Erica Jong

You Hate the Telephone

You hate the telephone
but will not see me
face to face
so I am left
beseeching you
long-distance,
trying to thread our love
along the telephone poles
of Vermont,
trying to tunnel it
under the Atlantic
as if it were
a rare fossil
I'd unearthed,
or an offshore pipe
bearing precious oil.

But it is your face
I love,
your funny grin
that now seems
cruel around the edges.
You do not wish to be
cruel-you,
the kindest person in the world,
but driven to curious
rages
when you feel
pressured, frustrated,
saddled with
an albatross of love
like an ancient
mariner
who tells his same sad story
to the wedding guests.

The telephone will not
suffice.
Coleridge would have
loathed it,
& so would his
mariner.
It is our modern
Person from Porlock,
interrupting poems,
interrupting loves
& forever
keeping us at arm's length.

I would look you in the eye
again, saying yes, yes, yes-
we have said no enough,
for the rest
of many lifetimes.

poem by Erica JongReport problemRelated quotes
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Telephone

(b. edwards/d. miller)
When you feel like you need someone there
Feel like no one really cares
Call me on the telephone
Ill be there
When you feel like you really need love
Ill always be by your side
Call me on the telephone
Ill be there
Everyone needs someone to love
Call me, Ill give you love
When you feel like you need someone there
Feel like no one really cares
Call me on the telephone
Ill be there
Well share a love that will never end
Lean on me and Ill be your friend
In your darkest hour Ill be your light
Like a star shining in the night
Call me on the telephone
Ill be there
Everyone needs someone to love
Call me, and Ill give you love
In my heart, youd have a home
But Ill never leave you alone
When you feel like you need someone there
Feel like no one really cares
Call me on the telephone
Ill be there
When you feel like you really need love
Ill always be by your side
Call me on the telephone
Ill be there
When you feel like you need someone there
Feel like no one really cares
Call me on the telephone
Ill be there

song performed by by Diana RossReport problemRelated quotes
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Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

Hear the rime of the ancient mariner
See his eye as he stops one of three
Mesmerises one of the wedding guests
Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.
And the music plays on, as the bride passes by
Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.
Driven south to the land of the snow and ice
To a place where nobodys been
Through the snow fog flies on the albatross
Hailed in gods name, hoping good luck it brings.
And the ship sails on, back to the north
Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.
The mariner kills the bird of good omen
His shipmates cry against what hes done
But when the fog clears, they justify him
And make themselves a part of the crime.
Sailing on and on and north across the sea
Sailing on and on and north til all is calm.
The albatross begins with its vengeance
A terrible curse a thirst has begun
His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner
About his neck, the dead bird is hung.
And the curse goes on and on at sea
And the curse goes on and on for them and me.
day after day, day after day,
We stuck nor breath nor motion
As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Water, water everywhere and
All the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.
There calls the mariner
There comes a ship over the line
But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.
See...onward she comes
Onward she nears out of the sun
See, she has no crew
She has no life, wait but heres two.
Death and she life in death,
They throw their dice for the crew
She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.
Then...crew one by one
They drop down dead, two hundred men
She...she, life in death.
She lets him live, her chosen one.
one after one by the star dogged moon,
Too quick for groan or sigh
Each turned his facce with a ghastly pang
And cursed me with his eye
Four times fifty living men
(and I heard nor sigh nor groan)
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
They dropped down one by one.
The curse it lives on in their eyes
The mariner wished hed die
Along with the sea creatures
But they lived on, so did he.
And by the light of the moon
He prays for their beauty not doom
With heart he blesses them
Gods creatures all of them too.
Then the spell starts to break
The albatross falls from his neck
Sinks down like lead into the sea
Then down in falls comes the rain.
Hear the groans of the long dead seamen
See them stir and they start to rise
Bodies lifted by good spirits
None of them speak and theyre lifelesss in their eyes
And revenge is still sought, penance starts again
Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.
Now the curse is finally lifted
And the mariner sights his home
Spirits go fromhe long dead bodies
Form their own light and the mariners left alone.
And then a boat came sailing towards him
It was a joy he could not believe
The pilots boat, his son and the hermit,
Penance of life will fall onto him.
And the ship sinks like lead into the sea
And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.
The mariners bound to tell of his story
To tell this tale wherever he goes
To teach gods word by his own example
That we must love all things thaat God made.
And the wedding guests a sad and wiser man
And the tale goes on and on and on.

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Full of excuses

I didn't telephone a.m.
as you'd be having breakfast then.

