Bacchus and Ariadne
The moist and quiet morn was scarcely breaking.
When Ariadne in her bower was waking;
Her eyelids still were closing, and she heard
But indistinctly yet a little bird.
That in the leaves o'erhead, waiting the sun.
Seemed answering another distant one.
She wakes, but stirred not, only just to please
Her pillow-nestling cheek; while the full seas.
* * * * *
Her senses lingering in the feel of sleep;
And with a little smile she seemed to say,
'I know my love is near me, and 'tis day.'
At length, not feeling the accustomed arm.
That from all sense of fancied want and harm
Used to enclose her, when she turned that way.
She stretched her hand to feel where Theseus lay.
But how? Not there? She starts with a small cry,
And feels the empty space, and runs her eye
O'er all the bower, and stretches from the bed
One hasty foot, and listens with wild head.
No sight—no voice: she tries to smile, heart-sick.
And murmurs, 'Oh, 'tis but some hiding trick;
He sees me through the boughs:' and so she rose.
And, like a wood-nymph, through the glimmering goes.
And for a while delays to call his name,
Pretending she should spoil his amorous game;
But stops at last, her throat full-pulsed with fears.
And calls convulsively with bursting tears;
Then calls again; and then in the open air
Rushes, and fiercely calls. He is not there.
The faithless bark, far off, leaning away.
And now with gleaming sail, and now with dim.
Hastening to slip o'er the horizon's brim.
'Tis gone; and as a dead thing, down falls she.
In the great eye of morn, then breaking quietly. (lines 41–45)
Some say that Theseus took this selfish flight
From common causes — a cloyed appetite;
Others, that having brought her sister there
As well, he turned his easy love to her;
And others, who are sure to quote Heaven's orders 50
For great men's crimes, though not for small disorders.
Pretend that Bacchus in the true old way,
A dream, advised him sternly not to stay.
But go and cut up nations limb by limb.
And leave the lady and the bower to him.
One tiling looks certain,—that the chief that day
Was not alone a skulking runaway.
But left the woman that believed his smile
To all the horrors of a desert isle. (lines 41–59)
'Oh, Theseus, Theseus!' then awhile she stopped,
And turned, and in her hand her poor face dropped,
Shaking her head, and cried, 'How could you go.
And leave me here to die, that loved you so!
I would not have left you, even for mirth.
Not in the best and safest place on earth;
Nor, had you been never so false a one, 90
Denied you this poor breast to lean upon;
Much less for loving too confidingly;
And yet, for nothing worse, have you left me;
Left me—left Ariadne, sleeping too
Fast by your side; and yet for you, for you,
She left her father, country, home, and all. (lines 84–96)
Suddenly from a wood his dancers rush.
Leaping like wines that from the bottle gush;
Bounding they come, and twirl, and thrust on high
Their thyrsuses, as they would rouse the sky;
And hurry here and there, in loosened bands,
And trill above their heads their cymballed hands:
Some, brawny males, that almost show from far
Their forceful arms, cloudy and muscular;
Some, smoother females, who have nevertheless
Strong limbs, and hands, to fling with and to press;
And shapes, which they can bend with heavenward glare.
And tortuous wrists, and backward streaming hair.
A troop of goat-foot shapes came trampling after. (lines 161–173)
Bacchus took in his arms his bridal lass.
And gave and shared as much more happiness
Than Theseus, as a noble spirit's caress.
Full of sincerity, and mind, and heart.
Out-relishes mere fire and self-embittering art. (lines 339–343)
The grateful god took off from his love's hair
Her fervid crown; and with a leap i' the air,
As when a quoiter springs to his firm eye.
Whirled it in buzzing swiftness to the sky.
Starry already, and with heat within,
It fired as it flew up with that fierce spin.
And opening into grandeur, round and even.
Shook its immortal sparkles out of heaven.
* * * * *
The easy wear of inward gracefulness.
Beneath this star, this star, where'er she be.
Sits the accomplished female womanly:
Part of its light is round about her hair;
And should her gentle cheek be wet with care,
The tears shall be kissed off, as Ariadne's were.
poem by James Henry Leigh Hunt
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Ariadne Waking
The moist and quiet morn was scarcely breaking,
When Ariadne in her bower was waking;
Her eyelids still were closing, and she heard
But indistinctly yet a little bird,
That in the leaves o’erhead, waiting the sun,
Seemed answering another distant one.
