The Empty Niche
A KING once made a gallery of art,
With portraits of dead friends and living graced;
And at the end, 'neath curtains drawn apart,
An empty marble pedestal was placed.
Here, every day, the king would come, and pace
With eyes well-pleased along the statued hall;
But, ere he left, he turned with saddened face,
And mused before the curtained pedestal.
And once a courtier asked him why he kept
The shadowed niche to fill his heart with dole;
'For absent friends,' the monarch said, and wept;
'There still must be one absent to the soul.'
And this is true of all the hearts that beat;
Though days be soft and summer pathways fair,
Be sure, while joyous glances round us meet,
The curtained crypt and vacant plinth are there.
To-day we stand before our draped recess:
There is none absent—all we love are here;
To-morrow's hands the opening curtains press,
And lo, the pallid pediment is bare!
The cold affection that plain duty breeds
May see its union severed, and approve;
But when our bond is touched, it throbs and bleeds—
We pay no meed of duty, but of love.
As creeping tendrils shudder from the stone,
The vines of love avoid the frigid heart;
The work men do is not their test alone,
The love they win is far the better chart.
They say the citron-tree will never thrive
Transplanted from the soil where it matured;
Ah, would 'twere so that men could only live
Through working on where they had love secured!
'The People of the Book,' men called the Jews—
Our priests are truly ' People of the Word; '
And he who serves the Master must not choose—
He renders feudal service to the Lord.
But we who love and lose will, like the king,
Still keep the alcove empty in the hall,
And hope, firm-hearted, that some day will bring
Our absent one to fill his pedestal.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Hymn 134
Religion vain without love.
1 Cor. 13:1-3.
Had I the tongues of Greeks and Jews,
And nobler speech, that angels use,
If love be absent, I am found,
Like tinkling brass, an empty sound.
Were I inspired to preach and tell
All that is done in heav'n and hell;
Or could my faith the world remove,
Still I am nothing without love.
Should I distribute all my store
To feed the bowels of the poor,
Or give my body to the flame,
To gain a martyr's glorious name;
If love to God and love to men
Be absent, all my hopes are vain;
Nor tongues, nor gifts, nor fiery zeal,
The work of love can e'er fulfil.
poem by Isaac Watts
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Our Absent Friends
We often speak about
the fun we used to have
whenever we retrace our memories,
remembering our absent friends.
We remember our growing years,
the smiles on our faces
and the funny things we did
with our absent friends.
As the years roll on their way
and age creeps up on us
we sometimes like to reflect
on our long gone absent friends.
The flower of youth has withered,
but the flower never died.
It is still locked in our memory
when we remember our absent friends.
1 July 2012
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
King Without A Crown
Welcome to the great republic
Guess I should show you round
Where once I was a king
And now I am a clown
The love that we once shared
Made a king of me
But now youre gone... but now youre gone
All I face is poverty
...king without a heart
...king without a hope
...king without a woman baby
Oh Im a king without a crown
...king without a heart
...king without a hope
...king without a woman baby
Oh Im a king without a crown
Hell hath no fury
Like a woman scorned
But heaven dont boast - no heaven dont boast
The jewel - the pretty jewel I just pawned
Every cloud has a silver lining
Every dog has its day
Oh but I guess the sun stopped shining
On the day you went away
...king without a heart
...king without a hope
...king without a woman baby
Oh Im a king without a crown
...king without a heart
...king without a hope
...king without a woman baby
Oh Im a king without a crown
...king without a heart
...king without a hope
...king without a woman baby
Yes Im a king - king! king without a crown
Bathed in former glory
Deposed from my throne
How do I get to tell my story?
When all gets your answerphone...
But you aint home
With the love you gave
I felt like royalty
But now youre face to face - face to face
With one ex-member of the aristocracy
...king without a heart
...king without a hope
...king without a woman baby
Oh Im a king without a crown
...king without a heart
...king without a hope
...king without a woman baby
Oh Im a king without a crown
Theres no need to feel down
Yeah just take a look around
Youll see a man whos just a man
Nothing more
A king without a crown
song performed by by Abc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Absent Friends
As a year closes,
we always stop for a moment
to remember absent and departed friends.