I didn't telephone at noon
for fear you might be lunching soon.

I didn't telephone p.m.
I thought you might be sleeping and

I didn't telephone at 8
for dinner in your house is late.

I didn't telephone at 9
for fear this may be T.V. time.

I didn't telephone today
as time just seemed to slip away.

No wonder that we never speak,
perhaps I'll try sometime next week?

poem by Ruth WaltersReport problemRelated quotes
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Thoughts About The Person From Porlock

Coleridge received the Person from Porlock
And ever after called him a curse,
Then why did he hurry to let him in?
He could have hid in the house.


It was not right of Coleridge in fact it was wrong
(But often we all do wrong)
As the truth is I think he was already stuck
With Kubla Khan.


He was weeping and wailing: I am finished, finished,
I shall never write another word of it,
When along comes the Person from Porlock
And takes the blame for it.


It was not right, it was wrong,
But often we all do wrong.


*


May we inquire the name of the Person from Porlock?
Why, Porson, didn’t you know?
He lived at the bottom of Porlock Hill
So had a long way to go,


He wasn’t much in the social sense
Though his grandmother was a Warlock,
One of the Rutlandshire ones I fancy
And nothing to do with Porlock,


And he lived at the bottom of the hill as I said
And had a cat named Flo,
And had a cat named Flo.


I long for the Person from Porlock
To bring my thoughts to an end,
I am becoming impatient to see him
I think of him as a friend,


Often I look out of the window
Often I run to the gate
I think, He will come this evening,
I think it is rather late.


I am hungry to be interrupted
For ever and ever amen
O Person from Porlock come quickly
And bring my thoughts to an end.


*


I felicitate the people who have a Person from Porlock
To break up everything and throw it away
Because then there will be nothing to keep them
And they need not stay.


*


Why do they grumble so much?
He comes like a benison
They should be glad he has not forgotten them
They might have had to go on.


*


These thoughts are depressing I know. They are depressing,
I wish I was more cheerful, it is more pleasant,
Also it is a duty, we should smile as well as submitting
To the purpose of One Above who is experimenting
With various mixtures of human character which goes best,
All is interesting for him it is exciting, but not for us.
There I go again. Smile, smile, and get some work to do
Then you will be practically unconscious without positively having to go.

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Nature Time Safe Viewing Glass Heals Hurt Minds

The Ancient Mariner did stoppeth, who
with 'long grey beard and glittering eye',
only those ready to hear his lesson song.

The broken still fresh fallen, are not ready,
to endure 'A billion microscopic splinters',
or face death of a thousand cuts hurts sucks.

For many filters, wonder splice experiences,
refract rainbow colours split light scientific,
harmony inscribed multiplicity nature; heals

through safe viewing glass, cruel dimensional
realities do not bite strike sensitive mind chimes,
within ice unnerving chilly colours, soft filters

a safe distance insulated; observational reality,
disaster spaced is achieved to protect mortality;
not all have character strength source flexibility


First quotation from line three of ‘The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Second quotation from line three of ‘Soulless Man’ by Terence George Craddock.

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Ripplin Waters

I got rippling waters to wake me
To the morning, my woman and love
Our tall pine trees are pointing us easily to heaven above
Blue spruce flaming on the grate in the evening
Takes the chill away fine
Cut the telephone line and the storys the same
Theres an old red chair by our window
That we found at a sale down the lane
Some old women said they needed more room for the winter
People like to pull out the stuffing when they sit down
So it passes the time
Cut the telephone line and the storys the same
Blow like a bubble on a windy day
Start to flutter when I hear you say
That you feel to good to go away
And you make me feel fine
Youve made my world a warmer place
By the sparkle of your diamond face
On a frayed spot, put a little lace
And you make me feel fine
Warm as the mountain sunshine
On the edge of the snowline
In a meadow of columbine
Oh, little jennifer, Id give a penny for
What youve got on your mind
It seems like most of the time youre lying here dreaming.
Maybe in your vision youve seen how our mission is slightly less than divine
Cut the telephone line and the storys the same
Yep, now rippling waters flow through pipes
In the walls and theyre keeping me warm
And the closest Ive been tomy family for days is our music
You can silently stare in themorning sky
Its like hearing her calling my name
Cut the telephone line and the story might change

