Nobody Lives Here Anymore
scarecrow in the yard,
eviction notice on the door.
the walls stripped bare
smell of ham and beans,
the sounds of laughter
and crying trapped
in the cobwebbed corners.
across the street a homosexual
man peeks through the curtains,
his breath of amaretto and nuts...
watching the old man and woman
pack the remnants of a life
into a car, nowhere to go.
setting down his cup he walks
out the door, across the street....
starts carrying boxes without a word.
till all is loaded that can be loaded,
and the rest left in a pile down
at the street, to be carried off....
then hugs, a tear, a few kind words....
almost family, just neighbors, friends...
the old couple drives away without
looking back... the neighbor staring
at the empty boxes on the porch...
nobody lives here anymore!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
He Already Took The Cat
we live our lives in sudden ashtrays...
always running over, needing to be emptied.
the old man on the corner
who drove that ancient Chevy,
died somewhere between sleep,
and the back door.
it rained for days,
and his cat hid neath the house...
then it too was gone.
they write pretty things in newpapers,
that end up resembling no one.
life goes on, the neighbor
across the street was evicted.
he left boxes of god knows what,
stacked on the porch.
the woman down the street
got her lights cut off...
she sits in the darkness with her dog.
while the man on the tv says it's getting better...
wonder how much they paid him for that lie?
and i sit quietly in my chair,
peeling potatoes and reading,
waiting on a bolt of lightning,
or a knock on the door.
wondering if god's coming back
for that old Chevy...
seems he already took the cat!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Run Baby Run
Love can be so strange
Don't it amaze you?
Every time you give yourself away
It comes back to haunt you
Love's an elusive charm and it can be painful
To understand this crazy world
But you're not gonna crack
No you're never gonna crack
Run my baby run my baby run
Run from the noise of the street and the loaded gun
Too late for solutions to solve in the setting sun
So run my baby run my baby run
Life can be so cruel
Don't it astound you?
So when nothing seems too certain or safe
Let it burn through you
You can keep it pure on the inside
And you know what you believe to be right
So you're not gonna crack
No you're never gonna crack
Run my baby run my baby run
Run from the noise of the street and the loaded gun
Too late for solutions to solve in the setting sun
So run my baby run my baby run
Find out who you are before you regret it
Cause life is so short there's no time to waste it
So run my baby run my baby run
Run from the noise of the street and the loaded gun
Too late for solutions to solve in the setting sun
So run my baby run my baby run
song performed by by Garbage
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Chicago Is So Two Years Ago
my heart is on my sleeve
wear it like a bruise or blackeye
my badge, my witness
that means that i believed
every single lie you said (and learned from the best)
cause every pain of glass that your pebbles tap negates
the pains i went through to avoid you
and every little pat on the shoulder for attention fails to mention i still hate you
but there's a light on in chicago
and i know i should be home
all the colors of the street signs..
they remind me of the pickup truck out in front of your neighbor's house
she took me down and said:
"boy's like you are overrated. so save your breath."
loaded words and loaded friends
are loaded guns to our heads
cause every pain of glass that your pebbles tap
negates the pains i went through to avoid you
and every little pat on the shoulder for attention fails to mention i still hate you
but there's a light on in chicago
and i know i should be home
all the colors of the street signs..
they remind me of the pickup truck out in front of your neighbor's house
you want apologies
girl, you might hold your breath
until your breathing stops forever, forever
the only thing you'll get
is this curse on your lips:
i hope they taste of me forever
there's a light on in chicago
and i know i should be home
all the colors of the street signs..
they remind me of the pickup truck out in front of your neighbor's
with every breath i wish your body will be broken again
song performed by by Fall Out Boy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Whose Blame?
'A woman's work is never done,'
Said she.
'From dawn to setting of the sun,'
Said she.
'I toil and moil and work and slave,
And do my best to pinch and save,
And yet you say I don't behave,'
Said she.
And twenty men in twenty carts
In that suburban street
Long, long before the daylight starts
Are setting out with cakes and tarts
And fish and milk and meat
And cauliflowers, beans and bread
What time my lady lies in bed.
'All day I have to live alone,'
Said she.
'Attending to the door or 'phone,'
Said she.
'While you go gaily into town
To meet your friends, I want a gown,
A hat! This life has got me down,'
Said she.
And twenty men when day is done,
In that suburban street,
Who have performed the task of one
(If things more orderly were done),
Drive back along their beat. . .
It seems absurd. But, all the same,
Is it my lady who's to blame,
For all these economic cares,
Or just man's muddling of affairs?
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
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Riot Act, April 29, 1992
I'm going out and get something.
I don't know what.
I don't care.
