Yesterday I saw a girl walking down the streets
Yesterday I saw a girl walking down the streets of a bustling city
She walked in a glorious beauty
Proud, tall and centered pretty
Her hair twisted in abundance of locks so silky, so wavy and fair
Dancing around and over her radiant face
They taunted and denied the morning breezes from caressing their share
Her long legs cast in black shoes with bouncing lace
How pure how dear their dwelling place
The morning sun herald her high in the skies
As she passed me by I had an instance to meet her aspect and her eyes
And on her cheek and over that magnificent brow
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent
Her smile at once set my heart into throbbing glow
It told of youth in goodness and virtue spent
It concealed a mind at peace and calm with all below
A heart whose love is innocent
Oh gracious hell!
Where did she get this hailing tail?
Oh hell like from which heaven she stole
The fire that through those silken lashes
In fiercest glances seem to ever roll
From the eyes that cannot hide their flashes
And as her bosom steal
In lengthened flow her raven tresses
No other maid in town can match, be she from the best lasses
I could swear each clustering lock could still
And curled to give her neck caresses
As she strayed on the street along
She imprinted her impression on the amazed gazing throng
Like some bearded meteor trailing light
As she walked swaying side to side
And thus I stood in the street long alone
My soul, like the earth after the sun has gone
It grew slowly cool and took a darker hue
I mused at what I saw but my dreams no comfort drew
A solitary sadness crept into my mind too painful to bare
that sad thought that the world belongs only to her
copy rights 2010
Related quotes
He Stalks Slim Beauty after Lord Byron She Walks in Beauty
He stalks slim beauty's silent flight
through sunless streets, 'neath sullen skies;
stands gall, all's worst below wrong, spite,
defeat, cheat aspect, shady eyes.
This yellow liver would end her light
rich heaven to gaudy fay denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
impairing graceful loveliness.
Itch raves to touch each raven tress,
hard hollow follows fairest face;
his thoughts touch base with base duress
impure, now fear unequal race.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
once soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
where smile once won, now life's tints flow,
destroying days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love was innocent!
(12 October 2011)
She walks in Beauty
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that 's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
poem by Jonathan Robin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Our Orli
Of all the girls that are cleaver and smart
There is none like witty pretty Orli
She is the darling of our heart
Where she lives within chambers' alley solely
Of all young ladies of the land
none walks in such beauty and youth of proud descend
her master of art and math of high command
like cloudless climate of starry nights skies
you can meet the aspect of her eyes
The war of shades and lights
of rebel frowns and innocent smiles bright
are so softly lightened over her glance and face
where thoughts sweetly serenely express
How pure how dear is their dwelling place
And on those cheeks and over this brow
the soft and calm yet eloquent
smiles that win the tints that glow
but tell of budding life of respect and in goodness spent
A mind at its peace with all the universe show
A heart whose love and thirst to the world is innocent
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She walks in beauty
I
She walks in beauty—like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies,
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to the tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
II
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress
Or softly lightens o'er her face—
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.
III
And on that cheek and o'er that brow
So soft, so calm yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow
But tell of days in goodness spent
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent.
poem by Byron (1815)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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The umbrella
One morning in a city of din and roar with no pause
A maid walked along into my wandering glance
So pretty, pure, and sprouting she was
under her feet the cobble stones lulled in a dance
Such a beautiful maid jumped into the street
And in the middle of rain rushing creek
I am such a reserved, shy, modest guy
So swiftly, intuitively I extended my umbrella
Under dark ominously pouring summer sky
To that lovely, bare orphan Cinderella
Her still small voice whispered to me
'Thank You', as she joined with youthful glee
And by that she washed away all my misery
Ah was there ever a better way to be
Ah, what a face! what cheeks to my shriveled lips
When coal black blanket wraps the sinking day
When the rotten street edges tear and drip
And the shaken leaves are stamped to muddy clay
What music cannot passion raise and quell
As we walked closely under the umbrella shell
All streets walkers and merchants stood around
And a stretched wondering on their faces fell bound
So lucky were I that rainy low clouds day
The precious umbrella so handy under showers of may
Like the fisher net on the bank of sandy bay
What a price for such umbrella I would make a pay
And the blessed rain kept gashing as if it just began
through all the compass of notes it ran
such a diapason closing full on me
Was there, is there ever a better way to be
And so I walked with comely maid young and tall
She with such elegant and grace of gait that all
The crowd turned their heads as in greeting parade
They stopped for an instance what ever they made
She saw me, I was smiling pleasantly
Quite plainly grateful for her beauteous courtesy
Observing which she lowered long lashes eyes and hushed
And like a budding rose all over blushed.
