Modern Love XXII: What May the Woman
What may the woman labour to confess?
There is about her mouth a nervous twitch.
'Tis something to be told, or hidden:--which?
I get a glimpse of hell in this mild guess.
She has desires of touch, as if to feel
That all the household things are things she knew.
She stops before the glass. What sight in view?
A face that seems the latest to reveal!
For she turns from it hastily, and tossed
Irresolute, steals shadow-like to where
I stand; and wavering pale before me there,
Her tears fall still as oak-leaves after frost.
She will not speak. I will not ask. We are
League-sundered by the silent gulf between.
Yon burly lovers on the village green,
Yours is a lower, and a happier star!
poem by George Meredith
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Tossed Aside
In today’s society,
we are careless with things.
Most broken pieces
that could easily be mended
are just tossed aside.
It is not only material things,
human beings fall from grace
so easily to technology
becoming rejected
and eventually tossed aside.
It is as if anything said to be
passed their sell by date
is hastily thrown away.
Hopefully one day
we will come to realise technology
isn’t the be all to end all
and more knowledge
through hard work and experience
will not be hastily tossed aside.
27 May 2011
poem by David Harris
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The heart of a tree
With branches reaching out as if for a embrace
The tree may bow to nature with grace.
He stands alone when the wind blows strong.
The leaves may fall, but the tree stands tall.
There are some things that the eyes can't see.
Like the heart of a tree.
In winter's cold chill, You can see the tree stand still.
Leaves are gone but the tree stands strong.
Until winter turns into spring and the birds begin to sing.
The leaves may fall, but the tree stands tall.
There are some things that the eyes can't see.
Like the heart of a tree.
Through storms and the wind. Bowing with a graceful bend,
Until the sun shines again, still standing at the end,
The tree is like a true friend.
The leaves may fall, but the tree stands tall.
There are some things that the eye can't see,
Like the heart of a tree.
The old Tree's secrets
How many lovers sat together under the old tree?
If only the tree could speak.
The stories would be of weary travelers
finding a place of peace, and dreams in their sleep.
Stolen moments of lovers, perhaps a sweet caress.
A young man with a ring, a young girl said yes.
Tree I only imagine, I enjoy the guess.
Gentle breezes that lifted the leaves
to let them gently fall to earth.
Misting rain to meet the tree's thirst,
Perhaps two trees inter-twined are
Two lovers that were curst.
poem by Judy Arline Puckett
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Do You Really Want To Know
When I ask those questions, baby
Its just to get them out of my head
Cause they turn around inside it
Then they spill off to our bed
Do I really want to know?
Do I really want to know your life?
Would I have to let you go?
Could I listen to my heart if my head stops to think twice?
When Ive been a good boy
When Ive been a bad boy
I have too much fun
But baby so did everyone
Ive never been an angel
But things are gonna change, change, change
So do you really want to know?
Do you really want to know my life?
Would you have to let me go?
Could you listen to your heart if your head stopped to think twice?
If you knew every woman
And I knew every man
We never would have made it past holding hands
I guess the saying is no longer true
That what you dont know can hurt you
I guess there is just no question, baby
You know what youre doing in bed
If I want your touch
Should I know too much
Some things are better left unsaid
So do I really want to know?
Do I really want to know your life?
Would I have to let you go?
Could I listen to my heart if my head starts to think twice?