Whatever's out there, I'm going to get it.
Look in those shop windows at boxes
and boxes of Reeboks and Nikes
to make me fly through the air
like Michael Jordan
like Magic.
While I'm up there, I see Spike Lee.
Looks like he's flying too
straight through the glass
that separates me
from the virtual reality
I watch everyday on TV.
I know the difference between
what it is and what it isn't.
Just because I can't touch it
doesn't mean it isn't real.
All I have to do is smash the screen,
reach in and take what I want.
Break out of prison.
South Central homey's newly risen
from the night of living dead,
but this time he lives,
he gets to give the zombies
a taste of their own medicine.
Open wide and let me in,
or else I'll set your world on fire,
but you pretend that you don't hear.
You haven't heard the word is coming down
like the hammer of the gun
of this black son, locked out of this big house,
while massa looks out the window and sees only smoke.
Massa doesn't see anything else,
not because he can't,
but because he won't.
He'd rather hear me talking about mo' money,
mo' honeys and gold chains
and see me carrying my favorite things
from looted stores
than admit that underneath my Raider's cap,
the aftermath is staring back
unblinking through the camera's lens,
courtesy of CNN,
my arms loaded with boxes of shoes
that I will sell at the swap meet
to make a few cents on the declining dollar.
And if I destroy myself
and my neighborhood
"ain't nobody's business, if I do,"
but the police are knocking hard
at my door
and before I can open it,
they break it down
and drag me in the yard.
They take me in to be processed and charged,
to await trial,
while Americans forget
the day the wealth finally trickled down
to the rest of us.
I Am (More)
i am, become...
i am the tear on the cheek
of the child sleeping alone.
i am the fear on the face
of the young couple
who have nowhere to turn.
i am the bullet loaded
into the gun held by shaking hands.
i am the family Bible
packed away in a closet forgotten.
i am the Muslim man
treated with contempt...
i am the sheriff of a small town,
and the meth lab busted.
i am the trailer burning,
the family that just got out.
i am the cancer patient
who has no insurance.
i am the picket line, the pepper spray,
the reporter struck silent.
i am the young kid working
the late shift in a convenience store.
i am the empty grave,
the eviction notice on the door....
i am thunder, i am lightning,
i am America's moan...
i am, become...
poem by Eric Cockrell
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I came to live in Sophia Street
I came to live in Sophia Street,
In a little house in Sophia Street
With an inch of floor
Between door and door
And a yard you'd measure in children's feet.
When I'd been ten days in Sophia Street
I remembered its name was Wisdom Street;
For I'd learned much more
Than in all the score
Of years I clamoured for books to eat.
poem by Lesbia Harford
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Suicide
'i cant do this anymore.'
he shakes his head to clear
the cobwebs.
staring blindly around the kitchen,
nothing seemed real,
nothing made sense.
late notices, disconnection notices,
eviction notice walls of paper
falling in.
children fighting over nothing,
or something, what the hell!
woman staring blankly at the tv.
she hadnt seen him in years.
invisible, untouchable, alone.
alone till it stank,
like dried vomit in the heat.
he couldnt remember, couldnt even
remember what or why or when.
and the hands on the clock
thundered and crawled.
he walked out the door
into the yard, staring at
the night sky, and winced.
putting the gun to his head
with one move he pulled
the trigger.
and a lone tree fell
in the darkness.
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Hot Street
Stone shaker is looking fine
Shes a heartbreaker every time
She never seems to realize
That someday shell be crying too
Oo!
8she is)
A sharp shooter thats moving fast
A slight cruiser loaded with gas
Slowing down to make a pass
You think its gonna hit you
So why not take a chance?
cause this is hot street
(burnin it up)
Just feel the night beat, yeah
(fun on the run)
cause this is hot street
(ready or not)
Because the fantasy will never stop
On hot street
Oo!
A street walker when theres time to spare
Big spenders holding their share
A heart of gold, but no one cares
(no one seems to care)
Within their eyes
Some young lovers are laughing loud
And theres some old suckers trying to get down
The evening spins around and round
(spins around and round)
Yes, people of the night smoking through the dark
cause this is hot street
(burnin it up)
Just feel the night beat, yeah
(fun on the run)
cause this is hot street
(ready or not)
Because the fantasy will never stop
On hot street
Oo!
(all night mover)
Just trying to put a little fun in their lives
(winners, losers)
You see them standing on the corner of the neon light
Aow!
(tonight)
Oo! yeah, yeah
Oo!
