Cave in a Crumbling Cliff
Plash and boom of waves in cave
A door padlocked in vain
Steps lead down or up
And pebbles crunch
Under waves, under seaboots
And old dreams
You would live there
If your corpse didn't drag you off
The hearth and love
Pull and pull against
Oars along the heaving edge
Into an age when miners camped down there
Safe in huts like shepherds on the cold high moor
Or lobsters in crevices
beyond the broken wave
beyond the need to be
anything but yourself
The peace and rhythms there
rescue hearts
by the serenade of dark grey water
kissing cliff - tide of light and lost world
that pulls and pulls by the dead man's gate
by Velvet Isle to Manhaven Bay:
a boat to carry on your back
a shell against the songs of crumbling
and the scar on your chest
and the tide of time
I saw you from my crumbling edge
and rowed with you
as far as the mind would travel
and the wind forgive
and cannot go back
or never leave.
Lizard Point, South Shields
Related quotes
Crumbling Chalk
Beneath the cliffs of crumbling chalk was once a path
where you could walk. The walk would take you down to
the sand where fishing boats would come to land.
Now this crumbling chalk falls into the sea, where once
crabs and lobsters were caught for tea.
No scavenging left in this lonely bay even the gulls
have flown away; they have left the waves and the spray
are they to return another day.
Nets and pots have been swallowed up by the waves and
now their left to sleep in watery graves. A fishing village that was
once a boom has now become an empty tomb.
An oil slick just driffted into the shore and took away the beauty
that it had known before. Crumbling chalk that drops like tears
on the sand that's black made from the oil smears.
There is nothing left to self contain, oh will they no come
back again.
poem by Sylvia Spencer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Tide of emotions
Water is safe
Its a safe haven
For me.
As water washes over.
It can wash away a few
Of my daily struggles.
If only for a while.
In the sea
Along come the waves
In with the tide.
As the tide goes back out
So do my emotions.
Only now the tide
Is coming back in
Following are my emotions
Which I desperatly
Try to lose.
The tide is good
When it is out
Its good for me
Only when it comes back in
Back come my emotions.
Like a storm at sea.
Amy Kerswell
poem by Amy Louise Kerswell
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To parents
Come back, swim back… I need you…
When I stood a child upon the seashore
waving through the tears as first
the one and then the other
was taken by the tide until
no longer visible in that dark sea
too vasty to be thought about…
then turned, and ran back up the beach
to meet and greet my life..
that was, as it was; but now
I run back to the water’s edge
shouting come back... I never knew you,
I’m grown up now, I want to meet you,
ask you all the things I never asked,
tell you all the things I never dared,
look you in your fierce, sad eyes…
come back, swim back, I need you,
for I’m grown up now; I can love you
without restraint; give love not ask for it…
or must I wait, until the tide
laps feet, then knees, then heart, then sight…
to join you in that dark unknownness which
may be, may be, an even greater love
than that which stands here at the water’s edge
as the evening water darkens,
shouting swim back, swim back…
poem by Michael Shepherd
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A tale of two strangers
There were two strangers
Who met by the sea
She saw the light in him
And so did he
They said hello
Soon became friends
They talked of their lives
Till it was time to go
They took their boats
And each rowed away
Thinking of the other
And what was left unsaid
He took the high river
That traveled the cold lands
It was cold, gray and miserable
There was no one at hand
She took the low river
That traveled the wide plains
It was hot, dusty and humid
Every day, a drain
Soon there was a dark storm
That lashed o’er the lands
The dark lord's fury provoked
The rivers in turmoil
He rowed with all his might
But the current was too strong
The oar was soon broken
And the sails were torn
She rowed with all her might
But the current was too strong
The boat tossed, hit a rock
And the hull was blown
So both drifted along hurt and worn
Till the river calmed down
Soon the sea was approaching
But rescue there was none
As the high river and low river
Both merged with the waiting sea
The friends saw each other
With great relief
The currents drew the boats together
And it made sense to see
That his boat could use the oars from hers
And together they could reach
So they rowed together then
And rowed with delight
With the sun’s warmth on their backs
To reach land, now in sight
poem by Anita Atina
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Push Me, Pull Me
I had a false belief
I thought I came here to stay
Were all just visiting
All just breaking like waves
The oceans made me, but who came up with love?
Push me, pull me, push me, or pull me out
Push me, pull me, or pull me out {2x}
So if there were no angels, would there be no sin?