Then I stood in wet streets long alone
My soul like the earth after the sun has gone
And it grew slowly cool and numb, drawing a darker hue
I mused what could had been but from my dreams no comfort drew
The girl had gone and all the magic scene
Had vanished. Had that divine tracery been
No more than an instance of fantasy, rain on the land
I stood frozen lonely under an umbrella at my hand
Gnawing my inwards like poisonous minerals so eagerly
Gone, gone was the spell, the charm and the mystery
Under that summer flood gorging down ferociously
Into Noach ark I would have prisoned ourselves eternally
Copy Rights 2010
all rights reserved
Pretty Girls
Here she comes just a-walk just just a-walkin down the street
Singin down do be do do wop a do do wop
Singin down do be do do wop a do do wop
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
I took a walk round the market down town
Taking it easy just to see what I could find
I found the girls there, long legs and blond hair
All getting set to make a mess out of my mind
Hey! eyes left!
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
I got my heart burnt, you know where I hurt
They say the miniskirt is coming back in style
I say its not fair but what do they care
When youve got power then you use it for a while
Hey! eyes right!
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
God, if youre up there, listen to my prayer
In future man should have a different design
Give him a switch so he can turn off his libido now
Give him a tranquilizer built into his mind
Hey! eyes right!
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Dont talk to me about womens liberation
They already got their right just where it hurts
Now here she comes just a-walk just a-walkin down the street
Singin down do be do do wop a do do wop
Singin down do be do do wop a do do wop
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
song performed by by Joe Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Man's Repentance
To-night when I came from the club at eleven,
Under the gaslight I saw a face-
A woman's face! and I swear to heaven
It looked like the ghastly ghost of-Grace!
And Grace? why, Grace was fair; and I tarried,
And loved her a season as we men do.
And then-but pshaw! why, of course, she is married,
Has a husband, and doubtless, a babe or two.
She was perfectly calm on the day we parted;
She spared me a scene, to my great surprise.
She wasn't the kind to be broken-hearted,
I remember she said, with a spark in her eyes.
I was tempted, I know, by her proud defiance,
To make good my promises there and then.
But the world would have called it a mésalliance!
I dreaded the comments and sneers of men.
So I left her to grieve for a faithless lover,
And to hide her heart from the cold world's sight
As women do hide them, the wide earth over;
My God! was it Grace that I saw to-night?
I thought of her married, and often with pity,
A poor man's wife in some dull place.
And now to know she is here in the city,
Under the gaslight, and with that face!
Yet I knew it at once, in spite of the daubing
Of paint and powder, and she knew me;
She drew a quick breath that was almost sobbing,
And shrank in the shade so I should not see.
There was hell in her eyes! She was worn and jaded;
Her soul is at war with the life she has led.
As I looked on that face so strangely faded,
I wonder God did not strike me dead.
While I have been happy and gay and jolly,
Received by the very best people in town,
That girl whom I led in the way to folly,
Has gone on recklessly down and down.
Two o'clock, and no sleep has found me.
That face I saw in the street-lamp's light
Peers everywhere out from the shadows around me-
I know how a murderer feels to-night!
