A Psalm of Life
Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solenm main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Voices Of The Night : A Psalm Of Life
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream! -
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The Psalm Of Life
What the heart of the young man said to the psalmist
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!--
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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A Parody on “A Psalm of Life”
Life is real, life is earnest,
And the shell is not its pen –
“Egg thou art, and egg remainest”
Was not spoken of the hen.
Art is long and Time is fleeting,
Be our bills then sharpened well,
And not like muffled drums be beating
On the inside of the shell.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the great barnyard of life,
Be not like those lazy cattle!
Be a rooster in the strife!
Lives of roosters all remind us,
We can make our lives sublime,
And when roasted, leave behind us,
Hen tracks on the sands of time.
Hen tracks that perhaps another
Chicken drooping in the rain,
Some forlorn and henpecked brother,
When he sees, shall crow again.
poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes
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A Psalm of Labouring Life
Tell me not, in doctored numbers,
Life is but a name for work!
For the labour that encumbers
Me I wish that I could shirk.
Life is phony! Life is rotten!
And the wealthy have no soul;
Why should you be picking cotton,
Why should I be mining coal?
Not employment and not sorrow
Is my destined end or way;
But to act that each tomorrow
Finds me idler than today.
Work is long, and plutes are lunching;
Money is the thing I crave;
But my heart continues punching
Funeral time-clocks to the grave.
In the world's uneven battle,
In the swindle known as life,
Be not like the stockyard's cattle--
Stick your partner with the knife!
Trust no boss, however pleasant!
Capital is but a curse!
Strike,--strike in the living present!
Fill, oh fill the bulging purse.!
Lives of strikers all remind us
We can make our lives a crime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Bills for double overtime.
Charges that, perhaps another,
Working for a stingy ten
Bucks a day, some mining brother
Seeing, shall walk out again.
Let us, then, be up and striking,
Discontent with all of it;
Still undoing, still disliking,
Learn to labour--and to quit.
poem by Franklin P. Adams
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What The Heart Of The Poet Said To The 'Bulletin
Tell me not in future numbers
That our thought becomes inane,
That our metre halts and lumbers,
When the Wattle blooms again.
Lies of great men all remind us
We can challenge and restrain
Such attempts to bluff and blind us,
When the Wattle blooms again.
Therefore take our gage of battle!
Freedom reasserts her reign:
We are not dumb, driven, cattle
When the Wattle blooms again.
Doubtless ANSWERS, weekly, daily,
Adding to his heap of slain,
Feels a jar, when Nature gaily
Bids the Wattle bloom again.
Nocent censor! time thou learnest
All this contract may contain —
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
But the Wattle blooms again.
Time may change this loyal journal
From religious to profane,
But a rhythmic law eternal
Makes the Wattle bloom again.
Trust no Flossie, howe'er pleasant,
Sweeps are treacherous, totes are vain;
Banks and scrip are evanescent,
But the Wattle blooms again.
Cultivate no fair ideal;
Own no country-seat in Spain;
All these things must go to Sheol,
Whil'st the Wattle blooms again.
Czar, and Pope, and Dei Gratia
Pass like phantoms of the brain
Never so our bright acacia,
For the Wattle blooms again.
Thus you see, austere and lonely,
Sailing o'er Life's solemn main,
One great fact is certain only —
That the Wattle blooms again.
poem by Joseph Furphy
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Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.
quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Pilgrims
Who is your lady of love, O ye that pass
Singing? and is it for sorrow of that which was
That ye sing sadly, or dream of what shall be?
For gladly at once and sadly it seems ye sing.
--Our lady of love by you is unbeholden;
For hands she hath none, nor eyes, nor lips, nor golden
Treasure of hair, nor face nor form; but we
That love, we know her more fair than anything.
--Is she a queen, having great gifts to give?
--Yea, these; that whoso hath seen her shall not live
Except he serve her sorrowing, with strange pain,
Travail and bloodshedding and bitterer tears;
And when she bids die he shall surely die.
And he shall leave all things under the sky
And go forth naked under sun and rain
And work and wait and watch out all his years.
--Hath she on earth no place of habitation?
--Age to age calling, nation answering nation,
Cries out, Where is she? and there is none to say;
For if she be not in the spirit of men,
For if in the inward soul she hath no place,
In vain they cry unto her, seeking her face,
In vain their mouths make much of her; for they
Cry with vain tongues, till the heart lives again.
