The Shadows of Stephen
You can run alongside but he's out of your hands
He stumbles in the sad and stony road
He has the bible but they have the land
You can touch his side as the slickness of sky
Sends its twisted messages among you
And can you hear your windy cry, that plea
For release against the soldiers of the creed
Of the still-born revolution, hateful energy
On which your authorities feed?
Pray as you may, on your Sabbath of decay
That he will live among the poorly-fed
To be rumoured and remembered
In the dark and centurion years ahead
Write poems for the beauty of his skin
Washed in the blood of your love for him
For which you will be exiles, and pray
He will not drive in limousines
His words will be obscenity
If men are still obscene
They mock his blackness harder than his dreams
Hear his song conciliation, see his eyes
They bind him with passivity, they ride
Beside him through the throng
His hands are open now in theirs'.
Soon they will be shattering his palms.
In the shadows of Stephen
Men will take to arms.
For Stephen Biko
December 1977
poem by Frank Bana
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Pray To God He Understands
Pray, pray when things go wrong
and fears around you
the love you have god will hear in your voice
look up to him
he always near
pray, pray go with your troubles straight to him
pray, pray for god understands
have faith
leaving all in his dear hands.
Pray, pray be calm and still
whatever comes must be his will
his promises like buds unfold
naught that is good will he with hold
pray, pray go with your troubles straight to him
pray, pray for god understands
have faith
leaving all in his dear hands.
Pray, pray till faith grows strong
and in your hart rings heaven's song
the loving god your voice will hear
look up to him he's always near
pray, pray go with your troubles straight to him
pray, pray for god understands
have faith
leaving all in his dear hands.
poem by Djean Whitney
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Truly, Truly, This Is The End
They say deaths an open door
Into another room
Within the city of the dead
(Our New Kingdom)
They say we walk like dreams
Sharing the same breath
Seeing through the same eyes
(A collective spirit)
As we pray (As we pray)
On his grave (On his grave)
Or words fall and decay (And decay)
As we pray (As we pray)
On his grave (On his grave)
Or words fall and decay (And decay)
They say the Earth it gives no peace
Nor does it take away
We all survive the grave
(Unfortunate eternal)
They say that in times past
A king walked in the sky
Until dethroned by man
(Tribe of Judas)
As we pray (As we pray)
On his grave (On his grave)
Or words fall and decay (And decay)
As we pray (As we pray)
On his grave (On his grave)
Or words fall and decay (And decay)
Truly, truly, this is the end
Truly, truly, this is the end
Truly, truly, this is the end
Truly, truly, this is the end
It's not the same
I'm plagued with pain and I can't let go
It's not the same
I'm plagued with pain and I can't let go
It's not the same
I'm plagued with pain and I can't let go
It's not the same
I'm plagued with pain and I can't let go
This is the end
song performed by by Zao
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pray
Pray for me
As you would a child
In a land of oppression
Millions cry around the world
But I cry in your back garden
Pray for me
And Ill pray for you
Its no revolution
But its somethin -
Somethin we can do!
Pray all the day
All the -
All the day
All the day
Pray for me
As you do for peace
In a world of aggression
Hear me!
Must it make the news
For us to show some affection
Pray for me
And Ill pray for you
Its no revolution
But its somethin -
Somethin we can do!
Pray all the day
All the -
All the day
All the -
As it was in the beginning - so shall it be...
Until next week!
song performed by by Underworld
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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An Electronic Prayer
From beyond a message has come
Slowly the last forever has begun
Turn around its revolution
Divine signs must move with the times
Even so they try to mystify
Communications fading with the past
Were sending a cypher a code to be cracked
By a curious someone we need to attract
Pray for me
(pray for me)
The message endlessly
(the message endlessly)
Repeating constantly
(repeating constantly)
Can anyone hear ?
Pray for me
(pray for me)
Be a part of me
As I disappear
(as I disappear)
This is my plea
Change my life till nothing remains
Let the blood run through my veins again
An immaculate injection, a shot of something new
All out faith we have to replace
We are out of time and out of space
A new beginning in a different world
Sister love extinguish all desire
Never born and never died
Take my words from my heart
Help me make a new start today
(reset my life)
Brother beloved this is my devotion
Everlasting absolute
Give me the strength to see
Believe that youll receive someway
Believe and let us pray
Pray for me
The message endlessly
Repeating constantly
Can anyone hear ?