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Southern Justice
(Jum McBride, Stewart Harris)
He was born in the big iron city
Deep in the heart of Dixie, yes he was now
Raised on the good Book
Taught to take a good look at what's going on
His daddy was Birmingham lawman
A servant of the people through and through
They say blood is thicker than water
So the boy got a badge and a suit of blue
He was long on southern justice
Practiced his law out on the street
Drew the line for the criminal mind to see
Dedicated to keep God's children free
There are two sides to every big city
And he walked on the side that wasn't pretty
A solitary ranger
He had to deal with the danger 'round every turn
Every day was a tightrope of decision
Between a forty-four and a heart of gold
Some of those hard case confrontations
Would ct him like a switch-blade to his soul
Repeat Chorus
Late one night down on Crack Street Alley
He walked up on a bad deal goin' down
He knew what he'd done
When he saw that shotgun swing around
He drew then froze in hesitation
When he saw that fourteen year old face
Then the fire from that shotgun barrel
Blew all his burdens away
Blew his burdens away
Repeat Chorus
song performed by by Travis Tritt
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To Zama: An Elegy
You walk in beauty,
And beauty in you abounds
You're the best of both, dark and bright
Mellowed like tender light.
A concoction-a shade of flaws,
With one more ray of perfection
You're more than an illusion,
Sweeter than a dream.
So soft, so tranquil, yet eloquent
A smile so bright and eyes that glow
A mind at peace with all bellow.
And as I dip my soul in quiet thought,
I dwell in the pleasures that you have brought.
Forever these lips will tell of days in goodness spent:
Of a heart whose love was pure—
Your unforgettable scent,
Eternally haunting my soul,
A pleasure for I, to have known thee.
poem by Sthembiso jean culio Cele
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Memories
A beautiful and happy girl,
With step as light as summer air,
Eyes glad with smiles, and brow of pearl,
Shadowed by many a careless curl
Of unconfined and flowing hair;
A seeming child in everything,
Save thoughtful brow and ripening charms,
As Nature wears the smile of Spring
When sinking into Summer's arms.
A mind rejoicing in the light
Which melted through its graceful bower,
Leaf after leaf, dew-moist and bright,
And stainless in its holy white,
Unfolding like a morning flower
A heart, which, like a fine-toned lute,
With every breath of feeling woke,
And, even when the tongue was mute,
From eye and lip in music spoke.
How thrills once more the lengthening chain
Of memory, at the thought of thee!
Old hopes which long in dust have lain
Old dreams, come thronging back again,
And boyhood lives again in me;
I feel its glow upon my cheek,
Its fulness of the heart is mine,
As when I leaned to hear thee speak,
Or raised my doubtful eye to thine.
I hear again thy low replies,
I feel thy arm within my own,
And timidly again uprise
The fringed lids of hazel eyes,
With soft brown tresses overblown.
Ah! memories of sweet summer eves,
Of moonlit wave and willowy way,
Of stars and flowers, and dewy leaves,
And smiles and tones more dear than they!
Ere this, thy quiet eye hath smiled
My picture of thy youth to see,
When, half a woman, half a child,
Thy very artlessness beguiled,
And folly's self seemed wise in thee;
I too can smile, when o'er that hour
The lights of memory backward stream,
Yet feel the while that manhood's power
Is vainer than my boyhood's dream.
Years have passed on, and left their trace,
Of graver care and deeper thought;
And unto me the calm, cold face
Of manhood, and to thee the grace
Of woman's pensive beauty brought.
More wide, perchance, for blame than praise,
The school-boy's humble name has flown;
Thine, in the green and quiet ways
Of unobtrusive goodness known.
And wider yet in thought and deed
Diverge our pathways, one in youth;
Thine the Genevan's sternest creed,
While answers to my spirit's need
The Derby dalesman's simple truth.
For thee, the priestly rite and prayer,
And holy day, and solemn psalm;
For me, the silent reverence where
My brethren gather, slow and calm.
Yet hath thy spirit left on me
An impress Time has worn not out,
And something of myself in thee,
A shadow from the past, I see,
Lingering, even yet, thy way about;
Not wholly can the heart unlearn
That lesson of its better hours,
Not yet has Time's dull footstep worn
To common dust that path of flowers.
Thus, while at times before our eyes
The shadows melt, and fall apart,
And, smiling through them, round us lies
The warm light of our morning skies,--
The Indian Summer of the heart!
In secret sympathies of mind,
In founts of feeling which retain
Their pure, fresh flow, we yet may find
Our early dreams not wholly vain
poem by John Greenleaf Whittier
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Isnt It Midnight
Written by christine mcvie.
