Penetration And Trust
I
Sleek as a lizard at round of a stone,
The look of her heart slipped out and in.
Sweet on her lord her soft eyes shone,
As innocents clear of a shade of sin.
II
He laid a finger under her chin,
His arm for her girdle at waist was thrown:
Now, what will happen and who will win,
With me in the fight and my lady lone?
III
He clasped her, clasping a shape of stone;
Was fire on her eyes till they let him in.
Her breast to a God of the daybeams shone,
And never a corner for serpent sin.
IV
Tranced she stood, with a chattering chin;
Her shrunken form at his feet was thrown:
At home to the death my lord shall win,
When it is no tyrant who leaves me lone!
poem by George Meredith
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
In some fields of grass under the hills (sestina)
This afternoon the peaks throw a big shade
with the black cliffs shining up on the hills,
while we lay together in the long grass,
I look in your eyes that are amber-green
while under my head there is a small stone
and you smile at me like the prettiest lady.
I had once known another charming lady;
that part of my life is now left in shade,
bad churchmen were casting stone upon stone,
while I had to flee from them to the hills
to pastures were everything is green
to find the Lord in divine fields of grass.
Under your head there is a crown of grass
and your mother is a gracious, kind lady,
around us everything is lovely green
while we are still resting in the cool shade,
we are softly chatting about life’s hills,
about walls of very hard granite stone.
Your eyes are much brighter than emerald stone
while all of your words are softer than grass,
reaching higher and beyond all the hills,
the high mountain which is dangerous lady,
while from our pain nothing gives any shade,
nowhere is a place of rest that is green.
Your summer dress is lovely, is bright green,
suddenly all our ails have turned to stone
I follow you further; see your small shade,
I am seen as one that woos any lady,
we walk past some flowers growing in grass,
climbing up higher into the foothills.
Bright streams are splashing down some of the hills,
with water transparent, sometimes cold and green,
love and lust burns like in a youthful lady
while I at that moment feel cold as stone,
we notice a deer feeding on lone grass
while our garments lie under a tree’s shade.
Far into the hills you want love till dusk’s shade,
where you peep like some green moss from the grass,
are tossing me with a stone like no lady.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Will The Circle Be Unbroken
I was standing by my window,
On one cold and cloudy day
When I saw that hearse come rolling
For to carry my mother away
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, lord, by and by
Theres a better home a-waiting
In the sky, lord, in the sky
I said to that undertaker
Undertaker please drive slow
For this lady you are carrying
Lord, I hate to see here go
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, lord, by and by
Theres a better home a-waiting
In the sky, lord, in the sky
Oh, I followed close behind her
Tried to hold up and be brave
But I could not hide my sorrow
When they laid her in the grave
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, lord, by and by
Theres a better home a-waiting
In the sky, lord, in the sky
I went back home, my home was lonesome
Missed my mother, she was gone
All of my brothers, sisters crying
What a home so sad and lone
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, lord, by and by
Theres a better home a-waiting
In the sky, lord, in the sky
We sang the songs of childhood
Hymns of faith that made us strong
Ones that mother maybelle taught us
Hear the angels sing along
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, lord, by and by
Theres a better home a-waiting
In the sky, lord, in the sky
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, lord, by and by
Theres a better home a-waiting
In the sky, lord, in the sky
song performed by by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Rolling Stone
Sitting on the front porch,
Waiting for you to come home.
Visions of reuniting in my head.
Only bitter-sweet memories, no holidays, no Christmas trees.
Broken promises I've got instead.
How I used to wonder, "Where did I go wrong?
How you could have stayed away so long?"
Thank God for my mother,
Her's was no easy song.
Thank God that He showed me how to get along.
My papa was a rolling stone.
Abandon us and left us 'lone.
And how he broke my heart and hope; had me loose my faith.
Somebody knows what I've been through.
I've understood, I've been there too.
So let me introduce you to my father, Father.
Your story sounds alot like mine.
It's a story heard a thousand times.
Someone hurting leaves in disaray.
Don't you know that God made you more valuable than they ever knew?
You know you can live past their mistakes.
Oh, how I used to wonder "How could all this be?
Someone that you loved so much just turns their back and leaves."
Oh, you need the lover of you soul and
He is able to take care of you annd
He will never leave.
Your papa was a rolling stone.
Abandoned you and left you 'lone.
And how he broke your heart and hope.