She waked, but stirred not, only just to please
Her pillow-nestling cheek; while the full seas,
The birds, the leaves, the lulling love o’ernight
The happy thought of the returning light,
The sweet, self-willed content, conspired to keep
Her senses lingering in the feel of sleep;
And with a little smile she seemed to say,
“I know my love is near me, and ’tis day.”
poem by James Henry Leigh Hunt
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Stopped By A Bullet Of Love
Love and the stranger
So very far from home
A kid was playing little wing
I sat drinking on my own
Love and danger
Oh, they walk hand in hand
Said she was an actress
Thought I was in a band
Stopped by a bullet
Shes a pinball rolling round my head
She turned on a dime
Left me for dead
I found love for the very first time
Hey arizona, I can feel your heat
And I never, loved a tattoo
The way that I love you
Hey arizona, in the coolest, desert wind
Willies singing whiskey river
I let love walk in
*
Stopped by a bullet
Shes a pinball rolling round my head
She turned on a dime
Left me for dead
I found love for the very first time
Loved for the very first time
I found love for the very first time
Love for the very first time
Hey little joe
Is that your working name
Are you hiding something
Or is the truth a darker stain
Hey little joe
Im not another fan
The chorus lines a pickup
And Im a one night stand
Repeat *
song performed by by Ufo
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Oenone
On the holy mount of Ida,
Where the pine and cypress grow,
Sate a young and lovely woman,
Weeping ever, weeping low.
Drearily throughout the forest
Did the winds of autumn blow,
And the clouds above were flying,
And Scamander rolled below.
'Faithless Paris! cruel Paris!'
Thus the poor deserted spake-
'Wherefore thus so strangely leave me?
Why thy loving bride forsake?
Why no tender word at parting?
Why no kiss, no farewell take?
Would that I could but forget thee-
Would this throbbing heart might break!
'Is my face no longer blooming?
Are my eyes no longer bright?
Ah! my tears have made them dimmer,
And my cheeks are pale and white.
I have wept since early morning,
I will weep the livelong night;
Now I long for sullen darkness,
As I once have longed for light.
'Paris! canst thou then be cruel?
Fair, and young, and brave thou art-
Can it be that in thy bosom
Lies so cold, so hard a heart?
Children were we bred together-
She who bore me suckled thee;
I have been thine old companion,
When thou hadst no more but me.
'I have watched thee in thy slumbers,
When the shadow of a dream
Passed across thy smiling features,
Like the ripple of a stream;
And so sweetly were the visions
Pictured there with lively grace,
That I half could read their import
By the changes on thy face.
'When I sang of Ariadne,
Sang the old and mournful tale,
How her faithless lover, Theseus,
Left her to lament and wail;
Then thine eyes would fill and glisten,
Her complaint could soften thee:
Thou hast wept for Ariadne-
Theseus' self might weep for me!
'Thou may'st find another maiden
With a fairer face than mine-
With a gayer voice, and sweeter,
And a spirit liker thine:
For if e'er my beauty bound thee,
Lost and broken is the spell;
But thou canst not find another
That will love thee half so well.
'O thou hollow ship that bearest
Paris o'er the faithless deep,
Wouldst thou leave him on some island,
Where alone the waters weep?
Where no human foot is moulded
In the wet and yellow sand-
Leave him there, thou hollow vessel!
Leave him on that lonely land!
'Then his heart will surely soften,
When his foolish hopes decay,
And his older love rekindle,
As the new one dies away.
Visionary hills will haunt him,
Rising from the glassy sea,
And his thoughts will wander homewards
Unto Ida and to me.
'O! that like a little swallow
I could reach that lonely spot!
All his errors would be pardoned,
All the weary past forgot.
Never should he wander from me-
Never should he more depart,
For these arms would be his prison,
And his home would be my heart.'
Thus lamented fair Oenone,
Weeping ever, weeping low,
On the holy mount of Ida,
Where the pine and cypress grow.
In the self-same hour Cassandra
Shrieked her prophecy of woe,
And into the Spartan dwelling
Did the faithless Paris go.
poem by William Edmondstoune Aytoun
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I Left Something Turned On At Home
(billy lawson/john schweers)
Well boys I hate to leave good company
But my baby just called me on the phone
And from the sound of her voice, I simply have no choice
I left something turned on at home
Well I just put a quarter in the jukebox
And it aint halfway through my favorite song
But if I dont leave right now my whole place might burn down
cause I left something turned on at home
It aint the stove, it aint the heater
Shes hotter and a whole lot sweeter
And all day long shes been there alone
Right now her arms are open, the house is probably smokin'
cause I left something turned on at home
Hey waitress could you cancel that order
But if its too late Ill take it to go
Boys I gotta run fore somebody calls 911
cause I left something turned on at home
It aint the stove, it aint the heater
Shes hotter and a whole lot sweeter
And all day long shes been there alone
Right now her arms are open, the house is probably smokin'
cause I left something turned on at home
Right now her arms are open, the house is probably smokin'
cause I left something turned on at home
Yeah I left something turned on at home
song performed by by Trace Adkins
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The House Of Dust: Part 03: 02: The Screen Maiden
You read—what is it, then that you are reading?