Pray for me
(pray for me)
Be a part of me
As I disappear
This is my plea
Sister love extinguish all desire
Never born and never died
Take my words from my heart
Help me make a new start today
(reset my life)
Brother beloved this is my devotion
Everlasting absolute
Give me the strength to see
Believe that youll receive someway
Believe and let us pray
Pray for me (repeat 3 times)
song performed by by Heaven 17
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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These Hands
Given by God -are these hands!
One can do many things -with these hands
With love one can help a strangers' hands-
Allay and comfort the elders' gnarled hands
Clean sweep and mop with these hands
Decorate and embellish with these hands
Cook and serve food to all with these hands
Clasp a loved one with these hands
Applaud one with pleasure with these hands
Dig the soil and form a garden with these hands
Hold a book to read with these hands
Write and post a card with these hands
Type a poem to cheer someone with these hands
Draw a picture and sew clothes with these hands
Paint a beautiful scene to amuse with these hands
Play a game of volley ball or cricket with these hands
Swim the waters and row a boat with these hands
Pick the harvests and fruits with these hands
Feed the animals and birds with these hands
Seek the warmth of dear ones with these hands
Feel the soft petals of a flower with these hands
Fold the palms to pray with these hands
Given by God - are these hands!
poem by Chandra Thiagarajan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Pray
When you hear them talking
Saying things that you dont understand
Just keep on walking
And tell em you dont give a damn!
Dont call me brother, I aint your brother
We need more than crime prevention
We need more than ecstasy
Well be needing police protection
Better keep your hands off me
And I pray, I pray
Ive been on my knees all day
And I pray, I pray
I hear every word you say
Take a look at that cat
Its a game they play with people
Kiss and count the enemy
I dont cry when I feel the tension
I have state security
This aint a revolution
Thats just people talking
Aint a revolution
Say, say it again
If I never get caught
Ill be here all night
Doing things I know aint right
Fifty seven dreams ago
Thats the problem if youre slow
I aint your brother
song performed by by Culture Club
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pray
So here we stand again
Like dust on mother earth
And we hide our faces in our dreams
Only emptiness where angels flew - high on golden wings
And the voice of god has vanished now - lost inside our dreams
But the only way to go is heaven
All we can do is pray
In the darkness we stand with the world in our hands
And we pray
For a better tomorrow
We wait
Far beyond the horizon
There's a sound in the sky
The voice of glory I hear a silent cry
When the heroes of yesterday are gone
All we can do is pray
In the darkness we hide and we wait for the light
And we pray
Oh we pray
Let us pray
I've seen the darkside of the moon in my dreams
Now I know it ain't a place to live for us all
All our gods creation is dead an gone
Now we stand like children all alone forever
All we can do is pray
Forever and forever and forever more
For a better tomorrow - we wait
Pray
There's a light in the dark
And it's shining so bright on our way
Still there is hope on our way
And we pray
Oh
song performed by by Gamma Ray
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Light of Life
You are the Light of Life,
With you there can be no strife!
Beasts in foreign lands,
Feel the pain of your hands,
Those who care to hear,
Need feel no fear,
Your energy, bright,
Be with us all tonight,
In the days when devils ran,
Free across the land,
We looked for your hands,
To still the battles in foreign lands,
Now we look for your touch,
Freedom Lord, we need it much,
The time to make all things clear,
To put the light into life, draws near,
So when you rest at night,
We pray for your light,
We'll put down the mace,
Please give us your Grace,
When we hear your call, or cry,
We will crawl, run or fly,
To be at your side, tonight,
We live to stand in your light.
April 2012
poem by David Andre' Klopper
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Only Hope
There's a song that's inside of my soul
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold
Would you sing to me over and over and over again?
