Pretoria At Half Past Four
At half past four
while the civil service employees
are going home
blue-white thunderbolts crash down
while an afternoon shower begins
and the road becomes a skating rink.
Pedestrians run into the shelter of buildings,
the road workers stop their labour
where they are repairing the road,
while the main roads run like small rivers
with water flowing knee deep
and housewives in the suburbs take cover
behind closed doors.
Inside the shelter of a small church
you are peaceful on your knees
while you pray
and a few lost teenagers
sit scared on the back benches
and the banner in the church
proclaims that God saves.
Some light fall radiating white on your face,
while outside lightning bolts are crashing down,
while somewhere in the distance sirens below;
you talk like every other day
with the God of the universe.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Related quotes
Down This Road
(Michael Dulaney/Michael Lunn)
Down this road there's an old brick house
My mama cried the day that I moved out
And my first summer job was pumpin' gas and fixin' flats
But at Henry Walker's Texaco
Down this road, down this road
Down this road there's a maple tree
In a cotton field where Jenny first kissed me
And I can still remember the night she said good-bye
I stood there like a fool and watched her go
Down this road, down this road
And it goes on forever
And it goes by too fast
It'll take you anywhere you want to go
And every memory will bring you back
Down this road there's a small white church
Daddy lived his life by the preacher's word
He raised me right, I could always feel his love
Even when the angels called him home
Down this road
And it goes on forever
And it goes by too fast
It'll take you anywhere you want to go
And every memory will bring you back
Down this road
Down this road
Down this road
song performed by by Alabama
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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All My Dreams Left In Past
How the years have passed so fast
All those beauties have gone with the past
I remember all my dreams
Purple they were and blue
Oh, my god how much i'm in need to
To believe once again to the pover of my dreams!
While at the past I never was afraid to dream
And now even the wish of dream, Is lost
And I came here alone
All the beauties that oneday I've had
I've left them at the past and
i'm all alone
Even the wish of smlle
All those people that I loved
Those were more precious than my eyes
My grandmother and her angelic smile
She was my shelter where I've always run
Everytime that l've got mad
I went there and I cried
Even my shelter I've lost
with the past
The sun above and the blue sky
How much I felt happy at the past
When every morning through my road to school
The sun chased
my childish spirit and always how I felt glad
Through my road to school
And every evening in return I always prayed to find him in my road
Oh, everything and everyone
All those that I loved
Lost them with the past!
poem by Sossi Khachadourian
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The Road We're On
'It's all a road we build'
he said
'you lay down the concrete
or tar for the asphalt;
you heat it
and take it through all the stages
with yellow lines
white lines-
a road has to have
boundaries and destinations.
There are the road signs:
'caution'
'soft shoulder'
'curves ahead'
'pedestrians'
'stop ahead'
'divided highway.'
'no u-turns.'
'highway patrol station
The thought
is whether the road we build
is our own
and whether it leads where we
want to go
and who on the road
we're traveling with.
Just like life.
Up and down hills;
speed bumps
parking lots
long rides
The trick is not to be
a highway statistic
didn't see the stop sign
ran over too many pedestrians.
or a high speed causality
best to hope for soft shoulders
and broad lanes
and the laughter of friends
as the sun shines overhead
taking us
home.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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The never-ending road
I saw the landscape passing by,
while the car swept
on with a never-ending road.
Buildings rose up into the air
and everywhere people were
packed square by square
in offices, flats and apartments.
White yellow mine dumps
and huge cranes glided by
and I felt small as a fly,
against the immensity of it all
Acres of corn surrounded me
and all the way to the horizon,
I saw no tree.
The green was all around me
and a mechanical spray point,
where showering water in an arc.
The land flattened
while I drove South
and grey thorn bushes flashed by.
Here and there
some rocky outcrops
stood red brown against the flat plain,
but everything begged for a dropp of rain.
In the far distance up in the sky
a lightning bolt twisted to the ground
and when the rain came gushing down,
life sprouted from the sand.
The road stretched on
and in the distance
the black of the tar
met with the sky
and except for the windmills I passed by,
that road could have been
anywhere on this good great earth.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Past skeletons of steal and concrete
Past skeletons of steal and concrete
I came this morning
and saw people small like ants,
between yellow cranes groaning and bended.
