Illileo
Illileo, the moonlight seemed lost across the vales--
The stars but strewed the azure as an armor's scattered scales;
The airs of night were quiet as the breath of silken sails,
And all your words were sweeter than the notes of nightingales.
Illileo Legardi, in the garden there alone,
With your figure carved of fervor, as the Psyche carved of stone,
There came to me no murmur of the fountain's undertone
So mystically, musically mellow as your own.
You whispered low, Illileo-- so low the leaves were mute,
And the echoes faltered breathless in your voice's vain pursuit;
And there died the distant dalliance of the serenader's lute:
And I held you in my bosom as the husk may hold the fruit.
Illileo, I listened. I believed you. In my bliss,
What were all the worlds above me since I found you thus in this--?
Let them reeling reach to win me-- even Heaven I would miss,
Grasping earthward--! I would cling here, though I clung by just a kiss.
And blossoms should grow odorless-- and lilies all aghast--
And I said the stars should slacken in their paces through the vast,
Ere yet my loyalty should fail enduring to the last--.
So vowed I. It is written. It is changeless as the past.
IIlileo Legardi, in the shade your palace throws
Like a cowl about the singer at your gilded porticos,
A moan goes with the music that may vex the high repose
Of a heart that fades and crumbles as the crimson of a rose.
poem by James Whitcomb Riley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Delphiniums Of Blue
Come follow me down the garden path,
Past the flowerbeds, planted neat.
Around the sweetbriar's scented hedge,
To the old carved wooden seat.
A tranquil arbour, where within its shade,
Lies a sheltered quiet place.
We'll hear music from the singing birds,
And let our eyes embrace.
There's clematis along the grey stone wall,
There's a maple's vivid hue.
Pots of red and pink geraniums,
And delphiniums of blue.
The pond's azure sky, mirror image,
Under which the goldfishes play.
Elegant water lilies with their floating leaves,
Recall a painting by Monsieur Monet.
This garden is a treasure and a blessing,
Just to wander in between the flowers,
To feel an informality and a freedom,
Whilst whiling away the hours.
Hold my hand and we will silently marvel,
At the beauty that nature can wear.
In this bower that's so hidden and secluded,
We'll start our secret love affair.
poem by Ernestine Northover
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Pair Of Lovers In The Street
A PAIR of lovers in the street!
I dare not mock: with reverence meet
My unforgetting heart I cheat.
Ah, God, spare me—so soon again
At the barred door to beat in vain,
And find their dalliance such fierce pain!
I, yearning up from Hell’s abyss,
See, dreaming through their worlds of bliss,
This Dante and his Beatrice!
For these the distant goal have won
For which God made the plasm and sun;
His patient labouring is done.
For these each Spring has been a bride,
And lonely worlds were spawned and died.
Chaos for them in birth-throes cried.
Far out in seas of Space forlorn
This crescent wave was slowly born
That thunders on the beach of morn.
Ah, they, so soon to be meshed in
The web of splendour, silken-thin,
The nebulae were set to spin!
Up the long path from joy to joy
Love led the way. Can aught destroy
The task that was the stars’ employ?
Their ecstasy to God is more
Than Lucifer at Heaven’s door
Entreating pardon for his war.
These two are gods, for, by love swayed,
They have God’s special task essayed,
And new worlds for their gladness made.
This little hour so lightly given
Makes earth too mean a place to live in,
And broken toys His Hell and Heaven.
All Time, expectant of their bliss,
Hangs fearful. Space through her abyss
Shudders if they this hour should miss.
For if their kiss they went without,
The stars would be a raining rout,
And time in anguish flicker out.
About God’s room from star to sun
A stealthy slippered Thing would run,
Quenching cold tapers one by one.
But they have kissed. Eternity,
Like a great clock, beats steadily
For these mazed fools—but not for me!
Of God’s wide universe the strands
They hold within their clinging hands;
The stars march on at their commands.
So from this moment blossom free
New universes tirelessly—
Aeons of unguessed ecstasy!