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
Sing to me the song of the stars
Of your galaxy dancing and laughing, you're laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that you have for me over again
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
I gave you my apathy
I'm giving you all of me
I want your symphony
Singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs
I'm giving it back
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
song performed by by Switchfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My City Of Ruins
Theres a blood red circle
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church doors blown open
I can hear the organs song
But the congregations gone
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
Now the sweet veils of mercy
Drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner
Like scattered leaves
The boarded up windows
The hustlers and thieves
While my brothers down on his knees
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
Come on rise up!
Come on rise up!
Now theres tears on the pillow
Darling where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss
My soul is lost, my friend
Now tell me how do I begin again?
My citys in ruins
My citys in ruins
Now with these hands
I pray lord
With these hands
For the strength lord
With these hands
For the faith lord
With these hands
I pray lord
With these hands
For the strength lord
With these hands
For the faith lord
With these hands
Come on rise up!
Come on rise up!
Rise up
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Oh Let Us Pray
Oh Father, oh Father
Come and take us by our hands
As we pray to you dear Father
For a cleansing across our land
Let us pray for the sick
And those that are old
Cling to us dear Father
We still need You, to hold
Pray for the poor
Even the beggars on the street
Help to guide them along
May they find something to eat
Let's pray for our soldiers
Who have stood up to fight
Leaving behind their families
Just to help protect our rights
Let us pray for the blind
May they finally get to see
May these prayers reach across the lands
And set many burdens free
Let's pray for love and friendship
May they spread like a wild fire
May we all love with Your passion
And burn with a true desire
so pray with us Oh Father
As we pass the hands of time
And help all hearts to heal
Starting with some friends of mine
OH LET US PRAY
wrote 2/2/2009 by Norman Hale Jr.
poem by Norman Hale
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Hopes just lie there and die there
Hopes lie there and just die there
Hopes just lie there and die there...
...Hearts don’t let me, down courage don’t desert me...
Now that I know my mind, my eyes do clearly see,
That the world is covered with so many fakes.
......Promises made but was made to bluntly forsake.
Religion twisted to meet every ones brutal needs,
Preachers, teachers with distorted versions do feed.
The sweet fragrance all exhausted by careless hands,
With war of words exchanged from land to land,
The tongue let loose and the white soldiers stall,
Sees the end of peace and happiness as it falls
Dims a vision of hopes, that may never surface
Shattering, tattering the trembling earthly face.
Alas a dream of a wonderful life, sees a sad end
Concern to many heartaches.. none did ever lend.
A child is born with peace that ceases, to surely be
Love that runs away, sweet dreams that no longer be.
poem by Shirani Ibrahim
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Pray
I pray for your safety my love
Pray your dreams be fulfilled
Pray for help from God above
Pray a shattered world rebuild
Pray with me, that all are fed
Pray our Lord God will listen
Pray we see what lay ahead
Pray our mortal souls be risen
Pray for all who now do suffer
Pray for respite from their pain
Pray empathy provides a buffer
Pray for those few gone insane
Believe sincere prayers always work
Believe prayer lights where Satan lurks
(Dedicated to my Beloved)
ROTMS
poem by Ray Lucero
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Old Hands And Old Eyes....
old hands unbutton
the blouse of the day.
old hands make coffee,
open the dusty blinds.
old hands wash a few dishes,
make breakfast for the dogs...
old hands feed the stray cat,
make toast and wait.
old eyes caress the sunlight
as if an old friend.
old eyes see the work,
yet stop, to touch the morning.
old eyes kiss the trees,
the squirrels, and distant mountains.
old eyes ache with longing,
and amazement.
old hands and old eyes
begin the journey anew.
listening intently for the footfall,
for another candle, a hoe.
for the scent of nearness,
perhaps only remembered.
old hands and old eyes,
take the plow, the hammer,
and the nails....
old hands and old eyes,
waiting for love!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Lost The Poem I Wrote In My Mind
I LOST THE POEM I WROTE IN MIND
I lost the poem I wrote in my mind
When walking to Shul this morning-
I can only try to recall its thoughts;
‘Walk too fast and the mind cannot hear itself
Walk slowly and listen to the poem inside yourself.
The road ahead the trees the sky
Has a beauty too great for you to write
Thank God for your sight.”