So cool, calm and collected
You had a style, a rakish style
Well my poor heart never connected
Youd stay so long on my mind.
Well, isnt it midnight on the other side of the world
Do you remember t
The face of a pretty girl
The face of a pretty girl
Looking back so long ago
You had a knack, a knack of making women know
Ooh there wasnt the time
And I knew youd nver be mine
Well, isnt it midnight on the other side of the world
Do you remember
The face of a pretty girl
The face of a pretty girl
The face of a pretty girl
Isnt it midnight on the other side of the world
Do you remember
The face of a pretty girl
The face of a pretty girl
The face of a pretty girl
song performed by by Fleetwood Mac
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Street Memories
I would look down that desolate street
Where you and I would meet.
In my eyes I see you walking towards me
And my heart would skip a beat.
I’d see the smile upon your face
And feel the tenderness of your embrace.
I’d hear your laughter echoing in my ears
Which would take away the tears.
This street of memories stays in my mind
For my love for you leaves me blind.
The store fronts that we would go into
To get out of the rain.
And look at the children with their
Noses against the window panes.
This street which is walked by every one
Will never tell the things we’ve done.
When we opened up a fire hydrant
So that the children could play
Then we laughed and ran away.
The day that we looked to see
If any cops were around
And tried to fry eggs on the ground.
And when we tied a frank on our dogs tail
He would go in circles and start to wail.
Then we would give him his favorite treat
A cold ice cream to beat the heat.
These are the things I recall
As I look down this street.
This street where you and I would meet!
poem by Louis Rams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Walking Town
One foot after the other
One place pretty much like another
Some folks got a pretty good deal
Some are just looking for their next meal
Out here where the days go by
And the glances never meet the eye
It's a walking town
And I'm just out here walking 'round
Walking 'round this walking town
You got a house on top of a hill
And a powerful automobile
The windows up, the AC high
In a world of comfort speeding by
Stressed out in the latest style
How long has it been since you walked a mile
In yours or anybody else's shoes
Well, in any life there will be dues
It's a walking town
And I'm just out here walking 'round
Walking 'round this walking town
Walking up, walking down
Walking back, walking 'round
Walking mute, walking bound
Walking through your walking town
One foot on the concrete shore
One foot in the human sea
Night falls on the streets of the city
And it falls over you and me
And all our dreams and our descriptions
Of the life this was supposed to be
Drift above the rooftops and the houses
Until the sunlight finds me where I lay
And it's a walking town
And I'm back out here walking 'round
Walking 'round this walking town
Lyrics by Jackson Browne
Music by Jackson Browne, Kevin McCormick, Mark Goldenberg, Mauricio Lewak, Jeff Young
(Swallow Turn Music, ASCAP; Eye Cue Music, ASCAP; Bossypants Music/Songs of Windswept Pacific, BMI; Bateria Music, ASCAP; Glad Brad Music, Inc., ASCAP)
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Confessional, The
[SPAIN.]
I.
It is a lie---their Priests, their Pope,
Their Saints, their ... all they fear or hope
Are lies, and lies---there! through my door
And ceiling, there! and walls and floor,
There, lies, they lie---shall still be hurled
Till spite of them I reach the world!
II.
You think Priests just and holy men!
Before they put me in this den
I was a human creature too,
With flesh and blood like one of you,
A girl that laughed in beauty's pride
Like lilies in your world outside.
III.
I had a lover---shame avaunt!
This poor wrenched body, grim and gaunt,
Was kissed all over till it burned,
By lips the truest, love e'er turned
His heart's own tint: one night they kissed
My soul out in a burning mist.
IV.
So, next day when the accustomed train
Of things grew round my sense again,
``That is a sin,'' I said: and slow
With downcast eyes to church I go,
And pass to the confession-chair,
And tell the old mild father there.
V.
But when I falter Beltran's name,
``Ha?'' quoth the father; ``much I blame
``The sin; yet wherefore idly grieve?
``Despair not---strenuously retrieve!
``Nay, I will turn this love of thine
``To lawful love, almost divine;
VI.
