Five Poems From “Helen: A Revision”
Nothing is known about Helen but her voice
Strange glittering sparks
Lighting no fires but what is reechoed
Rechorded, set on the icy sea.
All history is one, as all the North Pole is one
Magnetic, music to play with, ice
That has had to do with vision
And each one of us, naked.
Partners. Naked.
* * *
Helen: A Revision
ZEUS: It is to be assumed that I do not exist while most people in the vision assume that I do exist. This is to be one of the extents of meaning between the players and the audience. I have to talk like this because I am the lord of both kinds of sky—and I don't mean your sky and their sky because they are signs, I mean the bright sky and the burning sky. I have no intention of showing you my limits. The players in this poem are players. They have taken their parts not to deceive you [or me for that matter] but because they have been paid in love or coin to be players. I have known for a long time that there is not a fourth wall in a play. I am called Zeus and I know this.
THERSITES: [Running out on the construction of the stage.] The fourth wall is not as important as you think it is.
ZEUS: [Disturbed but carrying it off like a good Master of Ceremonial.] Thersites is involuntary. [He puts his arm around him.] I could not play a part if I were not a player.
THERSITES: Reveal yourself to me and don't pretend that there are people watching you. I am alone on the stage with you. Tell me the plot of the play.
ZEUS: [Standing away.] Don't try to talk if you don't have to. You must admit there is no audience. Everything is done for you.
THERSITES: Stop repeating yourself. You old motherfucker. Your skies are bad enough. [He looks to the ground.] A parody is better than a pun.
ZEUS: I do not understand your language.
[They are silent together for a moment and then the curtain drops.]
* * *
And if he dies on this road throw wild blackberries at his ghost
And if he doesn't, and he won't, hope the cost
Hope the cost.
And the tenor of the what meets the why at the edge
Like a backwards image of each terror's lodge
Each terror's lodge.
And if he cries put his heart out with a lantern's goat
Where they say all passages to pay the debt
The lighted yet.
* * *
The focus sing
Is not their business. Their backs lay
By not altogether being there.
Here and there in swamps and villages.
How doth the silly crocodile
Amuse the Muse
* * *
And in the skyey march of flesh
That boundary line where no body is
Preserve us, lord, from aches and harms
And bring my death.
Both air and water rattle there
And mud and fire
Preserve us, lord, from what would share a shroud
and bring my death.
A vagrant bird flies to the glossy limbs
The battlefield has harms. The trees have half
Their branches shot away. Preserve us, lord
From hair and mud and flesh.
poem by Jack Spicer
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Related quotes
Let Us Learn How To Play!
Life is a game,
Full of anxiety,
Full of excitement,
Who is the player?
I, you and we are players
if we are all players,
for what we play?
For what we have to play?
For money or name,
Or to gain some toys
to feel only more pain?
We take nothing at the end,
trophies and medals,
will not have meaning,
why we run here and there,
Jump and hop,
laugh and weep, Why we strive to win?
We never know causes,
Whose effect is this life?
We don't know our cause here,
And we talk of causes!
What cause may take us where?
Useless to think, just play your game!
Find the player
who play and enjoy all alone,
Creating own ground and arena,
He plays and enjoys the game,
so many things bring us shame,
Our own thoughts and deeds,
Who is enemy of us greater than these?
Let him play his game,
Pray him for rest,
sit and meditate at his feet,
Or get the yellow card for wrong play!
Anyway find a way to sit aside,
Let others play,
let us rest a while,
Watch and learn how to play!
poem by Ramdas Bhandarkar
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Zeus
Zeus has a normal life
Two children and a loving wife
Yet he feels his days crappy
He never is really happy!
Zeus likes his wife on his side
And when the children on his shoulder ride
Yet he feels he’s missing something
In nothing of these he’s getting the zing!
Zeus’ head wants to remain rational
But down there pricks the monster carnal
Goading him to break free
Telling him ‘you are not happy’!
Zeus after a prolonged strife
Breaks the shackle blows the fife
Other women with madness he hounds
Crazed with the blindness this world abounds!
Zeus wakes up to the riddle at last
That happiness cannot come out of lust
It’s always there in a normal life
Two children and a loving wife!
poem by Pradip Chattopadhyay
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Drama of Life
Our life is a drama and the players are we
The stage is wherever we want our feet to be
But we can't always choose the best place in a stage
and choose the part we act, it is GOD who dictates
the kind of story line, the plot we have to take,
when to raise the curtain and when the play must end
poem by Pacific Hernandez
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Now You're Here (Rock Ballad) :
Now you're here, we're ready to play.