But I can only bow and beat
Vain hands about God’s mercy-seat,
And, still remembering, still entreat.
Surely my penance is complete!
The rack turns grimly when I meet
A pair of lovers on the street
poem by Arthur Henry Adams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Lover’s Colloquy
[HERNANI, Act V.]
One little moment to indulge the sight
With the rich beauty of the summer's night.
The harp is hushed, and, see, the torch is dim,--
Night and ourselves together. To the brim
The cup of our felicity is filled.
Each sound is mute, each harsh sensation stilled.
Dost thou not think that, e'en while nature sleeps,
Some power its amorous vigils o'er us keeps?
No cloud in heaven; while all around repose,
Come taste with me the fragrance of the rose,
Which loads the night-air with its musky breath,
While everything is still as nature's death.
E'en as you spoke--and gentle words were those
Spoken by you,--the silver moon uprose;
How that mysterious union of her ray,
With your impassioned accents, made its way
Straight to my heart! I could have wished to die
In that pale moonlight, and while thou wert by.
HERNANI. Thy words are music, and thy strain of love
Is borrowed from the choir of heaven above.
DONNA SOL. Night is too silent, darkness too profound
Oh, for a star to shine, a voice to sound--
To raise some sudden note of music now
Suited to night.
HERN. Capricious girl! your vow
Was poured for silence, and to be released
From the thronged tumult of the marriage feast.
DONNA SOL. Yes; but one bird to carol in the field,--
A nightingale, in mossy shade concealed,--
A distant flute,--for music's stream can roll
To soothe the heart, and harmonize the soul,--
O! 'twould be bliss to listen.
[_Distant sound of a horn, the signal that_ HERNANI
_must go to_ DON RUY, _who, having saved his
life, had him bound in a vow to yield it up._]
poem by Victor Hugo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Home Of The Spirit
Answer me, burning stars of night,
Where is the spirit gone,
That past the reach of human sight,
As a swift breeze hath flown?
And the stars answer'd me: 'We roll
In light and power on high;
But of the never-dying soul
Ask that which cannot die.'
O many-toned and chainless wind,
Thou art a wanderer free;
Tell me if thou its place canst find,
Far over mount and sea?
And the wind murmur'd in reply:
'The blue deep I have cross'd,
And met its barks and billows high,
But not what thou hast lost.'
Ye clouds that gorgeously repose
Around the setting sun,
Answer - Have ye a home for those
Whose earthly race is run?
The bright clouds answer'd: 'We depart,
We vanish from the sky;
Ask what is deathless in thy heart
For that which cannot die.'
Speak, then, thou voice of God within,
Thou of the deep low tone;
Answer me, through life's restless din -
Where is the spirit flown?
And the voice answer'd: 'Be thou still;
Enough to know is given;
Clouds, winds, and stars
their
part fulfil;
Thine
is to trust in Heaven.'
poem by Felicia Dorothea Hemans
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Night - Wind
In summer's mellow midnight,
A cloudless moon shone through
Our open parlour window,
And rose-trees wet with dew.
I sat in silent musing;
The soft wind waved my hair;
It told me heaven was glorious,
And sleeping earth was fair.
I needed not its breathing
To bring such thoughts to me;
But still it whispered lowly,
'How dark the woods would be!
'The thick leaves in my murmur
Are rustling like a dream,
And all their myriad voices
Instinct with spirit seem.'
I said, 'Go, gentle singer,
Thy wooing voice is kind:
But do not think its music
Has power to reach my mind.
'Play with the scented flower,
The young tree's supply bough,
And leave my human feelings
In their own course to flow.'
The wanderer would not heed me:
Its kiss grew warmer still:
'Oh Come!' it sighed so sweetly;
'I'll win thee 'gainst thy will.
'Were we not friends from childhood?
Have I not loved thee long?
As long as thou, the solemn night,
Whose silence wakes my song.