What music moves so silently in your mind?
Your bright hand turns the page.
I watch you from my window, unsuspected:
You move in an alien land, a silent age . . .
. . . The poet—what was his name—? Tokkei—Tokkei—
The poet walked alone in a cold late rain,
And thought his grief was like the crying of sea-birds;
For his lover was dead, he never would love again.
Rain in the dreams of the mind—rain forever—
Rain in the sky of the heart—rain in the willows—
But then he saw this face, this face like flame,
This quiet lady, this portrait by Hiroshigi;
And took it home with him; and with it came
What unexpected changes, subtle as weather!
The dark room, cold as rain,
Grew faintly fragrant, stirred with a stir of April,
Warmed its corners with light again,
And smoke of incense whirled about this portrait,
And the quiet lady there,
So young, so quietly smiling, with calm hands,
Seemed ready to loose her hair,
And smile, and lean from the picture, or say one word,
The word already clear,
Which seemed to rise like light between her eyelids . .
He held his breath to hear,
And smiled for shame, and drank a cup of wine,
And held a candle, and searched her face
Through all the little shadows, to see what secret
Might give so warm a grace . . .
Was it the quiet mouth, restrained a little?
The eyes, half-turned aside?
The jade ring on her wrist, still almost swinging? . . .
The secret was denied,
He chose his favorite pen and drew these verses,
And slept; and as he slept
A dream came into his heart, his lover entered,
And chided him, and wept.
And in the morning, waking, he remembered,
And thought the dream was strange.
Why did his darkened lover rise from the garden?
He turned, and felt a change,
As if a someone hidden smiled and watched him . . .
Yet there was only sunlight there.
Until he saw those young eyes, quietly smiling,
And held his breath to stare,
And could have sworn her cheek had turned—a little . . .
Had slightly turned away . . .
Sunlight dozed on the floor . . . He sat and wondered,
Nor left his room that day.
And that day, and for many days thereafter,
He sat alone, and thought
No lady had ever lived so beautiful
As Hiroshigi wrought . . .
Or if she lived, no matter in what country,
By what far river or hill or lonely sea,
He would look in every face until he found her . . .
There was no other as fair as she.
And before her quiet face he burned soft incense,
And brought her every day
Boughs of the peach, or almond, or snow-white cherry,
And somehow, she seemed to say,
That silent lady, young, and quietly smiling,
That she was happy there;
And sometimes, seeing this, he started to tremble,
And desired to touch her hair,
To lay his palm along her hand, touch faintly
With delicate finger-tips
The ghostly smile that seemed to hover and vanish
Upon her lips . . .
Until he knew he loved this quiet lady;
And night by night a dread
Leered at his dreams, for he knew that Hiroshigi
Was many centuries dead,—
And the lady, too, was dead, and all who knew her . .
Dead, and long turned to dust . . .
The thin moon waxed and waned, and left him paler,
The peach leaves flew in a gust,
And he would surely have died; but there one day
A wise man, white with age,
Stared at the portrait, and said, 'This Hiroshigi
Knew more than archimage,—
Cunningly drew the body, and called the spirit,
Till partly it entered there . . .
Sometimes, at death, it entered the portrait wholly . .
Do all I say with care,
And she you love may come to you when you call her . . . '
So then this ghost, Tokkei,
Ran in the sun, bought wine of a hundred merchants,
And alone at the end of day
Entered the darkening room, and faced the portrait,
And saw the quiet eyes
Gleaming and young in the dusk, and held the wine-cup,
And knelt, and did not rise,
And said, aloud, 'Lo-san, will you drink this wine?'
Said it three times aloud.
And at the third the faint blue smoke of incense
Rose to the walls in a cloud,
And the lips moved faintly, and the eyes, and the calm hands stirred;
And suddenly, with a sigh,
The quiet lady came slowly down from the portrait,
And stood, while worlds went by,
And lifted her young white hands and took the wine cup;
And the poet trembled, and said,
'Lo-san, will you stay forever?'—'Yes, I will stay.'—
'But what when I am dead?'
'When you are dead your spirit will find my spirit,
And then we shall die no more.'
Music came down upon them, and spring returning,
They remembered worlds before,
And years went over the earth, and over the sea,
And lovers were born and spoke and died,
But forever in sunlight went these two immortal,
Tokkei and the quiet bride . . .
poem by Conrad Potter Aiken
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Letters
i had a problem on my mind,
the answer to which was hard to find.
i tossed and turned throughout the night
and a knot in my stomach, which i could not fight.
i layed in bed, just abiding my time
waiting for daylight to arrive.
morning finally did come, sleep i had gotten some.
i got up out of bed, picked up the letter
that yesterday i had read.
there it was plain as day.