He had me loose my faith.
I'm seeing what you're going through.
I understand, I've been there too.
So let me introduce you to my father, Father.
I was lost and out of controle.
Then He found me and saved my soul.
Let me lead you to the one I know.
He can make you whole.
No longer I wonder,
Solid ground under my feet.
I know what my life is worth,
No longer incomplete.
I just want to tell you,
You are truly loved,
By the Maker of the Heavens,
the Creator of the Earth.
You know He's got His hands on you and
That is more than enough.
My papa was a rolling stone.
Abandoned us and left us 'lone.
And how he broke my heart and hope; had me loose my faith.
Somebody saw what I've been through.
They understood, They've been there too.
They gladly introduced me to my father, Father.
Your papa was a rolling stone.
Abandoned you and left you 'lone.
And how he broke your heart and hope.
He had me loose my faith.
I'm seeing what you're going through.
I understand, I've been there too.
So let me introduce you to my father, Father.
Tell me what you're going through.
I understand, I've been there too.
So let my introduce you to my father, Father.
God...
song performed by by Out Of Eden
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Deserted House
To the sweet memory of Sidney Lanier
The old house stands deserted, gray,
With sharpened gables high in air,
And deep-set lattices, all gay
With massive arch and framework rare;
And o’er it is a silence laid,
That feeling, one grows sore afraid.
The eaves are dark with heavy vines;
The steep roof wears a coat of moss;
The walls are touched with dim designs
Of shadows moving slow across;
The balconies are damp with weeds,
Lifting as close as streamside reeds.
The garden is a loved retreat
Of melancholy flowers, of lone
And wild-mouthed herbs, in companies sweet,
’Mid desolate green grasses thrown;
And in its gaps the hoar stone wall
Lets sprays of tangled ivy fall.
The pebbled paths drag, here and there,
Old lichened faces, overspun
With silver spider-threads—they wear
A silence sad to look upon:
It is so long since happy feet
Made them to thrill with pressure sweet.
’Mid drear but fragrant shrubs there stands
A saint of old made mute in stone,
With tender eyes and yearning hands,
And mouth formed in a sorrow lone;
’Tis thick with dust, as long ago
’Twas thick with fairest blooms that grow.
Swallows are whirring here and there;
And oft a little soft wind blows
A hundred odors down the air;
The bees hum ’round the red, last rose;
And ceaselessly the crickets shrill
Their tunes, and yet, it seems so still.
Or else, from out the distance steals,
Half heard, the tramp of horses, or
The bleak and harsh stir of slow wheels
Bound cityward; but more and more,
As these are hushed, or yet increase,
About the old house clings its peace.
poem by Lizette Woodworth Reese
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Trehill Well
There stood a low and ivied roof,
As gazing rustics tell,
In times of chivalry and song
'Yclept the holy well.
Above the ivies' branchlets gray
In glistening clusters shone;
While round the base the grass-blades bright
And spiry foxglove sprung.
The brambles clung in graceful bands,
Chequering the old gray stone
With shining leaflets, whose bright face
In autumn's tinting shone.
Around the fountain's eastern base
A babbling brooklet sped,
With sleepy murmur purling soft
Adown its gravelly bed.
Within the cell the filmy ferns
To woo the clear wave bent;
And cushioned mosses to the stone
Their quaint embroidery lent.
The fountain's face lay still as glass-
Save where the streamlet free
Across the basin's gnarled lip
Flowed ever silently.
Above the well a little nook
Once held, as rustics tell,
All garland-decked, an image of
The Lady of the Well.
They tell of tales of mystery,
Of darkling deeds of woe;
But no! such doings might not brook
The holy streamlet's flow.
Oh tell me not of bitter thoughts,
Of melancholy dreams,
By that fair fount whose sunny wall
Basks in the western beams.
When last I saw that little stream,
A form of light there stood,
That seemed like a precious gem,
Beneath that archway rude:
And as I gazed with love and awe
Upon that sylph-like thing,
Methought that airy form must be
The fairy of the spring.
Helston, 1835.
poem by Charles Kingsley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Lord
Oh Lord
Give us strength
For the burdens that we bear.
The false smiles that we wear,
To keep our heads up high.
Still looking to the sky.
When I'm crushed,
Skin and bone.
The world is hushed.
I'm all alone.
In the alley
On my knees.
Oh Lord
Whisper to me
Please.