Ready to play for you..
And now you're here, we're ready to sing.
Ready to sing for you..
We are the players, the singers.
We play for your town.
We keep you rockin', a rollin', a movin' around.
We get you movin', a groovin'..Yaahh! feelin' real fine.
We get you screamin', a shoutin'..
We get your hands in the air..
We are the players, the singers.
We play for your town.
We keep you rockin', a rollin', a movin' around.
We are the players, the singers.
And we bring on the sound..
So now you're here, we're ready to play.
Ready to play for you.
And now you're here, we're ready to sing.
Ready to sing for you..
We are the players, the singers.
We play for your town.
We keep you rockin', a rollin', a movin' around.
We get you swingin', a swayin', so join in the crowd.
We get you spinnin', a grinnin', a turnin' around.
We are the players, the singers.
And we play for your town.
So now you've stayed, you've listened to us.
We're so glad we played for you.
And now you've stayed, you've listened to us.
We're so glad we sang this tune..
We're so glad we sang this tune..
Rock-Ballad-By Kim Robin Edwards
Copyright 1987,2009..
ALL rights reserved..
poem by Kim Robin Edwards
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You're looking for players whose name on the front of the sweater is more important than the one on the back. I look for these players to play hard, to play smart and to represent their country.
quote by Herb Brooks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ritual One
As I enter the theatre the play is going on.
I hear the father say to the son on stage,
You’ve taken the motor apart.
The son replies, The roof is leaking.
The father retorts, The tire is flat.
Tiptoeing down the aisle, I find my seat,
edge my way in across a dozen kneecaps
as I tremble for my sanity.
I have heard doomed voices calling on god the electrode.
Sure enough, as I start to sit
a scream rises from beneath me.
It is one of the players.
If I come down, I’ll break his neck,
caught between the seat and the backrest.
Now the audience and the players on stage,
their heads turned towards me, are waiting
for the sound of the break. Must I?
Those in my aisle nod slowly, reading my mind,
their eyes fixed on me, and I understand
that each has done the same.
Must I kill this man as the price of my admission
to this play? His screams continue loud and long.
I am at a loss as to what to do,
I panic, I freeze.
My training has been to eat the flesh of pig.
I might even have been able to slit a throat.
As a child I witnessed the dead chickens
over a barrel of sawdust absorbing their blood.
I then brought them in a bag to my father
who sold them across his counter. Liking him,
I learned to like people and enjoy their company too,
which of course brought me to this play.
But how angry I become.
Now everybody is shouting at me to sit down,
sit down or I’ll be thrown out.
The father and son have stepped off stage
and come striding down the aisle side by side.
They reach me, grab me by the shoulder
and force me down. I scream, I scream,
as if to cover the sound of the neck breaking.
All through the play I scream
and am invited on stage to take a bow.
I lose my senses and kick the actors in the teeth.
There is more laughter
and the actors acknowledge my performance with a bow.
How should I understand this?
Is it to say that if I machine-gun the theatre
from left to right they will respond with applause
that would only gradually diminish with each death?
I wonder then whether logically I should kill myself
too out of admiration. A question indeed,
as I return to my seat and observe a new act
of children playfully aiming their kicks
at each other’s groins.
poem by David Ignatow
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Two Fossil Flow'rs
Hast thou been enamored before Zeus?
were thee an aunt of grandma Medusa?
Was thy amor' beyond the ocean, thus?
A strong worker with his hydraulic press,
thy ancient chastity became his musa,
Hast thou been enamored before Zeus?
Were thee submitted to his solid bless?
before time thou appeared as Arethusa;
Was thy amor' beyond the ocean, thus?
Neanderthals were apt to just depress;
when thy wish was to abide in Syracusa;
Hast thou been enamored before Zeus?
Thy flock of boars value was to assess;
were thee in love with a robust bab'rusa
Was thy amor' beyond the ocean, thus?
Two fossil flow'rs decided to coalesce;
and thee reigned on glorious Lamp'dusa
Hast thou been enamored before Zeus?
Was thy amor' beyond the ocean, thus?
poem by Giorgio Veneto
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Ballade: Legacy
Within a stalk of fennel hid,
Prometheus took fire for
some poor ancestral hominid,
infuriating Zeus in lore.