'sweetheart i love you, but i can't stay.
i must find what i am destined to do.
even if i must hurt my family and you.
i do not want to have a regret on my mind
because i did'nt get up to try.
so i leave you with my heart in hand
it was'nt something that i had planned.
i know that it will hurt my family and you
for i am going through the same hurt too.
you showed me all the beauties in the world
and i grew just like a pearl, but just like a pearl
i have to be shown and admired, and other
hearts, to be set on fire.
so i leave with tears in my eyes, and i must abide my time.
'this is the letter that i had read.'
and my heart was torn and bled.
weeks went by without a word, and to her family
she was not heard.
then i received a letter today, and in it she did say:
i searched the big cities and the towns
but the love i had gotten from all of you, was not to be found.
i did find something that touched my heart
and in me, has become a big part.
the love of a blind child, who was born without sight
who touched my heart with so much might.
he touched my face with his hands, and pulled them back right away
and with that he did say:
i am blind and i can not see, but i feel so much
pain etched in your face, and you left loved
ones without a trace.
you left loved ones with your heart in your hands
and it's something that they can not understand.
you left in search of something that you had all along
and that was a place that you could belong.
i survive because of the love that is shown
and eyes i do not need to see, something that may be hurting me.
if you are searching for something more
then go help the NEEDY AND POOR.
they need love and comfort too, and they belong to me and you.
i turned from the child and AGAIN ran away.
then that night to the LORD i cried and prayed.
when i fell asleep that night, in my dream
all of you were in plain sight.
all of you were beckoning me home, and your broken
hearts were shown.
so i ask you on bended knees, help me with what i've seen.
help me to help the poor, for this is my destiny
of which i'm sure.
she came home and we did marry, and now my baby she carries.
we are helping all in need, for in her
GOD did plant the seed.
poem by Louis Rams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Broken Chances
My Love,
I don't know how you're going to get this,
But it is my last word on this Earth.
Just what ever you do sit alone and read this.
I want you to be at the lake where you gave me my first kiss,
I want you to sit by the tree that held us, and read this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You were my love, my only one person who always made me smile,
You held my hand through so many things, so many firsts.
You were my light you were my smile
And you told me the three deadly words,
The words that always kill, but first make you smile.
I have sewed my mouth shut, so you will never see me smile.
I would melt at the sound of your voice,
I would just sit and listen just to know you were really there,
I would call when you weren't home, just to hear your voice.
My wish every day was to hear you say 'I love you',
To hear your voice.
I have glued my ears so I don't have to listen to your lies.
I remember the feeling of your hands running through my hair,
You'd weave your fingers through it to comfort me,
Sometimes I would act sad just to feel your fingers in my hair,
I would silently smile and melt in your arms.
I remember your fingers running through my blond hair.
I have cut my hair so I can never remember that feeling.
U can see you standing looking at me with your sparkling eyes,
I always see you,
I can never see past those deep eyes,
I can see you smile at me, see your hands reach for mine.
I can still see your eyes.
I have cut my eyes out so I can never again fall into your deceiving eyes.
You made my heart race with butterflies, with hope.
I gave you my heart to keep, you said you'd never break it,
You gave me the one thing i needed ti keep going; hope.
And I fell for the traps, I gave you EVERYTHING.
I ave you all the hope I held in my heart, my soul.
I have stabbed my heart, just so you can't shatter what's already broken.
You became my life, you became my love, my everything.
No matter what happened I still loved you,
And no matter what I tried to give you everything,
And you made me loose so much that I'm left with nothing,
And with my dying breath I give you what was all I had left, my everything.
I take my life to show you what love really means, that it's not the lie you told.
I may not be able to smile when you hold me,
I may not be able to hear your words even if their truth,
I may not be able to remember you soothing touch, or your warmth,
I mat not be able to see your eyes, or your reaching hands,
I may not be able to press my beating heart against your skin,
I may not be able to give you a second chance, for like my heart it is broken,
But After the pain and lies, I believe in what I felt for you,
And hope maybe someday you'll believe the same, and find beauty from pain
Even with nothing left to give you but my word, I breath my last breath for you.
I lay in silence to let you live, to give to you a broken second chance,
For I will always love you,
Be............
by: Bethany Maxwell =)
poem by Bethany Maxwell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Queen Hilda of Virland
PART I
Queen Hilda rode along the lines,
And she was young and fair;
And forward on her shoulders fell
The heavy braids of hair:
No gold was ever dug from earth
Like that burnished there –
No sky so blue as were her eyes
Had man seen anywhere.
