Passing Away
THE SPIRIT of beautiful faces,
The light on the forehead of Love,
And the spell of past visited places,
And the songs and the sweetness thereof;
These, touched by a hand that is hoary;
These, vext with a tune of decay,
Are spoiled of their glow and their glory;
And the burden is, “Passing away!
Passing away!”
Old years and their changes come trooping
At nightfall to you and to me,
When Autumn sits faded and drooping
By the sorrowful waves of the sea.
Faint phantoms that float in the gloaming,
Return with the whispers that say,
“The end which is quiet is coming;
Ye are weary, and passing away!
Passing away!”
It is hard to awake and discover
The swiftness that waits upon Time;
But youth and its beauty are over,
And Love has a sigh in its rhyme.
The Life that looks back and remembers,
Is troubled and tired and gray,
And sick of the sullen Decembers,
Whose burden is, “Passing away!
Passing away!”
We have wandered and wandered together,
And our joys have been many and deep;
But seasons of alien weather
Have ended in longings for sleep.
Pale purpose and perishing passion,
With never a farewell to say,
Die down into sobs of suppression;
The burden is, “Passing away!
Passing away!”
We loved the soft tangle of tresses,
The lips that were fain and afraid.
And the silence of far wildernesses,
With their dower of splendour and shade!
For faces of sweetness we waited,
And days of delight and delay,
Ere Time and its voices were mated
To a voice that sighs, “Passing away!
Passing away!”
O years interwoven with stories
Of strong aspirations and high,
How fleet and how false were the glories
That lived in your limited sky!
Here, sitting by ruinous altars
Of Promise, what word shall we say
To the speech that the rainy wind falters,
Whose burden is, “Passing away!
Passing away!”
poem by Henry Kendall
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Related quotes
Passing Through
I saw jesus on the cross on a hill called calvary
Do you hate mankind for what they done to you?
He said, talk of love not hate, things to do - its getting late.
Ive so little time and Im only passing through.
Passing through, passing through.
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue,
Glad that I ran into you.
Tell the people that you saw me passing through.
I saw adam leave the garden with an apple in his hand,
I said now youre out, what are you going to do?
Plant some crops and pray for rain, maybe raise a little cane.
Im an orphan now, and Im only passing through.
Passing through, passing through ...
I was with washington at valley ford, shivering in the snow.
I said, how come the men here suffer like they do?
Men will suffer, men will fight, even die for what is right
Even though they know theyre only passing through
Passing through, passing through ...
I was with franklin roosevelts side on the night before he died.
He said, one world must come out of world war two (ah, the fool)
Yankee, russian, white or tan, he said, a man is still a man.
Were all on one road, and were only passing through.
Passing through, passing through ...
(lets do it one more time)
Passing through, passing through ...
song performed by by Leonard Cohen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Over Our Heads
I don't think you love me
Confusion settling in
I don't think I'll be staying
Around here, anymore
There's no question that I love you
But I'm living in my own time
And here I am debating
Whether I'm wrong, or right
Who am I
To make a judgement of
Your life
I'm only
Passing by
Passing by
All the promises I gave you
Helped me to survive
And all the times I wished you'd save me
You were the love of my life
Who am I
To make a judgement of
Your life
I'm only
Passing by
Passing by
Who am I
To make a judgement of
Your life
I'm only
Passing by
Passing by
Who am I
To make a judgement of
Your life
I'm only
Passing by
Passing by
I'm only passing by ...
song performed by by Zero 7
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Passing The Time
By ginger baker and mike taylor
It is a cold winter,
Away is the songbird.
And gone is her traveller,
She waits at home.
The sun is on holiday,
No leaves on the trees.
The animals sleep
While cold north wind blows.
The snowflakes are falling,
The roof a white blanket.
Theres ice on the window pane,
She waits alone.
She sits by the fireside,
The room is so warm.
Her children are sleeping,
She waits in their home.
Passing the time.
Passing the time.
Everything fine.
Passing the time, drinking red wine.
Passing the time, drinking red wine.
Passing the time, drinking red wine.
Passing the time, everything fine.
Passing the time, drinking red wine.
Passing the time, everything fine.
Passing the time, wine and time rhyme.
Passing the time.
It is a long winter,
Away is the summer.
She waits for her traveller
So far from home.
She sits by the fireside,
The room is so warm.
