At Ithaca
Over and back,
the long waves crawl
and track the sand with foam;
night darkens, and the sea
takes on that desperate tone
of dark that wives put on
when all their love is done.
Over and back,
the tangled thread falls slack,
over and up and on;
over and all is sewn;
now while I bind the end,
I wish some fiery friend
would sweep impetuously
these fingers from the loom.
My weary thoughts
play traitor to my soul,
just as the toil is over;
swift while the woof is whole,
turn now, my spirit, swift,
and tear the pattern there,
the flowers so deftly wrought,
the borders of sea blue,
the sea-blue coast of home.
The web was over-fair,
that web of pictures there,
enchantments that I thought
he had, that I had lost;
weaving his happiness
within the stitching frame,
weaving his fire and frame,
I thought my work was done,
I prayed that only one
of those that I had spurned
might stoop and conquer this
long waiting with a kiss.
But each time that I see
my work so beautifully
inwoven and would keep
the picture and the whole,
Athene steels my soul.
Slanting across my brain,
I see as shafts of rain
his chariot and his shafts,
I see the arrows fall,
I see the lord who moves
like Hector lord of love,
I see him matched with fair
bright rivals, and I see
those lesser rivals flee.
poem by Hilda Doolittle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Fatima
O LOVE, Love, Love! O withering might!
O sun, that from thy noonday height
Shudderest when I strain my sight,
Throbbing thro' all thy heat and light,
Lo, falling from my constant mind,
Lo, parch'd and wither'd, deaf and blind,
I whirl like leaves in roaring wind.
Last night I wasted hateful hours
Below the city's eastern towers:
I thirsted for the brooks, the showers:
I roll'd among the tender flowers:
I crush'd them on my breast, my mouth;
I look'd athwart the burning drouth
Of that long desert to the south.
Last night, when some one spoke his name,
From my swift blood that went and came
A thousand little shafts of flame
Were shiver'd in my narrow frame.
O Love, O fire! once he drew
With one long kiss my whole soul thro'
My lips, as sunlight drinketh dew.
Before he mounts the hill, I know
He cometh quickly: from below
Sweet gales, as from deep gardens, blow
Before him, striking on my brow.
In my dry brain my spirit soon,
Down-deepening from swoon to swoon,
Faints like a daled morning moon.
The wind sounds like a silver wire,
And from beyond the noon a fire
Is pour'd upon the hills, and nigher
The skies stoop down in their desire;
And, isled in sudden seas of light,
My heart, pierced thro' with fierce delight,
Bursts into blossom in his sight.
My whole soul waiting silently,
All naked in a sultry sky,
Droops blinded with his shining eye:
I will possess him or will die.
I will grow round him in his place,
Grow, live, die looking on his face,
Die, dying clasp'd in his embrace.
poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Water My Thirsty Soul
Can the rain fall from cloudless skies
Can your tears fall from hardened eyes
I cried out to the Lord, in my time of need
I prayed for the rain, my soul to feed
And my God, who is never far away
Opened up His heart as He listened to me pray
And from heaven on high He sent down the rain
There's a river of grace that's gonna wash away the pain
And out of my heart flows a river so deep
My once dry eyes they now continually weep
And everywhere the river flows there's grace from above
And everyone it touches they are filled with His love
This rain that falls, it falls from endless blue skies
It fills my empty heart and falls down from my eyes
The Lord Himself sent down the rain from above
And now the cloudless skies are filled with clouds of His love
So if it's rain your looking for, this moment, today
Wont you fall down on your knees and cry out and pray
The Lord of every rain dropp that falls down from above
Will sweep you down the river to an ocean of love
This ocean is boundless, its forever and a day
And in this sea of beauty you will hear the Lord say
I am the Father's tears that was shed from above
And I will carry you home across this ocean of love
poem by Frank McEleny
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The farmer and his wife (Sestina)
A girl was lying down flat on her back
with a straw hat at eye height over hair,
she was sun-struck, curling and fair
with a rain cloud ominous and black
drifting in a blue sky and a small track
meandering past and it needed some repair.
Some of your makeup is in need of repair,
there’s a guitar bag slung over your back
where you walk pass the girl at the dirt track
with the strong wind frizzling through your hair
and the sky is already turning black
but the evening up to now is fair.
Slowly you walk past the local fair
with some of the stalls needing repair,
the guitar you are carrying is black
and you walk straight on, do not look back
at the whistles of some men with long hair
while home you take a narrow long track.
Watching our horses on the racetrack
you are really sexy and very fair,
our horses do parade with shining hair
you notice that the stands need some repair
and I am standing somewhat at your back
while you are dressed prettily in black.