'Twas so her gay court poets sang,
And we believed it true.
But men must fight for golden hair
And die for eyes of blue!
Cheer after cheer, the long half mile
(It has been ever thus),
And evermore her winsome smile
She turned and turned on us.
The Spring-burst over wood and sea,
The day was warm and bright –
Young Clarence stood on my left hand,
Old Withen on the right.
With fifteen thousand men, or more,
With plumes and banners gay,
To sail that day to foreign war,
And our ships swarmed on the bay.
Old Withen muttered in his beard I listened with a sigh –
"Good Faith! for such a chit as that
Strong men must kill and die.
She'll back to her embroideree,
And fools that bow and smirk,
And we must sail across the sea
And go to other work.
"And wherefore? Wherefore," Withen said,
"Is this red quarrel sought?
Because of clacking painted hags
And foreign fops at Court!
Because 'tis said a drunken king,
In lands we've never seen,
Said something foolish in his cups
Of our young silly queen!
"Good faith! in her old great-aunt's time
'Twere different, I vow:
If old Dame Ruth were here, she'd get
Some sharp advising now!"
(At this a grim smile went about
For men could say in sooth
That none who'd seen her face could doubt
The fair fame of Dame Ruth.)
If Clarence heard, he said no word;
His soul was fresh and clean;
The glory in his boyish eyes
Was shining for his Queen!
And as she passed, he gazed as one
An angel might regard.
(Old Withen looked as if he'd like
To take and smack her hard.)
We only smiled at anything
That good old Withen said,
For he, half blind, through smoke and flame
Had borne her grandsire dead;
And he, in Virland's danger time,
Where both her brothers died,
Had ridden to red victory
By her brave father's side.
Queen Hilda rode along the lines
'Mid thundering cheers the while,
And each man sought – and seemed to get –
Her proud and happy smile.
Queen Hilda little dreamed – Ah, me! –
On what dark miry plain,
And what blood-blinded eyes would see
Her girlish smile again!
Queen Hilda rode on through the crowd,
We heard the distant roar;
We heard the clack of gear and plank,
The sailors on the shore.
Queen Hilda sought her "bower" to rest,
(For her day's work was done),
We kissed our wives – or others' wives –
And sailed ere set of sun.
(Some sail because they're married men,
And some because they're free –
To come or not come back agen,
And such of old were we.
Some sail for fame and some for loot
And some for love – or lust –
And some to fish and some to shoot
And some because they must.
(Some sail who know not why they roam
When they are come aboard,
And some for wives and loves at home,
And some for those abroad.
Some sail because the path is plain,
And some because they choose,
And some with nothing left to gain
And nothing left to lose.
(And we have sailed from Virland, we,
For a woman's right or wrong,
And we are One, and One, and Three,
And Fifteen Thousand strong.
For Right or Wrong and Virland's fame –
You dared us and we come
To write in blood a woman's name
And take a letter home.)
PART II
King Death came riding down the lines
And broken lines were they,
With scarce a soldier who could tell
Where friend or foeman lay:
The storm cloud looming over all,
Save where the west was red,
And on the field, of friend and foe,
Ten thousand men lay dead.
Boy Clarence lay in slush and blood
With his face deathly white;
Old Withen lay by his left side
And I knelt at his right.
And Clarence ever whispered,
Though with dying eyes serene:
"I loved her for her girlhood,.
Will someone tell the Queen?"
And this old Withen's message,
When his time shortly came:
"I loved her for her father's sake
But I fought for Virland's fame:
Go, take you this, a message
From me," Old Withen said,
"Who knelt beside her father,
And his when they were dead:
"I who in sport or council,
I who as boy and man,
Would aye speak plainly to them
Were it Court, or battle's van –
(Nay! fear not, she will listen
And my words be understood,
And she will heed my message,
For I know her father's blood.)
"If shame there was – (I judge not
As I'd not be judged above:
The Royal blood of Virland
Was ever hot to love,
Or fight.) – the slander's wiped out,
As witness here the slain:
But, if shame there was, then tell her
Let it not be again."
At home once more in Virland
The glorious Spring-burst shines:
Queen Hilda rides right proudly
Down our victorious lines.
The gaps were filled with striplings,
And Hilda wears a rose:
And what the wrong or right of it
Queen Hilda only knows.
But, be it state or nation
Or castle, town, or shed,
Or be she wife or monarch
Or widowed or unwed –
Now this is for your comfort,
And it has ever been:
That, wrong or right, a man must fight
For his country and his queen.
poem by Henry Lawson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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0371 Reading behind the lines
So if it makes you feel great,
OK, go ahead -
as long as you're making yourself more attractive
for me, not your next husband...