We raise a glass
and tip our hat
in remembering absent and departed friends.
Life’s highway is a short one
and somewhere it comes to an end,
but friends are not forgotten
they live on in our memory.
And once a year we remember
before the New Year starts
our absent and departed friends.
21 June 2008
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Comedians
I fell under such gentle persuasion
You cant refuse its like a home from home
Meanwhile in the motor car kingdom
Theyre finding that all that glitters is not chrome
The social circle have these cardiac complaints
Their hearts are empty when their hands are full
All these new found fond acquaintances
Turn out to be the red rag to my bull
Chorus
And Im up while the dawn is breaking
Even though my heart is aching
I should be drinking a toast to absent friends
Instead of these comedians
Ive looked into these eyes upon reflection
Theyve seen the face of love, theyve seen a few
What kind of love is this upon inspection
Youll be the last to know whos fooling who
Chorus
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Love Is Hope
If we lose someone close to us,
We feel a sting in our Loving Heart
They are love
They Are Tender
They are Care
Love is hope
Love is Family
Love is Friends
Love is Heaven
Love Is Desire
Love is Hope
Love in Death is impossible,
Love in life is sweet
losing those you love is saddening
Resulting a hole in that heart
Forever, life and Death
Love is always there
Family, Live or dead
still love you
From Beyond the netherworld.
Love is hope
In My Opinion
Love Is Dear
Love is true
love is there
But most importantly
LOVE Is Hope
everywhere, Even The Lord
God Loves you
His love eternal everlasting
His Love, his Son
Love is hope.
poem by Ashleigh Leona Mellon
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Her...
I can never get my mind off her,
I wonder if she'd mind if i'd,
make her my own,
and never let her go,
hug her tight,
treat her right,
act all polite,
take her on a date,
make sure i'm never late,
kiss her on her lips,
talk about our kids,
Make her feel like princess,
living in a castle,
hope that is not too much hassle,
But i am so blessed,
hope i can be the best,
hold you tight,
have your BR3A$t,
on my chest,
pass the test,
NOW YOUR MINE!
sorry for word spamming: (
love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love
poem by Jordan Moore
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The winner Felt Empty, Be empty to Be A Winner!
After Kalinga war,
Emperor Ashoka looking at
the heap of corps,
Stream of blood,
Fell into well of deep thoughts,
What made civilians to fight for
Kalinga king? People chose to die, never liked
to live without the king!
The winner felt empty!
Even in his vast empire,
he didn't find such love of people,
This made him turn 180 degree, turn from outward to inward,
from desires of world turned to
desire to attain peace!
Sword lost it sharpness,
Words of Buddha became his
sword, To cut the roots of pain and
penury of heart!
The love the king imparted,
the love of people the king
gained,
Were his guide! When Alexander came,
Pururava taught him the
Dharma,
The Lion is always lion,
King of the jungle,
Whether in jungle or in a cage, 'Treat me as kIng, if not let me
fight till my death,
Dandimas words already made
his swords blunt,
The words of king made him,
Turn outward to inward, The disciple of Aristotle,
Desireless he became,
Meditating on Dandimas's words, Siddhartha's journey to became
Buddha,
Seeing dukha, dukha, dukha
behind every sukha
Why can't we see that in our life? Vardhamana's journey to
Mahaveera,
Adam and apple,
Made him outward,
Different story of
Newton and apple, Fall of Einstein from ladder,
turned them inward for answers, Venkataramana's fear of death,
Turned him inward,
Maharshi Ramana emerged
winning the death! Meditate on root of all causes,
Not on the branches,
Be Chanakya, to remove root of
ignorance,
Nothing makes one free,
Than that nothingness, Empty the pot and wash,
Before fill divine in it,
Be empty, be a winner!
poem by Ramdas Bhandarkar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Roses (Enclosed Triplet)
Some deep red roses bloomed in the rain,
the rain sieved down for days without end,
an end to winter brought the spring again;
while again roses at a time would be send,
be send as messengers of a love that’s true,
that’s true in all things that had happened.