The highway is like a ribbon that is black
where it meets the old overgrown farm track,
there are huge blue-gum trees some way back
and you agree that the price of the Lucerne is fair
where some cows graze at the pen, needing repair,
swishing with tails to drive flies from their hair.
I pull my fingers slowly through my hair
and there are streaks of grey in the black,
but the cattle are only doing fair
while my love is coming with the field’s track
that must constantly be kept in repair
and I hear her singing over my back.
There were torn out hair a long time back,
when I met my darling and she was fair,
at a fight at a track, I was in need of repair.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Long Way Home
Oh, its cold and lonely here-
Here in this telephone booth
Theres three sides to every story:
Yours and mine and the cold, hard truth
I think theres something missing round here
I dont know where its gone
But its a long way back home
The heat dont work
The toaster dont work
The car dont work
And I guess I know why
This house dont work and this dream dont
Work no more
And lover, neither do you and i
I fall asleep with the colors flying
Over sand and foam
But its a long way back home
And its a long way back home
And its a long way back home
Its a long way back home
song performed by by Don Henley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Loom of Dreams
I broider the world upon a loom,
I broider with dreams my tapestry;
Here in a little lonely room
I am master of earth and sea,
And the planets come to me.
I broider my life into the frame,
I broider my love, thread upon thread;
The world goes by with its glory and shame,
Crowns are bartered and blood is shed;
I sit and broider my dreams instead.
And the only world is the world of my dreams,
And my weaving the only happiness;
For what is the world but what it seems?
And who knows but that God, beyond our guess,
Sits weaving worlds out of loneliness?
poem by Arthur Symons
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Home For Summer
It's hard for me to comprehend
Holding on with broken hands
But who will understand
Wallow in the acid rain
What's in store for us today
It's never gonna feel the same
I'm waiting for an angel now
To carry me above the clouds
Cause it's a long way home for the summer
And it's a long way up without a ladder
It's a long way home
And it's a long way down
Swallowing the bitter taste
Trying to find a remedy
Before the crystal breaks
Looking at a picture show
Frame by frame you see us grow
To something you don't know
You're trying to find a reason now
Behind a face, you see a child
It's a long way home for the summer
And it's a long way up without a ladder
And it's a long way home
And it's a long way down
Life's a picture show
Frame by frame we grow
song performed by by Feeder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lovers Prayer
Lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
Lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
Lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
Just wanna be with my love tonight
I dont want no jive artists calling me on the telephone
Dont wanna watch the carson show all alone
I just wanna lay back, take my rest
With the one I loves head resting on my chest
Lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
Lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
Lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
Just wanna be with my love tonight
And I dont want my best friends even coming round
cos if they do I might put em down
Carsons over and the lights way down low
And all I got, I got a heart full of soul
Lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
I said, lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
I said, lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
Just wanna be with my love tonight
And its a lovers prayer, oh yes it is
Takes a little time, takes a little care, yeah, yeah, yeah
And when it gets way on in the midnight hour
I just wanna play my guitar
I just wanna see you smile, touch your face
Be with you in my own place
Lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
I said, lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
Lord, lord, lord, lord, lord
Just wanna be with my love tonight
Just wanna be with my love tonight
Just wanna be with my love tonight
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Whatever it takes Lord
Whatever it takes Lord, for Your will is best
my spirit is in turmoil and I cannot rest.
The sin permeates deeply affecting my soul
and I am in need Your cleansing to make me whole.
Whatever it takes Lord, don't hold anything back
for I have slipped far away becoming so slack.
It is best that I face up to what I have done
I've grieved Your Holy Spirit and wounded Your Son.
Whatever it takes Lord, I deserve all I get.
my sin is before me and won't let me forget.
So I kneel before You and in penitence bow
in need of Your help to work it all through somehow.
Whatever it takes Lord, do not spare any pain
for this sinful life of mine has hurt You again.
I wish to confess these evil deeds I deplore
and to walk back in fellowship with You once more.
Whatever it takes Lord, I want to let them go
these sins that I have been chasing hinder me so.
I wish to put these sinful desires behind me
so that I can become the man You want me to be.
Whatever it takes Lord, I'll face up to the costs
for it will be worth it to remove all the dross.
To lift the great burden and free me up to show
the fruit of Your Spirit and like Jesus to grow.
*********
Whatever it cost Roy, I was willing to pay.
Wherever it took Roy, I went all the way.
Whatever it needed, I was willing to give.
Whatever it required Roy, I died that you might live.
Whatever it demanded Roy, My life I have given.
You need only to confess it Roy, to be forgiven.