OK, look like Anne Robinson if you must;
yes, she is great seen full-face, I grant
but now she's got no profile
to match those wit-sharp comments
to a sideways glance...
and yes, it's blushingly well-known
than a man can't even recognise his own wife in a crowd
if she's had her hair done in the interim...
so who am I - except the one who loves you
like the supper we've had every week
since we were courting? ...
but let me just say this:
I who have loved you
in my quiet way
like a favourite book (now, where did I put it? ...)
love those fine lines, that time and - we - have etched;
we men, surprise, are something of a connoisseur of lines:
the lines that cross your forehead: there, because
you're just so silly about not being seen by other men
with spectacles on your nose -
as if that told strange men
a lie and not the truth...
if they were lines of worry, anxiety, failure -
they'd be my responsibility, not yours...
and then the lines around the mouth:
that's a national thing in part -
it's well known that American women
welcome you with open mouth;
(and teeth! ...pearls? more like spotlights...) but
Europeans greet you with a smile of eyes;
(and there are cruder analogies I'll leave unsaid) :
so look carefully, man,
those smile-lines - a little forced;
or natural?
accommodating show-biz whopping tooth-caps?
upward and sweet-natured? or that downward turn
that bespeaks a critical mind you might come home to every night?
then the lines under your eyes - none of my business, those:
that's a matter of heredity or, OK, cosmetic surgery...
please yourself, my darling;
you've bags of skin, I've bags of money. That was a joke.
but the lines around the sides of your sweet eyes -
ah, how I love those...
the European smile that makes a man's heart melt;
'crow's feet' indeed! there's written, years of happy life,
and children, friends; the world itself
in those sweet lines...
' In those dear lines, my love, your soul is caught;
Your soul; my life; without them I am aught.'...
OK go ahead, spend my money if it makes you happy -
you know I'll always go along with you...
(I don't know yet, how I'll respond
at parties now when carefree younger men
give you that searching glance that chancers give...)
But please, I beg of you, don't ask your surgeon
with his character-erasing tools
to take away those lines around the corners of your eyes,
that smile at me
from a lifetime that's been shared.
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Hemorrhage
Hemorrhage (In My Hands)"
memories are just where you laid them
drag the waters 'till the depths give up their dead
what did you expect to find?
was there something you left behind?
don't you remember anything i said when i said
don't fall away, and leave me to myself
don't fall away and leave love bleeding
in my hands, in my hands again
leave love bleeding
in my hands, in my hands
love lies bleeding
oh hold me now i feel contagious
am i the only place that you've left to go
she cries her life is like
some movie black and white
dead actors faking lines
over and over and over again she cries
don't fall away, and leave me to myself
dont fall away, and leave love bleeding
in my hands, in my hands again
leave love bleeding
in my hands, in my hands
love lies bleeding
and i wanted
you turned away
you don't remember, but i do
you never even tried
don't fall away and leave me to myself
don't fall away and leave love bleeding
in my hands, in my hands again
leave love bleeding
in my hands, in my hands
love lies bleeding
song performed by by Fuel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Circus
Little man with his eyes on fire
And his smile so bright.
In his hands are the toys you gave
To fill his heart with delight.
And in the ring stands a circus clown
Holding up a knife.
What you see and what you will hear
Will last you for the rest of your life.
And its sad, so sad,
There aint no easy way round.
And its sad, so sad,
All you friends gather round
cause the circus left town.
Little man with his heart so pure
And his love so fine.
Stick with me and Ill ride with you
Till the end of the line.
Hold my hand and Ill walk with you
Through the darkest night.
When I smile Ill be thinking of you
And every little thing will be all right.
Chorus
Chorus
The circus left town, left town.
The circus left town, left town.
song performed by by Eric Clapton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Thanks for playing with my feelings,
Thanks for playing with my feelings,
How i wish i could stop my heart from beating,
Thanks for playing with my heart,
At least to you this was a fun part,
you have left me broken, with my eyes filled with tears and fears,
At least you are whole, with smile on your face and not a sight of fear,
To you i was just a game, that you tried to win and succeeded,
Now that you are bored you've left me deserted,
Thanks for playing with my head,
Your sick little mind games,
You kept me guessing, till the very end,
Thanks for playing with my emotions,
According to you this was my weakness,
Thanks for your fake love,
Thanks for pretending that your cared,
Thanks for strengthening my belief, that LOVE is nothing but a pain causing pill,
Thanks for showing me that friendship is something that does not really exist,
Thanks for breaking my trust, for opening up, for sharing my thoughts, for placing my trust on an unknown soul,
Thanks for opening my eyes, you honestly showed me that Love too like friendship is something that does not actually exist,
Thanks for showing me the right path,
A path where to help is to hurt, to love is to lie, to share is to sin, to smile is a crime,
Thanks for showing me, a man with a heart is not a man at all,
Thanks for proving that I'm a fool, to have trusted you,
I will hate myself, till the very end, for loving you...........................
poem by Beautiful Lie
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Hermaphroditus
I.