Some feeling you cant explain
Its such a hard feeling lying in beds flame
The evening starts to fall again
(starts to fall again)
Its time to come alive
So why not take a chance?
cause this is hot street
(burnin it up)
Just feel the night beat, yeah
(fun on the run)
cause this is hot street
(ready or not)
Because the fantasy will never stop
On hot street
Oo!
cause this is hot street
(burnin it up)
Just feel the night beat, yeah
(fun on the run)
cause this is hot street
(ready or not)
Because the fantasy will never stop
On hot street
Oo!
(burning it up)
(fun on the run)
(ready or not)
(the fantasy will never stop)
[repeat to fade]
song performed by by Michael Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Christmas Eve
dawn creeping
o'er the mountains,
and through bare limbed trees....
Christmas Eve...
amid the hustle and bustle,
colored lights and wrapping paper....
families and friends....
the streets still alive with those
who have nowhere else to be....
empty houses, empty trailers,
stray dogs and abandoned cars....
somewhere church bells are ringing.
a baby born in a bare apartment,
the rats scurry to meet him,
the pot on the stove empty.
no curtains on the windows,
bare bulbs, no shades.
no angels, no wise men,
an eviction notice on the door...
yet another baby Jesus,
will he make it, will he die?
will he bring light and salvation?
or will they find his small body
in a dumpster with the trash?
fate, or understanding,
holiness knocks on the door,
again, and again!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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On The Street
On the street
On the street
O, O, On the street
On the street
O, O, On the street
[Everybody dance]
[Watch for the difference]
On the street
{Breaking on broadway]
O, O, On the street
[Shaking on sunset strip]
On the street
[Like nobody booming supporting that]
Da, da, da, da, da ...
On the street
On the street
Dancing
On the street
On the street
Dancing
Dancing
On the street
On the street
[Twisting on the turnpipe]
Dancing
On the street
On the street
On the street ...
Da, da, da, da, ...
Dance on the street ...
song performed by by Madonna
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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She Cant Help Herself
When she was a baby the world was a picture
One twist of fate took her parents away
On a highway, theyre not coming home
Shes alone
Then strangers appeared gave her love that she needed
Over those green hills and so far away
Like an echo, in the night shed scream
In her dreams
She cant help herself, she cant help herself
She cant help herself crying alone
But theres so many crying like you
When nearly a woman a friend of the family
Took that away that was precious to give
She pretended nothing happened there
Through the years
She cant help herself, she cant help herself
She cant help herself crying alone
But theres so many crying like you
Now she walks alone down the lane made for lovers
Too scared to open her heart to someone
Close the door and push away the pain, once again
She cant help herself, she cant help herself
She cant help herself crying alone
All her bridges were burned long ago
She cant help herself, she cant help herself
She cant help herself crying alone
But theres so many crying like you
Dont cry, leave a light on the landing hall
Dont cry, theres a rainbow behind that door
Just when you cant take anymore
. . . therell be someone to help you to break down the walls
Just when you cant feel anymore
. . . therell be someone to help you to even the score
Just when you cant give anymore
. . . therell be someone to help you to break down the walls
Just when you cant take anymore
. . . therell be someone for sure
song performed by by Level 42
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I know a woman
I know a woman
She will not bend or bow
She calls it liberation,
As against the sobriety expected from her species
A woman so loud and boisterous
Calling her hubby a fool in arrogance
Who would listen to no man or women like her
I know one, who fights in the street to the shame of her kind,
Avoided by decent watcher
I know a rude woman,
A presumptuous fellow,
A shameless talkative,
A street fighter,
A liar too
One on whose face there is an epitaph or calligraphy
Rude
Don’t go near her
I know the woman
A next-door neighbor
I know her by character
I care not for the name
poem by Macaulay Akinbami
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Do It All Again!
empty water buckets
on a porch long deserted,
the old house falling down
like a tree sheds its leaves.
the chimney stands cold,
almost roaring with silence...
and there's still a marker
in the back yard where we buried the dog.
love yellowed sheets,
and maggots in the flour.
spiders march on the outhouse walls.
empty mason jars that remember green beans,
a hoe, and a shovel with a broken handle.
ghosts walk cobwebbed halls,
the old floor sags.
and the sounds of two young lovers
haunt the ticking of an unseen clock.
damn! to go back...
and do it all again!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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When Will You Come Back Home?
There's something in the way she eases my mind
And lays me across the bed till I close my eyes
Stirs me in the morning till I can ever be satisfied
I leave Carolina every night in my dreams
Like the girls that try to love me that I only leave
Rock me like a baby doll and hold me to your chest
But I'm always moving too fast
If I could find my way back home, where would I go?
