Impenetrable
The bleak black basalt cliffs which form.
A barrier to Atlantic storms
Which sweep in from the open sea.
Are not a place I'd choose to be
When winter storms are at their height
and batter them without respite.
The basalt rocks are obdurate
They stubbornly accept their fate
Although the storms may rage and roar
The cliffs have seen it all before.
Wind driven waves have small effect.
On basalt cliffs which still protect.
Old Ireland from the angry sea.
they do their duty faithfully.
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
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Impassive Resistance.
I've seen the power of the sea
When it's attacking savagely.
The basalt cliffs which bar its path.
Which are contemptuous of its wrath.
The basalt cliffs resist the sea.
Though it attacks them ceaselessly
As long as these proud cliffs still stand.
The sea cannot invade the land.
The cliffs are rooted solidly.
A bulwark and a boundary.
The angry waves are powerless
against the might of this fortress
Which has endured for centuries
And still they stand triumphantly.
Saturday,23 June 2012
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
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The Cliffs
They sing of the grandeur of cliffs inland,
But the cliffs of the ocean are truly grand;
And I long to wander and dream and doubt
Where the cliffs by the ocean run out and out.
To the northward far as the eye can reach
Are sandhill, boulder, and sandy beach;
But southward rises the track for me,
Where the cliffs by the ocean run out to sea.
Friends may be gone in the morning fair,
But the cliffs by the ocean are always there;
Lovers may leave when the wind is chill,
But the cliffs by the ocean are steadfast still.
They watch the sea and they ward the land,
And they warn the ships from the treacherous sand;
And I sadly think in the twilight hour
What I might have been had I known my power.
Where the smoke-cloud blurs and the white sails fill,
They point the ships to keep seaward still;
And I think—Ah, me!—and I think—Ah, me!
Of the wreck I’d saved had I kept to sea.
Oh! the cliffs are old and the cliffs are sad,
And they know me sane, while men deem me mad.
Oh! the cliffs are firm and the cliffs are strong,
And they know me right, while men deem me wrong.
And I sometimes think in the dawning gray,
I am old as they, I am old as they;
And I think, I think that in field and town
My spirit shall live till the cliffs come down.
poem by Henry Lawson
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Yin And Yang
the tall cliffs
and the rough stones
and boulders
by the sea
the males
the waves bashing
and dashing
with tongues licking
the bodies of stone
and rising cliffs
towards the skies
the females
yin and yang
in nature.
the feet that the sea licks
the waves as tongues
and the tall cliffs as
symbols
the phallus and the tongue
the rocks and the waves
male and female
and then the outbursts of morning light
spilling
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Adamastor
Nearing the Cape of storms
ships sail and sailors pray
to their gods to prevail
when suddenly out of the blue
storm clouds gather
and lightning bolts flash down
while unseen and like a phantom
the giant of the ages
barbaric and savage
the Titan Adamastor
watches ever morose,
resentful and unforgiving
drawing the sea in his fist
and throwing a great
unpredicted crashing wave,
causing sudden storms
and gale force winds,
calling thunder to hit down
like Thor’s hammer
and in his workshop brewing storms
and out of the granite rocks at times
where his body lies entombed
his spirit rises angry.
Numerous ships are wrecked
along the shore,
where giant elder god Adamastor
rages ashore
among the sandstone cliffs
and in anger forever more
sends storms, great winds
and throwing thick fog
to draw ships on ridges and sharp rocks.
[References: Rounding the Cape by Roy Campbell and Canto V Vasco da Gama (Os Lusiadas) by Luis de Camões.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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I Wonder What It Feels Like to be Drowned?
Look at my knees,
That island rising from the steamy seas!
The candles a tall lightship; my two hands
Are boats and barges anchored to the sands,
With mighty cliffs all round;
They’re full of wine and riches from far lands….
I wonder what it feels like to be drowned?
I can make caves,
By lifting up the island and huge waves
And storms, and then with head and ears well under
Blow bubbles with a monstrous roar like thunder,
A bull-of-Bashan sound.
The seas run high and the boats split asunder….
I wonder what it feels like to be drowned?
The thin soap slips
And slithers like a shark under the ships.
My toes are on the soap-dish—that’s the effect
Of my huge storms; an iron steamer’s wrecked.
The soap slides round and round;
He’s biting the old sailors, I expect….
I wonder what it feels like to be drowned?
poem by Robert Graves
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The Fortitude Of The North
_Under the Disaster of the Second Manassas_
They take no shame for dark defeat
While prizing yet each victory won,
Who fight for the Right through all retreat,
Nor pause until their work is done.
The Cape-of-Storms is proof to every throe;
Vainly against that foreland beat
Wild winds aloft and wilder waves below:
The black cliffs gleam through rents in sleet
When the livid Antarctic storm-clouds glow.
poem by Herman Melville
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The Real Enemy...
it is not late
the wind finally knows its enemy
it was not the tree that it uprooted in one of its storms
not the clouds that it had blown with rage
not the sea whose waves it tumbled in a tsunami
not even the boats it sank
not pitying the passengers and crew who were swallowed
its whirlpools have been wrong
upon itself it must know
its winds its own storms
its enemies all
at the
end.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Mermaid (Quatern Poetry)
In the Red Sea, you were my lonely king of salt,
You were my beautiful statue made of basalt.