LIFT UP thy lips, turn round, look back for love,
Blind love that comes by night and casts out rest;
Of all things tired thy lips look weariest,
Save the long smile that they are wearied of.
Ah sweet, albeit no love be sweet enough,
Choose of two loves and cleave unto the best;
Two loves at either blossom of thy breast
Strive until one be under and one above.
Their breath is fire upon the amorous air,
Fire in thine eyes and where thy lips suspire:
And whosoever hath seen thee, being so fair,
Two things turn all his life and blood to fire;
A strong desire begot on great despair,
A great despair cast out by strong desire.
II.
Where between sleep and life some brief space is,
With love like gold bound round about the head,
Sex to sweet sex with lips and limbs is wed,
Turning the fruitful feud of hers and his
To the waste wedlock of a sterile kiss;
Yet from them something like as fire is shed
That shall not be assuaged till death be dead,
Though neither life nor sleep can find out this.
Love made himself of flesh that perisheth
A pleasure-house for all the loves his kin;
But on the one side sat a man like death,
And on the other a woman sat like sin.
So with veiled eyes and sobs between his breath
Love turned himself and would not enter in.
III.
Love, is it love or sleep or shadow or light
That lies between thine eyelids and thine eyes?
Like a flower laid upon a flower it lies,
Or like the night’s dew laid upon the night.
Love stands upon thy left hand and thy right,
Yet by no sunset and by no moonrise
Shall make thee man and ease a woman’s sighs,
Or make thee woman for a man’s delight.
To what strange end hath some strange god made fair
The double blossom of two fruitless flowers?
Hid love in all the folds of all thy hair,
Fed thee on summers, watered thee with showers,
Given all the gold that all the seasons wear
To thee that art a thing of barren hours?
IV.
Yea, love, I see; it is not love but fear.
Nay, sweet, it is not fear but love, I know;
Or wherefore should thy body’s blossom blow
So sweetly, or thine eyelids leave so clear
Thy gracious eyes that never made a tear—
Though for their love our tears like blood should flow,
Though love and life and death should come and go,
So dreadful, so desirable, so dear?
Yea, sweet, I know; I saw in what swift wise
Beneath the woman’s and the water’s kiss
Thy moist limbs melted into Salmacis,
And the large light turned tender in thine eyes,
And all thy boy’s breath softened into sighs;
But Love being blind, how should he know of this?
Au Musée du Louvre, Mars 1863.
poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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When I Wrote The Words I Love You I Miss You I Want You
you will by chance read these ordinary lines that a lover says to another lover faraway,
oh! My God! you really tore your heart out of your chest and threw
on the computer stand when
you write these lines
they are ordinarily said, let me tell you again,
i love you i miss you i want you on my side,
the musings sound like you and i have met and kissed
in the subway
of strangeness as i hold your hands like you are a train bar
so i may not fall away
and die like a stupid bum, but i write lines of love and missing
as i am born to love and miss
those unloved and unfound, what for too is my loneliness
and being messy,
got to go now, you did not tell me your name, and i did not tell mine,
we do not find any importance
about knowing each other at all, we just meet, i say i love you i say
i miss you, and you listen attentively and pretend you like each word,
we recall the rules of our game, for those who believe there is heaven
for those who don't keep your little space of earth,
and live, wiser, cautious, and better adjusted this time,
easy come,
easy go, there is not much pain, there is no bargain, and well
what is the gain?
now you are learning now you are saying when i go away
i miss you i love you i want you and i will not
look back at you, your tongue is so adept in your cheek.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Image
The girl in the mirror stared back at me.
Unflinching.
Eyes blood shot.
Cheeks stained with tears and sweat.
Her hands dangled weakly, swollen
and splattered with blood.
Matted hair sprung from her head and the black circles
made her eyes seem all the more sunken. Desperate.
She was small. Shriveled.
All hope sucked from her soul and left a scar
across her gray face like a tree branch
reaching for the sun but anchored by the abandoned
body of a young girl whose heart
had long ago stopped beating.
the fallen soldier of a country whose world
had fought against it. A country of Purity.
And this girl raised a cut and bruised arm
and lifted the mask from her face. Hesitantly.
The scars faded.
They left tiny white lines on my arms and face.