Theres ice on the window,
Shes lonely alone.
song performed by by Eric Clapton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Passing The Time
By ginger baker and mike taylor
It is a cold winter,
Away is the songbird.
And gone is her traveller,
She waits at home.
The sun is on holiday,
No leaves on the trees.
The animals sleep
While cold north wind blows.
The snowflakes are falling,
The roof a white blanket.
Theres ice on the window pane,
She waits alone.
She sits by the fireside,
The room is so warm.
Her children are sleeping,
She waits in their home.
Passing the time.
Passing the time.
Everything fine.
Passing the time, drinking red wine.
Passing the time, drinking red wine.
Passing the time, drinking red wine.
Passing the time, everything fine.
Passing the time, drinking red wine.
Passing the time, everything fine.
Passing the time, wine and time rhyme.
Passing the time.
It is a long winter,
Away is the summer.
She waits for her traveller
So far from home.
She sits by the fireside,
The room is so warm.
Theres ice on the window,
Shes lonely alone.
song performed by by Cream
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Stardust
Ah high flyin highway mist
Tran
-ce-
(s)
-lucent
i
q
u
i
d of
S(s) P(p) A(a) C (c) E(e)
stardusts orange vapor: : : :
...now receding...off...towards some faraway
fiery conquest …
the horizons invisible duel
Roadside window passing reflections
like a double edge sword of silk and flame
over the old corn row country road
Love's unseen aura penetrating
skies stained in the bloodshed's wake
(opaline trails of light)
beauty's opus of endless passing
illuminating over the old orb of
oceanic onus and
triumphant bliss....inner emptiness
passing winds pass through
a passing window of a passing car
full of sweet sorrowful
passing passengers
passing land passing faces
passing through the beautiful
void of imaginary places
one
with
all
such
ness
true
self
beyond
individual
senses
(
(nonexistence
only
consciousness
aware of
it-
-self)
(non-)
material
dream
a
n
d
thought
(Un)
Born
passing through
the solid world of
sperm and womb
Transgressing boundary lines -
Entering a state of absolute
(nothing)
ness
poem by Gregory Allen Uhan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Passing away, saith the World
Passing away, saith the World, passing away:
Chances, beauty and youth, sapp'd day by day:
Thy life never continueth in one stay.
Is the eye waxen dim, is the dark hair changing to grey
That hath won neither laurel nor bay?
I shall clothe myself in Spring and bud in May:
Thou, root-stricken, shalt not rebuild thy decay
On my bosom for aye.
Then I answer'd: Yea.
Passing away, saith my Soul, passing away:
With its burden of fear and hope, of labour and play,
Hearken what the past doth witness and say:
Rust in thy gold, a moth is in thine array,
A canker is in thy bud, thy leaf must decay.
At midnight, at cockcrow, at morning, one certain day
Lo, the Bridegroom shall come and shall not delay:
Watch thou and pray.
Then I answer'd: Yea.
Passing away, saith my God, passing away:
Winter passeth after the long delay:
New grapes on the vine, new figs on the tender spray,
Turtle calleth turtle in Heaven's May.
Though I tarry, wait for Me, trust Me, watch and pray.
Arise, come away, night is past and lo it is day,
My love, My sister, My spouse, thou shalt hear Me say.
Then I answer'd: Yea.
poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti
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Roundel
She's passing fair; but so demure is she,
So quiet is her gown, so smooth her hair,
That few there are who note her and agree
She's passing fair.
Yet when was ever beauty held more rare
Than simple heart and maiden modesty?
What fostered charms with virtue could compare?
Alas, no lover ever stops to see;
The best that she is offered is the air.
Yet- if the passing mark is minus D-
She's passing fair.
poem by Dorothy Parker
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My Death
My death waits like an old roue
So confident, Ill go his way
Whistle to him
And the passing time...
My death waits like a Bible truth
At the funeral of my youth
We drank for that -
The passing time..
My death waits like
A witch at night
As surely as our love is right
Lets not think of that or the passing time
But whatever lies behind the door
There is nothing much to do...
Angel or devil, I dont care
For in front of that door...
There is you.
My death waits like a beggar blind
Who sees the world through an unlit mind
Throw him a dime
For the passing time...
My death waits to allow my friends
A few good times
Before it ends
Lets not think about
And the passing time..