On the sea shore, dominating the yellow land,
You were my statue representing the king of sand.
Your body was looking as it was tattooed with smalt.
In the Red Sea, you were my lonely king of salt.
At the water high waves' mobile horizon
I was a mermaid, caught in your love's prison.
I swam to the surface, sometimes, to see you.
You were on your ship, at the dawn's purplish blue.
In the Red Sea, you were my lonely king of salt.
I had your beautiful statue, made of basalt.
I paid to get rid off my tail and to become a woman,
Because I wanted you to be my lover and my man.
You disappeared and your wreck was anchored in Galt,
In the Red Sea, you’re my lonely king of salt.
poem by Marieta Maglas
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To Winter
O Winter! bar thine adamantine doors:
The north is thine; there hast thou built thy dark
Deep-founded habitation. Shake not thy roofs,
Nor bend thy pillars with thine iron car.'
He hears me not, but o'er the yawning deep
Rides heavy; his storms are unchain'd, sheathèd
In ribbèd steel; I dare not lift mine eyes,
For he hath rear'd his sceptre o'er the world.
Lo! now the direful monster, whose 1000 skin clings
To his strong bones, strides o'er the groaning rocks:
He withers all in silence, and in his hand
Unclothes the earth, and freezes up frail life.
He takes his seat upon the cliffs,--the mariner
Cries in vain. Poor little wretch, that deal'st
With storms!--till heaven smiles, and the monster
Is driv'n yelling to his caves beneath mount Hecla.
poem by William Blake
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Exposed on the cliffs of the heart
Exposed on the cliffs of the heart. Look, how tiny down there,
look: the last village of words and, higher,
(but how tiny) still one last
farmhouse of feeling. Can you see it?
Exposed on the cliffs of the heart. Stoneground
under your hands. Even here, though,
something can bloom; on a silent cliff-edge
an unknowing plant blooms, singing, into the air.
But the one who knows? Ah, he began to know
and is quiet now, exposed on the cliffs of the heart.
While, with their full awareness,
many sure-footed mountain animals pass
or linger. And the great sheltered birds flies, slowly
circling, around the peak's pure denial. - But
without a shelter, here on the cliffs of the heart...
poem by Rainer Maria Rilke
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Mother Nature Steals
It’s front page news: Mother Nature steals
sand by the lorry-load from a Cornish beach:
Tons of the golden quartz are carried off
each year by the delinquent sea.
Dark undercurrents and unruly tides
with storms and freak waves vandalize
the coastline and demolish concrete walls
gratuitously. Surely, there must be a law
to stop the unkempt waters, to prevent
this savage onslaught of the elements!
While sand disappears, exposing ugly rocks,
Steadily the flow of tourists drops.
Unperturbed, the Atlantic gnaws away
At the cliffs around Mount’s Bay,
changing the appearance of
our favourite Beauty Spots,
eroding roads, hindering motorists,
this is bad for business!
We won’t have it, we fight back
keeping Nature well in check.
If that means more concrete walls –
so be it, for One and All!
poem by NurViktoria Ellen
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From Blue to Blue You Choose
There are clouds above your storms...
Afraid to let Sun through.
Also empty wishes,
Have you feeling shades of blue.
On the dew...
At dawn.
There are clouds above your storms,
Only no one but you.
And...
That's the way it seems.
That's the way your dreams are too!
From blue to blue,
You choose!
Open up your windows.
Feel the breeze.
Let your heart breathe free.
There are clouds above your storms...
Afraid to let Sun through.
Also empty wishes,
Have you feeling shades of blue.
On the dew...
At dawn.
Clouds above your storms.
And they are there watching you.
Wanting to drift,
Away.
But you wish them to stay..
From blue to blue,
You choose.
The way your dreams are too!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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A Storm Is Coming
An angry grey comes from the deepening storm
Caressing the wings of petrels, gulls and a
Lone storm riding albatross
Greens curling twisting into grey corners
Black edges spitting razor rain
Wind driven craziness
Smiling predatory hunters gather on the front line
Storms bring nervous food sources
That have lost caution
Thrown it to the wind so easy
This wind that whips up salty froth
The rain rains
Big fish eat
Little fish die
There is a symphony of sound
That no one hears
Storms assume that the world is deaf
There is a hundred colours here
Mixing on this easel of nature
Out here on the sea of bluster
This way and that way
The wind and the waters
The wind and the waves
The wind and the wild
Wanton storm song
That no one else can sing
And the birds wheel and cry
Turn and fly away just before they cant
The beasts of the deep grey green
do the same
Only I cannot turn and fly away
Only I remain and scream at the sight
sound and might.
poem by Geoffrey Fafard
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The Storms Have Passed
the days are getting cloudy for me,
storm clouds over my head,
so dark, i can barely see,
the storms have passed by me.
the swetness of life, has passed me by,
of my life, the storms have went,
and i look forward to when i die,
the storms have passed me by.
of the Lord, i'll meet and see,
to be with Him, ever more,
and there, i'll never need to plea
the storms have passed by me.