And my eyes cleared;
Hope glistening from them
and making my skin glow.
My hair curled softly.
My hands healed and were cleansed.
A slight pink stain rested on my fingers
My flesh was watered back to life.
And I smiled.
A weak, crooked sort of smile.
My teeth were not in their places
and a few were chipped,
but I loved the sight of that broken grin.
poem by Zoe Guillory
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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92
when i wrote the words i love you i miss you i want you
you will by chance read these ordinary lines that a lover says to another lover faraway,
oh! My God! you really tore your heart out of your chest and threw
on the computer stand when
you write these lines
they are ordinarily said, let me tell you again,
i love you i miss you i want you on my side,
the musings sound like you and i have met and kissed
in the subway
of strangeness as i hold your hands like you are a train bar
so i may not fall away
and die like a stupid bum, but i write lines of love and missing
as i am born to love and miss
those unloved and unfound, what for too is my loneliness
and being messy,
got to go now, you did not tell me your name, and i did not tell mine,
we do not find any importance
about knowing each other at all, we just meet, i say i love you i say
i miss you, and you listen attentively and pretend you like each word,
we recall the rules of our game, for those who believe there is heaven
for those who don't keep your little space of earth,
and live, wiser, cautious, and better adjusted this time,
easy come,
easy go, there is not much pain, there is no bargain, and well
what is the gain?
now you are learning now you are saying when i go away
i miss you i love you i want you and i will not
look back at you, your tongue is so adept in your cheek.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Cover My Eyes
(music: marillion lyrics: steve hogarth)
Cover my eyes
The light falls on her face
Dangerous lines
Dangerous colours & shapes
Ferocious designs
Connected and ready to play
Buttoned up tight
Crimson and halloween white
She's like the girl in the movie when the spitfire falls
Like the girl in the picture that he couldn't afford
She's like the girl with the smile in the hospital ward
Like the girl in the novel in the wind on the moors
Pain and heaven
Pain and heaven
The meaning of life
A hair falls out of place
Cover my eyes
Dangerous colours and shapes
And when she moves
Cover my eyes
She's like the girl on the t.v. with the red guitar
Like the girl with the dealer at the end of the bar
She's like the girl with the smile in the dream in the dark
Like the girl overtaking in the open car
Pain and heaven
Pain and heaven
Pain and heaven
Pain and heaven
Cover my eyes
The light falls on her face
Dangerous lines
Dangerous colours & shapes
Ferocious designs
song performed by by Marillion
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Up, Up and Away
I’ve tried so hard to say goodbye
To let you go, oh how I’ve tried
I told you that I couldn’t stay
But you keep standing in my way
Your kind of love is just a joke
A silly game, a cruel hoax
It’s all just fluff and flattery
You aimed right at the heart of me
I loved you to the very core
Through the years I’ve loved you more
I never stopped to consider why
I never even had to try
It just came, a welcome breeze
A passion washing over me
All it took was just your smile
Ya know...you had me all the while
I thought we’d grown, beyond the touch
Believed your heart was close enough
But what I found was wrapped in strings
Too tightly bound to feel a thing
So now I try to run and hide
It’s funny but, I haven’t cried
I think I too, have turned to stone
It happened while I loved alone
I didn’t know how far I’d fall
Until I got this wake-up call
Seasons change and so have I
There’s nothing left, but my goodbye
It’s too late now to ask me why
It’s too late now to claim you’ll try
So much unsaid b’tween the lines
It's too late now to change your mind
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Tear Tram Lines
This town has lost its sparkle,
The stars have lost their shine,
This town’s too full of echoes,
And my face too full of lines.
The shore has lost its tide,
The waves have lost their rhyme,
This town’s too full of tears,
And my smile too full of lines.
The clock has stopped it’s ticking
My feet dance out of time,
This town’s too full of yesterdays,
And my frown too full of lines
The cinema’s showing it’s last reel,
The pubs have all called time,
This towns too full of actors
And my script too full of unread lines….
In My Hands (Hemmorage)
Memories are just where you laid them
Drag the waters till the depths give up their dead
What did you expect to find?
Was it something you left behind?
Don't you remember anything I said, when I said:
Chorus:
Don't fall away
And leave me to myself
Don't fall away
And leave love bleeding in my hands
In my hands again
And leave love bleeding in my hands
In my hands
Love lies bleeding...
Oh hold me now I feel contagious
Am I only the only place that you've left to go?
She cries her life is like
Some movie black and white
Dead actors faking lines
Over and over and over again she cries:
: Repeat Chorus :
And I wanted
You turned away...
You don't remember
But I do
YOU NEVER EVEN TRIED
(End Chorus)
Don't fall away
song performed by by Fuel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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