What a Book! : to Calvus the Poet
If I didn’t love you more than my eyes,
most delightful Calvus, I’d dislike you
for this gift, with a true Vatinian dislike:
Now what did I do and what did I say,
to be so badly cursed with poets?
Let the gods send ill-luck to that client
who sent you so many wretches.
But if, as I guess, Sulla the grammarian
gave you this new and inventive gift,
that’s no harm to me, it’s good and fine
that your efforts aren’t all wasted.
Great gods, an amazing, immortal book!
That you sent, of course, to your Catullus,
so he might immediately die,
on the optimum day, in the Saturnalia!
No you won’t get away with this crime.
Now when it’s light enough I’ll run
to the copyists bookstalls, I’ll acquire
Caesius, Aquinus, Suffenus,
all of the poisonous ones.
And I’ll repay you for this suffering.
Meanwhile farewell take yourself off, there,
whence your unlucky feet brought you,
cursed ones of the age, worst of poets.
poem by Gaius Valerius Catullus
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Related quotes
Good Poets and Bad Poets
Some poets get awards and think they are good poets.
Some poets never get awards and think they are bad poets.
Some poets think they are good poets only in their own mind
Some poets think they are bad poets in somebody's else mind.
Some poets think they are good poets in somebody else mind.
Some poets think others think they are good poets but they don't in their hearts.
Some poets think they are good poets in their hearts but not in anyone else's mind.
All are insecure, except those who get security from the opinions of others and that, alas, doesn't last and isn't real.
Some poets have left the entire scene and live only in their mind.
Some poets take criticism and don't mind.
Some poets avoid criticism and do mind.
Some poets write poetry to get love.
Some poets love to write poetry.
Some poets are ahead of their time, in their mind
Some poets spend a lifetime feeling like failures in their mind
Some poets live only after they die.
Some poets have much to say but can't articulate
Some poets retreat, believing others don't understand
So which one of these am I?
I guess I am all of these and none of these
and no matter what my description
I intend to keep doing what I do:
Write. Right
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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We As Poets
We as poets must command a sacred accent over a language of our choice,
We as poets must gift the minds of a failing generation,
We as poets must demand a clear explanation and a fair occupation,
We as poets must dissolve into particles and dust if we have not known enough,
We as poets must destroy the living standards of low quality,
We are to be the poetry of utmost perception and suffering.
poem by Naveed Akram
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A Gift From Prometheus To Mankind
In Greek Mythology there are many legends,
written about the cruelty, vindictiveness of the gods.
Zeus and the other gods in their petty jealousy,
rivalry often punished, sacrificed men like pawns.
Before the rule of Olympian Gods other Gods ruled.
These were the powerful Titans, the mighty elder gods.
Prometheus was the noblest of the sons of Uranus and Gaia.
Titans all three! Prometheus an arch-rebel and friend to man!
Prometheus belonged to the powerful race of Titans!
The powerful Titans, were cousins to the Olympian Gods,
whose constant hostility to man, Prometheus opposed!
Prometheus gave the wondrous gift of fire to man!
Hearing of this, in a rage Zeus, ordered Prometheus,
seized punished imprisoned; bound by steel chains!
Prometheus was bound to a rock!
On a mountain peak, in the Caucasus,
mountains at the edge of a stream!
Near an Ocean in a place where it snows perpetually!
Where the wind ever howls ceaselessly,
because he had given a gift, mighty fire to mortal man!
Prometheus was sentenced to spend eternity!
Suffering miserably chained to a rocky crag,
with two vultures hovering, near tormenting him!
These two vultures cruelly feasted upon man’s!
Titan friend Prometheus! Tearing at,
his meal exposed belly; eating his living liver!
The ancient Greeks had another version of this,
cruel torture, in which an eagle, the offspring of;
Echidan and Typhon, eats his flesh encased liver!
The great terror of this raw tragedy, is that immediately
after, the eagle eats, consumes Prometheus’
liver; his liver would continually renew itself overnight!
Zeus would always cruelty vindictively!
Send this eagle every day!
To gnaw at, poor prisoner Prometheus’
liver, which is eaten in agony!
But would grow whole again!
Every night because Prometheus!
Being a Titan was immortal!
This story is amazing but merely a myth!
