The Abnormal Is Not Courage
The Poles rode out from Warsaw against the German
Tanks on horses. Rode knowing, in sunlight, with sabers,
A magnitude of beauty that allows me no peace.
And yet this poem would lessen that day. Question
The bravery. Say it's not courage. Call it a passion.
Would say courage isn't that. Not at its best.
It was impossib1e, and with form. They rode in sunlight,
Were mangled. But I say courage is not the abnormal.
Not the marvelous act. Not Macbeth with fine speeches.
The worthless can manage in public, or for the moment.
It is too near the whore's heart: the bounty of impulse,
And the failure to sustain even small kindness.
Not the marvelous act, but the evident conclusion of being.
Not strangeness, but a leap forward of the same quality.
Accomplishment. The even loyalty. But fresh.
Not the Prodigal Son, nor Faustus. But Penelope.
The thing steady and clear. Then the crescendo.
The real form. The culmination. And the exceeding.
Not the surprise. The amazed understanding. The marriage,
Not the month's rapture. Not the exception. The beauty
That is of many days. Steady and clear.
It is the normal excellence, of long accomplishment.
poem by Jack Gilbert
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Related quotes
What's Courage?
Here's a question thats always on the back of your mind
With an answer nearly impossible to find
What is courage?
People often mistake courage for bravery
Like sumone that looks like a celeberity
Bravery is having little or no fear
Like a dying person knowing the end is near
Courage is overcoming what makes you tremble and shiver
Like knowing you might die and still donating your liver
But courage wouldn't exist without fear
Like intoxication wouldn't exist without beer
So I guess now the REAL question is clear
Not What's Courage but What's Fear?
-Casper
poem by Eliseo Rivera
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What's Courage
Here's a question thats always on the back of your mind
With an answer that's nearly impossible to find
What is courage?
People often mistake courage for bravery
Like someone that looks like a celebrity
Bravery is having little or no fear
Like a dying person who knows the end is near
Courage is overcoming what makes you tremble and shiver
Like knowing you might die but still donating your liver
But courage wouldn't exist without fear
Like intoxication wouldn't exist without beer
So I guess the true question is clear
Not what is courage, but what is fear
poem by Nick Chaos
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In Courage
In courage-you find
no fear
and in courage-no weakness
does appear
In courage-steps toward
danger taken
and in courage-strength
within awaken
In courage- a hero
takes shape
and in courage- the villain
can't escape
In courage-there is a call
to duty
and in courage-out of ugliness
comes beauty
poem by Dorsey Baker
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Coffee Courage
The bitter coffee kicked;
I shook and then I licked
My lips and gave a sigh.
Shattered eyes encouraged,
I nearly had envisaged
Waking up an eye.
Another sip; a jolt –
Not unlike a bolt
Of wattage from the mains.
My sockets under strain,
I tried it once again:
Aha! The light, the searing white –
My God, the bloody pain!
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2009
Courage, courage, coffee courage,
Courage, courage, courage,
Courage, courage, coffee courage,
Courage, courage, courage,
Courage, courage, coffee courage,
Courage, courage, courage,
Courage, courage, coffee courage,
Courage, courage, courage,
poem by Mark R Slaughter
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It Takes Courage
it takes courage to say life goes on
without knowing where you might end
it takes a lot of courage to achieve what
you want to be in life
it takes more courage to forgive
someone that hurt you
it takes more courage to make a tough decision
when you know you might end up paying consequences
it take more than courage
to be responsible and honest
it takes more than what you call courage
to be a real man! !
poem by Mehida Jean Louis
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That'll Do
A kind and steady heart can make a grey sky blue,
And a task that seems impossible, is quite possible for you.
A kind and steady heart, is sure to see you through.
It may not seem like very much right now,
It'll do, it'll do.
When you find yourself in the middle of a storm,
And you're tired and cold and wet,
And you're looking for a place that's cozy and warm,
You'll make it; you can never forget!
A kind and steady heart, can conquer doubt and fear.
A little courage goes a long, long way,
Gets you a little bit farther down the road each day,
And before you know it, you'll hear someone say,
"That'll do, Babe, that'll do."
A kind and steady heart, is sure to see you through.
A little courage goes a long, long way,
Gets you a little bit farther down the road each day,
And before you know it, you'll hear someone say,
"That'll do, that'll do, that'll do, Babe, that'll do.
song performed by by Peter Gabriel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Courage
It is in the small things we see it.
The child's first step,
as awesome as an earthquake.
The first time you rode a bike,
wallowing up the sidewalk.
The first spanking when your heart
went on a journey all alone.