I held red roses wrapped in a big bunch,
a big bunch to make up for being apart;
after days apart we did meet for lunch,
after lunch a sweet kiss would test her heart,
her heart would respond with some kind of bliss,
or bliss would be absent in our own art.
Nothing could love remove, her eyes did shine
as I saw her face, hurried to embrace;
the depths of love did prove that she was mine.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Absent Tune
In everything we do lies a melody
that absent tune we cannot hear.
Some call it the rhythm of life
that follows us step by step
as we walk our life through.
Love has a crazy beat,
which we all dance to,
young and old, no matter who.
Whether it be winter, spring, summer or fall.
Love’s crazy beat captures us all
and makes us dance to its tune.
Like life’s absent melody
we cannot hear it,
only feel its tug on our shoulder
that makes us turn around
and dance to its tune.
We cannot resist no matter what
as it is part of life’s melody
that absent tune we cannot hear.
The one we must always obey
whenever it rings in our ear.
12 July 2009
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Love And Beauty
(Mike Pinder)
I look around at other people
I brush their shoulders at the corner of the street
But all they notice is their feet
It wasn't meant this way
Their minds have gone astray
If they could lift their eyes they'd see
There's people smiling just like me and I'll agree
It's not their fault because it's raining
It's all work and no play, it's just another day
(Love) Love and beauty (Love)
(Love) Love and beauty (Love)
(Love) Love and beauty (Love)
Should be everybody's duty
To welcome every man as a friend
I wish that I could change the world
For every boy there'd be a girl for him to know
And maybe people would look up
Then they might realize they're not the only ones alive
(Love) Love and beauty (Love)
(Love) Love and beauty (Love)
(Love) Love and beauty (Love)
Should be everybody's duty
To welcome every man as a friend
(Love) Love and beauty (Love)
(Love) Love and beauty (Love)
*************************************************************
song performed by by Moody Blues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Jesus the King
On the hill of Calvary
Hung up on a tree,
Stripped bare for all to see-
Jesus, King of the Jews,
The carpenter of Galilee,
Dying for me and you.
The soldiers and priests
Shaking dust off their feet
While his followers few, did weep.
Hah, Jesus Christ the King! ?
Hear them in mockery sing
Great Caesar be our only King!
But though they reviled,
And though they mocked.
He cried, 'Father forgive; they know not.'
For he was the great I am,
A shining light, brighter than the sun's flame.
Almighty God robed in flesh, Son of Man.
Jesus, the one who will and has been,
The one who of all will one day be seen
The Creator of every living being.
Despite their mocking,
And though they denied him:
He was still their King.
Tis still the same today,
Whether you like it that way:
Jesus the King, here to stay.
You can defy him, in defiance raise,
But one day, him, everyone will praise.
You will praise, it's just about what place.
You can curse him, spurn his love.
Shake your fists at the sky above.
Nothing you do will be enough.
Because he made you, therefore your King.
Doesn't matter if you don't like him,
Won't ever change a thing.
He has been the King,
Is the King,
Will be the King,
Forever lives the King.
Lift your hands and sing,
Long live, Jesus the King!
The majority's voice will never change,
The endowment of he who came:
Jesus the King, forever the same
You can deny him,
Doesn't change a thing-
Jesus is still your King.
Has been the King, is the King, will be the King! Long live Jesus Christ the King! Lift your hands and sing, Long live, Jesus the King.
Story behind the poem:
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible:
1Ti 6: 14-16 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
Can you feel the awe rising? I can.
And an interesting tidbit:
Joh 19: 19-22 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
What I have written, I have written. What an epic statement! Jesus will forever be the KING of kings. Nothing will ever change it!
JESUS IS KING!
GZ
poem by Joses Tirtabudi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Love Is Fertile Land For Great Virtues!
'Love is patient,
as love of a kind hearted mother,
Not only excuses her own child,
but also its pet and close friends,
Dancing in mud an then come in and dance on the costly and sofa,
Enjoying with pet with dirty legs
and friends with shoes on!
love is kind. Kind enough
to care even the screaming patient
It does not envy, even when the love hidden in heart has lost to someone,
May be better or not
than
the one who love
Love does not boast, as
That was in heart of third daughter of King Lear,
She said she loved the King as much as dutiful daughter should be! And She proved her words were from her heart!