You better stop me before I begin
But let me say: if I behave, can you arrange a spacious hole in the ground
Somewhere nice, make it nice
Where the land meets high tide
Push me, pull me, or pull me out
Push me, pull me {2x}
Like a cloud dropping rain
Im discarding all thought
Ill dry up, leaving puddles on the ground
Im like an opening band for the sun
Push me, pull me {6x}
Ive had enough, said enough, felt enough, Im fine, still in it
song performed by by Pearl Jam
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Walk
February on the narrow beach, 3o
A.M. I set out south. Cape Cod Light
on its crumbling cliff above me turns
its wand of light so steadily
it might be tolling a half-life,
it might be the second-hand
of a schoolroom clock,
a kind of blind radar.
These bluffs deposited by glaaciers
are giving themselves away
to the beaches down the line, three
feet of coastline a year. I follow
them south at my own slow pace.
Ahead my grandfather died
in a boat and my father
found him and here I come.
If I cleave to the base of the I berm
the offshore wind swirls grit
just over my head and the backwash
rakes it away. If I keep going
south toward my grandfatherís house
in Chatham, and beyond,
the longshore current grinds the sand
finer the farther I go. It spreads
it wider and the beaches sift
inland as far as they can go
before beachgrass laces them down
for now. It gets to be spring,
I keep walking, it gets to be
summer. Families loll.
Now the waves are small; they keep
their swash marks close to home.
A little inland from the spurge
and sea-rockets my tan sons kick
a soccer ball north, against
grains that may once have been
compacted to sandstone, then
broken back to grains, bumbling
and driven and free again,
shrinking along the broadening edge.
poem by William Matthews
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Taking Off The Edge
(larry cordle/larry shell)
I been down on my luck
I been down on my knees
Well I been downtown
And I been down on the farm
I cant be satisfied
But Im gonna have to find
A way to kick back and
Take off the edge
Now theres a little gal I know
Just south of tupelo
Her hair is dark and her legs are long and tan
She rubs my back just right
Till way up in the night
She knows how to
Take off the edge
Ive been laid up with the flu
Laid off a time or two
Ive been uptight
And Ive been up a creek
Im gonna take my bamboo pole
And head out to the fishing hole
Dont you know it helps to
Take off the edge
Now theres a little gal I know
Just south of tupelo
Her hair is dark and her legs are long and tan
She rubs my back just right
Till way up in the night
She knows how to
Take off the edge
Now its morning once again
Oh, lord I just punched in
And I cant hardly wait till quitting time
Gonna get that big brown jug
All I need is a little slug
Just another way to
Takin off the edge
Now theres a little gal I know
Just south of tupelo
Her hair is dark and her legs are long and tan
She rubs my back just right
Till way up in the night
Well she knows how to
Take off the edge
Oh she sure knows how to
Take off the edge
song performed by by John Michael Montgomery
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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(Japan) Out Of The Sea
Tides, wind, and shaking quakes
I cried for hours when the waves
Crashed in, into them
Who gave us the Tamagotchi
And gave us everything cute
But nature knows nothing
But they are proud and ready
Pull out of the sea. Don’t drown!
You’ll rise again without a doubt
The waters that have covered the land
Have led so many to lend a hand
And you’ll rise out of the sea
Just like Godzilla or a proud creature
Out of the ocean you will rise
And fight to survive another century
Words of sorrow and tears of pain
The quake destroyed everything
And the water washed it away from you
But to dropp dead and give up is a crime
So swim out of the sea from under the ruin
Don't let your ancestors feel any shame
They felt Hiroshima and rebuilt for you
Don't drown, because there’s been worse
Right out of the sea you’ll pull out
So many dead and counting
In time that will be nothing
Those left will carry the memory
And each of them live on
So pull out of the sea, rise again
Tides and waves won’t ever understand
But you know what to do
Nobody dared to loot
Pull out of the sea like a proud beast
poem by German Alcala
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Carry Me Away
I called you up today to bridge my sorrow
Carry me over the line to you
How long will it take to reach tomorrow
Seems like a whole lot of time
Just these thoughts to pull me through
I see blue carpet and cold moonlight settled in
Voices whisper doubts of how I should have been
I feel like Im over the water
But Im caught in the tide
Tell are you calling for me
Does this come deep from inside
Carry me away
Under the water
Over the mind
Carry me away
Under the water
Over the mind
The sound slowly fades and trickles away from the sea
Its only the windows and i
They hear my dream
Im walking a distance I feel Ive been running for miles
Happy times dont last long
I finally got that its too late to smile
Carry me away
Under the water
Over the mind
Carry me away
Under the water
Over the mind
Carry me away
Under the water
Into your mind
song performed by by Indigo Girls
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On The Edge Of The Edge Of The Edge
ON THE EDGE OF THE EDGE OF THE EDGE
On the edge of the edge of the edge
There is nowhere to go-
Home is lost,
And all the distances have broken down-
One cannot move
One can only fear-
On the edge of the edge of the edge
Falling is fear-
And holding one’s ground
One step at a time
Is a small miracle
One is not sure
One can make alone.