My death waits there, between your thighs,
Your cool fingers will close my eyes,
Lets not think about the passing time.
For whatever lies behind the door
There is nothing much to do...
Angel or devil, I dont care
For in front of that door...
There is you.
My death waits there among the leaves
In magicians mysterious sleeves,
Rabbits and dogs, and the passing time...
My death waits there, among the flowers
Where the blackest shadows cowers
So lets pick lilacs
The passing time..
My death waits there, in a double bed
Sails of oblivion and my head
Lets not think about
The passing time.
But whatever lies behind the door
There is nothing much to do...
Angel or devil, I dont care
For, in front of that door...
There is you.
song performed by by David Bowie
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Better Life
(lyrics by arnold)
(music by roberts, arnold, harrell & henderson)
Im about to be on the floor
Again, surely youre gonna
Find me here
Im about to sleep until the end
Of time, drug I take gonna wake
My fear right now
Im passing away on to the
Better life
Im passing away on
To the better
Im about to see just how far i
Can fly, surely your gonna
Break my fall
Im about to run as fast as i
Can, head long into that wall
This time
Im passing away on to the
Better life
Im passing away on
To the better
On to the better life
On to the better
Im about to be on the floor
Again, surely youre gonna
Find me here
Im about to sleep until the
End of time, drug I take
Gonna wake my
Fear right now
Im passing away on to the
Better life
Im passing away on
To the better
Im passing away on to the
Better life
Im passing away on
To the better
song performed by by 3 Doors Down
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Villanelle
A dainty thing's the Villanelle.
Sly, musical, a jewel in rhyme,
It serves its purpose passing well.
A doublc-clappered silver bell
That must be made to clink in chime,
A dainty thing's the Villanelle;
And if you wish to flute a spell,
Or ask a meeting 'neath the lime,
It serves its purpose passing well.
You must not ask of it the swell
Of organs grandiose and sublime-
A dainty thing's the Villanelle;
And, filled with sweetness, as a shell
Is filled with sound, and launched in time,
It serves its purpose passing well.
Still fair to see and good to smell
As in the quaintness of its prime,
A dainty thing's the Villanelle,
It serves its purpose passing well.
poem by William Ernest Henley
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A Dainty Thing's The Villanelle
A DAINTY thing's the Villanelle,
Sly, musical, a jewel in rhyme,
It serves its purpose passing well.
A double-clappered silver bell
That must be made to clink in chime,
A dainty thing's the Villanelle;
And if you wish to flute a spell,
Or ask a meeting 'neath the lime,
It serves its purpose passing well.
You must not ask of it the swell
Of organs grandiose and sublime--
A dainty thing's the Villanelle;
And, filled with sweetness, as a shell
Is filled with sound, and launched in time,
It serves its purpose passing well.
Still fair to see and good to smell
As in the quaintness of its prime,
A dainty thing's the Villanelle,
It serves its purpose passing well.
poem by William Ernest Henley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Ships that Pass in the Night
Out in the sky the great dark clouds are massing;
I look far out into the pregnant night,
Where I can hear the solemn booming gun
And catch the gleaming of a random light,
That tells me that the ship I seek
is passing, passing.
My tearful eyes my soul's deep hurt are glassing;
For I would hail and check that ship of ships.
I stretch my hands imploring, cry aloud,
My voice falls dead a foot from mine own lips,
And but its ghost doth reach that vessel, passing, passing.
O Earth, O Sky, O Ocean, both surpassing,
O heart of mine, O soul that dreads the dark!
Is there no hope for me? Is there no way
That I may sight and check that speeding bark
Which out of sight and sound is passing, passing?
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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Passing by
passing by
when I saw your face
I knew
I will be passing by
again and again
like this
untill you will notice me
...passing by.
poem by Marites C. Cayetano
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Just Passing Time
I like the way that you come
Running up to me
It sort of reminds me of
Black and white movies
And I will put a white dress on and
By the window wait
For my richard gere to come
*or
For my marlin brando to come
Crashing through the gate
Sometimes I talk on the phone
Until my ears are numb
My friends all say its because
I cant face anyone
I know Im just passing time
Im just passing time
Saw you walking downtown
To the video store
Saw you with another girl
Im sure she was a whore
You say she means nothing to you
Thus nothing to me
Excuse me while I get drunk
On too much bad t.v.