--O ye that follow, and have ye no repentance?
For on your brows is written a mortal sentence,
An hieroglyph of sorrow, a fiery sign,
That in your lives ye shall not pause or rest,
Nor have the sure sweet common love, nor keep
Friends and safe days, nor joy of life nor sleep.
--These have we not, who have one thing, the divine
Face and clear eyes of faith and fruitful breast.
--And ye shall die before your thrones be won.
--Yea, and the changed world and the liberal sun
Shall move and shine without us, and we lie
Dead; but if she too move on earth and live,
But if the old world with all the old irons rent
Laugh and give thanks, shall we be not content?
Nay, we shall rather live, we shall not die,
Life being so little and death so good to give.
--And these men shall forget you.--Yea, but we
Shall be a part of the earth and the ancient sea,
And heaven-high air august, and awful fire,
And all things good; and no man's heart shall beat
But somewhat in it of our blood once shed
Shall quiver and quicken, as now in us the dead
Blood of men slain and the old same life's desire
Plants in their fiery footprints our fresh feet.
--But ye that might be clothed with all things pleasant,
Ye are foolish that put off the fair soft present,
That clothe yourselves with the cold future air;
When mother and father and tender sister and brother
And the old live love that was shall be as ye,
Dust, and no fruit of loving life shall be.
--She shall be yet who is more than all these were,
Than sister or wife or father unto us or mother.
--Is this worth life, is this, to win for wages?
Lo, the dead mouths of the awful grey-grown ages,
The venerable, in the past that is their prison,
In the outer darkness, in the unopening grave,
Laugh, knowing how many as ye now say have said,
How many, and all are fallen, are fallen and dead:
Shall ye dead rise, and these dead have not risen?
--Not we but she, who is tender and swift to save.
--Are ye not weary and faint not by the way,
Seeing night by night devoured of day by day,
Seeing hour by hour consumed in sleepless fire?
Sleepless: and ye too, when shall ye too sleep?
--We are weary in heart and head, in hands and feet,
And surely more than all things sleep were sweet,
Than all things save the inexorable desire
Which whoso knoweth shall neither faint nor weep.
--Is this so sweet that one were fain to follow?
Is this so sure where all men's hopes are hollow.
Even this your dream, that by much tribulation
Ye shall make whole flawed hearts, and bowed necks straight?
--Nay, though our life were blind, our death were fruitless,
Not therefore were the whole world's high hope rootless;
But man to man, nation would turn to nation,
And the old life live, and the old great world be great.
--Pass on then and pass by us and let us be,
For what light think ye after life to see?
And if the world fare better will ye know?
And if man triumph who shall seek you and say?
--Enough of light is this for one life's span,
That all men born are mortal, but not man:
And we men bring death lives by night to sow,
That man may reap and eat and live by day.
poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne
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Darling
Hey my darling don’t be so sad
It’s not good but it’s not that bad
You’ve lost just one battle
Rest of the war is yet to be fought
You’ve to save the things from being distraught
Oh my angel don’t feel so low
Bring back your smile that shining glow
What is past and that is gone
Those were just bad days, bad phase of your life
Life is calling you forget all those strifes
O my sweetheart please don’t cry
Don’t lose your heart without a try
You’ve few dead dreams
Now put them in to the grave
Stand up with the time and be a little brave
Darling darling! Don’t look at the dust
You have to keep the faith & your trust
Just one wrong move
Now get ready for the right
You’re not alone baby, together we’ll fight
Yes my sweet lady I’m with you
My love kisses you in everything you do
This is the time for new beginning
Just go ahead and fight with no fear & aghast
And I will take care of your broken heart
poem by Sourav RCY
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Children's Playground In The City
THIS is a place where men laid their dead,
Each with his life-tale of good or ill;
Here prayers were murmured and hot tears shed,
And passionate anguish moaned its fill.
Silent now is each voice that cried,
And the tears that were wept have all been dried
In the dust; and dust are the hearts that bled
With hopeless longing for hearts grown still.
Dead and forgotten! for Death, requiter
Of love, taught Memory how to forget!
The love that remembered them died. Grow brighter,
Oh, dim grave-garden, with dead hearts set!