On the edge of the edge of the edge-
poem by Shalom Freedman
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On The Edge
I am on the edge of breaking down,
Breaking the point of all my pain I feel,
Wishing for it to rain,
Why does love have to be so vain,
There you go,
Go again,
I am on the edge of breaking down,
Crying my eyes out,
Reaching for help,
Reaching out,
On the edge of fading away,
Away to the darkness of lost dreams,
You made me feel the way I do,
I am on the point of crying out for you,
Crying for my pain to stop,
I am not the same as I once was,
I am just on the edge of a cliff,
Falling down,
Far down where I cry myself to sleep.
poem by Jennifer Rondeau
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Last Days On Earth
Tired of this elegant life
With the best will in the world
It's a thorn in your side
Dazed, not a little confused
Let the patient do the work
They got nothing to lose
I told you
I'd hold you
'til the last days on earth
Ties that are tested and tried
Like the crushing of the waves
We'll be lost in the tide
Talk away the pain for the very last time
Like an echo in a cave
Let it die in your mind
I told you
I'd hold you
'Til the last days on earth
If you should fall into these opened arms
You would be blessed not just bemused
Wake up their mind love is alonely world
Where nothing on earth lies like a truth
Ties that are tested and tried
Like the crushing of the waves
We'll be lost in the tide
Talk away the pain for the very last time
Like an echo in a cave
Let it die in our mind
I told you
I'd hold you
'Til the last days on earth
song performed by by Tears For Fears
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Winthrop
When we get back to winthrop
A few miles from the airport
On a plastic chair
On a deck where my friends live
I watch the taking off airplanes
I watch the ocean waves crashing
With all of this movement somethings got to give
Down at the high tide
Passed down through the family
The fishermen gather to complain about the catch
They talk about time
They talk about tides
The pull of the moon and the coffee deep night black
And I listen to them
And I listen to you
And for everyone there is something never coming back
But for all that weve been through
For all that weve promised
Your wayward direction seems insensible
Words fall off like breathless fish
All flopping and scattered
And hearts picked over deemed dispensible
Down at the high tide
Were there for our last meal
The broken loaves are still enough for all
And we talk about time
And we talk about tides
Under the moon with the deep night coffee black
I hear the dim roar of the last flight out
And for someone there is someone never coming back
We talk about time
We talk about tides
Under the moon and the deep night coffee black
I hear the dim roar of the last flight out
And for someone there is someone never coming back
song performed by by Indigo Girls
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Red Devil
I stand on the edge
I can see all the cars
They look like ants
Bright fast paced ants
I look up and see the full moon
Its so bright
My bright ball of light
I take of swig of my tequila
Molten lava slides down my throat
I start to cry and i teeter on the edge
I look out on the city
All the bright lights
So full of life
I close my eyes and remember
I remember my red devil
Its all running through my mind
Im cowering in the corner
I throw my pillow at it
It shakes it off
I throw my teddys at it
It shakes it off
I press my self back against the wall
You crouch and stare at me
I cry and plead
It says nothing and stares at me
I cry and look at the door
I throw my blanket on it and run for it
I get to the door frame and smile
I feel a tight grip on my ankle and i fall n hit my head on the radiatior
I cry and grab onto the door frame
You grab my other ankle and pull me back into the room
I cry and plead
You pull me close to you
Im trapped in the red devils arms
You throw me on the bed
I scratch and try to scream
You cover my face and I cant breathe
Red devil
Red devil
Red devil burning red pain
Blood
Pain
Bodys on fire
Cant scream anymore
Get tired of it
Cant fight anymore
More blood
Red devil
Red devil red hot pain
I claw at the air
Some one save me
No one comes
Red devil wraps me in its arms
It starts to drag me to the red hot hell
I start to shake uncontrolably
My eyes roll back
I awake
Im back on that ledge
I remember it all
I feel the red devil again
Finally hes come back to claim me
He grabs me by my neck and pulls me over
I fall
I spread my arms out
Finally
The end is near
Smash
The end is here...