When everything about me, I used to be,
Shivers in the sheets and the blankets of snow
Lost out in the woods were you're looking for me
When, when will you come back home
No one leave the lights on in a house
Where nobody lives anymore
Loaded like the boxes up in the bedroom
Coming off the hinges like the door
The shadows dancing up in the window
They're not who we are but who we were
And I'm not gonna break, but if I do
I'm gonna shatter like the glass I turned your heart into
I'm broken like the windos in the house where I used to live
And If I could find my way back home, where would I go?
When everything about me, I used to be,
Shivers in the sheets and the blankets of snow
I'm lost out in the woods looking for you
When, when will you come back home
No one leave the lights on in a house
Where nobody lives anymore
Everything about me you liked is already gone
Everything about me you loved is gone
When, when will you come back home
song performed by by Ryan Adams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Were Coming In Loaded
(words & music by blackwell - scott)
Ooh yes were comin in loaded, ooh yes were comin in loaded
Ill hold the boat steady brother like a rock
Full speed a head until we hit the dock
Were heading for home, the fishing was great
Were comin in loaded cause were all out of bait
Well, well, well, well, well
Oh well now yeah!
We gottem packed to the water-line
Some got away but the catch was fine
Never saw such big ones, mman oh man,
Were comin in loaded just as fast as we can
Well, well, well, well, well
Oh well now yeah!
Im gonna see my baby soon as I get back
Knock on the door with my pockets packed
Shell look at me well she cant say no
Were comin in loaded so come on lets go
Well, well, well, well, well
Oh well now yeah!
Oh well now yeah!
Yeah! were comin in loaded
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Respectable Street
Heard the neighbour slam his car door,
Don't he realise this is respectable street?
What d'you think he bought that car for?
'cause he realise this is respectable street
Now they talk about absorption,
In cosmopolitan proportions to their daughters,
As they speak of child prevention,
And immaculate receptions on their portable,
Sony entertainment centres.
Heard the neighbour slam his car door,
Don't he realise this is respectable street?
What d'you think he bought that car for?
'cause he realise this is respectable street
Now she speak about diseases,
And which proposition pleases best her old man,
Avon lady fills the creases,
When she manages to squeeze in past the caravans,
That never move from their front gardens.
It's in the order of their hedgerows,
It's in the way their curtains open and close,
It's in the look they give you down their nose,
All part of decency's jigsaw i suppose.
Sunday church and they look fetching,
Saturday night saw him stretching over our fence,
Bang the wall for me to turn down,
I can see them with their stern frown,
As they dispense the kind of look that says they're perfect.
Heard the neighbour slam his car door,
Don't he realise this is respectable street?
What d'you think he bought that car for?
'cause he realise this is respectable street
song performed by by Xtc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Mary Street
(s. hoffs/v. peterson)
Susanna & vicki
Times up girl now
No more excusing you
And those books you read
Oh girl, you better review
Oh oh oh, mary street
Looking out your door
Oh oh oh, mary street
Now what are you waiting for (what are you waiting for)
You thought that cool
Was in someone elses shoes and makeup
Sitting in your room
Waiting for the moment to come
Oh oh oh, mary street
Looking out your door
Oh oh oh, mary street
Now what are you waiting for (what are you waiting for)
You got no tears for
All the guys who passed you by
All the girls who shut you out
They wont recognize you now
Youre a good girl now
No more excusing you
And those books you read
Oh girl, you better review
Oh oh oh, mary street
Looking out your door
Oh oh oh, mary street
Now what are you waiting for (what are you waiting for)
Oh oh oh, mary street
Looking out your door
Oh oh oh, mary street
Oh yeah, oh yeah
song performed by by Bangles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Same Street
Written by don gibson.
I still live on the same street,that we lived on.
The same old street,where memories were made on.
I shouldnt stay,why dont I go? .
Each day hurts a little more.
It wont be the same street anymore, since youve gone.
It wont be the same street anymore.
Each day I walk alone,where we once walked before.
See all familiar places, where we talked before.
But I cant run,from memories.
Theyre mine and they belong to me.
It wont be the same street anymore.since youve gone.
It wont be the same street anymore.
song performed by by Roy Orbison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Returning Home
In the smoke I smell
Dead animals,
Dead neighbors, friends, and family members.
In the mist I see
All those who were once alive.
Behind me
Our town stands
Burned down to ashes;
Only skeletons remain.
This war has taken away so much.
In the rubble on the streets
I see
The way things once were.
Happy homes
Filled with laughter
Children playing
Stickball in the street.
Now
So much has been taken
Away from me.
We find bodies
In the yards, in the wells,
In our fields and on the streets;
Dead animals,
Dead neighbors, friends, and family members.
The war is over
And we are back.
To bury the dead,
To give hope to the young,
To start again.
poem by Rabia Minhas
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