(tell me baby, cause one thing to guess is one thing to know,
And dont you think that maybe baby Ive got secrets of my own? )
If I knew every woman
And you knew every man
We never would have made it past holding hands
I used to say it but its no longer true
Cause what you dont know can really hurt you (can kill you baby)
And even as we speak
The world is full of lovers
Night after night, week after week
Trusting to luck and a pocket full of rubbers
song performed by by George Michael
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In the face of the rain
In the face of the rain
~
It can fall for all I care
I will stand in face of it all
It has washed away my tears
It has cooled my desires
Answered my thirst
And washed my soul
The rain it still falls
Stand out in the rain
Look the clouds in the eye
Feel it coming down
And lay arms open wide
The rain can fall and fall
We can stand and feel its touch
Looking up into that sky
In the face of the rain
There is life
poem by Matthew Holloway
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Out Of Love
Paint me a picture of two lovers, show me the lovers torn apart
You made me fall in love with you, the dance of lovers takes two
Somehow the music stopped, and so did our love
I tried to put the pieces together, and I got a grip on my life
They say theres one born every minute who has all for a lifetime
What good is a lifetime if I cant be with you
Chorus:
I just wanna hold you, just wanna touch you, just let me love you
When I see your face, my heart cries out for you
I guess that fools never learn how to fall out of love
I do admit I really miss you, there are some things time cannot change
And I would be a liar baby, if I told you I didnt care
cos it makes a difference, baby when youre not there
Chorus
I just wanna hold you, just wanna touch you, just let me love you
When I see your face, my heart, my heart goes crazy baby
Its whats calling your name
I just wanna hold you, just wanna touch you, I just wanna hold you
When I see your face, my heart cries out for you
I guess that fools never learn how to fall out of love
song performed by by Toto
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Face May Not
Face may not reveal at all
You may be inviting imminent fall
It is evasive illusion spread around
With naked eyes it is never found
Silence cuts no much ice
Sadness may reveal no break of promises
Tears in eyes may speak nothing
Bubbles appear in water to say something
We pick nothing worthwhile and fall to trap
There are wide differences in perception with gaps
We take precautions wrongly and get deception
As we trust more and falter from the inception
Face may look so innocent
It may be hiding with lots of unsaid comments
Why do we cheat others and rejoice?
Keep wearing mask over head and feel so nice
So sometimes hard faces turn mild
They appear rude and cruel but turn very kind
They speak harsh but flow with kind words
Not advise you to fall back but move forward
It has to camouflage so many things
Sometimes to be retained without any dig
It should never surface on the face
It may become known and create problem in such case
Any how face is in fact a true mirror
It may speak of any fault or error
You may find it hard to contain
Calm posture is very difficult to maintain
Only the shroud person may survive
He may hold it for long and strive
For good and healthy relation
And at the same time give no indication
poem by Hasmukh Amathalal
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A Unique Kind Of Drunkeness
the usual wine
the favorite rhum and the well sought vodka
or martini
scotch on the rocks or you common margarita
or bloody mary...
a glass, another glass, more glasses
an open mouth, more words, a flood of ideas that come when the
spirits stir you to more shores and islands..
you let go things and monsters and angels long stored in your
vocabulary, you're a book with some pages sticking
for you seldom open
only sometimes when things really get rough when the heart wants to speak
because it is too full and your mouth has nothing better to do except to speak,
then the many glasses take you to many places and you face many people
long dead and gone
and you speak to them without fears now
direct to the point
confrontational and you learn how is it to shout
less civil, bursting manners, regrets cracking out like fireworks
and then you mellow down
for this enlightening moment of
why, yes why did all those things happen to you?
some explanations
like how towel to your neck and face
a soft massage on your arms and back
a woman with a beautiful body and sealed mouth
gentle eyes and a certain
professional indifference
you refuse an offer for the night because you just want to go home
someone is waiting and you feel so guilty
it is late and you need nothing now but a good sleep
in the house.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Shadow Song
Did your shadow ever speak to you?
And did he say that something's wrong?
Only a figure on a lamplit wall
Never realized he cared at all
Did he stop you going on?
Guess my shadow spoke to me tonight
And made me throw my dreams away
Told a story of a twisted man
Who was playing with some foolish plan
'Bout a girl who had flew away
Sometimes shadows are near
I see things very clear: my life unwinds
Somewhere I'll make my stand
Look around at yesterday
And change my mind
Now your shadow isn't always there
In the light of cloudy days
Or in circles where you hide from view
All the dust that ever bothered you
And where people loose your name
Submitted by Michael Hack
song performed by by Supertramp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Portrait / Pinnacle
He had a thousand ideas
You might have heard his name
He lived alone with his vision
Not looking for fortune or fame
Never said too much to speak of
He was off on another plane
The words that he said were a mystery
Nobody's sure he was sane
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
He was in search of an answer
The nature of what we are
He was trying to do it a new way
He was bright as a star
But nobody understood him
His numbers are not the way
He's lost in the deepest enigma
Which no one's unravelled today
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
And he tried
But before he could tell us he died
When he left us the people cried
Oh, where was he going to?