'And when thy heart is resting
Beneath the church-aisle stone,
I shall have time for mourning,
And thou for being alone.'
poem by Emily Jane Brontë
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
My Heart Doesn’t Have A Clue
How high is the azure sky
How deep is the ocean blue
How dark is the silent night
So often do I think of you
Zillion times, I don’t have clue
How many roses sprinkled with dew
So many stars in my eyes to woo.
Another, I know, you wont find
No matter what I do,
Another, I know, you wont love
No matter how far I would go
I would cry to fill the sea,
If ever I lost you
How high is the azure sky
How deep is the ocean blue.
I have no answers now
But this much I can say
You gave a meaning
To this empty world of mine
I’ll know I’ll need you
Till the stars all burn away
How high is the azure sky
How deep is the ocean blue
For love cannot be measured
By hours in a day
Nor can it be inferred
By the words that I’ve come to say
But it is always there
Like stars all gleams in dark and lonely night
And like moonlight streaming forth those cloudy skies
They say love blooms in the night
And in daylight it dies
How high is the azure sky
How deep is the ocean blue
My heart doesn’t have a clue.
01-11-2009
ANJALI
poem by Anjali Sinha
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
See You On The Other Side
Voices, a thousand, thousand voices
Whispering, the time has passed for choices
Golden days are passing over, yeah
I cant seem to see you baby
Although my eyes are open wide
But I know Ill see you once more
When I see you, Ill see you on the other side
Yes, Ill see you, Ill see you on the other side
Leaving, I hate to see you cry
Grieving, I hate to say goodbye
Dust and ash forever, yeah
Though I know we mus be parted
As sure as stars are in the sky
Im gonna see when it comes to glory
And Ill see you, Ill see you on the other side
Yes Ill see you, Ill see you on the other side
Never thought Id feel like this
Strange to be alone, yeah
But well be together
Carved in stone, carved in stone, carved in stone
Hold me, hold me thight, Im falling
Far away. distant voices calling
Im so cold. I need you darling, yeah
I was down, but now Im flying
Straight across the great divide
I know youre crying, but Ill stop you crying
When I see you, I see you on the other side
Yes. Ill see you. see you on the othe side
Im gonna see you. see you on the other side
God knows Ill see you, see you on the other side, yeah
Ill see you. see you on the othe side
Im gonna see you. see you on the other side
God knows Ill see you, see you on the other side, yeah
I wanna see you, yeah, yeah, yeah, see you on the other side
God knows Ill see you, see you on the other side, yeah
Im gonna see you. see you on the other side
song performed by by Ozzy Osbourne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Gardener XXIX: Speak To Me My Love
Speak to me, my love! Tell me in
words what you sang.
The night is dark. The stars are
lost in clouds. The wind is sighing
through the leaves.
I will let loose my hair. My blue
cloak will cling round me like night. I
will clasp your head to my bosom; and
there in the sweet loneliness murmur
on your heart. I will shut my eyes
and listen. I will not look in your face.
When your words are ended, we will
sit still and silent. Only the trees will
whisper in the dark.
The night will pale. The day will
dawn. We shall look at each other's
eyes and go on our different paths.
Speak to me, my love! Tell me in
words what you sang.
poem by Rabindranath Tagore
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Day Dream
My eyes make pictures when they're shut:--
I see a fountain large and fair,
A Willow and a ruined Hut,
And thee, and me, and Mary there.
O Mary! make thy gentle lap our pillow!
Bend o'er us, like a bower, my beautiful green Willow!
A wild-rose roofs the ruined shed,
And that and summer well agree
And lo! where Mary leans her head,
Two dear names carved upon the tree!
And Mary's tears, they are not tears of sorrow:
Our sister and our friend will both be here to-morrow.
'Twas Day! But now few, large, and bright
The stars are round the crescent moon!
And now it is a dark warm Night,
The balmiest of the month of June!
A glow-worm fallen, and on the marge remounting
Shines, and its shadow shines, fit stars for our sweet fountain.
O ever -- ever be thou blest!
For dearly, Asra! love I thee!
This brooding warmth across my breast,
This depth of tranquil bliss -- ah me!
Fount, Tree, and Shed are gone, I know not whither,
But in one quiet room we three are still together.