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Dont Be Cruel

(words & music by otis blackwell - elvis presley)
You know I can be found,
Sitting home all alone,
If you cant come around,
At least please telephone.
Dont be cruel to a heart thats true.
Baby, if I made you mad
For something I might have said,
Please, lets forget the past,
The future looks bright ahead,
Dont be cruel to a heart thats true.
I dont want no other love,
Baby its just you Im thinking of.
Dont stop thinking of me,
Dont make me feel this way,
Come on over here and love me,
You know what I want you to say.
Dont be cruel to a heart thats true.
Why should we be apart?
I really love you baby, cross my heart.
Lets walk up to the preacher
And let us say I do,
Then youll know youll have me,
And Ill know that Ill have you,
Dont be cruel to a heart thats true.
I dont want no other love,
Baby its just you Im thinking of.
Dont be cruel to a heart thats true.
Dont be cruel to a heart thats true.
I dont want no other love,
Baby its just you Im thinking of.

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__________a Dedication To You___________

__________A DEDICATION TO YOU___________

I wanna see your eyes roll through the back of your head,
I will never be fine until the day you are dead,
Your love is wilted and weathered,
Your death's my guilty pleasure,
Yet i can never pull the trigger...

I love your love, I hate your hate,
I see the tears pouring down your face,
I love your love, I hate your hate,
I wish to see the last look on your face...

I'll tie you to the bed and do with you as i please,
But everything i do is just a tease,
We will betray our demons,
And tonight i'll see your anguish...

I love your love, I hate your hate,
I see the tears pouring down your face,
I love your love, I hate your hate,
I wish to see the last look on your face...

Your eyes close to me,
Your face is red and bleeding,
Your smile is the most relieving,
Yet i can't stand to be near you...

I love your love, I hate your hate,
I see the tears pouring down your face,
I love your love, I hate your hate,
I wish to see the last look on your face...

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Every Face Tells A Story

Look at the man in the corner, hes sitting all alone
His blankets are made out of cardboard,
His pillows are made out of stone
Every face tells a story it never tells a lie
Every face tells a story it never tells a lie
See the man walking on the water, see the light in his eyes
He came into the world with a message to tell,
He came into the world to die
Every face tells a story it never tells a lie
Every face tells a story it never tells a lie
Youre always telling stories, youre always telling me lies
Youre always telling stories, why?
So think of yourself in the water, seeing your days flashing by
Its too late to see what you wanted to be,
Youve spent all your time, you must die
Every face tells a story it never tells a lie
Every face tells a story it never tells a lie
Step down
And make it work out right
Im trying to get to you with my warning
Been there
For nearly half the night
Look its nearly four in the morning

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Memory Of Telephone Calls

Are you waiting
for me to call.
All you will hear
is telephone silence.

Telephone silence
is a sound
I always hear.
I fear.
A telephone
is a hated thing
when it
does not ring.

And yet
so often
it has been
our only means
of communication.
The only means
by way of which
I could
communicate
with you.

Your letters
and cards
have given me
past
pleasure and joy.
But also
the sharp
separation
of long
or final goodbyes.

We often
spoke on
the telephone
later cell phones
because we
could not
come to
each others houses.

We could not
cross the threshold
of each others
doorsteps.
We could not
warm ourselves
by the hearthside
of each others company.

And now
the long cold
of winter separation
is upon us.
And now
the long chill
of bitter separation
has come again.


poem by Terence George CraddockReport problemRelated quotes
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Infelice

Walking swiftly with a dreadful duchess,
He smiled too briefly, his face was pale as sand,
He jumped into a taxi when he saw me coming,
Leaving my alone with a private meaning,
He loves me so much, my heart is singing.
Later at the Club when I rang him in the evening
They said: Sir Rat is dining, is dining, is dining,
No madam, he left no messafe, ah how his silence speaks,
He loves me too much for words, my heart is singing.
The Pullman seats are here, the tickets for Paris, I am waiting,
Presently the telephone rings, it is his valet speaking,
Sir Rat is called away, to Scotland, his constituents,
(Ah the dreadful duchess, but he loves me best)
Best pleasure to the last, my heart is singing,
One night he came, it was four in the morning,
Walking slowly upstairs, he stands beside my bed,
Dear darling, lie beside me, it is too cold to stand speaking,
He lies down beside me, his face is like the sand,
He is in a sleep of love, my heart is singing.
Sleeping softly softly, in the morning I must wake him,
And waking he murmurs, I only came to sleep.
The words are so sweetly cruel, how deeply he loves me,
I say them to myself alone, my heart is singing.
Now the sunshine strenghtens, it is ten in the morning,
He is so timid in love, he only needs to know,
He is my little child, how can he come if I do not call him,
I will write and tell him everything, I take the pen and write:
I love you so much, my heart is singing.