He had a different idea
A glimpse of the master plan
He could see into the future
A true visionary man
But there's something he never told us
It died when he went away
If only he could have been with us
No telling what he might say
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
But he knew
You could tell by the picture he drew
It was totally something new
Oh, where was he going to
I've so much to say, and yet I cannot speak
Come and do my bidding now for I have grown too weak
My weary eyes have seen all that life can give
Come to me, O young one, for you I can forgive
I stood where no man goes, and conquered demon foes
With glory and passion no longer in fashion
The hero breaks his blade
Cast this shadow long that I may hide my face
And in this cloak of darkness the world I will embrace
In all that I endure, of one thing I am sure
Knowledge and reason change like the season
A jester's promenade
Lying at my feet I see the offering you bring
The mark of Cain is on our faces, borne of suffering
O, I long to hear you say it's not been wrong
I stand before you now, a riddle in my song
The answer is that sweet refrain
Unheard it always will remain
Beyond our reach, beyond our gain
Trapped in life's parade, a king without a crown
In this joy of madness, my smile might seem a frown
With talons wrought of steel, I tore the heart of doom
And in one gleaming moment I saw beyond the tomb
I stood where no man goes, above the din I rose
Life is amusing though we are losing
Drowned in tears of awe.
song performed by by Kansas
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hymn 23
The sight of God and Christ in heaven.
Descend from heav'n, immortal Dove,
Stoop down and take us on thy wings,
And mount and bear us far above
The reach of these inferior things:
Beyond, beyond this lower sky,
Up where eternal ages roll;
Where solid pleasures never die,
And fruits immortal feast the soul.
O for a sight, a pleasing sight
Of our Almighty Father's throne!
There sits our Savior crowned with light,
Clothed in a body like our own.
Adoring saints around him stand,
And thrones and powers before him fall;
The God shines gracious through the man,
And sheds sweet glories on them all.
O what amazing joys they feel
While to their golden harps they sing,
And sit on every heav'nly hill,
And spread the triumphs of their King!
When shall the day, dear Lord, appear,
That I shall mount to dwell above,
And stand and bow amongst them there,
And view thy face, and sing, and love?
poem by Isaac Watts
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Heavy Things
Things are falling down on me
Heavy things I could not see
When I finally came around
Something small would pin me down
When I tried to step aside
I moved to where they hoped I'd be
Venessa calls me on the phone
Reminding me I'm not alone
I fuss and quake and cavitate
I try to speak and turn to stone
Telly reaches through my vest
To do the thing that she does best
She probes and tears my ventricles
Steals my one remaining breath
Things are falling down on me
Heavy things I could not see
When I finally came around
Something small would pin me down
When I tried to step aside
I moved to where they hoped I'd be
Stumbling as I fall from grace
She needs my vision to replace
Her ailing sight throughout the night
Leaving two holes in my face
Mary was a friend I'd say
'Till one summer day
She borrowed everything I owned
And then simply ran away
Things are falling down on me
Heavy things I could not see
When I finally came around
Something small would pin me down
When I tried to step inside
I moved to where they hoped I'd be
song performed by by Phish
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Snow White Transparent
“Mirror… Mirror…”
Snow White stops
Looks down at
Her hand
Perfectly pale
Unblemished
Young and
Innocent
But damned
So damned
The wicked
Woman knew
Smiled and knew
“This is what you want”
Hands her the
Apple, poisoned
And red
No one knew
That Snow White
Knew, knew
The Truth
No one
Suspects her
Not Snow White
Pure, perfect
Snow White
“Mirror… Mirror…”
A brush bristles
Through her hair
Snow White looks
At her reflection
In the Mirror
Her mirror
The Wicked
Woman’s mirror
Snow White’s
Image smiles
Sadly at her
No hope left
“On the wall…”
He comes in
Princely in
His ways
Snow White does
Not look at
Him, not at him
Oh no
She cannot
She resents him
It is not apples
That are poisoned
But lips
“Snow…? ”
Without words
She undresses
Revealing glorious
Pale body
His to touch
Snow White
Watches his hands
Lower and closes
Her eyes
This is not love
Love is not—
Love is
“Seven little men…”
She falls into the
Dark corners of
Her mind
Where poison
Still chokes her
And there is
Nothing but
Death and silence
Oh, for the silence
Snow White turns
To look at The Mirror
And asks:
“Who is fairest of them all? ”
poem by Elizabeth Rebel
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Miracles
Twilight is spacious, near things in it seem far,
And distant things seem near.