The shadows dance upon the wall,
By the still dancing fire-flames made;
And now they slumber, moveless all!
And now they melt to one deep shade!
But not from me shall this mild darkness steal thee:
I dream thee with mine eyes, and at my heart I feel thee!
Thine eyelash on my cheek doth play--
'Tis Mary's hand upon my brow!
But let me check this tender lay,
Which none may hear but she and thou!
Like the still hive at quiet midnight humming,
Murmur it to yourselves, ye two beloved women!
poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Invocation
I called on dreams and visions, to disclose
That which is veil'd from waking thought; conjured
Eternity, as men constrain a ghost
To appear and answer. ~ WORDSWORTH.
Answer me, burning stars of night!
Where is the spirit gone,
That past the reach of human sight,
As a swift breeze hath flown?–
And the stars answer'd me–'We roll
In light and power on high;
But, of the never-dying soul,
Ask that which cannot die.'
Oh! many-toned and chainless wind!
Thou art a wanderer free;
Tell me if thou its place canst find,
Far over mount and sea?–
And the wind murmur'd in reply,
'The blue deep I have cross'd,
And met its barks and billows high,
But not what thou hast lost.'
Ye clouds, that gorgeously repose
Around the setting sun,
Answer! have ye a home for those
Whose earthly race is run?
The bright clouds answer'd–'We depart,
We vanish from the sky;
Ask what is deathless in thy heart,
For that which cannot die.'
Speak then, thou voice of God within,
Thou of the deep, low tone!
Answer me, thro' life's restless din,
Where is the spirit flown?
And the voice answer'd–'Be thou still!
Enough to know is given;
Clouds, winds, and stars their part fulfil,
Thine is to trust in Heaven.'
poem by Felicia Dorothea Hemans
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Her Refrain
Do you love me?' she said, when the skies were blue,
And we walked where the stream through the branches glistened;
And I told and retold her my love was true,
While she listened and smiled, and smiled and listened.
Do you love me?' she whispered, when days were drear,
And her eyes searched mine with a patient yearning;
And I kissed her, renewing the words so dear,
While she listened and smiled, as if slowly learning.
“Do you love me?” she asked, when we sat at rest
By the stream enshadowed with autumn glory;
Her cheek had been laid as in peace on my breast,
But she raised it to ask for the sweet old story.
And I said: 'I will tell her the tale again—
I will swear by the earth and the stars above me!'
And I told her that uttermost time should prove
The fervor and faith of my perfect love;
And I vowed it and pledged it that nought should move;
While she listened and smiled in my face, and then
She whispered once more, ' Do you truly love me? '
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Night-Wind
Here again is the same mind in converse with a like abstraction. 'The Night-Wind,' breathing through an open window, has visited an ear which discerned language in its whispers.
In summer's mellow midnight,
A cloudless moon shone through
Our open parlour window,
And rose-trees wet with dew.
I sat in silent musing;
The soft wind waved my hair;
It told me heaven was glorious,
And sleeping earth was fair.
I needed not its breathing
To bring such thoughts to me;
But still it whispered lowly,
How dark the woods will be!
'The thick leaves in my murmur
Are rustling like a dream,
And all their myriad voices
Instinct with spirit seem.'
I said, "Go, gentle singer,
Thy wooing voice is kind:
But do not think its music
Has power to reach my mind.
'Play with the scented flower,
The young tree's supple bough,
And leave my human feelings
In their own course to flow.'
The wanderer would not heed me;
Its kiss grew warmer still.
'O come!' it sighed so sweetly;
'I'll win thee 'gainst thy will.
'Were we not friends from childhood?
Have I not loved thee long?
As long as thou, the solemn night,
Whose silence wakes my song.
'And when thy heart is resting
Beneath the church-aisle stone,
I shall have time for mourning,
And thou for being alone.'
poem by Emily Brontë from Selections from the literary remains of Emily and Anne Brontë (1850)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy!