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Falling in Love with a Prostitute

Would it be cruel to myself
If I were to fall in love
If we meet in her room
At two or three in the morning
After a telephone call.

I’m not one to be rude
Nor judgmental;
I’m not a person of prestige
Working his way
Through sophisticated ladies.

Loneliness and sorrow
Are delicately beautiful;
Dark eyes and hopelessness
Are magnets for the depressed,
I’m often obsessed
With people sadder than me.

And perhaps, it would be best
To know up front
My girl was sleeping
With all my friends.

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Love On The Telephone

Monday, tuesday, three days and more
Pretty soon you dont know anymore
Friday, the sixth day, saturday seems late
Dont know how much longer I can wait
Ooh, could ya wait til I get home
Ooh, we need to be alone
n I dont wanna lose
My love on the telephone
You make me nervous cause the lines engaged
I cant believe we let it get to this stage
Sittin here waitin for you to give me a sign
You know I got my heart on the line
Ooh, I know that I was wrong
Ooh, Ive been away too long
I cant stand to lose
My love on the telephone
Hello operator
You know that Ive been waitin on this call
I said, hey, operator
If youre givin me a bad time
Im gonna tear this phone right off the wall
Monday, tuesday, three days and more
Pretty soon I dont know anymore
Friday is the sixth day, saturday seems late
Dont know how much longer I can wait
Ooh, could ya wait til I get home
Ooh, we need to be alone
n I dont wanna lose
My love on the telephone
Ooh, Im runnin out of time
Ooh, my heart is on the line
n I dont wanna lose
My love on the telephone
Ooh, maybe I was wrong
Ooh, Ive been away too long
n I cant stand to lose
My love on the telephone
Ooh, could ya wait til I get home
Ooh, we need to be alone
n I dont wanna lose
My love on the telephone

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WHAT FOLKS DID(for Lyn)

She was born
into a world

without telephone...television
motor car or aeroplane

“all the damn modern things”

she never did get used to
even when they invidiously invaded her life.

Even now
in her little one room flat

at the end of her life
she berates the telephone.

“It just rings and...rings! ”

She loudly complains.

“And that’s why I don’t answer the thing! ”

“It won’t...leave me alone! ”

I ask her
with laughter

what did folks do

without these things

how did they get by.

“What did folks do? ”

She sighs
as if telling a child:

“We used to...love one another! ”

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Catapult

(doctor davis, telephone please...doctor davis, telephone please)
Id catapult downtown
To see the galleries
And my favorite fiancee
In a lavender gown
But Im hooked up to a machine
It performs my daily functions
Through a tube in my wien
And today that thing malfunctioned
Like a forest fire
It burnt a hole in me and I perspired
So there aint gonna be a wedding
No love affair
No art to which none compares

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Dont Be Cruel

Well you know I can be found
Sitting all alone
If you cant come around
At least please telephone
But dont be cruel
To a heart thats true
Baby, if I made you mad
For something I might have said
Please forget the past
The futures bright ahead
But dont be cruel
To a heart thats true
I dont want no other love
Baby, its just you Im thinkin of
Dont stop thinkin of me
Dont make me feel this way
Come on over and love me
You know I want you to stay
But dont be cruel
To a heart thats true
Lets walk up to the preacher
Lets say hey, I do
And then I know youll want me
And youll know I want you too
(chorus)
Why should we be apart?
Baby, you know I love you, cross my heart

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Why love the moon?

Why love the moon?
Because she is fair?
Because she seems so debonair?

The moon you love lives away so far,
She left you long ago for the stars;
For which in her insecurities she has prevailed,
As she hides behind her silver veil.

Why love the moon?
Because she shines?
Because you think her beauty divine?

The face she shows is but a play,
There’s another side she never displays;
A side so dark you cannot see,
It’s there she hides her agonies.

Why love the moon?
Because she is there?
Because you think you have her care?

Every month she shows her entire face,
You stare at her beauty and sit in her grace;
But as the days pass she turns to the Sun,
The person who has her eternal love.

The Sun however rejects her again,
So she turns back to you to comfort her pain;
And again you accept her, again and again,
It is your heart she holds,
it has been slain.

So why love the moon,
The Superficial moon,
The Cruel, the Uncaring and Inconsistent moon,
The moon who Scorns you!
The moon who Left you!
The moon who CHEATS WHEN SHE'S BEHIND YOU!

...because you love her.