``For he is young, and led astray,
``This Beltran, and he schemes, men say,
``To change the laws of church and state
``So, thine shall be an angel's fate,
``Who, ere the thunder breaks, should roll
``Its cloud away and save his soul.
VII.
``For, when he lies upon thy breast,
``Thou mayst demand and be possessed
``Of all his plans, and next day steal
``To me, and all those plans reveal,
``That I and every priest, to purge
``His soul, may fast and use the scourge.''
VIII.
That father's beard was long and white,
With love and truth his brow seemed bright;
I went back, all on fire with joy,
And, that same evening, bade the boy
Tell me, as lovers should, heart-free,
Something to prove his love of me.
IX.
He told me what he would not tell
For hope of heaven or fear of hell;
And I lay listening in such pride!
And, soon as he had left my side,
Tripped to the church by morning-light
To save his soul in his despite.
X.
I told the father all his schemes,
Who were his comrades, what their dreams;
``And now make haste,'' I said, ``to pray
``The one spot from his soul away;
``To-night he comes, but not the same
``Will look!'' At night he never came.
XI.
Nor next night: on the after-morn,
I went forth with a strength new-born.
The church was empty; something drew
My steps into the street; I knew
It led me to the market-place:
Where, lo, on high, the father's face!
XII.
That horrible black scaffold dressed,
That stapled block ... God sink the rest!
That head strapped back, that blinding vest,
Those knotted hands and naked breast,
Till near one busy hangman pressed,
And, on the neck these arms caressed ...
XIII.
No part in aught they hope or fear!
No heaven with them, no hell!---and here,
No earth, not so much space as pens
My body in their worst of dens
But shall bear God and man my cry,
Lies---lies, again---and still, they lie!
poem by Robert Browning
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Flawed Fidelity
‘Life is a great disappointment, ' mused
The sailor on the quay,
And he sighed again, and frowned, and then
Looked sadly out to sea,
‘We start by thinking it wonderful
With a whole wide world out there,
But the world is thin, and it hems you in
If you have no love to share! '
The man he'd met on the promenade
Stood silent by his side,
The sun dipped into the ocean on
Its slow but stately ride,
The Moon, the queen of the evening rose
To light the Milky Way,
‘I shouldn't have gone to sea, but then
She'd have left me anyway! '
The man in the cheap and shoddy suit
Had nodded in the gloom,
His thoughts were locked in the high rise block,
That he'd left that afternoon,
She'd pushed him out on the balcony
Still dressed in her negligée,
‘You'd better not come around again,
He's coming home today! '
‘I thought I could go and roam, while she
Sat patient, waited here,
The love in her eyes had gone, when I
Came back, the following year,
We muddled along for two more years,
She couldn't look in my eyes,
When I asked her who she was seeing
All I got was a pack of lies! '
The man in the cheap and shoddy suit
Thought of his wife at home,
He'd told her about some meeting, but
He'd wandered the streets alone,
Hoping she'd keep their rendezvous
Continue their brief affair,
And he thought of her long and shapely legs
And the fragrance of her hair.
‘Marriage can be a terrible bind,
We think it will last for life, '
He said to the sailor, dredging up
Some thoughts of his faithful wife,
‘But wives get dull with the passing years
And they lose that vital spark,
So a man must find a lover…'
They both nodded, in the dark.
‘I said that I'd meet her here, at six, '
He checked his watch again,
‘She said to stay, she would get away
If she could, by half past seven.'
‘Mine should be any moment now,
Her man has gone for the night,
She says that she's dull and bored at home,
But she's feisty, and she's bright! '
They parted then at the quay, each walked
Some way, then stood in the glow,
Of a dimly lit street standard
Lighting the sombre street below,
Then a woman walked up to the sailor,
Gave him kisses, long and deep,
While the man in the cheap and shoddy suit
Went pale, and began to weep!