A true story about a real
all powerful God a real immortal,
is a miracle, proving our
Creator’s, love for his humanity!
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Hate And Dislike
Hate and dislike are not the same thing between them the difference is great
We well may not like everybody but our dislike should not give way to hate
For hatred leads people to bad crimes since hatred as a feeling is very intense
The feeling of hatred is noxious and is poison to common sense.
Some commit murder due to hatred and than murder there is no worse a crime
Their hatred has landed them in prison for to serve a lengthy span of jail time
Their life it is ruined forever and darkness envelopes their soul
Suppose that is what's bound to happen when hatred is out of control.
Hate and dislike are two different creatures and though dislike to hatred can grow
Hate in it has got far more venom those who hate mercy will not show
Whilst those who dislike you may not harm you at least not in a physical way
And if you asked me to choose between them I would choose dislike any day.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Shine On
The greatest gift, the gift of life
The gift of love divine
God gave us all a special gift
He meant for it to shine
He meant for it to shine
The darkest night can be made light
By one bright word or smile
If wed put on our neighbors shoes
And choose to walk a mile
God gave us all our own free will
To choose the paths we take
No greater deed could eer be done
Than for anothers sake
The greatest gift, the gift of life
The gift of love divine
God gave us all a special gift
He meant for it to shine
He meant for it to shine
Shine on, shine on, for all to see
Gods light inside your soul
Shine on, shine on, let love flow free
Warm others in its glow
Shine on, shine on, shine on
So hide it not or it will fade
Shine on, shine on, shine on
Shine on, shine on, shine on
The greatest gift, the gift of life
The gift of love divine
God gave us all a special gift
He meant for it to shine
Shine on, shine on, shine on
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Life's A Gift
Life’s a gift for you to send
Life’s a gift for god to end
Life’s a gift now you’re with me
Life’s a gift for all to see
Life’s a gift when love is true
Life’s a gift when times look blue
Life’s a gift with the one you trust
Life’s a gift even if UN just
Life’s a gift a ray of sun
Life’s a gift though your heads held to a gun
Life’s a gift when its handed on a tray
Life’s a gift even though it’s always on display
Life’s a gift it’s hard to understand how
Life’s a gift so take advantage of it now
poem by SharonAnn Dawson
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A brief tribute to George Seferis, poet
When the gods allot
a time, a place, to those so mortal
mortals whom they love to test,
is it a greater gift they give to poets,
to live in a land of honeybees
and sun and sea and heroes sung, a land
assured, content, of gods and marble,
temples, amphitheatres, history,
or in that land in times of tragedy,
starvation, misery, division,
internal war and conquered servitude?
Ultimate, the irony – how can the gods
think up such things? – to be
ambassador, to represent a land
from which to have been exiled half a life;
exiled from within and exiled from without.
The love the gods bestow (the Chorus cries)
is terrifying; strange; to be hard learned.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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A True Gift to God
Love for humanity,
is true gift to GOD.
save environment,
is true gift to GOD.
always speaks the truth,
is true gift to GOD.
having no lust for money,
is true gift to GOD.
bounty love,
is true gift to GOD.
no discrimination,
is true gift to GOD,
be honest what you are doing,
is true gift to GOD.
be polite to others,
is true gift to GOD.
help others,
is TRULY TRULY a true gift to GOD.
poem by Suniya Garg
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Dance with Gift
Dance with gift
God gave me this gift
this love
this life
this passion
The passion to dance
When I dance for Gods people
my brothers and sisters
Im showing them the glory
of are God are savior
When i dance i feel
this burning feeling in my body
waiting for me to go crazy
I slitly close my eyes and dream
that im dancing with a gift
a gift of God
poem by Kathy Azanon
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Life is a gift of the immortal Gods, but living well is the gift of philosophy.
Past Written Poems I Confess I Dislike
I have past written poems
which I confess I dislike
occasionally intensely dislike
when publishing most poets
will not include bad poems
but contrast can be interesting
juxtaposition of poems
arranged in selection volume
major poems great poems
will vary from reader to reader
who likes simple who craves deep
artistry from all forms may creep
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Giving Up (The Last Script)
Long ago I wrote a script
About how I hate to write,
It is called A Cursed Gift
You will find it on this site.