Our forbears lived by nature's law
and myth to truth is paradox,
yet when they cooked their food from raw,
they travelled paths unorthodox.
Zeus fashioned clay in counterbid,
first woman, cursed with moral flaw.
Pandora batted sweet eyelid,
Prometheus refused, wherefore
Zeus chained him, while an eagle tore
his liver flayed upon the rocks.
When Titan sought mankind's rapport,
he travelled paths unorthodox.
Zeus gave a jar and then forbid,
Pandora look into it's maw.
Of course, she peeked inside the lid
and helpless, watched the ills outpour.
Does hope remain for us in store?
the vessel, be it jar or box.
When prying led her to explore,
she travelled paths unorthodox.
Shall we live happy evermore?
our bodies shaped by boon and pox.
Will future beings add encore?
They travelled paths unorthodox.
poem by Diane Hine
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The one game we all play
The one game we all play
We play games
To show our valour
And mainly to win
We do not mind going for coaching
If we feel we do not have the
Required strength to win
We play games
Either as a team or individual
The attempt is to demonstrate
That we are better talented
Than the team or member
Against whom we play
Nations enthuse people to play games
So that they add pride
Some games are played with
Gadgets and protective accessories
We have spectators to watch
The way we play
We have umpires and referees
Who ensure rules of the games
Are strictly adhered
And it is all a fair play
We play games indoor or outdoor
We play games in daylight
Or under artificial illumination
We score while playing
And the score achieved by a team or individual
In a specific time
Decides the winner
We telecast the games
We comment on the strengths and weaknesses
Of a team or individual
We conduct national and international
Tournaments to declare a team or individual
As champion
Irrespective of skills, race, gender
We all play a game
Which is played mainly to lose
It is an individual game
With no specific rules
With no umpire
With no spectator
With no commentator
With no TV coverage
With no scores
With no trophies
With no victory stands
With no top scorer
With no “player of the match”
But we play
Most of us like to play this game
Indoor and in closed doors
Decency and civilized ways
Do not allow this game being played in the open
There is no season for this game
It can be played any part of the day
And any part of the year
Summer, winter, monsoon seasons
Have no bearing on this game
The one requirement in this game is
Complete transparency and intimacy
Rules for this game
Vary from individual to individual
Rules also get refined
With the experience of the players
There are no restrictions to employ
Any method as both the players
Are determined to be the loser
Duration of play depends again
On the individuals
The game ends
Most often to the satisfaction
Of the both the players
In other games players declare
That they are retiring from playing
There is no retirement in this game
As players advance in age
They understand it is more a mind game
Outcome of this game
Are further more players
You guessed it right
It is the game of love
poem by Bashyam Narayanan
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Play, Play, O Lord
The music of my dancing heart
Rebels to confine in one part
Play, play, O Lord it in your art.
In grass, in shrubs in trees' every leaf,
In insect birds, every soul in brief,
In meanest creatures, feel you stay.
In hills, rivers, in the sun's ray.
Your magnitude expressed my Lord,
Play, play, play, play my heart's love chord!
I set free my prisoned music,
May your objects be tuned, to stick.
poem by Nilakshi Das
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My Life
When I was young
I used to dream of going far
Having my once, in a lifetime change
To prove I was a star.
A thousand times you stood
In the wings
Dreaming it was me,
I heard the people going wild
But it was just my fantasy
Life is a dance
And baby were just players
So stand up and smile
And dont be afraid
Chorus:
This is my night
This is my song
Standing right here
Out on the stage
Is where I belong
This is my song
This is my night
Standing right here
Out on the stage
In the spotlight
I traveled the road
Wherever the road would lead
I made mistakes but i
Wouldnt quit
I made myself believe
Dreams come true
For those who dream
So one day you can say
The music be the fruit of life
And let the music play.
Life is a dance
And baby were just players
So stand up and smile
And dont be afraid
Chorus:
Bridge: (8x)
This is my life
This is my life
song performed by by Donna Summer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Isn't It True My Lord!
How you love me?
o Lord,
why you love me?
I am that naughty child,
I am that foolish one,
I am that playful, With dirt of ground,
On body and cloth! I am not lazy, but always crazy
always busy on this stage and
ground,
Where I play my role
and where I play my game,
sleep where I am, Whenever I feel tired,
Never bother where I am! When I fall and get pain,
now and then, I come running to
you,
Just like a kid, busy in play run to
its mother when it fall! How do you love me
O, Lord why you love me?