Love is not proud.
It knows for sure, nothing is true and eternal,
There is nothing to be proud of heartful feelings!
It is not rude, When the dog spilled oil of the lamp,
On that Wor Newton worked for several months, the papers were ashes within minutes,
Newton was never rude, he just took care of the dog
and patiently put out the fire,
When a neighbours child asked Einstein to solve some nursery maths to help it!
Love is not self-seeking, strange to see a King denying heaven,
if not the dog followed him to door of heaven is denied admission!
Love is not easily angered,
As a mother patiently bears all that loss due to child or a patient father takes his child into lap and patiently answers its innocent questions!
Love keeps no
record of wrongs.
How many times one child might have kicked ones chest,
How many times pets might have caused mess,
No one had kept any records
Even the God had kept no records of sins!
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Whenever some People want to breakup love or friendship
Truth is dried and stuffed with lies,
Adding spices and flavour,
But love that looks at what is what
as it is and makes truth to shine!
That keeps away, people never succeed to break!
Love always protects,
This need no example than that of our own parents not fearing to face the pain to protect us!
Love always trusts, always hopes,
as I trust you all and hope that you love my poem,
And I persevere for proper comments as
Love is pure and soft, yet it is not brittle, rigid as
Love always perseveres.'
And love always preserves warm feelings in heart!
poem by Ramdas Bhandarkar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Remnants
Agonizing memories
Afflict the crushed, saddened soul
Fleeting thoughts of intimacies,
Shades of love no longer whole.
Those sweet fragances and scents -
With soft music, their own song,
Witness now that love is absent,
Tell her where she once belonged.
Letters left are now tear-stained
Photographs like ghosts of past,
Remains of a heart deeply pained
Remnants of a love that was.
-----------------
Copyright Cynthia Buhain-Baello
February 8,2010
Philippines
poem by Cynthia Buhain-Baello
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Christmas Song
She was his girl, he was her boyfriend
Shed be his wife, and make him her husband.
A surprise on the way any day any day
One healthy little giggling, dribbling baby boy
The wisemen came, three made their way
To shower him with love while he lay in the hay
Shower him with love, love, love
Love,love,love
Love,love was all around.
Not very much of his childhood was known
Kept his mother mary worried always out on his own
He met another mary, who for a reasonable fee,
Less than reputable was known to be
His heart was full of love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love was all around.
When jesus christ nailed to his tree
Said oh daddy-o, I can see how it all soon will be
I came to shed a little light on this darkening sea
Instead I fear Ive spilled the blood of my children all around
The blood of my children all around
The blood of my childrens all around.
So Im told, so the story goes
The people he knew were less than golden-hearted
Gamblers and robbers,
Drinkers and jokers, all soul searchers
Like you and me, like you and me
Rumors insisted that he soon would be
For his deveations taken into custody
By the authorities, less informed than he
Drinkers and jokers, all soul searchers
Searching for love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love was all around.
Preparations were made for a celebration day
He said eat this bread but think of it as me
Drink this wine and dream it will be the blood of our children all around
The blood of our children all around
The blood of our children all around
Father up above
Why in all this hatred do you fill me up with love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love is all around
Father up above
Why in all this hatred do you fill me up with love, fill me love, love, yeah
Love, love, love
Love, love, and the blood of our children all around.
song performed by by Dave Matthews Band
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Absent From Routine
Absent but not of mind.
Too protective of precious consciousness,
Peace of mind and happiness.
Absent from nonsense.
Professed and not guessed.
And not seeking any to find.
To torment like the rest.
Absent from routine,
And thoughts of wasting time.
Absent from props used for chaos.
And those creating it to market!
As if this is a goldmine.