The best lines are forever gone-
A poem to replace a poem
Is not as good as the original-
I wish I had the words for all the beauty God gives me in my life
How wonderful it is to be alive- sometimes
And to be able to write poems – even if somewhat poorly.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My Hands
my hands have ten rivers
there are furrows of sorrows in the destiny of my palms
no mountain peaks to view the world
holistically,
my hands have ten crystal clear ponds
my hands mirror my face
my hands surrender
my hands open
they are all yours too and you are so cruel
you are telling me like you detest me in the residence of your full moon
you do not need rivers, you had enough of my surrender, you are ashamed
of open hands, you touch me and then you make a plea
'please close your hands and with your ten rivers, please sail away from me! '
i know what a full moon is. I too had enough of its light and silence.
i have the nerves of the stars, and i know what sailing away means.
let me thank you for your dark skies, your clouds are too heavy for me.
i am raining tears, too salty for my ten rivers.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dark writing....
Dark shadows sneak under the door
As I keep writing these dark lyrics more
Of a nature that's not evil or unkind
Rather of disturbing thoughts in my mind.
They say for everything bad it's found
Something good it has to come around
The weather wouldn't be pleasant if wasn't for the rain
These feelings wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the pain.
I'm doing a storm in a cup of water to prepare
Meanwhile around people don't even care
I pray for my life to not end before these stanzas
But mindlessly I write and write looking for the answers.
My cold dark poems are everywhere
Floating around in the midnight air
Listen, closely you have no choice
These dark words, my deep voice.
Where the world is falling apart,
There lies a dark poem of the heart
Dark poems tell the darkest lines
They make you hear their shrieking cries.
Hold dearly onto your ravaged soul;
Don't find you've let life take its toll
Youll find my dark poems are everywhere
Read them, like them, if you dare….
I am the shadow hiding in the dark
The evil sounds that wake you in the night
I'm a shadow lurking in the dark
Because still it always feels so right
So I write my shadowy poems line by line
But I'm constantly over looked
My brain is fried down to the spine
And my broken heart is cooked
I'm left only with part of a heart
That will never again beat
I'm the one person
No one has to meet
I am a shadow lurking in the dark
Writing my poems so deep
Whispering my words so stark
Pray your soul to keep…
poem by Deep Dark Soul Poet
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My Song For You
When I write my song for you
I will sing of dreams
that sparkle with the light of love
in all its repeating themes.
One verse of looks from misty eyes
will linger in your ear.
Its words will stay within your heart
and let you know I'm near,
Nearer than my hands that play
my melody of love
will be the intensity of harmony
to take you way above
what you hear whenever you listen
that can take hold of your mind.
My song for you will always stay
and never will you find
a song so tender and so true
that will remind you of my sound.
And all the days that you hear it
you'll know that I'm around.
poem by Edwina Reizer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I’m A Light Unlit Cast Away Blues
A drink undrunk rest thirsty on a lip
Oblivion dwelling in memory holes
Hear a voice die out
Look in those eyes
Shining closing down
Alongside the paths
Winding whirls of wind
Take the hands feel soft
A touchdown feather bird
See the palms open wide
And the hair unclasped
Measured by the light
Air driven spill
Down the bottom haunts
Where it is to grow
Where it is to know
The knowledge of the world
I'm a song in a song
poem by Miroslava Odalovic
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Catnap
The tiger looked with expert eyes,
Content to see for miles...
And in his own eyes he was wise,
His black heart full of wiles...
There was no doubt within his mind,
This was the time to choose...
A better time he wouldn't find
For him to have a snooze...
He stretched his awesome long legs out,
Then curled up in a ball...
Quite sure there was no-one about,
His catnap came to call...
His eyelids drooped, like weary tails,
Their blackness dead ahead...
And nothing short of fearsome gales
Could open them instead...
Deep breaths and he was on his way,
To where all tigers go,
When big cats' dreams they must obey
And this each one must know...
His whiskers flopped like withered strings,
No longer tight and taut...
So much for tigers thought as kings,
If by his dreams, he's caught...
The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'Catnap'.
The Stephen Gayford poems can be viewed here:
denis-martindale-dot-blogspot-dot-com
poem by Denis Martindale
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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