poem by Vianca Borrero
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Edge Of A Broken Heart
And there I stood, just like a soldier
I was tough, until I saw her
I said hello, but she just turned away
Hey romeo, whatcha doin with my girl,
Who are you using now, well I turn and walk away (turn and walk away)
Im gonna please her, now you can believe it
Ill be there to catch her when she falls
Oooo, here I am (on the edge of a broken heart)
Im a man (on the edge of a broken heart)
Here we stand (on the edge of a broken heart)
So run if you can cause you know
Im a man on the edge (on the edge of a broken heart)
Im on the edge (on the edge of a broken heart)
Im on the outside, looking inside
Youre with him, whos on the wrong side now
Do you still think of me
Ive tried to call, but no one answers
Two silhouettes, a private dancer
Lights go dim, as the music starts to fade, away (turn and walk away)
Im the one who needs you, now you can believe it
Ill be there to catch you when you fall
Ooo you better believe Im the man (on the edge of a broken heart)
Here I am (on the edge of a broken heart)
And we stand (on the edge of a broken heart)
So run if you can cause you know
Im a man on the edge (on the edge of a broken heart)
Im on the edge (on the edge of a broken heart)
Solo
Ooohh
And when I hold out my hands Ill be reaching for you
I give it all that Ive got, thats all I can do
When youre waiting for love
Ill be waiting for you (on the edge of a broken heart)
Only for you (on the edge of a broken heart)
Oh baby for you (on the edge of a broken heart)
So run if you can, you know
Im a man on the edge (on the edge of a broken heart)
Im on the edge (on the edge of a broken heart)
Im on the edge (on the edge of a broken heart)
Im on the edge (of a broken, broken, broken broken, broken, broken, broken)
song performed by by Bon Jovi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sea Of Dead Ships
A light from heaven flickers gently on the waves.
As a boat rocks merrily, above a sea of dead men’s graves.
Colours of the rainbows, spread fingers from the shore.
The sea is filled with beauty; it is also filled with lore.
Waves of blue, waves of green cause white waters on a rocky shore.
While the warming sun’s silvery gleam, heals any wanton sore.
Fishing boats, sails afloat, challenge the sparkling foam.
While everyman with heart lured by the sea, tries desperately not to roam.
The sea is my mistress, the sea is my light.
On a cold day’s darkness, the moon must guide me by night.
A sea full of temptation, a sea full of woe.
I set my sails a flight, to meet my friend or foe.
Dark storm clouds gather overhead, waves pound at my wooden boat.
I feel the cold salty shower, fighting wind and tide to keep afloat.
Rigging is now tangled, mast breaks leaving gnarled stump.
Oh, I curse you west wind and my broken water pump.
Water bailed with bucket, from never ending stream.
Oh, I curse the rudder, as it breaks from helm fast and clean.
I curse you mean sea, now I am cast a drift.
On my knees, I pray to heaven, for the wind to dropp and shift.
Days with no food and water, lie ahead of me.
I drift with tide and current, towards the Sargasso Sea.
A sea of weed entangled, around the entrails of dead ships.
Ships of great endurance, asleep on a green desert sit.
Brigand with barnacles galore lay wind beaten on its side.
I wonder what gauntlet, you oh dead ship did ride.
With guns blazing, from aft to fore.
Below your decks, what treasures do you store?
Ships of all shapes and sizes, the Sargasso has you trapped.
The sea of endless weed, never seen, nor ever mapped.
Into your great maw, I drift, helpless without wind.
Is this where I meet my maker?
For all that, I have sinned.
This is no stockade of refuge, no place I want to be.
In a boat without a sail, trapped in the Sargasso Sea.
Oh, let me steal from your great ships.
Wood to repair my sail, then please release me, from this land of bleached bones and windy wail.
Sea of a million raptures, that contains this floating hell.
Please, oh, please release me, from a place to which I fell.
I plead to you ole west wind, blow your saintly scorn.
Free me from this entangled weed, guide me to safe waters warm
Sky of a thousand clouds, darken as the night.
The scorn of the west wind has set my sails a flight.
My boat begins to rock, the bow dips and hails.
The west wind has answered my pleas, blown wind into my sails.
Boat held fast, by weeds tight grip.
I curse you Sargasso Sea, release my now strong boat.
Salty shower pelts my face, as from the weed my boat breaks free, from the Sargasso’s grip and dead ships of the sea.
Trade winds and currents strong, lead me from this sea of dead ships, to a refuge from the storm.
Lead me to still waters grip, so I may chart a way, back to my homeland.
That I may sail your sea, safely for another day.