Where white smoke poured from round chimneys
and people struggled in the half-light
or glowing in a hell like fire
of iron and metal
lost between ovens cooking glowing,
people where captive and caged
by walls, doors and roofs that surrounded them
and lost in the circles drawn by the city
attracted by work from rural places.
The day was cast over and grey
but still they kept on building
and cement lorries were parked in the road
while workers were clinging to black pipes.
On the other side of the road children laughed
caught by the tinned pleasure pulsating
day and night without end
and beggars waited with stretched out hands.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Winterlight
Winter-light
No one walks on the old road anymore, not even on a day
when almond trees are in bloom. Blue weed and thorny
bushes are shooting through, one day the road will be out
of sight. It leads to a ruin of a house, doors and windows
long since stolen, a door frame made of carved stone too;
half the roof has caved in. A vagabond lived in the ruin for
a time, till gruff voices told him to get lost. I saw him slowly
fade away, erased by shimmering winter light.
He must have walked long was found in a grotto, seeking
shelter from the rain. Three days dead, they said. No saintly
women came, cleansed and wrap his tired body in a shroud.
Funeral at five witnessed by a pale functionary of the state.
Church bells didn’t toll. No one walks on the old road
anymore, not since the bushes grew eagle’s talons and a boa
constrictor took abode in the ruin.
poem by Oskar Hansen
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Afternoon rain
Every day this summer
in the late afternoon
the rain just keep pouring down
as if the milling clouds
and the storm has its clock set.
Thunder flashes here and there
white-blue electric bolts
from a sudden grey sky
and big and small drops fall
rushing down to the earth.
Heat rises in steaming white patches
on the hot black tar road
while the first drops make it wet
and water suddenly streams everywhere
in miniature rivers.
People run to reach their cars
and are stuck in huge traffic jams
where cars crawl meters at a time,
while others go to bars
and enjoy a drink or two
and smoke their cigars.
Two teenage girls
that are soaking wet
with T-shirts clinging translucent
dance on the sidewalk
in the falling rain
and their giggles
catches my ear
and suddenly it’s fun to live.
poem by Gert Strydom
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One Small Step
So many people
Need to go so many miles
How do we move them
To where the answer lies
Reach out to the ocean
Beyond the stars that shine
Weve got to take one small step in time
If we are the dreamers
Then the world must be the dream
Driven to question
All the things weve never seen
We search the horizon
Looking for a sign
Weve got to take one small step in time
One step beyond
All our hopes and our passion
There is the light of the universe flashin
All that it takes is one leap of faith
One small step, (one small step)
One small step in time
Deep in the darkness
(deep in the blackness)
Theres a wind that never dies
(theres a wind that never dies)
Out in the vastness
(out in the vastness)
Theres a road across the sky
(a road across the sky)
Out there is the reason
That we were meant to find
Weve got to take one small step in time
Weve got to take one small step in time
(one small step, one small step)
One small step in time
(one small step, one small step)
One small step in time
(one small step, one small step)
song performed by by Cher
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Every Road Leads Me Back To You
Every road leads me back to you.
My destiny is mapped out
for every step I take
and every road I travel
leads me back to you.
Some are guided by the morning sun,
some by the moon and stars at night,
but every road I travel
leads me back to you.
Our home maybe far away
in the snow tipped mountaintops
or under the big city lights.
It does not matter where it lies,
every road I take the end will be the same,
for every road leads me back to you,
and you are there to shelter me
from any given storm.
You lead me away from temptations
that plague my life.
You are always there
when my foes I have to fight.
Each night when I am weary
tis, you I come to at night,
for every road I travel, Lord
always leads me back to you
for my faith to be renewed.