22 August 2012
poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Beauty on a Winters Night
On a crispy winters night
hazy mist obstructs my sight
The biting frost tingles my toes
A scent of sweet perfume was lingering close
Gentle footsteps I began to hear
The thickened mist started to clear
Then like an angel sent down from heaven
Her radiance already began to beckon
As she got closer I could only describe
The most beautiful image to meet my eye
Glittering lips that tint with glow
A fair complexion as white as snow
A radiant shine her warm rosy cheeks
My heart starts pounding as our eyes meet
Caring bright eyes full emotion
Starry and blue as deep as the ocean
Silky hair, sculptured cheek bone
She walked with a style all of her own
A desirable beauty a treasured sight
That stole my heart and walked into the night
poem by Nic Hillen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Written In Australia
THE WIDE sun stares without a cloud:
Whipped by his glances truculent
The earth lies quivering and cowed.
My heart is hot with discontent:
I hate this haggard continent.
But over the loping leagues of sea
A lone land calls to her children free:
My own land holding her arms to me—
But oh, the long loping leagues of sea.
The grey old city is dumb with heat;
No breeze comes leaping, naked, rude,
Adown the narrow, high-walled street;
Upon the night thick perfumes brood:
The evening oozes lassitude.
But over the edges of my town,
Swept in a tide that ne’er abates,
The riotous breezes tumble down;
My heart looks home, looks home where waits
The Windy City of the Straits!
The land lies desolate and stripped;
Across its waste has thinly strayed
A tattered host of eucalypt
From whose gaunt uniform is made
A ragged penury of shade.
But over my isles the forest drew
A mantle thick—save where a peak
Shows his grim teeth a-snarl—and through
The filtered coolness creek and creek,
Tangled in ferns, in whispers speak.
And there the placid great lakes are;
And brimming rivers proudly force
Their ice-cold tides. Here, like a scar,
Dry-lipped, a withered water-course
Crawls from a long-forgotten source.
My glance, home-gazing, scarce discerns
This listless girl, in whose dark hair
A starry red hibiscus burns;
Her pallid cheeks are like a pair
Of nuns, bloom-ravished, yet so fair.
And like a sin her warm lips flame
In her wan face; swift passions brim
In those brown eyes too soft for blame;
Her form is sinuous and slim—
That lyric line of breast and limb!
But one there waits whose brown face glows,
Whose cheeks with Winter’s kisses smart—
The flushing petals of a rose.
Of earth and sun she is a part;
Her brow is Greek and Greek her heart.
At love she laughs a faint disdain;
Her heart no weakly one to charm;
Robust and fragrant as the rain,
The dark bush soothed her with his balm,
The mountains gave her of their calm.
Her fresh young figure, lithe and tall,
Her radiant eyes, her brow benign,
She is the peerless queen of all—
The maid, the country, that I shrine
In this far-banished heart of mine!
And over the loping leagues of green
A lone land waits with a hope serene—
My own land calls like a prisoner queen—
But oh, the long loping leagues between!
poem by Arthur Henry Adams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lyin' Eyes
City girls just seem to find out early
How to open doors with just a smile
A rich old man and she won't have to worry
She'll dress up all in lace and go in style
Late at night a big old house gets lonely
I guess every form refuge has its price
And it breaks her heart to think her love is only
Given to a man with hands as cold as ice
So she tells him she must go out for the evening
To comfort an old friend who's feeling down
But he knows where she's going as she's leaving
She is headed for the cheatin' side of town
You can't hide your lyin' eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes
On the other side of town a boy is waiting
With firey eyes and dreams no one could steal
She drives on through the night anticipating
'Cause he makes her feel the way she used to feel
She rushes to his arms
song performed by by Eagles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Confessional
I
It is a lie—their Priests, their Pope,
Their Saints, their . . . all they fear or hope
Are lies, and lies—there! through my door
And ceiling, there! and walls and floor,
There, lies, they lie—shall still be hurled
Till spite of them I reach the world!
II
You think Priests just and holy men!
Before they put me in this den
I was a human creature too,
With flesh and blood like one of you,
A girl that laughed in beauty's pride
Like lilies in your world outside.
III
I had a lover—shame avaunt!
This poor wrenched body, grim and gaunt,
Was kissed all over till it burned,
By lips the truest, love e'er turned
His heart's own tint: one night they kissed
My soul out in a burning mist.