The Prisoner
THERE, where the swift Rhone's waters flow
Its verdant banks between;
Where fragrant myrtles bending grow,
And Rhone reflects their green;
There, where the vineyards deck the hills,
And o'er the valleys spread,
Which golden citrons' fragrance fills,
And plantains rear their head—
There stood, as sunk the lord of day,
Upon the smiling shore,
One who long watch'd the waters play,
And thought his sorrows o'er;
A Russian hero— stolen by war,
The honour of the Don;
Divided from his friends afar,
He wander'd there alone.
'O roll!' he sang, 'ye waters roll—
Flow in your glory on;
Your waves shall waken on my soul
The memory of the Don.
My days pass by without an aim,
Amidst life's busy roar;
For what is life without its fame,
Or the bright world?— 'tis poor.
'Now nature wears its spring-tide dress,
The sun shines splendidly;
All liberty and loveliness—
O! why am I not free?
O roll, ye waters! rage, thou Rhone!
And waken, as ye roll,
The thoughts of my domestic zone
Within my troubled soul.
'The maidens here are fair and bright,
Their glance is full of fire;
And their all-graceful smiles of light
Might satisfy desire
'But what is love in foreign lands,
Or joy?— I only know
The joy and love that bless our sands,
Midst forests and midst snow.
'Give me my freedom— let me tread
Once more my country's strand;
With frost and storm all overspread—
My home— my father-land!
Deep is the snow around my door;
But give me my own steed,
And day and night, the mountains o'er,
Me to my home he'll lead.
'At home, there's one who sits and keeps
The memory of her love;
And often to the window creeps,
And pours her prayers above.
She guards the thoughts of him whose mind
Guards every thought of her;
She pats the horse I left behind—
How privileged to be there!
'O roll, thou Rhone! ye waters roll—
Rush in your glory on;
Your waves still waken in my soul
The memory of the Don.
Come, winds! come hither from the north,
Come, in your freshness, come:
And thou bright pole-star blazen forth,
Memento of my home!'
So spake the prisoner, as he turn'd
To Lyons his tired eye,
When long in exile's chains he mourn'd
His hapless destiny.
He sang— the Rhone roll'd proudly on,
The moon oft kiss'd its tide;
And oft on Lyons' turrets shone
The sun in all his pride.
poem by Konstantin Nikolaevich Batiushkov
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Hit Me Like A Train
I have visions, I have visions of a happy land
And in this happy land, happy land
There is still one unhappy man
Because of all the things he wants
There is always something he cant have
Its like a siren singing, like a church bell ringing
I can feel you winning, and my head starts spinning
Now Im back at the beginning
I, i, I see you lying there and
I, I felt a wave come over me and
I, i, I thought I had escaped you
As I sat down by the roadside
And it hit me like a train
Hit me like a freight train
When the truth came down on me
It hit me like a long, slow train
It is written, I know its written
All gods children get smitten
And if theres anyone, anybody
I know the [lord] can fit that description
And if I could turn back the hands of time
Still I wouldnt know what Im supposed to change
Its like a well gone dry, like a kiss goodbye
As the grip gets tighter, I continue to fight it
Then you strike me with your lightning
I, i, I woke up in a cold sweat and
I, I thought I heard you call my name and
I, i, I had to reach out for your fingers
And before I could call the doctor
You hit me like a train
Hit me like a freight train
When the truth came down on me
Swear you hit me like a long, slow train
Lord you hit me like a train
Hit me like a coal train
When your love came down on me yeah
Say hit me like a long, slow
Lord I feel it coming down and
I, i, i, i, oooh
I, i, i, oh lord have mercy [on me]
I cant hold out no longer
I was ready to surrender
And it hit me like a train yeah
Hit me like a freight train
When your love came down on me yeah
And it me like a long, slow train
Lord you hit me like a train
Hit me like a soul train
When your love, when your love came down on me child
Hit me like a long slow [how long was it] long train
Hit me like a coal train?
song performed by by Todd Rundgren
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Waiting
The sun has slipped his tether
And galloped down the west.
(Oh, it's weary, weary waiting, love.)
The little bird is sleeping
In the softness of its nest.
Night follows day, day follows dawn,
And so the time has come and gone:
And it's weary, weary waiting, love.
The cruel wind is rising
With a whistle and a wail.
(And it's weary, weary waiting, love.)
My eyes are seaward straining
For the coming of a sail;
But void the sea, and void the beach
Far and beyond where gaze can reach!
And it's weary, weary waiting, love.
I heard the bell-buoy ringing--
How long ago it seems!
(Oh, it's weary, weary waiting, love.)