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Life Teach Me This

this poem takes from me about 2 months to finish it, so please if there is any suggestios please tell me about it and i wanna see your comments. thx and injoy it....


Life teach me this
To be sure of your self it isn’t mean that you are conceited
If you cried it isn’t mean that you have weak heart
If you smile it isn’t mean that you haven’t sad and pain inside you
If you mistake once it isn’t mean that you are bad person

Life teach me this
The most painful thing in life is to be ignored by others
The most painful thing in life is to lose a friend you really love, to earning other one didn’t care about you
The most painful thing in life is when your friends so busy from condolence you especially when you need someone close to upraise your morale
The most painful thing in life when you tell about your deep thoughts and they laughing mockery in your face
The most painful thing in life when you figure out that the only person who care about you is only you

Life teach me this
The most beautiful moments in life when you live in people hearts without lying and deceiving
The most beautiful moments in life when you resist the devil and came back to God and knocking his door after a long absence
The most beautiful moments in life when every one around care about you and helping you to heal your wounds

Life teach me this
Life is cruel when it makes you abandon your only love and all your precious dreams, and judging on you by death when you still alive
Life is cruel when it steel the precious smile, the happiness and the greatest heart, then you hate your life and the world going upside down
Life is cruel when it's turn your days to a dark nights, grief and always crying specially when you used to be amorous to the sun
Life is cruel when misery and pain take a deep place in your life and you know that your happiness moments is so rarely
Life is cruel especially when you start crying and no one hear you, when you start shouting and no one answering you only your echo
Life is cruel when it snatching your soul, emotions and your feelings and replace it by forgetful and separating you from you best friends
Life is cruel when loneliness became your route mate and oppression, wormwood became your best friends

'Life is so cruel when you read these words and you know it's expressing about what inside your heart'
'Life is so cruel when you read these phrases and you know it's just a flash of your life'

SO LIFE TEACH ME THIS

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Mr. Telephone Man

Mr. telephone man
There's something wrong with my line,
When i dial my baby's number
I get a click everytime
Mr. telephone man
There's something wrong with my line
When i dial my baby's number
I get a click every time
When i dial 611 computer service
She said "hello may i help you
Please?"
I told her something must be wrong
With my phone
Cause my baby wouldn't hang up
On me
Mr. telephone man
There something wrong with my line
When i dial my baby's number i get a
Click every time
Mr. telephone man
There something wrong with my line
When i dial my baby's number i get a
Click every time
She let the phone ring 20 times
Before she answered
Let me tell you what happened then
A minute later i got the operator
Saying please hang up and place
Your call agian
Mr. telephone man
There's something wrong with
My line
When i dial my baby's number
I get a click everytime
Mr. telephone man,
Soemthing's wrong with my line
I try to dial her number
I get a click everytime
Soem strange man is on the
Telephone
He keeps telling me my baby
Aint home
She got no party line
Situation blowing my mind
Oh, i just can't take this anymore
Please operator
See what you can do,
I dialed the right number
But i still couldn't get through
Could you just check the line
Just one more time if you can
I'm pretty sure her phone
Wouldn't be answered by no man
Mr. telephone man
There's something wrong with
My line
When i dial my baby's number
I get a click everytime
Mr. telephone man,
Soemthing's wrong with my line
I try to dial her number
I get a click everytime
Must be a bad connection
I give her my love and affection
I just can't take this no more
This situation blowing my mind
Blowing my mind
Can't get my baby on the line
I tried dialing information (mr. telephone man)
I can't get no coperation (mr. telephone man)
Her sister's on the phone telling me my baby
Aint at home
Come on baby i just can't take it no more
Help me out
Please mr. telephone man
Help me out
Please mr. telephone man

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Modern World

The alarm goes off, another monday morning
Just one more time you wake up in this mess
And baby it scares you but you catch yourself
You do whatever you do to face the test
I know you feel alone in this great big world machine
Its crazy, but maybe theres a soul somewhere out there
Whos just like you now what are you waiting for
Baby dont mourn what might have been
Heres the only world were living in
This is the modern world, this is the modern world
This is the modern world, and this is all its going to be
Living in the modern world
Yeah, the telephone rings, another faceless caller
Youre not a soul youre just a number
Youre looking at families living on the street
Where mama cant buy her baby enough to eat
We all feel alone, in this great big world machine
But baby, just maybe listen to your heart
I dont know just what youre waiting for
Cause baby heres just where you begin
In the only world were living in
This is the modern world, this is the modern world
This is the modern world, and this is all its going to be,
Living in the modern world

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