You love me because I am your
child,
I love you because you are my
father, mother, and my all, I am one among all,
But you are unique to me!
If I love brothers and sisters and
all, my love reaches your heart,
and you are happy with me.
Isn't it true my Lord?
poem by Ramdas Bhandarkar
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Fragments - Lines 0001 - 0004
O lord, son of Leto, child of Zeus, you I shall never
Forget, either beginning or coming to an end,
But always, first and last and in the middle,
I shall sing of you. And you, hear me and grant good things.
Player's Ball
Here's a little somethin for the players out there hustlin
Gettin down for theirs
From east pointe, college park, decatur, devries...
My man, the scene was so thick
Lowriders, seventy-seven sevilles
El do's, nuttin but them 'llacs
All the players (deporte in the house) all the hustlers
I'm talkin bout a black man heaven here
Youknowhati'msayin? yeah
*singing*
Cadillacs are comin, from everywhere (yeahhh)
Limbo boppin good cause love is in the air
To all you players and you pimps smoke out and have a ball
And if your hoe is actin crazy --
-- put her on the wall
Now now now everybody's dancin and just feelin right
I see all of you players got yourselves laid in on ice
I hope when all y'all dance is over, can i get onn, yeah
My kids'll have a story, that still be told, whoooa, about
All the players came, from far and wide
Wearin afros and braids, kickin them gangster rides
Now i'm here to tell ya, there's a better day
When the player ball is happenin, all day eryday
song performed by by Outkast
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Stage
If the world is just a stage
and we're the actors in it,
why do the same ones get to play
the lead roles every minute?
For once I'd like to see a change
take place upon this stage
where the lead characters are the poor
stepping out of their cage.
Where all the minor roles would be given out
to all the power players
who've controlled this drama from the start
having never said their prayers.
And as the curtain rose each day
we would look and see
the poor and needy in front row seats,
the rulers in standing room only.
If this is just a stage we're on
and life is just a play,
then wouldn't it be ingenious
to see them all portray
us.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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Leadership is getting players to believe in you. If you tell a teammate you're ready to play as tough as you're able to, you'd better go out there and do it. Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you're not giving it all you've got.
quote by Larry Bird
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Psalm 104
Hope and majesty surround you
You are covered by impenetrable light
You stretch out the heavens like a curtain
And you separate the day from the night
You ride upon chariots of fire
On the clouds that cover the sky
You walk upon the wings of the wind
We exalt you oh Lord on high
The seas flee away at your presence
And the mountains fall down at your feet
The valley's they dance to see such things
And your enemies all suffer defeat
The birds all sing in the branches
Of the God who feeds them each day
The lions are fed and the mountain goats leap
The great fish of the deep they do play
The moon lights up the sky at night
And by day the sun warms the earth
You hold these things in the palm of your hand
And all these things you preserve
Hide your face and the whole world is troubled
Hold your breath and we crumble and die
Look away and the world falls to pieces
We are lost without our Lord on high
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live
I'll tell the story, not the half but the whole
Of my glorious Father in heaven above
Bless the Lord oh my soul
poem by Frank McEleny
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Glorious Majesty
Hope and majesty surround you
You are covered by impenetrable light
You stretch out the heavens like a curtain
And you separate the day from the night
You ride upon chariots of fire
On the clouds that cover the sky
You walk upon the wings of the wind
We exalt you oh Lord on high
The seas flee away at your presence
And the mountains fall down at your feet
The valley's they dance to see such things
And your enemies all suffer defeat
The birds all sing in the branches
Of the God who feeds them each day
The lions are fed and the mountain goats leap
The great fish of the deep they do play
The moon lights up the sky at night
And by day the sun warms the earth
You hold these things in the palm of your hand
And all these things you preserve
Hide your face and the whole world is troubled
Hold your breath and we crumble and die
Look away and the world falls to pieces
We are lost without our Lord on high
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live
I'll tell the story, not the half but the whole
Of my glorious Father in heaven above
Bless the Lord oh my soul
poem by Frank McEleny
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I spend a lot of time copying saxophone players and trumpet players. Not to say that it is not important to listen to guitar players, but there's so much music out there and so many possibilities. I like anyone who plays any instrument.
quote by Bill Frisell
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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