And ever still, its knelling
Crashes in upon my dreams.
The banns were read, my frock was sewn;
Since then two seasons' winds have blown--
And it's weary, weary waiting, love.
The stretches of the ocean
Are bare and bleak to-day.
(Oh, it's weary, weary waiting, love.)
My eyes are growing dimmer--
Is it tears, or age, or spray?
But I will stay till you come home.
Strange ships come in across the foam!
But it's weary, weary waiting, love.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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Empty Picture Frame
An empty picture frame sits upon my desk
Where once upon a time a picture in it did rest
But now the frame stands lifeless and bare
Now it reminds me of a love that once was there.
As in the past the picture brought me happiness and joy
Gave me the reason to live and to write my story
To glance upon and dream of when no one was near
To speak the words of love when them she couldn't hear.
But when she left me I threw her picture away
But I kept that frame to remind me of that day
In remembrance of what she did in and out of my sight
As she was my candle but she blew out that light
So that picture frame I keep it in my plain view
So every time I see it I know what to say and what to do
As once upon a time her picture was in the frame
But now picture is gone but the memories still remain.
poem by Randy McClave
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A Ballade of Waiting
No girdle hath weaver or goldsmith wrought
So rich as the arms of my love can be;
No gems with a lovelier lustre fraught
Than her eyes, when they answer me liquidly.
Dear lady of love, be kind to me
In days when the waters of hope abate,
And doubt like a shimmer on sand shall be,
In the year yet, Lady, to dream and wait.
Sweet mouth, that the wear of the world hath taught
No glitter of wile or traitorie,
More soft than a cloud in the sunset caught,
Or the heart of a crimson peony;
Oh turn not its beauty away from me;
To kiss it and cling to it early and late
Shall make sweet minutes of days that flee,
In the year yet, Lady, to dream and wait.
Rich hair, that a painter of old had sought
For the weaving of some soft phantasy,
Most fair when the streams of it run distraught
On the firm sweet shoulders yellowly;
Dear Lady, gather it close to me,
Weaving a nest for the double freight
Of cheeks and lips that are one and free,
For the year yet, Lady, to dream and wait.
Envoi.
So time shall be swift till thou mate with me,
For love is mightiest next to fate,
And none shall be happier, Love, than we,
In the year yet, Lady, to dream and wait.
poem by Archibald Lampman
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Pieter Marinus
LORD, I have known all fruits of this thy world;
Like Solomon king, I have been fain of all,–
War, women, and wine,–but mine was spirit of Nantes.
And now, O Lord, I'm old and fain for Thee.
But, Lord, my soul's so grimed and weather-worn,
So warped and wrung with all iniquities,
Piracies, brawls, and cheated revenues,
There's not a saint but would look twice at it.
So, when my time comes, send no angels down
With lutes, and harps, and foreign instruments,
To pipe old Pieter's spirit up to heaven
Past his tall namesake sturdy at his post.
But let me lie awhile in these Thy seas.
Let the soft Gulf Stream and the long South Drift,
And the swift tides that rim the Labrador,
Beat on my soul and wash it clean again.
And when Thy waves have smoothed me of my sins,
White as the sea-mew or the wind-spun foam,
Clean as the clear-cut images of stars
That swing between the swells,–then, then, O Lord,
Lean out, lean out from heaven and call me thus,
'Come up, thou soul of Pieter Marinus,'
And I'll go home.
poem by Marjorie Lowry Christie Pickthall
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Lovest Thou Me?
'Tis a point I long to know,
Oft it causes anxious thought;
Do I love the Lord, or no?
Am I his, or am I not?
If I love, why am I thus?
Why this dull and lifeless frame?
Hardly, sure, can they be worse,
Who have never heard his name!
Could my heart so hard remain,
Prayer a task and burden prove;
Every trifle give me pain,
If I knew a Saviour's love?
When I turn my eyes within,
All is dark, and vain, and wild;
Filled with unbelief and sin,
Can I deem myself a child?
If I pray, or hear, or read,
Sin is mixed with all I do;
You that love the Lord indeed,
Tell me, Is it thus with you?
Yet I mourn my stubborn will,
Find my sin, a grief, and thrall;
Should I grieve for what I feel,
If I did not love at all?
Could I joy his saints to meet,
Choose the ways I once abhorred,
Find, at times, the promise sweet,
If I did not love the Lord?
Lord decide the doubtful case!
Thou who art thy people's sun;
Shine upon thy work of grace,
If it be indeed begun.