Storms of Life
When there’s sunshine and blue sky, we never seem to reason why.
Even when the rains do fall, they come to many as a refreshing lull.
And a fallen snow is picturesque, covering the land in winter’s rest.
But when storms on earth appear, they fill hearts with a quiet fear,
A fear of what may come to be, from a raging storm’s uncertainty.
We walk with the sun on our face, and a wind on our back is placed.
Then there is a quiet just before an awesome storm begins to roar.
With the wind against us friend, it blows and seems to have no end.
We also have storms of life, not from weather, but pain and strife.
There is a fortress in any storm, He is Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Storms of life won’t get you friend, if you know by who they’re sent.
God has a purpose you should know; why in life strong winds blow.
How about the apostles and Christ at sea on a tiny boat off Galilee,
As a small storm came near, it filled the apostle’s hearts with fear.
Christ raised His voice in the boat to calm the storm as He spoke.
Christ said to them “why be afraid, do not you men have any faith? ”
It is good to know at any place a storm is altered by God’s Grace,
And even in the darkest hour, a storm can cease by God’s power.
The storm of life soon will end, if you know Christ as Savior friend.
Until I see Jesus above with you, He my friend will see us through.
(Copyright ©12/2004)
Climbing Is Absurd
May the Earth move sideways and relax,
The ground will hit your eyes and sight is restored.
The manager of faces climbs the mountain
And the cliffs are like it.
He relaxes forever when he jumps
Hitting the ground to let the earth quake like him.
The cliffs are a soundness, what are they?
They are sound, healthy pinnacles of performance
But to risk life is absurd,
It is abhorrent and you will die from that height.
poem by Naveed Akram
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Manifesto
Blues are falling like showers of rain, but I dont feel like crying
Death himself is abroad this day, but I dont feel like dying
I learnt how to sustain myself
I learnt how to sustain myself in storms
The enemy has the biggest tanks, and he sure knows how to use them
Our best, and only, chance, is to thoroughly confuse him
I learnt how to sustain myself in storms
Her tongue was like a scythe and all her bones were haunted
A scapegoat for her life was all she ever wanted
I learnt how to sustain myself in storms
Sir bedivere slept in a field, his armour strewn around him
Curled foetus-like beneath his shield, still weeping when we found him
I learnt how to sustain myself in storms
I teetered on the edge of doom, degenerate and broken
She washed the blood out of my wounds, and spoke the great unspoken
I learnt how to sustain myself in storms
His monstrous ego whipped and driven raged beneath his clothing
The complement he paid was given not with grace but loathing
I learnt how to sustain myself in storms
Deliverance is at the gate with arms and gold in store
He apologises for being late, but I dont need him anymore
I learnt how to sustain myself
I learnt how to sustain myself in storms
Scoured and stripped of all pretence, shorn of all illusion
I offer nothing in my defence, you can draw your own conclusions
I learnt how to sustain myself in storms
(trans. sean miller - [email protected])
song performed by by Waterboys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Sea Loving People
The true sea loving people never live far from the sea
They pine if the ocean they can't hear or see
The feel of the sea spray where the wild breakers roar
Where huge waves pound the stony cliffs overlooking the shore.
They can only live near to where the surf waves roll
And to them the breath of the sea air is good for the soul
In towns by the ocean they grow old and gray
From salt-water they could not live far away.
The sea loving people enjoy the coastal sunshine
Inland from the ocean they surely would pine
To live two miles from the ocean for them does seem far
Though in distance that only a short drive by car.
The sea loving people love the rumble of the big surf waves
In cemetery close to the cliffs are their ancestors graves
They would pine if they could not hear the sea breakers roar
They only could live in towns near the Sea-shore.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Storms In Africa: Part I (LP Version)
Roma Ryan
Though I walk through
warm sands in Africa
winds will grow soon
to storms in Africa.
How far to go
I cannot say.
How many more
will journey this way?
Dark skies fall on
black earth and ivory.
Far from your sun
clouds now close over me
How far to go
I cannot say.
How many more
will journey this way?
Storms have come!
rains wash the earth away
Dark skies fall down
into another day.
Rains have now come
from storms in Africa
Time will go on
through Storms in Africa
song performed by by Enya
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Storms In Africa - Part Ii
Though I walk through
Warm sands in africa
Winds will grow soon
To storms in africa.
How far to go
I cannot say.
How many more
Will journey this way?
Dark skies fall on
Black earth and ivory.
Far from your sun
Clouds now close over me.
How far to go
I cannot say.
How many more
Will journey this way?
Storms have come!
Rains wash the earth away
Dark skies fall down
Into another day.
Rains have now come
From storms in africa
Time will go on
Through storms in africa
song performed by by Enya
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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