Room for the small flying feet to pass,
The feet of the children over the grass!
The dead, if they knew it, would feel them lighter
Than the weight of a stone that no tears make wet.
We must die too, and the grief that will live
Must die as surely--death comes to all;
But you who come after--let Nature give
To our graves her tears, to our dust her pall:
Let her hide us away in her cold broad breast,
Let us be forgotten, and be at rest,
And over our heads let the great world strive,
And the children's voices carol and call.
If your heart on the flower of remembrance is set,
There is one way to pluck it--and only one:
Dare you ask your country not to forget
A name that needs to be graved on stone?
By grief, strife, sacrifice, scorn of fame,
You may grave on the people's hearts your name,
Or your name may die, and your soul live yet
In the cause you died for--the work you have done.
poem by Edith Nesbit
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The Missing Gold
As smart as a snkae and as nimble as a rat,
As slow as a tortoise and as fast as a deer,
I am a hero from zero;
As lovely as a child and as romantic as a kiss,
As lonely as the forest and as soft as the wool,
My door is always open to you all;
And like the brooks of April rain in the forest of my home.
She is gone out of my hands but,
One day i will find her again to sing the love song together;
Because she cares more about you and i do care about her too.
Of her love so perfect and so sweet but,
One day i will find her again to know more about her muse.
Time took her away from me and i can't easily forget about her,
And like the first found bride of yester-eve;
But profane the soil now more.
I will surely find this missing gold one day,
And i will be a here in the strife;
So let the dead past bury its dead.
I am the one she will always remember in her life,
Ans of her heart of roses full of love;
But the art of loving her is like the time fleeting around my mind!
And the sound i hear now is like the dead that slumbers,
But i will act in living present with the care of her muse.
She will always be in my dreams and like,
The voices of the night when lovers meet;
But tomorrow we will meet again on this love gone too soon.
I am the true lover of her heart and she really knows that,
And like the fingerprints on the walls of love as exposed to all;
But love will always find a way on this issue at hand.
I have the golden key for her heart because,
The boundless wisdom makes the flowers of poesy bloom!
For she is all that the muse of love gave to me and,
I will always remember the days with her together.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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When I Think Of Myself As Dead
WHEN I THINK OF MYSELF AS DEAD
When I think of myself as dead
I think of what it will mean for my loved ones
I pray they will not lose heart and hope because of it-
When my father died my brother lost hope-
When I think of myself dead
I wonder about God and God�s purpose
Is there really an afterlife?
What could it mean?
Will I meet again those who have gone before me?
When I think of myself dead
I think about a body in the ground
Worms eating it, cold paining it-
When I think of myself as dead
I think about never feeling anything again-
When I think about myself as dead
I think about the work I have left behind
And whether it will mean anything to anyone
And for how long-
When I think of myself as dead
I think of all the memories that will go with me
I think about nothing and more nothing and the end of the universe-
When I think of myself as dead
I think of life going on down below
Life with all its beauty and pain
And I pray and I pray again
My loved ones will be able to manage and make their own lives still happy
When I think of myself as dead
I pray to G-d
That somehow in some way
It will not be the end for me forever.
When I think of myself as dead
I think of myself as living again somehow
In a way I cannot now know-
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Trust no future, however pleasant
Let the dead past bury its dead
Act, - act in the living Present
Heart within and God overhead.
quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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One Struggle More, And I Am Free
One struggle more, and I am free
From pangs that rend my heart in twain;
One last long sigh to love and thee,
Then back to busy life again.
It suits me well to mingle now
With things that never pleased before!
Though every joy is fled below,
What future grief can touch me more?
Then bring me wine, the banquet bring;
Man was not form'd to live alone:
I'll be that light, unmeaning thing
That smiles with all, and weeps with none.
It was not thus in days more dear,
It never would have been, but thou
Hast fled, and left me lonely here;
Thou'rt nothing--all are nothing now.
In vain my lyre would lightly breathe!
The smile that sorrow fain would wear
But mocks the woe that lurks beneath,
Like roses o'er a sepulchre.
Though gay companions o'er the bowl
Dispel awhile the sense of ill:
Though pleasure fires the maddening soul,
The heart,--the heart is lonely still!