IV
So, next day when the accustomed train
Of things grew round my sense again,
"That is a sin," I said: and slow
With downcast eyes to church I go,
And pass to the confession-chair,
And tell the old mild father there.
V
But when I falter Beltran's name,
"Ha?" quoth the father; "much I blame
"The sin; yet wherefore idly grieve?
"Despair not—strenuously retrieve!
"Nay, I will turn this love of thine
"To lawful love, almost divine;
VI
"For he is young, and led astray,
"This Beltran, and he schemes, men say,
"To change the laws of church and state
"So, thine shall be an angel's fate,
"Who, ere the thunder breaks, should roll
"Its cloud away and save his soul.
VII
"For, when he lies upon thy breast,
"Thou mayst demand and be possessed
"Of all his plans, and next day steal
"To me, and all those plans reveal,
"That I and every priest, to purge
"His soul, may fast and use the scourge."
VIII
That father's beard was long and white,
With love and truth his brow seemed bright;
I went back, all on fire with joy,
And, that same evening, bade the boy
Tell me, as lovers should, heart-free,
Something to prove his love of me.
IX
He told me what he would not tell
For hope of heaven or fear of hell;
And I lay listening in such pride!
And, soon as he had left my side,
Tripped to the church by morning-light
To save his soul in his despite.
X
I told the father all his schemes,
Who were his comrades, what their dreams;
"And now make haste," I said, "to pray
"The one spot from his soul away;
"To-night he comes, but not the same
"Will look!" At night he never came.
XI
Nor next night: on the after-morn,
I went forth with a strength new-born.
The church was empty; something drew
My steps into the street; I knew
It led me to the market-place:
Where, lo, on high, the father's face!
XII
That horrible black scaffold dressed,
That stapled block . . . God sink the rest!
That head strapped back, that blinding vest,
Those knotted hands and naked breast,
Till near one busy hangman pressed,
And, on the neck these arms caressed . . .
XIII
No part in aught they hope or fear!
No heaven with them, no hell!—and here,
No earth, not so much space as pens
My body in their worst of dens
But shall bear God and man my cry,
Lies—lies, again—and still, they lie!
poem by Robert Browning from Dramatic Romances and Lyrics (1845)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Lyin' Eyes
City girls just seem to find out early
How to open doors with just a smile
A rich old man
And she won't have to worry
She'll dress up all in lace and go in style
Late at night a big old house gets lonely
I guess ev'ry form of refuge has its price
And it breaks her heart to think her love is
Only given to a man with hands as cold as ice
So she tells him she must go out for the evening
To comfort an old friend who's feelin' down
But he knows where she's goin' as she's leavin'
She is headed for the cheatin' side of town
You can't hide your lyin' eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin eyes
On the other side of town a boy is waiting
with fiery eyes and dreams no one could steal
She drives on through the nice anticipating
'Cause he makes her feel the way she used to feel
She rushes to his arms
song performed by by Eagles from One of These Nights
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dancing In The Street
Ok, talk to you
South america, australia, france, germany, uk, africa
Calling out around the world
Are you ready for a brand new beat
Summers here and the time is right
For dancing in the streets
Theyre dancing in chicago
Down in new orleans
In new york city
All we need is music, sweet music
Therell be music everywhere
Theyll be swinging, swaying, records playing,
Dancing in the street, oh
It doesnt matter what you wear, just as long as you are there
So come on, every guy, grab a girl, everywhere, around the world
Theyll be dancing, dancing in the street
Its an invitation across the nation, a chance for folks to meet
Theyll be laughing and singing, music swinging
Dancing in the street
Philadelphia, pa
Baltimore in dc now
Dont forget the motor city
On the streets of brazil
Back in the ussr
No matter where you are
All we need is music, sweet music
Therell be music everywhere
Theyll be swinging, swaying, records playing
Dancing in the street, oh
It doesnt matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
So come on every guy, grab a girl, everywhere, around the world
Theyll be dancing, dancing in the streets
Way down in l.a., everyday
Dancing in the streets
Cross in china too
Me and you
Dancing in the street
Dont you know
Theyll be dancing
Dancing in the street (repeat)
song performed by by David Bowie
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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