11 August 2008
poem by David Harris
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Red Lights
(d. pickerill/p. odonoughue)
You stop on a red light, your life starts again on green
You watch all the colours then fall back into a dream
Theres headlights behind you, they flash out a silver surprise
You go for the hand brake, theres madness behind your eyes
Chorus:
The road goes on for mile and miles
You rush cos you havent got the time
Stop, stop, stop for the red light
Yay, yay, yay is for the green
One, one, one Im on a blue light
Keep your licence clean
He flicks on the amber, a machine gun in all but name
You push down the lever, well, two can play that game
As red lights rush by you theyre vivid and red as blood
The chase makes you feel so good
The road goes on for mile and miles
You rush cos you havent got the time
Dont, dont dont go on a red light
Yay, yay, yay is for the green
One, one, one Im on a blue light
Keep your licence clean
The flash lines are flowing, streaking by so fast
Signposts are flying and grey rain is slanting past
The colours are spinning, a pain on the side of your face
And blackness surrounds you, you finally lost the race
The road goes on for mile and miles
You rush cos you havent got the time
Dont, dont dont go on a red light
Yay, yay, yay wait for the green
One, one, one Im on a blue light
Keep your licence clean
song performed by by Lisa Stansfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You Sit On The Car And Call Yourself, Stupid
you sit inside the car
as i drive on this busy road
in the city, on some dangerous
intersections, and you hold your hair
with your left hand
leaning on the mirror
seeing the flow of people
on the pedestrian lane
and you quip,
why do you love a stupid
woman like me?
i focus myself on the road
and it begins to rain
and people are running
everywhere seeking
for shelter
you ask,
do you really love me?
i am sorry
putting you on this mess.
i am really sorry,
tears begin to roll
from your eyes
the rain goes heavily on
the glass and i cannot clearly
see the road
it is dark and i turn on the
front lights and drive
the car slowly on the side
of the road. I stop
for a while,
it is hazy, i said.
and i just love to kiss you.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Winding Roads
the white innova runs
for hours on this winding road
climbing mountains
we see the green forest
beside us
we are on rocky cliffs
we see the rivers wind
down the mountains
we are inside this silence
awed
overlooking the world
somehow this break
shall make us ponder
how we wasted time
on some nooks
of depression
and unnecessary worries
about tomorrow
the winding roads
still climb up this mountain
we look back seeing
the same winding roads
you say
there is no use going back
we look forward
the thrill up there
we do not discount
there is a valley somewhere
where we soon stop
and relax
then we shall talk
about this life
about these winding roads
that seem endless
to our gazes
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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I Lost The Long Road
I LOST THE LONG ROAD
I lost the long road
I lost the deep meaning
I lost what I wanted to be-
I was left with a moment
With a small now
And another small now
And another small now
Like this small now- now
And this poem-
I was left with what I could give
In a moment only-
A small poem in a small now – now
But through it
I live again-
Now.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Windflowers
When I was little and good
I walked in the dappled wood
Where light white windflowers grew,
And hyacinths heavy and blue.
The windflowers fluttered light,
Like butterflies white and bright;
The bluebells tremulous stood
Deep in the heart of the wood.
I gathered the white and the blue,
The wild wet woodland through,
With hands too silly and small
To clasp and carry them all.
Some dropped from my hands and died
By the home-road's grassy side;
And those that my fond hands pressed
Died even before the rest.
poem by Edith Nesbit
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Winding Road
Written by tiffany and nancy bryan
Ive been down many roads
Sometimes life can be unkind
I didnt wonder where Id go
Didnt know what I might find
What you got was not expected
And when you feel that time is running out on you
Chorus:
The winding road that takes me home
Im going there someday I know
The winding road that takes me home to you
Is there beneath the shadows
The winding road
Memories of the love we had
Never fade away
Tears of joy for the promises
That will come again someday
When you walked out it was unexpected
Im trying to find my way back to you
Chorus
The winding road
The truth can leave you breathless
And the truth can set you free
Ive got all these questions
Living inside of me, inside of me
Chorusx2
The winding road
The winding road
The winding road
song performed by by Tiffany
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Road Well Travelled
A road well travelled does not the journey ease
Nor do well placed signposts aid our itineraries
A road well travelled is rough and rutted where
Others have passed by this way overburdened with their cares
A road well-travelled may be full of risks and dangers
You keep yourself unto yourself and never talk to strangers.
This road well travelled has no final end in sight
It can be sunny in the daytime but quite frightening at night
This road well travelled can sometimes just disappear
And you stop not knowing where to go shivering with fear
This road well travelled sometimes returns you to its start
And leaves you walking round in circles with a sad and heavy heart.