About how I hate finding the words
That hurt me deep within my heart,
How I want this skill to end right now
Leave my hand, let us part.
How I hate to write about love
And how the pain follows near,
How I never want to find the words
The painful words I deathly fear.
I really don't want to love again
So I can avoid the following break,
I said I was tired of finding words
'In which I write as I shake.'
Love is cruel with hurtful pains
But writing it is the worst,
I'm giving up on all of it
Love, pain, and gift so cursed.
poem by Adam McKim
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L'Ancien Regime
Who has a thing to bring
For a gift to our lord the king,
Our king all kings above?
A young girl brought him love;
And he dowered her with shame,
With a sort of infamous fame,
And then with lonely years
Of penance and bitter tears --
Love is scarcely the thing
To bring as a gift for our king.
Who has a thing to bring
For a gift to our lord the king?
A statesman brought him planned
Justice for all the land;
And he in recompense got
Fierce struggle with brigue and plot,
Then a fall from lofty place
Into exile and disgrace --
Justice is never the thing
To bring as a gift for our king.
Who has a thing to bring
For a gift to our lord the king?
A writer brought him truth;
And first he imprisoned the youth,
And then he bestowed a free pyre
That the works might have plenty of fire,
And also to cure the pain
Of the headache called thought in the brain --
Truth is a very bad thing
To bring as a gift for our king.
Who has a thing to bring
For a gift to our lord the king?
The people brought their sure
Loyalty fervid and pure;
And he gave them bountiful spoil
Of taxes and hunger and toil,
Ignorance, brutish plight,
And wholesale slaughter in fight --
Loyalty's quite the worst thing
To bring as a gift for our king.
Who has a thing to bring
For a gift to our lord the king?
A courtier brought to his feet
Servility graceful and sweet,
With an ever ready smile
And an ever supple guile;
And he got in reward the place
Of the statesman in disgrace --
Servility's always a thing
To bring as a gift for our king.
Who has a thing to bring
For a gift to our lord the king?
A soldier brought him war,
La gloire, la victoire,
Ravage and carnage and groans,
For the pious Te Deum tones;
And he got in return for himself
Rank and honors and pelf --
War is a very fine thing
To bring as a gift for our king.
Who has a thing to bring
For a gift to our lord the king?
A harlot brought him her flesh,
Her lusts, and the manifold mesh
Of her wiles intervolved with caprice;
And he gave her his realm to fleece,
To corrupt, to ruin, and gave
Himself for her toy and her slave
Harlotry's just the thing
To bring as a gift for our king.
Who has a thing to bring
For a gift to our lord the king,
Our king who fears to die?
A priest brought him a lie,
The blackness of hell uprolled
In heaven's shining gold;
And he got as guerdon for that
A see and a cardinal's hat --
A lie is an excellent thing
To bring as a gift for our king.
Has any one yet a thing
For a gift to our lord the king?
The country gave him a tomb,
A magnificent sleeping-room;
And for this it obtained some rest,
Clear riddance of many a pest,
And a hope which it much enjoyed
That the throne would continue void --
A tomb is the very best thing
For a gift to our lord the king.
poem by James Thomson
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The Greatest Gift
When Christmas shopping is done,
wrapped gifts lie ‘neith a tree
sparkling bright with tinsel and light
for everyone to see.
Each gift has been selected
with thoughtfulness and care.
Toys and such will mean so much
like all the gifts we bear.
But let us keep within our heart
the much greater gift than these.
One from above, with God's great love
should bring us to our knees.
A gift of birth to all on Earth.
A gift that's far from small.
To everyone, He gave His Son…
The greatest gift of all.
poem by Ron Tranmer
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God’s Valentine Gift
God’s Valentine Gift
God’s Valentine gift of love to us
Was not a bunch of flowers;
It wasn’t candy, or a book
To while away the hours.
His gift was to become a man,
So He could freely give
His sacrificial love for us,
So you and I could live.
He gave us sweet salvation, and
Instruction, good and true-
To love our friends and enemies
And love our Savior, too.
So as we give our Valentines,
Let’s thank our Lord and King;
The reason we have love to give
Is that He gave everything.