On many a lone and lovely night
It sooth'd to gaze upon the sky;
For then I deem'd the heavenly light
Shone sweetly on thy pensive eye:
And oft I thought at Cynthia's noon,
When sailing o'er the Ægean wave,
'Now Thyrza gazes on that moon'
Alas, it gleam'd upon her grave!
When stretch'd on fever's sleepless bed,
And sickness shrunk my throbbing veins,
'Tis comfort still,' I faintly said,
'That Thyrza cannot know my pains:'
Like freedom to the time-worn slave,
A boon 'tis idle then to give,
Relenting Nature vainly gave
My life, when Thyrza ceased to live!
My Thyrza's pledge in better days,
When love and life alike were new!
How different now thou meet'st my gaze!
How tinged by time with sorrow's hue!
The heart that gave itself with thee
Is silent--ah, were mine as still!
Though cold as e'en the dead can be,
It feels, it sickens with the chill.
Thou bitter pledge! thou mournful token!
Though painful, welcome to my breast!
Still, still preserve that love unbroken,
Or break the heart to which thou'rt press'd.
Time tempers love, but not removes,
More hallow'd when its hope is fled:
Oh! what are thousand living loves
To that which cannot quit the dead?
Life is a Journey; Not a Destination
The time has come
To say good bye
I gave it my all
I really did try
I took your heart
Which I broke in two
I tried to fix it
I did all I could do
Your eyes once warm
Now dead and cold
Your words once soft
Now cutting and bold
I became the man
You knew I could be
But now it's too late
These changes you won't see
You live in my past
Not here in today
Tomorrow doesn't matter
Our dreams washed away
You need to be happy
So I need to go
These changes to you
Are only a show
I bid you farewell
I wish you the best
I hope you find peace
I hope you find rest
I hope you find life
How you want it to be
I hope you find love
Even if not with me
My journey continues
Even if I'm alone
My Lord God will guide me
To wherever is home
For He knows my heart
And he knows my soul
In him I do trust
I am not alone
For the day will come
When I know his plan
I once was a boy
But now I'm a man
Even though I feel weak
I know I am strong
My path it is narrow
My path is so long
So I bid you farewell
And I hope I will find
That your path is not different
You're just two steps behind
For this is life is so short
And I have no control
My one living wish
Is to be one with your soul
It may not be tomorrow
But in the next life
Eternity together
As husband and wife
Take care my sweet princess
Take care my best friend
I will love you forever
As time has no end
On my path I continue
My heart it does know
Where God wants to take me
So with Him I will go
poem by Ryan Lee Morris
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Why Did You Leave Me
If only you could see the tears
In the world you left behind
If only you could hear my heart
Just one more time
Even when I close my eyes
There is an image of your face
Once again I come to realize
You have lost that I cant replace
Soul then die
Its keeping for the lonely
Since the day that your were gone
Why did you leave me
Soul then die
In my heart you were the only
And your memory lives on
Why did you leave me
Soul then die
Walking down the streets on nothing will
Where our love was young and free
Cant believe just what an empty place
It has come to be
I would give my life away
If it can only be the safe
Cas I could still the voice inside of me
That is calling out your name
Soul then die
Its keeping for the lonely
Since the day that your were gone
Why did you leave me
Soul then die
In my heart you were the only
And your memory lives on
Why did you leave me
Soul then die
Time will never change the things
That you told me
And after all we mean to be
Love would bring us back to you and me
If only you could see...
Soul then die(soul then die)
Its keeping for the lonely(for the lonely)
Since the day that your were gone
Why did you leave me
Soul then die
In my heart you were the only
And your memory lives on
Why did you leave me
Soul then die...