My road well travelled has many toll gates on the way
Each time I ask directions there’s a need to always pay
My road well travelled is a lonely road at times
It is a real road that I know it’s not just a state of mind
My road well travelled is not just my road you see
It’s a road that many others take and it’s called anxiety.
poem by David Keig
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Gypsy Road
I used to be now Im not what you see, lord I try
And now it seems all those dreams have come true, but theyre passing me by
Some fast talkin mama for a dollar put a smile on my face
Im drivin all night
I end up in the same old place
My gypsy road cant take me home
I drive all night just to see the light
My gypsy road cant take me home
I keep on pushin cause it feels alright
And whos to care if I grow my hair to the sky
Ill take a wish and a prayer cross my fingers cause I always get by
Some fast talkin jerk for a dollar wiped the smile off my face
Im drivin all night
Just to keep the rat in the race
My gypsy road cant take me home
I drive all night just to see the light
My gypsy road cant take me home
I keep on pushin cause it feels alright
Sometimes I feel so old
Got my lights burnin bright
But Im lookin pretty sold
Sometimes I feel so cold
So cold
Lets go
Got to get on home
My gypsy road cant take me home
My gypsy road cant take me home, t-t-take me
My gypsy road cant take me home
I drive all night just to see the light
My gypsy road cant take me home
I keep on pushin cause it feels alright
My gypsy road cant take me home
I drive all night just to see the light
My gypsy road cant take me home
I keep on p-p-pushin
My gypsy road
My gypsy road
My gypsy road
My gypsy road
My gypsy road
song performed by by Cinderella
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Glory Of Life
(Chris Farren/Beth Nielsen Chapman/Annie Roboff)
Safe in the eye of the storm
Mercy and faith keep me warm
Oh the dreams I've seen tattered and torn
Just when I think I can't take anymore
You give me shelter and never will I be alone
Hold me closer and help me to find my way home
Cause its a long road through the darkest of nights
But your love won't let me lose sight
Of the glory of life
High is this mountain I climb
Deep is this river of time
The devils got trouble in mind
Sometimes I stumble
But you're there to remind me
Standing right there beside me
You give me shelter and never will I be alone
Hold me closer and help me to find my way home
Cause its a long road through the darkest of nights
But your love won't let me lose sight
Of the glory of life
This world has left me tangled up inside
No where left to hide
And the wind and rain
Is baring down on me
(Baring down, wearing down on me)
You give me shelter and never will I be alone
Hold me closer and help me to find my way home
Through the darkest of nights
But your love won't let me lose sight
You give me shelter and never will I be alone
Hold me closer and help me to find my way home
Cause its a long road through the darkest of nights
But your love won't let me lose sight
Of the glory of life
song performed by by Rascal Flatts
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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New Perspective
dust on my feet on my rubber shoes
stamp a mound of mud drying itself
the afternoon sun so hot
this little boy follows me with his gaze
did I appear so big to his attention
or the world is too small for him to play ball?
we look amazed to the same birds
too playing in the skies chasing the ones
not having the same feathers
the sun sets spreading orange colors
waning and now sprinkles some gray hues
the boys playing basketball sweat like they
were bathing on the rain, their bodies gleaming
like some barbecue on spiced oil
time to go home, it is dark, I have no reason to stay
the little boy follows me towards the road
where the fluorescent light is turned on by the guards
then I look back, the boy was gone
the whole block is lost eaten by this night
and on the island of light on this road
I stand, waiting for my ride back home
then I look back again, I smile a while
that little boy was me, I got lost somehow
I touch my head, I am setting a new perspective
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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A Poem After A Walk This Afternoon
dust on my feet on my rubber shoes
stamp a mound of mud drying itself
the afternoon sun so hot
this little boy follows me with his gaze
did i appear so big to his attention
or the world is too small for him to play ball?
we look amazed to the same birds
too playing in the skies chasing the ones
not having the same feathers
the sun sets spreading orange colors
waning and now sprinkles some gray hues
the boys playing basketball sweat like they
were bathing on the rain, their bodies gleaming
like some barbecue on spiced oil
time to go home, it is dark, i have no reason to stay
the little boy follows me towards the road
where the flourescent light is turned on by the guards
then i look back, the boy was gone
the whole block is lost eaten by this night
and on the island of light on this road
i stand, waiting for my ride back home
then i look back again, i smile a while
that little boy was me, i got lost somehow
i touch my head, i am setting a new perspective
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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