And the grease of sleaze,
Is there to slop it not stop it!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Lost Tears (an ode to children of alcoholics)
LOST TEARS
To all the boys who never cried
My heart it weeps for you
Longing for a fathers touch
Slipping slowly out of view
A hand it reached within my chest
And entwined around my heart
With every beat the fingers grew
Until they covered every part
And keys would fumble in the door
What would this dark night bring
And in from the night the tyrant came
The beggars received their king
To bow and scrape, perhaps defuse
To laugh at every joke
Perhaps the tyrant king would sleep
Perhaps we would provoke
With every night the fire dies
Embers of the heart recede
The king is god, he rules supreme
Don't hurt our mum the children plead
And darkness overcomes the soul
Into the night the children flee
And all around the curtains fall
And when they fall you cannot see
Who will rid us of this endless night
The blackness and the shades of gray
For beneath the pillow held so tight
Is not a place where children play
Why do these tears that belong to you
Fall down from upon my face
For once I dwelt in shadowland
Its now your dwelling place
So if you wander in the night
A night within your heart
The true King sees behind your veil
He sees you play the part
Oh wont you come on bended knee
And find the tears you lost
The true King longs to set you free
And that at any cost
Don't you long to see the sun
And feel its warm embrace
A heart of flesh and not of steel
And tears upon your face
My God He is the tears you lost
Living waters from above
He restores the broken and the crushed
With Godly tears of love
The true King wept when you could not
He wept to see His Son
And with those tears on Calvary fought
And now the work is done
Come out from amongst the dead He cries
And He will deal with all your fears
For every time you could not cry
My God He shed your tears
And all these tears He's gathered
And they flow from Heavens throne
And when your swept up in this tide
You'll know you were not alone
poem by Frank McEleny
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Empty Hands
In the shadows of the smokestacks
Through the black snow, that lay on the land
Walked home one winter morning
With my live savings in my hand
Maryanne, shes fixin up some breakfast
Got the lights on, on the christmas tree
Sittin there, lookin up at an angel
With something dyin inside of me
Grew up with great expectations
Heard the promise and I knew the plan
They say people get what they deserve
But lord, sometimes its much worse than that
Maryanne, she takin in some laundry
I got a part time job in a drive-in stand
Oh lord, what did I do
To deserve these empty hands?
Chorus:
Across the cities
Across this land
Through the valleys
And across the sand
Too many people standin in line
Too many people with nothin planned
Theres too many people with
Empty hands
Now maryannes been cryin
lord knows, I love her the best I can
When my pride is bruised and broken
She slips her hand into my empty hands
Without hope, without love
Youve got nothing but pain
Just makes a man not give a dammn
Thats no way for us to live
Weve got to fill these empty hands
Chorus:
Across the cities
Across this land
Through the valleys
And across the sand
Too many people standin in line
Too many people with nothin planned
Theres too many people with
Empty hands
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Running Out Of Love
Some days youre gonna put me on hold
Some days youre gonna put me
On a pedestal up high
I dont know if its me
I dont know if its you
I dont know if its both of us
Not knowing what to do
When were running out of love
Not knowing what to do
When were running out of love
And when it comes to taking my calls
Theres something more between us
Than a telephone line
I cant believe its me
I cant believe its you
I cant believe its both of us
Not knowing what to do
When were running out of love
Not knowing what to do
When were running out of love
Cant think of how we lost our way
Some days I feel
Im getting very close to you
Cant think of how the story ends
Cant hear the words
I really want to hear from you
Were running out of love
Cant believe were running out of love
Cant believe were running out of love
Some people like to put you on hold
Some people like to put you
On a pedestal up high
I dont know if its me
I dont know if its you
I dont know if its both of us
Not knowing what to do
When were running out of love
Not knowing what to do
When were running out of love
Cant believe were running out of love
Cant believe were running out of love
Cant believe were running out of love
song performed by by Moody Blues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The King Of Pop
The child, the man
The legend and still the child
And like a child you died...
You had it all
And had nothing at all....
Through out your tormented life
You managed to become the king
Surrounded by people
All over the world
But still lonely and empty
When with love
You offered all...
Now I can only said
In one word:
You were born a king
And died like a king...
Now you became like
A star shining above
Which had been gone
Long time ago...
You will always live with us...
Tribute to the king of pop
Who made it to the top
And will always remain with us...
Through the end of time....
R.I.P. king...
©All Rights Reserved-2009
poem by Romeo Della Valle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!