Oh Lord
I have done so much wrong.
I have sang my last song.
Can you send
Your Holy Spirit, man.
demons surround me.
And friends all ran.
Only you
Can soften up
This heart of stone.
And I
Could never reach you on the phone.
Oh Lord
Give me the guts
To carry on.
We all stand in the dark.
Where your light once shone.
The devil's on my shoulder,
My clutching hands are bleeding.
The world is getting colder.
It's your healing touch I'm needing.
Oh Lord
Heaven help us all.
Bang Bang
The mighty fall.
We skipped,
And now we crawl.
And weep.
Take us home Lord,
When we awaken
From this sleep.
poem by Kevin East
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Coven
I had shot a couple of pheasants,
Was returning, deep from the wood,
Avoiding the crackle of branches, making
As little noise as I could,
The sky was clear and a harvest moon
Shone down through the old oak leaves,
When I saw the glimmer of candlelight
Shimmering through the trees.
I hid myself by the mighty oak
That had grown, six hundred years,
And heard the mutter of chanting there,
The rhyme of an evil verse,
I looked on out to a clearing where
The Devil and all were stood,
Thirteen candles and thirteen cloaks
And thirteen wearing a hood.
The Devil stood on an ancient stump
His face was hid from the mass,
He held a crucifix upside down
They all bowed down in the grass,
A woman rose from the group and peeled
The cloak that covered her form,
The sight of her beauty caught my breath
As if I'd never been born!
The hood remained, and concealed her face
As she dropped down on all fours,
The Devil leapt from his stump, and raged,
Then took her there by force;
The others chanted and danced about
In a circle, for some rite,
Despoiling the Devil's chosen witch
Was the purpose of that night.
They all dispersed as the moon went in
Was hid by an ugly cloud,
I kept my eye on the Devil's form
He was wrapped in a purple shroud,
I trailed him, loping, out of the wood
Like a beast that's held at bay,
And brought him struggling to the ground
To see what he'd have to say.
I ripped the hood from his evil face,
He snarled and snapped in the night,
‘Let's have a look at those evil eyes! '
He growled, and put up a fight;
But I laid him low by the mansion gate
And I held him there on the ground,
He yelled: ‘I'm the Lord of Leighton Hay
The Lord of these these woods and downs! '
‘So this is the Demon Devil's face,
Then who was the Winsome Witch?
I'm sure the Lady of Leighton Hay
Would be ready to flay the bitch! '
‘You mustn't tell, it would break the spell
Of the coven, and all my power,
What would you take for your silence, now,
For the reck of this parlous hour! '
‘There's just one thing that I'd take from you
To silence this gossiping tongue,
She's sweet, petite, and has dancing feet,
And I guess you know, she's young! '
‘If you talk about Lady Caroline,
My daughter, never for you! '
‘Oh well, the Lady of Leighton Hay
May brew up a Hell of a stew! '
That was a year and a day ago,
We wed, and live in the lodge,
The witches are still in the woods out there,
I often go out to watch;
But my Lady wife is an innocent,
I know she'd never deceive,
Except for the pot of serpents and frogs
She brewed on All Hallows Eve!
poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
On The Road
I 's boun' to see my gal to-night--
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
De moon ain't out, de stars ain't bright--
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
Dis hoss o' mine is pow'ful slow,
But when I does git to yo' do'
Yo' kiss 'll pay me back, an' mo',
Dough lone de way, my dearie.
De night is skeery-lak an' still--
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
'Cept fu' dat mou'nful whippo'will--
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
De way so long wif dis slow pace,
'T 'u'd seem to me lak savin' grace
Ef you was on a nearer place,
Fu' lone de way, my dearie.
I hyeah de hootin' of de owl--
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
I wish dat watch-dog would n't howl:--
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
An' evaht'ing, bofe right an' lef',
Seem p'int'ly lak hit put itse'f
In shape to skeer me half to def--
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
I whistles so's I won't be feared--
Oh lone de way, my dearie!
But anyhow I's kin' o' skeered,
Fu' lone de way, my dearie.
