man.
Chant of the worlds from aeon to aeon,
Song of the soul from dust unto dust,
Dream of the clods that, upward and starward,
Rise to the call of the primal "Thou must."
Space beyond space, eternity's vision,
Chaos to chaos, calm unto calm,
World beneath world, heaven above heaven,
Life but the urge, death but the balm.
poem by Joseph Seamon Cotter
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
This House Is Not For Sale
Tell 'em that the house is not for sale
We're still livin' here, how come nobody can tell
They're takin' all the furniture, movin' our things
Come on little honey, put your head on my knee
Tell 'em that the house is not for sale
And calm down, calm down, calm down
Calm down, calm down, calm down
Do you remember when we even bought this thing?
I danced you across the wooden floor and you signed the lease
What happened in the car that night?
What happened in the car that night?
Tell 'em that the house is not for sale
And calm down, calm down, calm down
Calm down, calm down, calm down
Calm down
Tell 'em that the house is not for sale
We could grab a couple sheets, yeah, give 'em quite a scare
I remember lyin' on the bedroom floor
You were holding me, little honey, kissin' my soul
Tell 'em that the house is not for sale
And calm down, calm down, calm down
Calm down, calm down, calm down
Calm down
Calm down
song performed by by Ryan Adams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Sleeping Through The Rain
Happiness
Is an interesting concept
That is only half real
Mostly an illusion
If happiness
Is like sleeping
Then fear
Is what wakes us up
And brings us back
From our perfect dream-land
Sadness
Is like rain
You feel cold and alone
And a little bit lost
But it goes away in the end
Determination
Keeps us going
Through thick and thin and everything else
For without it
There is only sleeping through the rain
And being woken up by fear
Calm
Is the blankets around our happiness,
The roof to keep out the rain
The tiredness that keeps fear
From awakening us
Calm
Surrounds our souls
And keeps the peace
And makes good days
Easy
And bad days
Better
And life alive
And together
With all the people on Earth
We get through each day
Minute by minute
Second by second
Until our time is up
And what have we worked for?
The illusion of happiness
The blanket of calm
The pouring rain of sadness
The waking of fear
And the determination of everything
And if that isn't good enough
Then surely nothing is real
Except the sound of
Ticking clocks
Marking the life of
Reality
poem by Autumn Asrai
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I dread the calm
I dread the calm in the morning of a mourn without a sound
It is a calm that comes to foster a greater grief
It is a calm light of dusk before ever dew was falling from leaves
It is a calm sinking in calm pattering to the ground
I fear the calm and scudding winds in the high wold
And on the dews the drench the gorse
And all the silvery gossamer
Shaken into gilded gold
Is it calm and still in the dusky light over great plains
That sweeps late and swiftly in autumn bowers
Of secluded farms and solitary towers
To merge with the bounding and the saint
Is it calm on the vast sea under the spangled silver sleep
The waves that sway in colossus to lull themselves to rest
And the dead calm in the deepening breast
Which heaves with the heaving deep
Yet calm is the mute peace in the meadow’s air
The forest gloom with loom of leaves that redden to fall
And in my chest if calm can ever dwell at all
If any calm is there, it is the calm of despair
Copy rights 2010
All rights reserved
The Nature Of The Storm
Glare at the cloud
Guarded by fog and shroud
And see the storm will be here
Soon it will be quite near
Brace yourself my dear
And yet before
We have to be torn at the core
Torn to and fro, there will be a calm before a calm
A time where there shall be no qualm
And yet the calm is terrifying
The silence before war is maddening
It is not the nor consoling calm of peace
But a maddening roar of quiet
I fear the calm more than the storm because sometimes 'Not Knowing'
That's the worst
poem by David Knox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Sea So Calm Today
The fury
it rages on
in me
The tsunami
in me
that would
take years to tame
the calm sea
So calm
it throws me
off balance
Stoic, unfeeling
after all the ravages
it lies so calm
A lesson
to face life adversities
the calm sea this day
so calm it throws me
off balance
This tsunami
in me that would
take years to tame
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Calm Is Who I Am Now
CALM IS WHO I AM NOW
Calm is who I am now
Calm and quiet-
I have done
What I could do-
The rest is repetition-
Slowly slowly
Time is taking me away-
How long I do not know-
How much pain I do not know-
Calm is who I am now -
Quiet quiet
Before the fears return again
And the anxiety over what I have not done-
Calm is who I am now
In these moments at this hour
Four in the morning
A small part of the long day to come.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Moonful Of Moments
Moon light so bright
It follows you all night
Have no fear nor no worry
No need for any hurry
It’ll guide you in your darkest hour
Light galore with endless power
When your candle melts or your torch it fails
Your eyes – a boat on sea
And the moon – wind in its sails
Or stay and watch its silent reign
The moon a ball and the night its chain
The blackness has no place to hide
Its whiteness wants to be your guide
Like many eyes its surrounded by
The stars are company dotted high
Full moon fears play on your mind
Stay one step ahead not behind
Magical moon playing tricks
The man who lives there gets his kicks
He’s smiling as your pace gets faster
Staying calm you have yet to master
Oh take advantage of its faithful glow
Enjoy it fully by going slow.
Moon light so bright
It follows you all night.
poem by Daniel Murphy
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Telling Lies
You tell your lies unto your daughters
You told those lies unto their fathers
You tell them lies, in such a disguise
So later in years them you could deny.
You tell your lies unto your friends
You told those lies to all your men
You make up an excuse, just to confuse
So no one knows what you put them through.
You tell your lies unto your teacher
You told your lies unto your preacher
You then shed a tear, so with pity they'd hear
And also when no one else is ever near.
You tell your lies to any caller
You told your lies unto your lawyer
You say any word, though may be absurd
Even though from someone else you heard.
You tell your lies in your prayer
You told those lies to the choir
But you still will be blamed, for all the pain
As sadly you and your lying will remain.
You will tell your lies each and everyday
You will tell those lies when you get old and gray
Sadly you will tell them till, your heart beats still
But then hearing those lies no one else ever will.
You will tell your lies when you meet GOD
You will tell those lies with a pitiful nod
You will beg him again, that you did no sin
But GOD will know where you have been.
You will tell your lies when you meet the Devil
You will tell those lies as as you are at the same level
But at you he will grin, as he knows all your sin
As with you all those times he too has been.
Your daughters will sin and tell their lies
As to anyone that will listen they will also cry
As you taught them not the truth, but only how to use
So also their destiny from lies they did choose.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Fairy's Gift
The Fays that to my christ'ning came
(For come they did, my nurses taught me),
They did not bring me wealth or fame,
'Tis very little that they brought me.
But one, the crossest of the crew,
The ugly old one, uninvited,
Said, 'I shall be avenged on YOU,
My child; you shall grow up short-sighted!'
With magic juices did she lave
Mine eyes, and wrought her wicked pleasure.
Well, of all gifts the Fairies gave,
HERS is the present that I treasure!
The bore whom others fear and flee,
I do not fear, I do not flee him;
I pass him calm as calm can be;
I do not cut--I do not see him!
And with my feeble eyes and dim,
Where YOU see patchy fields and fences,
For me the mists of Turner swim -
MY 'azure distance' soon commences!
Nay, as I blink about the streets
Of this befogged and miry city,
Why, almost every girl one meets
Seems preternaturally pretty!
'Try spectacles,' one's friends intone;
'You'll see the world correctly through them.'
But I have visions of my own,
And not for worlds would I undo them.
poem by Andrew Lang
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!