When they called you crybaby
or poor or fatty or crazy
and made you into an alien,
you drank their acid
and concealed it.
Later,
if you faced the death of bombs and bullets
you did not do it with a banner,
you did it with only a hat to
comver your heart.
You did not fondle the weakness inside you
though it was there.
Your courage was a small coal
that you kept swallowing.
If your buddy saved you
and died himself in so doing,
then his courage was not courage,
it was love; love as simple as shaving soap.
Later,
if you have endured a great despair,
then you did it alone,
getting a transfusion from the fire,
picking the scabs off your heart,
then wringing it out like a sock.
Next, my kinsman, you powdered your sorrow,
you gave it a back rub
and then you covered it with a blanket
and after it had slept a while
it woke to the wings of the roses
and was transformed.
Later,
when you face old age and its natural conclusion
your courage will still be shown in the little ways,
each spring will be a sword you'll sharpen,
those you love will live in a fever of love,
and you'll bargain with the calendar
and at the last moment
when death opens the back door
you'll put on your carpet slippers
and stride out.
poem by Anne Sexton
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Have you got the courage?
Have you got the courage?
To deal with personal baggage
Have you got the courage?
To embark on a new voyage
It is crystalline common knowledge
Many a woman born with courage
Has had piffling or no privileges
To travel through life’s hideous passage
And stand stubbornly by her message
Highs but not the lows, If you one of those
Have you got the courage, to end your marriage?
Have you got the courage, to face your fears?
Or experiment with new ideas
Have you got the courage, to say you love me?
And maturely accept if I glee or flee
Have you got the courage, to repair all self inflicted damage
Before your life becomes wastage
Have you got the courage, to learn a new language?
Can you manage with new knowledge?
Have you got the courage, to admit your gruesome rage?
Instead of acting like an actress on stage
Courage comes with age
When priority is no more image
Courage comes with change
Evolving from leadership shortage
In life, at this stage
Courage is something you must engage
It must be clearly visible in every page
poem by Sylvia Chidi
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On Courage
Those who have fallen will rise again,
And those who have risen will fall.
It's something so steady that, through all this pain,
There is lasting courage for all!
Courage, my friend! Courage will keep you
Laughing, and standing up tall.
For, while you believe, and keep right on working,
Your courage will cushion your fall!
poem by Mignon Isaacs Bryant
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What Gives You Courage
Without fear there cannot be courage
Fear drives the unthinkable out of us
What gives you courage when there is none?
What gives you courage to get out of bed?
What gives you courage to drive when you know it's dangerous?
What gives you courage to succeed?
What gives you courage to survive?
What gives you courage to strive?
People have courage to live for their children
People have courage to live for themselves
People have courage to live for hope
People have courage because they believe
People have courage to not give up
Fear is not the essence of life
But a free soul not tamed
Courage is the journey of your heart
Guided by strength
On a path of untamed obstacles
Let courage guide you
As you begin your quest
poem by Alisha Ricks
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Armor Of Courage
Armor Of Courage
Strength is embedded
Accomplishment
Self-definition
Re-build inner protection
Against the tyranny of Horcruxes
One's inner shield
Armor Of Courage
Thick skin developed through time
Being tough is not always the answer
Leads to aggressive and disrespect
Rudeness is exposed
As life is not all about the portrayal of toughness
Tough on the outside
Yet weak on the inside
Armor Of Courage
One who confronted danger
In times of peril
Prevails all
Depicts true courage
The Traveller
As I rode in to Burrumbeet,
I met a man with funny feet;
And, when I paused to ask him why
His feet were strange, he rolled his eye
And said the rain would spoil the wheat;
So I rode on to Burrumbeet.
As I rode in to Beetaloo,
I met a man whose nose was blue;
And when I asked him how he got
A nose like that, he answered, "What
Do bullocks mean when they say 'Moo'?"
So I rode on to Beetaloo.
As I rode in to Ballarat,
I met a man who wore no hat;
And, when I said he might take cold,
He cried, "The hills are quite as old
As yonder plains, but not so flat."
So I rode on to Ballarat.
As I rode in to Gundagai,
I met a man and passed him by
Without a nod, without a word.
He turned, and said he'd never heard
Or seen a man so wise as I.
But I rode on to Gundagai.
As I rode homeward, full of doubt,
I met a stranger riding out:
A foolish man he seemed to me;
But, "Nay, I am yourself," said he,
"Just as you were when you rode out."
So I rode homeward, free of doubt.