A Stone Griffin
a stone griffin
stern of heart
untouched
by exultant love
sits upon high
sits upon eves
in stone judgment
in heart of stone
face carved
in stone
emotionless
heartless
looking down
all passes
beneath sight
beneath grasp
look up
bodies inflamed
with emotions
passionate
we might miss
the light,
shining forth
from stars,
if we
do not,
raise
our heads,
to greater
expectations
emboldened
stellar blaze
poem by Terence George Craddock
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
False Echoes
The skies over Cuba turned pink with the light
And the waterfront ritual began to ignite
All the ships in the harbor were warmed by the sun
Twenty-fifth of November, 1921
On the old Chicamauga the Signal Jacks flew
And the message they spelled out caused a great bally hoo
Every ship in Havana then hoisted away
All the pennants were 'a flyin' on my dad's first birthday
Enduring echoes call out from his past
Time ain't for savin' no time's not for that
Chasing false echoes like a lost legionnaire
He waltzes on memories while he fades like a flare
Now his storybook childhood was not make believe
On the decks of a tall ship he was taught to achieve
Witnessed storms and starvation natural wonders and force
Oh the life of a sailor steers a wanderin' course
Enduring echoes call out from his past
Time ain't for savin' no time's not for that
Chasing false echoes like a lost legionnaire
He waltzes on memories while he fades like a flare
Well now life throws us curve balls we never can reach
He gave up the ocean but he lived by the beach
Where he raised up his family taught us all to survive
Then the wind went away in 1995
Now the old Chicamauga has slipped by the ways
She lies on the bottom of old Mobile Bay
Where the ghosts of his father and his brother are near
They protect him and tell him there's nothin' to fear
Cause it's family tradition we take to the sea
And it's a time in the future for Cameron and me
Enduring echoes call out from his past
Time ain't for saving no time's not for that
Chasing false echoes like a lost legionnaire
He waltzes on memories while he fades like a flare
The skies over Cuba were war
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
China Rose
Who can tell me if we have heaven?
Who can say the way it should be?
Moonlight holly, the Sappho Comet
Angel's tears below a tree
You talk of the break of morning
As you view the new aurora
Cloud in crimson, the key of heaven
One love carved in acajou
One told me of China Roses
One of thousand nights and one night
Earth's last picture, the end of evening
Hue of indigo and blue
A new moon leads me to
woods of dreams and I follow
A new world waits for me
My dream, my way
I know that if I have heaven
there is nothing to desire
Rain and river, a world of wonder
may be paradise to me
I see the sun...
I see the stars
song performed by by Enya
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
To Nanine
Dear, if I never saw your face again;
If all the music of your voice were mute
As that of a forlorn and broken lute;
If only in my dreams I might attain
The benediction of your touch, how vain
Were Faith to justify the old pursuit
Of happiness, or Reason to confute
The pessimist philosophy of pain.
Yet Love not altogether is unwise,
For still the wind would murmur in the corn,
And still the sun would splendor all the mere;
And I-I could not, dearest, choose but hear
Your voice upon the breeze and see your eyes
Shine in the glory of the summer morn.
poem by Ambrose Bierce
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Bless The Wings
Like the rose that blooms in the wintertime
As it reaches up through the snow
The more life keeps apart
The more love will grow
Like the seed that grows in the darkness
As it reaches up to the sun
I will always reach out for you
'cos you are the one
I bless the wings that bring you back to me
Back across the shore
If i could touch you now my darling
And love you just once more
If i could hold you, hold you, hold you,
I know you'd understand,
I know you'd understand.
As i cross the bridge by the waterfall
As i make my way by the stars
There's a shadow walking beside me
Here in my heart
Like the restless wind in the tree tops
Like a whispered voice in my ear
I will always be there for you
I'll always be here
I bless the wings that bring you back to me
Back across the shore
If i could touch you now my darling
And love you just once more
If i could hold you, hold you, hold you,
I know you'd understand,
I know you'd understand.