Now in the green west hangs a yellow star.
And now across old waters you may hear
The profound gloom of bells among still trees,
Like a rolling of huge boulders beneath seas.
Silent as though in evening contemplation
Weaves the bat under the gathering stars.
Silent as dew, we seek new incarnation,
Meditate new avatars.
In a clear dusk like this
Mary climbed up the hill to seek her son,
To lower him down from the cross, and kiss
The mauve wounds, every one.
Men with wings
In the dusk walked softly after her.
She did not see them, but may have felt
The winnowed air around her stir;
She did not see them, but may have known
Why her son's body was light as a little stone.
She may have guessed that other hands were there
Moving the watchful air.
Now, unless persuaded by searching music
Which suddenly opens the portals of the mind,
We guess no angels,
And are contented to be blind.
Let us blow silver horns in the twilight,
And lift our hearts to the yellow star in the green,
To find perhaps, if, while the dew is rising,
Clear things may not be seen.
poem by Conrad Potter Aiken
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Face The Wind
Face the wind
Feel the pressure
It blows me away
It rushes past to God knows where
When I turn my self to stand in its path
Feel it Almost like
Radiant fingers Invigorating
Strokes energy through my flowing hair
Filling with joy my heart
Soul overflows with passion I feel
I hear nothing but the wind
It is everything in my ears
And when I finally speak
Words leave my mouth
And all leave presence
As wind captures them and
Steals them from the listening
To hoard them in its vast secret place
Far away beyond most imagination
Feel the wind
Speak into it your secrets
Taste, Smell its messages
Hear voices it carries
From animals and trees and
Storms and lovers
See it, watch its patterns
Where it comes from and goes to
Look at its journey, its traveling
But can’t
You can’t see it
But you can feel it
Somewhere it is deep
And its colours would be beautiful
Face the wind
Full-force you feel it and
It blows you away
Feel its soothing power
Breathe in life
Feel
Face the wind.
poem by Zoe MacRae
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She Never Told Me She Was A Mime
When we first met she seemed perfectly normal
I never dreamed shed make my life so hard
You see, my baby, she started to change
Started lookin kinda strange
Wearin all that white makeup and those black leotards
Well, I guess she kept her little secret pretty well
Now, ever since I learned the horrible truth, you know my life has been a living hell
Thats right, you see...
She never told me she was a mime
She never told me she was a mime, oh no
Actin like shes trapped inside a big glass box all the time
She never told me, she never told me whe was a...
Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-mime
I wish we both could just talk it all over
But my baby wont even make a sound
Now she makes everybody sick
Doin that pantomime shtick
Even our old friends have stopped coming around
Well, mmy parents cant stand her and our neighbors hate her guts
Shes really, really embarrassing me... this silent treatments driving me nuts
You see...
She never told me she was a mime
She never told me she was a mime, oh no
Now shes actin like shes trapped inside a big glass box all the time... what a crime
She never told me (she never told me) she never told me she was a mime
She walks against the wind everywhere we go
Stops at every corner, gotta put on a show
Carries round a picture of marcel marceau
Always the wuiet type, but how was I know to know?