Sitting here and Im waiting
For your mouth to open up
And start overflowing
Like jesus cup
And Im just passing time
Im just passing time
song performed by by Jewel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Time Of My Life
Sometimes I'm just thinking,
that I got the best time of my life
I've been with my girl for seven years now
and I got the sweetest dog that,
trust me forever
After school I took my chances,
continued to do the things I love
And now I find that I was right,
I'm 26 now still I
do what I want to,
And the days are passing by,
and now I realize that I've got the time of my life
Time of my life
and the days are passing by...
Now I sit here thinking,
about the best time of my life.
so many years I've been with my band now
and four of my best friends they still
trust me forever
And still the days are passing by
now I realize, still I've got the time of my life
Time of my life
and the days are passing by... etc.
song performed by by H-BlockX
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Give You Everything
(l. stansfield/i. devaney)
Chorus:
With my heart I give you everything
Everything you ever need
Everything you need to be strong
In my mind I can justify
Why I never tell a lie
cos youre the only one that I want
That I want
Oh my darling what we have is
Something good and something true
Theres no other in my life
Could ever take the place of you
I do my best to make you happy
With everything I say and do
And you know I want you with me
Every minute every second too
With every passing day Ill tell you
And with every passing moment I will say
Chorus
Tell me baby can I love you
till the life runs out of me
I dont want nobody else
cos youre the only thing I see
Take my mind take my body
And dont you ever ever stop
cos theres no love we can discover
That is bigger than the one weve got
With every passing day iii tell you
Find with every passing moment I will say
Chorus
song performed by by Lisa Stansfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Silent Pages
Another passing moment
writes a line in the firmament
And the passing days
Write their own verse of phrases
Another passing year
Writes another stanza,
Of an episode
Whether an elegy or an ode
Every passing generation
a new chapter adds to the collection
Every passing age,
filling another volume of pages
Every thought and deed
known or hid,
that lived and living lives articulate,
hath but no exact duplicate;
a draft manuscript,
a record accurate and fair
without corrections, to keep
in a great library somewhere
A labor in quiet, silent and solemn
the never ending book of poems
being written without hands
and the imprints thereof burned
forever into memories
and left as evidence or legacies
For posterity?
Or to present one day?
The silent words may not always rhyme
Nor make sense
But then musical chimes
of a million spheres
make as much sense…
singin’ in the universe
…but then only to the author
or the composer
alone, perhaps?
poem by Lyre Bleus
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Orange Leaf
Orange leaf passing by
The air is stiff
And cold
Orange leaf passing by
Flying over the snow
Orange leaf passing by
Riding over the snow.
Past the oak tree
The old house is silent
Orange leaf
Fly with the wind
And snow
Fly past the frozen lake
Fish sleeping beneath
Its crystal surface
Orange leaf
fly to the sea
And wait
To be picked up
And carried off
Orange leaf passing by
The air is stiff
And cold
Orange leaf passing by
Flying over the snow
poem by Jesse love
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The Passing Moon
I'm all here and now I sit before the future reader's of this
meaningless text, for all it says is that I am here
no stronger than you, no weaker or finer or smaller
but just here, as a human, as a mind who cannot
sleep through the thoughts, sleep through the day
that has occurred, for a day that has occurred is already gone
not passing me through this moment, but gone
for good.
Passed us all in a span of eternity
was it worth it to think of a passing day, when today is the
day passing us all when yesterday is now passing our minds
wasting away I say, however, more and more I feel it's useless
However honesty is taken, i know now that it is here, it is
capable of doing torturous and amazing things but in the end
honesty is the best because nothing gets left out
and here I am, honestly saying, that today will soon be gone
and for once I can see through the glass and the flesh and the light
to say what I feel because the night will soon be gone and we must
not ever waste this away, I Love You my darling.
poem by Christopher Michael McGarry
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Cherry Blossoms Adrift
Pink petals passing
Scents above so high
Painted porcelain perfection
Blossoms caress the sky
Swaying silent shroud
Suitors strolling by
Pink petals passing
Lover's gentle sigh
Pastel hues falling
Slow fluttering grace
Pink petals passing
Lining streams in lace
Pink petals passing
Smoothest transit by
Soft essence floating
In most subtle lullaby
Inducing springtime slumber
Upon a satin shore
Sailing with the current
Pink petals pass before
(1999)
poem by Mary Fumento
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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