Lead me back to my loved one, who keeps the fire warm.
So she will not climb widow’s wharf, or reap the widow’s mourn.
Lead me with your warm wind, each step along the way.
Lead me to her arms beckoning and warm, from which I promise I will not stray.
As for you sea of dead ships, you sail with legend and lore.
No more shall I sail with you, or break waters at your shore.
Once you had me firm within your grip, but I broke free of you,
and your sea of dead ships.
Thanks to the west wind that blew.
4 July 1978
poem by David Harris
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Commit Suicide
Get that knife
Pull that trigger
Jump off that edge
Cut deeper with that razor
Please just kill yourself
This world is better off
Without you
No one will care if you die
If you commit suicide
By morning I want to find you dead
In a puddle of blood
Upon that cold floor
Nothing else but red
Please just let me find you dead
Because I don’t need you
No one does
They never have
And they never will
Commit Suicide tonight
You’re already crying yourself to sleep
There is no more self defeat
Please you make yourself bleed
All we want to do is forget about you
Please just make it easy
Get that knife
Pull that trigger
Jump of that edge
Cut deeper with that razor
By morning I want to find you dead
This world is better off
Without you
So please just commit suicide
poem by Broken Hearts
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At Hout Bay the fishing trawler sails out
At Hout Bay the fishing trawler sails out
while the rain pours down
like water out of God’s hosepipe
with engines roaring in the ears
and clouds of smoke hang over the boats
with every fisherman for a moment being caught
in a own world while fog whirl about the boats
that rocks up and down to the harbour mouth.
The waves crash, the sea foams and bubbles
and “my girlfriend has a good lover, ”
is sung by one while the trawler sets its course
on the look out for barracouta, cod and sea trout.
“Look at the shining bodies, tons of trout, they are running free, ”
a fisherman shouts against the wind that pulls and pulls on the boat.
“Salmon man, salmon” roars the tiller man back and walls of water
roll past and the boat turns to get fishing gear ready.
“My girlfriend has a good lover and he’s a gelded goat, ”
the tune goes on and something clatters down
drawing the attention of the fishermen and the water shines
and when the boat is full they tell jokes that they guffaw at.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Hope (edited)
I've heard hopes enough to keep you alive,
To pull you from the darkness,
I've heard it's enough to keep you sane,
To keep you in this life,
They say that it's a joyous feeling,
But it's not,
Hopes the knife plunged in your back,
Pushing you to the edge,
Hopes the greatest poison in any dead mans chest,
Hope that they'll come back,
Hope they'll see the light,
But hope hurts more then the deepest betrayal,
It keeps you up at night,
With dreams that tomorrow,
Well, tomorrow everything will go back,
Back to how it was,
Back to love and happiness,
And then in the morning when nothings changed,
When your all alone,
Wondering why,
Then you know the truth,
An it's many sleepless nights,
It's hope when you think you see the light,
At the end of that infinite tunnel,
That it's all going to end just like that,
And it's hope thats putting the knife to your throat,
And is leaving you there to bleed dry,
And it's hope in the morning after the loss,
That causes the pain throbbing in your chest,
And hope is the knowledge that for all your want,
It will never be the same,
And hope is the biggest betrayal,
The greatest poison in a dead mans treasure chest.
poem by Holly Heron
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Head, Perhaps Of An Angel
limestone, with traces of polychromy, c. 1250
Point Dume was the point,
he said, but we never came close,
no matter how far we walked the shale
broken from California.
Someone's garden
had slipped, hanging itself by a vine
from the cliffs of some new Babylon
past Malibu.
Drowning the words,
the wind didn't fling back in our faces,
the Pacific washed up a shell:
around an alabastron
of salt water for the dead,
seaweed rustled its papers, drying them out,
until it died. Waves kept crashing
into the heart
of each shell
I held to my ear like a phone,
but they were just the waves of my blood.
And through it all
I heard him say,
how could it be nine months ago
his grandson had taken his own life,
somewhere back east?
He was fifteen.
O Pacific, what good is our grief?
Something screamed at the sandy child
who poured seawater
into a hole.
Child, you'll never empty the ocean,
Augustine said. How can I believe?
The wet fist of a wave
dissolved in sand.
Like a saint, a seagull flapped down the beach
in search of something raw—an angel
with an empty pail?
No, a teenage boy,
hands big as a man's, held a sea slug
quaking like an aspic. Under a rock, another
drew into its body
a creature
larger than itself. Live, said Death,
to child and childless alike, indifferently.
I am coming.
poem by Debora Greger
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