By Sharon Jebaraj S D
poem by Sharon Jebaraj
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For The Sweet Angel
Good news hold a value that 's more than a treasure
That brings us happiness with tons of pleasure
And never ending joy that is hard to measure
Is all gained by good news taht brings us pleasure
The news that my sisiter just had a son
Brought us lots of joy with never ending fun
I wish we can hug her and tell her well done
And congratulate her on the arrival of a son
I wish to get the chance to see the new dad
Whose life is now changed after the son he had
The son who brought him pleasure and made him glad
And gave him the new name of a proud dad
I wish my sweet nephew the gift of love
Because that's a true gift what he really deserve
And I wish him God's blessings from heaven above
And send that sweet angel my kisses and love.
poem by Seema Chowdhury
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If There's A True God
If there's a true God that true God must be kinder
Than the Gods the billions kneel to for to pray
The selfish Gods that men do go to war for
And invade Countries from their own Homeshores far away.
If there's a God that God does not live out there
Your true God is your God who lives within
And if your God within is not philanthropic
Then you are one who is vulnerable to sin.
If there's a true God that God is not divisive
With the followers of other Gods he would not want us to fight
Your true God would not want you to others to feel superior
Or you to be looked on as a lesser light.
If there's a true God that God does have compassion
And that God believes in human equality
But sad to say the Gods many do worship
Are Gods who do seem to crave an enemy.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Gods Great Banana Skin
Go down my road running just as fast as I can
Nobody knows which is the better way
But when that man in the sky points his finger at you
Dont you ever think no-ones better than you
Gods great banana skin
Dont you laugh at nobody
Youll let the bad luck in
Gods great banana skin
Its the way that it gets you
With every day good luck comes in the strangest of ways
Just keep your head down dont listen what your ego will say
cos when that man in the sky points his finger at you
Dont you ever think no-ones better than you
Gods great banana skin
Dont you laugh at nobody
Youll let the bad luck in
Gods great banana skin
Its the way that it gets you
Gods great banana skin
Gods great banana skin
When that man in the sky points his finger at you
Dont you ever think no-ones better than you
Dont you ever think no-ones better than you
Gods great banana skin
Gonna get you
Gods great banana skin
song performed by by Chris Rea
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Keep On Giving Gift
Some may say what counts is the thought,
It’s not the price that’s paid when bought,
It’s not the quantity placed within the cart,
Just how much love comes from the heart,
Don’t let your view engulf, fret and stew,
Just be glad that the love in the gift is true,
It’s a way better feeling to give than receive,
By today’s masses a maxim hard to believe,
Most look at you thinking that’s truly insane,
For their life is founded on getting and gain,
They need a cover dusting of the good book,
Vigilantly probing pages taking a good look,
Finding the Ancients system of joyful giving,
This concept of giving eternally keeps living,
Twenty centuries ago GOD’s gift was great,
History cannot show an equivalent up to date,
As through life we stumble, continue and go,
We must repay to Him the huge debt we owe,
We cannot walk in hate; on love take a stand,
We must found our feet on GOD’s solid plan.
poem by Joseph Blitch
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Gods Gift To Man
Well I met him in the navy
He was the head of the class
She was a cute little thing
He liked the way she shook her glass
And they went off to texas
And they bought some land yeah
And they settled in a hobo
Home by a taco stand
He was doin things he didnt understand
There was no way to exlain it
She was gods gift to man
Well he got a promotion
And he bought himself a color tv
Had the cable put in
And they watched a round of jeopardy
And they sat out in the evening
And they watched the sun go down
And everything they did
They were livin on the outside of town
Well the time went by
That he didnt understand
She was gods gift to man
Yeah baby tell me, tell me real good
Dont you know that were livin just like a young boy should?
Well she went off to houston
Where she was livin in sin
Well he built an office building
But nobody moved in
She wound up in el paso
On the streets again
It was hard to take it
But sometimes you just cant win
It was after a little way
That he didnt understand
And couldnt understand that
She was gods gift to man
Well I seen her on tv just a couple of nights ago
She was a doin a commercial
Smilin with some ivory soap
Well I knew inside her heart was black as coal
There aint no way to replace the amount of lovin that little girl stole
Yeah one day she got it comin
And she wont understand her niche
Shes gods gift to man
Yeah Ive been doin things that I dont understand
Yeah shes gods gift to man
Yeah, yeah ,yeah
Alright, alright, alright
song performed by by Tom Petty
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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