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
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My Wild Love
My wild love went ridin
She rode all the day
She wrote to the devil
And asked him to pay
The devil was wiser
Its time to repent
He asked her to give back
The money she spent
My wild love went ridin
She rode to the sea
She gathered together
Some shells for her head
She rode and she rode on
She rode for a while
Then stopped for an evenin
And lay her head down
She rode on to christmas
She rode to the farm
She rode to japan
And re-entered a town
By this time the weather
Had changed one degree
She asked for the people
To let her go free
My wild love is crazy
She screams like a bird
She moans like a cat
When she wants to be heard
My wild love went ridin
She rode for an hour
She stopped and she rested
And then she rode on
Ride, cmon
song performed by by Doors
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Hidden Heart
AS I rode out of Lochinvar
About me all the scene was fair;
The skies, with not a cloud to mar,
Were filled with fresh and dewy air,
While making song, a merry throng,
The thrushes warbled everywhere.
As I rode out of Lochinvar
Through Fairydom I seemed to go,
For round about, and near and far,
Enchanted lights began to glow;
And where I went, on what intent,
And who I was I did not know!
For lo, I met a troubadour
As I rode out of Lochinvar;
His like on earth is seen no more,
With feathered hat and gay guitar;
And loud and clear, and sweet to hear,
He sang a song of love and war.
As I rode out of Lochinvar
He sang a song I somehow knew,
The while he touched his gay guitar;
And when I asked him, 'Who are you?'
'Yourself!' he said — and bowed his head,
And vanished like the morning dew.
Though I may see him nevermore,
This much in very truth I ken,
That one, at heart a troubadour,
May seem a sober citizen,
Who sets afar his gay guitar
To seem just like his fellow men.
poem by Roderic Quinn
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Esther, A Sonnet Sequence: XIII
A second warning, nor unheeded. Yet
The thought appealed to me as no strange thing,
Pure though I was, that love impure had set
Its seal on that fair woman in her Spring.
Her broken beauty did not mar her grace
In form or spirit. Nay, it rather moved.
It seemed a natural thing for that gay face
It should have known and suffered and been loved.
It kindled in me, too, to view it thus,
A mood of daring which was more than mine,
And made my shamefaced heart leap valorous,
And fired its courage to a zeal divine.
All this, in one short instant, as I gazed
Into her eyes, admiring, yet amazed.
poem by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
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Tribute To Courage
Courage is doing what is right
Without having to be told
Courage is manning up
When you know you've done something wrong
Courage is looking the enemy in the eye
And telling them to just bring it
Courage is having fear
But still staying strong
Courage is facing adversity
But being able to overcome it
Courage is leaving your family behind
To defend the country you love
Courage is being a soldier
In the greatest army in the world
Thank you for this courage
That lets us live free
May God bless you
And come home safely to your families
poem by James Elston
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Beauty is a Million Colors
Beauty is more than appearance
Beauty is love
The graceful wings of a dove
The endless imagination in a dream
Beauty is not always something that can be seen
Beauty is laughter
And the remembrance after
Beauty is hope
When you have no reason to
Beauty is he and she and me and you
Beauty is forgiving
No matter how hard
Beauty is kindness
Making the best of a mess
Beauty is tears
And overcoming your fears
Beauty is individuality
The courage to be yourself
Beauty is a book, sitting on a shelf
To define beauty,
An impossible task
Because truly,
Does anyone really know, I ask
Beauty is different to me
Than to you
I wonder if anyone ever knew
poem by Sareeah Keelyn
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A Soldier's War of Courage
Courage is standing in the middle of a war zone
Not knowing if you’ll be making it back home
Courage is leaving your loved ones behind
Not knowing for sure if you were seeing them for the last time
Courage is holding the weapon in your hand in a do or die place
Not showing the enemy traces of your fear and despair on your face
Courage is able to sleep at night with one eye open and eye closed
Not knowing if tomorrow, you’ll be the next one not coming home
Courage is reading a letter from a loved one holding back the tears
Remaining strong is your mission and survival becomes your darkest fears
Courage is seeing soldiers die right in front of you
While you are aware that your life is at risk for a mission you were born to do
Courage is being a hero in everyone’s eyes
Whether or not you come out alive
There, you will always and forever remain; a Soldier’s War of Courage…
poem by Gail Doyle
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Strong Courage
My courage is STRONG
It is the strongest people have seen in a while
The kind you rarely see
My courage is when I stand up to people
My courage is when I tell the truth and not be afraid
My courage is when I help someone and put myself in danger to help
My courage is not being scared of a risky task
My courage is speaking my mind without any worries
My courage is STRONG
poem by Bailey Deziel
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When I left home, I was going to ride around a little while and then go to my mom's. As I rode and rode and rode, I felt even more anxiety coming upon me about not wanting to live.
quote by Susan Smith
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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