In a far off wonderland
That flashes past my eyes
The kiss of inspiration that was mine
The dust of many centuries
Has blown across this land
But love will not be scattered by the sand
Like the sunrise over the mountainside
Like the bird that has to be free
There's a part of you that will always be
Part of me
Like the seed that grows in the darkness
I will always reach out for you
'cos you are the one
I bless the wings that bring you back to me
Back across the shore
If i could touch you now my darling
And love you just once more
If i could hold you, hold you, hold you,
I know you'd understand,
I know you'd understand,
I know you'd understand,
I know you'd understand.
song performed by by Moody Blues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Lamp of Joy
Your hand touches the moonlight
You make the sea tremble
Earth cannot stop the stars
The wicked arm cannot prevent love
My open heart penetrates the night
Music above the badlands
Oak trees with noble cellos
Voices sweeter than songbirds
We meet like rain in the river
Blueberries grow along the lakes
Wolves are beautiful creations
Freedom is always wild
Come rest my love by the sea
Come listen to the tides
Are we not what we see?
Are we not the forest and hills?
Your past whispers like bluebirds
Tonight you are radiant
Love is a journey into the stars
I see the light of eons
Your hair falls like a garden
Your eyes like ancient moonlight
The shadows are warm elves
Tonight is a mystic candle
Romance lights the lamp of joy
poem by Joseph Narusiewicz
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Said the West Wind
1 I love old earth! Why should I lift my wings,
2 My misty wings, so high above her breast
3 That flowers would shake no perfumes from their hearts,
4 And waters breathe no whispers to the shores?
5 I love deep places builded high with woods,
6 Deep, dusk, fern-closed, and starred with nodding blooms,
7 Close watched by hills, green, garlanded and tall.
8 On hazy wings, all shot with mellow gold,
9 I float, I float thro' shadows clear as glass;
10 With perfumed feet I wander o'er the seas,
11 And touch white sails with gentle finger-tips;
12 I blow the faithless butterfly against
13 The rose-red thorn, and thus avenge the rose;
14 I whisper low amid the solemn boughs,
15 And stir a leaf where not my loudest sigh
16 Could move the emerald branches from their calm,--
17 Leaves, leaves, I love ye much, for ye and I
18 Do make sweet music over all the earth!
19 I dream by glassy ponds, and, lingering, kiss
20 The gold crowns of their lilies one by one,
21 As mothers kiss their babes who be asleep
22 On the clear gilding of their infant heads,
23 Lest if they kissed the dimple on the chin,
24 The rose flecks on the cheek or dewy lips,
25 The calm of sleep might feel the touch of love,
26 And so be lost. I steal before the rain,
27 The longed-for guest of summer; as his fringe
28 Of mist drifts slowly from the mountain peaks,
29 The flowers dance to my fairy pipe and fling
30 Rich odours on my wings, and voices cry,
31 'The dear West Wind is damp, and rich with scent;
32 We shall have fruits and yellow sheaves for this.'
33 At night I play amidst the silver mists,
34 And chase them on soft feet until they climb
35 And dance their gilded plumes against the stars;
36 At dawn the last round primrose star I hide
37 By wafting o'er her some small fleck of cloud,
38 And ere it passes comes the broad, bold Sun
39 And blots her from the azure of the sky,
40 As later, toward his noon, he blots a drop
41 Of pollen-gilded dew from violet cup
42 Set bluely in the mosses of the wood.
poem by Isabella Valancy Crawford
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Mother
Your children grow from you apart,
Afar and still afar;
And yet it should rejoice your heart
To see how glad they are;
In school and sport, in work and play,
And last, in wedded bliss
How others claim with joy to-day
The lips you used to kiss.
Your children distant will become,
And wide the gulf will grow;
The lips of loving will be dumb,
The trust you used to know
Will in another's heart repose,
Another's voice will cheer . . .
And you will fondle baby clothes
And brush away a tear.
But though you are estranged almost,
And often lost to view,
How you will see a little ghost
Who ran to cling to you!
Yet maybe children's children will
Caress you with a smile . . .
Grandmother love will bless you still,--
Well, just a little while.
poem by Robert William Service
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!