De sky been lookin' mighty glum,
But you kin mek hit lighten some,
Ef you 'll jes' say you's glad I come,
Dough lone de way, my dearie.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Till All The Lonely's Gone
well hank made a living out of lonely
he sang liek a freight train whistle moan
Said "You'll never get our of this world alive"
as if he'd always known ,lord,lord
as if he'd always known
Rode down that hillbilly highway
took a big black cadillac on home
and he said "driver keep on driving"
'till all the lonely's go
(Chorus) 'Till all the lonely, 'Till all the lonel
'Till all the lonel's gone, gone, gone
Let's just hold on to eahc other
'Till all the lonely's gone
I told my mama, "Dear sweet mama,
I'm tired and weary to the bone
Just let me walk along your flowers"
Makes me wonder why i roam, lord, lord
Makes me wonder why i roam
Feed me biscuits and milk gravy
'Till your baby's feeling strong
We'll sit up picking on the front porch, yeah
'Till all the lonely's gone
(Chorus)
Well now Jesus was praying in the garden
He never felt so all alone
They knew his suffreing was over
When they rolled away stone, Lord , Lord
When they rolled away the stone
On golden staris he walked to heaven
and there he's waiting on the throne
He loves to hear his children sing and shout
'Till all the lonely's gone
(Chorus)
song performed by by Pam Tillis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Nature Of Love. (From The Italian)
To noble heart Love doth for shelter fly,
As seeks the bird the forest's leafy shade;
Love was not felt till noble heart beat high,
Nor before love the noble heart was made.
Soon as the sun's broad flame
Was formed, so soon the clear light filled the air;
Yet was not till he came:
So love springs up in noble breasts, and there
Has its appointed space,
As heat in the bright flames finds its allotted place.
Kindles in noble heart the fire of love,
As hidden virtue in the precious stone:
This virtue comes not from the stars above,
Till round it the ennobling sun has shone;
But when his powerful blaze
Has drawn forth what was vile, the stars impart
Strange virtue in their rays;
And thus when Nature doth create the heart
Noble and pure and high,
Like virtue from the star, love comes from woman's eye.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Cupid Sleeping
[Inscribed to Her Grace the Duchess of Devonshire.]
CLOSE in a woodbine's tangled shade,
The BLOOMING GOD asleep was laid;
His brows with mossy roses crown'd;
His golden darts lay scatter'd round;
To shade his auburn, curled head,
A purple canopy was spread,
Which gently with the breezes play'd,
And shed around a soften'd shade.
Upon his downy smiling cheek,
Adorned with many a "dimple sleek,"
Beam'd glowing health and tender blisses,
His coral lip which teem'd with kisses
Ripe, glisten'd with ambrosial dew,
That mock'd the rose's deepest hue.
His quiver on a bough was hung,
His bow lay carelessly unstrung:
His breath mild odour scatter'd round,
His eyes an azure fillet bound:
On every side did zephyrs play,
To fan the sultry beams of day;
While the soft tenants of the grove,
Attun'd their notes to plaintive Love.
Thus lay the Boywhen DEVONS feet
Unknowing reach'd the lone retreat;
Surpriz'd, to see the beauteous child
Of every dang'rous pow'r beguil'd!
Approaching near his mossy bed,
Soft whisp'ring to herself she said:
" Thou little imp, whose potent art
" Bows low with grief the FEELING HEART;
" Whose thirst insatiate, loves to sip
" The nectar from the ruby lip;
" Whose barb'rous joy is prone to seek
" The soft carnation of the cheek;
" Now, bid thy tyrant sway farewell,
" As thus I break each magic spell: "
Snatch'd from the bough, where high it hung,
O'er her white shoulder straight she flung
The burnish'd quiver, golden dart,
And each vain emblem of his art;
Borne from his pow'r they now are seen,
The attributes of BEAUTY'S QUEEN!
While LOVE in secret hides his tears;
DIAN the form of VENUS wears!
poem by Mary Darby Robinson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Parting
The chestnut steed stood by the gate
His noble master's will to wait,
The woody park so green and bright
Was glowing in the morning light,
The young leaves of the aspen trees
Were dancing in the morning breeze.
The palace door was open wide,
Its lord was standing there,
And his sweet lady by his side
With soft dark eyes and raven hair.
He smiling took her wary hand
And said, 'No longer here I stand;
My charger shakes his flowing mane
And calls me with impatient neigh.
Adieu then till we meet again,
Sweet love, I must no longer stay.'
'You must not go so soon,' she said,
'I will not say farewell.
The sun has not dispelled the shade
In yonder dewy dell;
Dark shadows of gigantic length
Are sleeping on the lawn;
And scarcely have the birds begun
To hail the summer morn;
Then stay with me a little while,'
She said with soft and sunny smile.