song performed by by Westlife
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dandelion
Wind spread cotton wings
white and light
and it's you try to fly
away from this ground
A field of dandelions
You traveling by the air
With the emotions there
A will to find a strength
Before grow as a new dandelion
I know u will be a brave one
Time to discover earth in your lifetime
Brave just like other dandelion
Great to know you will be fine
Cause i hope u always fine
Forbidden line is not exist
You free across the mist
At least for you, dandelion
Flying freely and not afraid
The choice you take
It's not wrong to be brave
I know one day you will find a place
Somewhere for you growing strong and flowering grace
Perhaps we don't know where but you deserve something
Like dancing in the air you will cheer with happiness
There's still a long journey
Before a seed to find a site
A basement to grow
Taller and restart great life,
Bear everything all bright
Just like other dandelions
Nobody wanted or invite hurt
But poison comes with remedy
O Friend make easy stand
Close friend will never end
Understanding is the sand
For you dandelion growing strength
White wings make beautiful land
It's been a while but i know
One day you will travel far from here
We will always keep in touch
That not much what u ask but it is a must
Because you my friend is not like a dust
To left and ignore after the past
Sometimes hello dont need a bye
But now you must fly and chase your dream
As friend always be there and understand
Without hands to hold or eyes to see
and i am glad u know i always there
and i always be there
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : Theme; Courage in dream: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
Originally written for a friend, it was long time not read
but it's time for me to share with all...As i know our life
sometimes like a dandelion we have will to fly/got to leave,
Finding the best ground to restart life with more passion.
Life could be hard but i think we can learn from the dandelions
never give up, as we keep fly with small wings before
find a land we desired...a dream will come true but
time will tell when...
If you have a dream, be brave to land the dream :)
This not using friendship as the main theme (even it was included) but it more on a wish of a dream to land a future..
wherever you are life is always created for you, everyone deserves it
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
poem by Unwritten Soul
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Dreaming Reality
In the real world, as in dreams,
Nothing is quite as it seems.
To see what we have never seen,
To be what we have never been,
To shed the chrysalis, learn to fly,
Depart the earth, kiss the sky,
To be reborn, be someone new,
Is this a dream or is it true?
Is my life in fact a dream?
Are things not always as they seem?
Are daylight hours reality,
Or do I dream eternally?
In the dream world or the real,
We cannot know what we can't feel.
What is not a dream by day,
Comes to us at night to stay.
Dreams - vivid colors of life,
Or fleeting, obscure, murky strife?
Façade of reality brings,
To the mind, exquisite things:
Love, regret, memories, cheer,
Imagination, even fear.
The lives we live appear, it seems,
To be a dream within a dream.
A long dream of hopeless sorrow,
I'll dream my life again tomorrow.
(27 February 2005)
poem by Richard Stamper
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Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Yesterday I done things that pleased others
Today I do things that pleased myself
Tomorrow is the day I change what I have done wrong
Yesterday I hate things that hurt me
Today I shall change things under my control
Tomorrow I shall do more that I can envisioned
Yesterday I had past my youth era
Today I am wiser than yesterday
Tomorrow I will become a legend because I dare to dream big
Happy are those whom appreciated what yesterday had brought
Happy are those whom plan for things to do today
For tomorrow what might bring us is eternal happiness and peace
Yesterday Time flies so fast without realising we are already dead
Today Wasting our time is wasting our life
Tomorrow Time is valueless and priceless
Let yesterday remind me of the sweet memories of yester years
Let today be my reminder of treasuring our life
For tomorrow may bring uncertainty onto our life
So let us treasure and value our time
Time becomes priceless when we take things for granted
Time becomes meaningless when we face our final moment of our dead
Time becomes tomorrow heaven when we treasure the present moment.
© 2011 Lawrence Hiung
poem by Lawrence Hiung
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Whittier
NOT o'er thy dust let there be spent
The gush of maudlin sentiment;
Such drift as that is not for thee,
Whose life and deeds and songs agree,
Sublime in their simplicity.
Nor shall the sorrowing tear be shed.
O singer sweet, thou art not dead!
In spite of time's malignant chill,
With living fire thy songs shall thrill,
And men shall say, 'He liveth still!'
Great poets never die, for Earth
Doth count their lives of too great worth
To lose them from her treasured store;
So shalt thou live for evermore —
Though far thy form from mortal ken —
Deep in the hearts and minds of men.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Carry on, carry on, though your burdens you still bear.
When you can sleep and not feel rested,
when your eyes are enough to haunt the dead.
When your memories of mind, heart, soul and flesh can ache,
and when the sounds of the living are beyond what you can take.
Take not your own life into your hands,
for failure will wreck thy heart in two.
Heaven and Hell can each wrestle for a piece,
and it will not have been worth what you could do.
Lift up your tired and weary hands,
and place them on the plane of your soul.
Make this a life worth living one more time,
make this whispered future more than just a goal.