Let me love thee more and more,
If I love at all, I pray;
If I have not loved before,
Help me to begin today.
poem by John Newton
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Psalm 7
Oh Lord my God
In whom I put my trust
If you do not deliver me
I shall be trampled in the dust
Search me oh Lord
Is there any wicked way in me?
Know me in my inward parts
This is my earnest plea
And when you look inside me Lord
Its His righteousness that you see
And in the beauty of your holiness
You came and you set me free
You are my just defender Lord
You go before me in the fight
You made your arrows into fiery shafts
And your victory is a glorious sight
poem by Frank McEleny
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Lost In The Stars
(kurt weill/maxwell anderson)
Before lord God made the sea and the land
He held all the stars in the palm of his hand
And they ran through his fingers like grains of sand
And one little star fall alone
Then the lord God hunted through the wild night air
For the little dark star in the wind down there
And he stated and promised hed take special care
So it wouldnt get lost again
Now, man dont mind if the stars grow dim
And the clouds blow over and darken him
So long as the lord gods watching over him
Keeping track how it all goes on
But Ive been walking through the night and the day
Till my eyes get weary and my hair turns grey
And sometimes it seems maybe gods gone away
Forgetting the promise that we heard him say
And were lost out here in the stars
Little stars, big stars
Blowing through the night
And were lost out here in the stars
Little stars, big stars
Blowing through the night
And were lost out here in the stars
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Wish It Would Rain
(randy travis/ ron avis)
Its the last thing I needed
On a star-filled night
The one who broke my heart
Comin into sight
Walkin hand-in-hand with the one who holds her now
I feel the hurt returning and if only somehow
I wish it would rain
I wish it would rain
Oh, lord
So she wont see
What shes doing to me
Come on, now, sky
Be a friend to these eyes
And I know that i
Cant hold back the pain
I wish it would rain
Its been too long now
To hurt me so bad
But the love that we shared
Was the best that Ive had
And my tear drops will fall when they go walkin by
Theres no place to turn
And no place to hide
I wish it would rain
I wish it would rain
Oh, lord
So she wont see
What shes doing to me
Come on, now, sky
Be a friend to these eyes
And I know that i
Cant hold back the pain
I wish it would rain
I know that i
Cant hold back the pain
I wish it would rain
song performed by by Randy Travis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Here Comes The Night
Listen up, this is how the story goes
Here comes the night
It's gonna be a long and lonely night
Oh Lord, I pray it's gonna be alright
As I walk down this dusty road
My heart weights down like a heavy load
My spirit finds its way across the ocean
And my soul cries out for leaving now
I have got to get back home somehow
She stole my heart, oh how my spirit cried
cause I had to leave and it broke me up inside
Here comes the night
It's gonna be a long and lonely night
Oh Lord, I pray it's gonna be alright
this long and lonely night
I've got a weary head and worn out shoes
a bottle of rum and as I sing the blues
the bitter wind sends shivers down my spine
I'm a ramblin' man with a ramblin' mind
I left my loved ones far behind
She stole my heart, oh how my spirit cried
Cause I had to leave and it broke me up inside
Here comes the night
It's gonna be a long and lonely night
Oh Lord, I pray it's gonna be alright
This long and lonely night
Oh bless my soul, what have I done
I'm bound to face this world alone
a drifter I was meant to be
With noone there for company
But if one day down there road I can,
Would you look my way
Would you take me back again
Here comes the night
It's gonna be a long and lonely night
Oh Lord, I pray it's gonna be alright
this long and lonely night
As my souls cries out for leaving
song performed by by Europe
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Picture (feat. Gretchen Wilson)
Living my life in a slow hell
Different girl every night at the hotel
I aint seen the sun shine in three damn days
Been fueling up on cocaine and whiskey
Wish I had a good girl to miss me
Lord I wonder if i'll ever change my ways
I put your picture away
Sat down and cried today
I can't look at you while
I'm lying next to her (x2)
I called you last night at the hotel
Everyone knows but they wont tell
But their half-hearted smiles tell me something just aint right
I've been waiting on you for a long time
Fueling up on heartaches and cheap wine
I ain't heard from you in three damn nights
I put your picture away
I wonder where you've been
I can't look at you while
I'm lying next to him (x2)
I saw you yesterday with an old friend
It was the same ol' same how have you been
Since you been gone my worlds been dark and gray
You reminded my of brighter days
I hoped you were coming home to stay
I was head of the church
I was off to drink you away
I thought about you for a long time
Can't seem to get you off my mind
I can't understand why we're living life this way
I found your picture today
I swear I'll change my ways
I just called to say I want you to come back home (x2)
I just called to say I love you
Come back home
song performed by by Kid Rock
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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