He smiled again and did not speak,
But lightly kissed her rosy cheek,
And fondly clasped her in his arms,
Then vaulted on his steed.
And down the park's smooth winding road
He urged its flying speed.
Still by the door his lady stood
And watched his rapid flight,
Until he came to a distant wood
That hid him from her sight.
But ere he vanished from her view
He waved to her a last adieu,
Then onward hastily he steered
And in the forest disappeared.
The lady smiled a pensive smile
And heaved a gently sigh,
But her cheek was all unblanched the while
And tearless was her eye.
'A thousand lovely flowers,' she said,
'Are smiling on the plain.
And ere one half of them are dead,
My lord will come again.
The leaves are waving fresh and green
On every stately tree,
And long before they die away
He will return to me!' --
Alas! Fair lady, say not so;
Thou canst not tell the weight of woe
That lies in store for thee.
Those flowers will fade, those leaves will fall,
Winter will darken yonder hall;
Sweet spring will smile o'er hill and plain
And trees and flowers will bloom again,
And years will still keep rolling on,
But thy beloved lord is gone.
His absence thou shalt deeply mourn,
And never smile on his return.
poem by Anne Brontë
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy!
To Thomas Butts
TO my friend Butts I write
My first vision of light,
On the yellow sands sitting.
The sun was emitting
His glorious beams
From Heaven’s high streams.
Over sea, over land,
My eyes did expand
Into regions of air,
Away from all care;
Into regions of fire,
Remote from desire;
The light of the morning
Heaven’s mountains adorning:
In particles bright,
The jewels of light
Distinct shone and clear.
Amaz’d and in fear
I each particle gazèd,
Astonish’d, amazèd;
For each was a Man
Human-form’d. Swift I ran,
For they beckon’d to me,
Remote by the sea,
Saying: ‘Each grain of sand,
Every stone on the land,
Each rock and each hill,
Each fountain and rill,
Each herb and each tree,
Mountain, hill, earth, and sea,
Cloud, meteor, and star,
Are men seen afar.’
I stood in the streams
Of Heaven’s bright beams,
And saw Felpham sweet
Beneath my bright feet,
In soft Female charms;
And in her fair arms
My Shadow I knew,
And my wife’s Shadow too,
And my sister, and friend.
We like infants descend
In our Shadows on earth,
Like a weak mortal birth.
My eyes, more and more,
Like a sea without shore,
Continue expanding,
The Heavens commanding;
Till the jewels of light,
Heavenly men beaming bright,
Appear’d as One Man,
Who complacent began
My limbs to enfold
In His beams of bright gold;
Like dross purg’d away
All my mire and my clay.
Soft consum’d in delight,
In His bosom sun-bright
I remain’d. Soft He smil’d,
And I heard His voice mild,
Saying: ‘This is My fold,
O thou ram horn’d with gold,
Who awakest from sleep
On the sides of the deep.
On the mountains around
The roarings resound
Of the lion and wolf,
The loud sea, and deep gulf.
These are guards of My fold,
O thou ram horn’d with gold!’
And the voice faded mild;
I remain’d as a child;
All I ever had known
Before me bright shone:
I saw you and your wife
By the fountains of life.
Such the vision to me
Appear’d on the sea.
poem by William Blake
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Grey
You always say
That your life's been thrown away
That's why you turn to a man upstairs
And pray he'll save you everyday
Don't come around no more
Save your soul in the eyes of the lord
Don't come around no more
Save your soul in the eyes of the lord
Long years go by
As you still sit to wonder why
Your voice can't scream out loud
And your mind's been trapped inside
Don't come around no more
Save your soul in the eyes of the lord
Don't come around no more
Save your soul in the eyes of the lord
Burn yourself down
Bring yourself down
Burn yourself down
Bring yourself down
You know I'm drowning in myself
Drowning in myself
You know I'm drowning in myself
Don't come around no more
Save your soul in the eyes of the lord
Don't come around no more
Save your soul in the eyes of the lord
Don't come around no more
Save your soul in the eyes of the lord
Don't come around no more
Save your soul in the eyes of the lord
Burn yourself down
Bring yourself down
Burn yourself down
Bring yourself down
song performed by by Green Lizard from Identity
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Take My Hand, Precious Lord
(words & music by thomas a. dorsey)
Precious lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
Im tired, Im weak, Im lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home
When my way grows drear precious lord linger near
When my light is almost gone
Hear my cry, hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home
When the darkness appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home
Precious lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
Im tired, Im weak, Im lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Master Piece
watch as the sky turn to blue and the ocean
turn to gray, nay all have come to meet
the clouds, the distance calls only its name
and the wave paddle the stone to form a
tiny pebble teasing the current for the fish
to swim
a pure gem, glitter as the sun shape the color
to form, yet the shape capture the eyes on
what beauty it possess, until the endless passion
of the heart comes to ponder the calling desire
to hold beyond the trembling fingers of
satisfaction to die
all have the infinite lord to what the design
of the heart unfold, for nothing that behold with
out the greatest mind that foretold the meaning
of something; for seeing beyond is a cost to pay,
even the end is not enough to lay the beginning
of the hands
the lips murmur as the eyes wanton the endless
desire to end.....