She never told me she was a mime
She never told me she was a mime, oh no
Actin like shes trapped inside a big glass box all the ti-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yime
She never told me, she never told me whe was a mime
song performed by by Weird Al Yankovic
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You Can Touch
It could spell my mere defeat
You could find it's what you need
And tears will fall and oceans will rise
I feel the fear and I know I'm alive
And you can touch me
I won't hide
You can touch me
I won't die
My condition is hard to define
I'm thin and pale and I need to unwind
See no future from where I stand
For the present I am in your hands
And you can touch me
I won't hide
You can touch me
I won't die
And tears will fall and oceans will rise
I feel the fear and I know I'm alive
It's only passing through
And you can touch me
I won't hide
You can touch me
I won't die
You can touch
I won't die
song performed by by Crowded House
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Poison Ivy League
(words & music by giant - baum - kaye)
Hail to thee old ivy league
Poison ivy league
The ra-ra boys are sitting round the table tonight
The ra-ra boys have lots of plans in view
Theyre gonna have panty raids
And make their own lemonade
Theyll live it up just like the big boys do
Poison ivy league, boys in that ivy league
Give me an itch, those sons of the rich
That poison ivy league
The ra-ra boys will go to bed so early tonight
Before exams they need a lot of rest
They gotta make good for dad
They gotta make good so bad
Theyll even pay someone to take that test
Poison ivy league, boys in that ivy league
How can they flunk, theyre so full of bunk
That poison ivy league
The ra-ra boys are being groomed for business some day
For better things to college they were sent
And you can bet theyll be the head of the company
As long as dear old daddys president
Poison ivy league, boys in that ivy league
So loaded with cash, they give me a rash
That poison ivy league
So let it be told
I wont touch them with a ten foot pole
That poison ivy league
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Fall of the Evening Star
Speak softly; sun going down
Out of sight. Come near me now.
Dear dying fall of wings as birds
complain against the gathering dark...
Exaggerate the green blood in grass;
the music of leaves scraping space;
Multiply the stillness by one sound;
by one syllable of your name...
And all that is little is soon giant,
all that is rare grows in common beauty
To rest with my mouth on your mouth
as somewhere a star falls
And the earth takes it softly, in natural love...
Exactly as we take each other...
and go to sleep...
poem by Kenneth Patchen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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To the face in the mirror [Către chipul din oglindă]
How from your frame at me you stare
As if I am in danger,
Your eyes, amazed, query from there:
"Do you still know me, stranger?"
"You, ugly one, I know you not!"
Your face is pale and rigid
And your weird eyes are burning hot,
Their sight makes me feel frigid...
I know you were a crazy child
On wind and sunlight riding,
Your eyes were bright, your face was mild,
Your mouth was always smiling.
All Nature bowed in front of you
Fulfilling your desire:
Your palace was the wood, it's true,
The glade was your empire.
From there – have passed so many years –
They took you among others,
To water with your child's hot tears
A book with shabby covers.
But the long years and all the sighs
Of learning and endeavor,
Quenched not the flame of your pure eyes,
Your smile they could not sever.
And you could sing and you could love,
Made jokes, never surrendered...
But you stopped flying like a dove
When in this world you entered.
Presumably it was your lot
To feel these things unpleasant.
To utter ugly words cannot
Your mouth, even at present!
* * *
So easily preserves the sand
The footprints after strolling,
Yet, I have not such kind of soul
As on my face is showing.
The venom gathered in my chest
Is making me to shiver,
I want to laugh!... But your big eyes
Shed tears that make a river".
poem by George Topîrceanu, translated by Octavian Cocoş
Submitted by anonym
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85
i wish i have a mouth that knows how to speak my love
i wish i have this kind of mouth that knows to speak
about my love
one that opens so easily and dashes with words like
you know i love you, tell me, do you love me too?
a candid mouth, like a shrew who gambles with words and
will not mind losing
a mouth who kisses your mouth without
shame and if shamed because you slap it
does not bother at all,
one who says, why hide love, why not pour love like a
strong wine to a chalice and let it warm
the glass and let the glass
be nothing but a glass
one that does not mind at all, one that loves and if not loved in
return takes the other possibilities
without regrets
or pain,
the mouth that i have is closed and will not open
afraid
i have kept the words
i love you only for you
like a worm inside my tongue,
wriggling
turning into a little butterfly
that never had the chance to see what is outside
and feel the freedom of air,
yesterday
it died and i keep it for the whole night
now, i spit it out
and my mouth closed again
eating only silence
while you just watch there
asking me
and i said there is nothing to worry
nothing at all
i just don't feel anything and there is nothing
worth saying, i look at you as you go, i hold only to your shadow
and you will never never never know,
this
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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