poem by Antonio Liao
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Of Smiles (and Dour Faces)
Lips pressed tight as layers of rock
Chin thrust forth like scarp of stone
Visage closed tight…as a lock
Semblance shone as of a crone
Face so spare of love and care
Gives show to heart, cold draped with snow
And from so compressed lips…never slips
A more kind word than "No! "
This will ne'er be, the way for me
For I cannot but to smile
I possess a simple mind that deigns to find
Good humour all the while
If one should find the time opportune to smile
Don't hesitate to take it
For If one goes round…dressed in a frown
One might just as well…go round naked!
poem by David Whalen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Old Wife and the New
He sat beneath the curling vines
That round the gay verandah twined,
His forehead seamed with sorrow’s lines,
An old man with a weary mind.
His young wife, with a rosy face
And brown arms ambered by the sun,
Went flitting all about the place—
Master and mistress both in one.
What caused that old man’s look of care?
Was she not blithe and fair to see?
What blacker than her raven hair,
What darker than her eyes might be?
The old man bent his weary head;
The sunlight on his gray hair shone;
His thoughts were with a woman dead
And buried, years and years agone:
The good old wife who took her stand
Beside him at the altar-side,
And walked with him, hand clasped in hand,
Through joy and sorrow till she died.
Ah, she was fair as heart’s desire,
And gay, and supple-limbed, in truth,
And in his veins there leapt like fire
The hot red blood of lusty youth.
She stood by him in shine and shade,
And, when hard-beaten at his best,
She took him like a child and laid
His aching head upon her breast.
She helped him make a little home
Where once were gum-trees gaunt and stark,
And bloodwoods waved green-feathered foam—
Working from dawn of day to dark,
Till that dark forest formed a frame
For vineyards that the gods might bless,
And what was savage once became
An Eden in the wilderness.
And how at their first vintage-time
She laughed and sang—you see such shapes
On vases of the Grecian prime—
And danced a reel upon the grapes!
And ever, as the years went on,
All things she kept with thrifty hand,
Till never shone the sun upon
A fairer homestead in the land.
Then children came—ah, me! ah, me!
Sad blessings that a mother craves!
That old man from his seat could see
The shadows playing o’er their graves.
And then she closed her eyes at last,
Her gentle, useful, peaceful life
Was over—garnered with the past;
God rest thee gently, Good Old Wife!
His young wife has a rosy face,
And laughs, with reddest lips apart,
But cannot fill the empty place
Within that old man’s lonely heart.
His young wife has a rosy face,
And brown arms ambered by the sun,
Goes flitting all about the place,
Master and mistress both in one;
But though she sings, or though she sighs,
He sees her not—he sees instead
A gray-haired Shade with gentle eyes—
The good old wife, long dead, long dead.
He sits beneath the curling vines,
Through which the merry sunrays dart,
His forehead seamed with sorrow’s lines—
An old man with a broken heart.
poem by Victor James Daley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A World View From The Wounded And The Oppressed
i have a stone
in my hand
i do not have to polish it
since i have to throw it against the world
The world is a big face
The stone is thrown straight to its pair of eyes
That is why it is blind
it is deaf
and i do not have to throw another stone
to perfect
its indifference
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Take My Hand Precious Lord
Precious lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
Im tired, Im weak, Im lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home
When my way grows drear precious lord linger near
When my light is almost gone
Hear my cry, hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home
When the darkness appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home
Precious lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
Im tired, Im weak, Im lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home
song performed by by Nina Simone
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!