Upon TheBegger
He wants, he asks, he pleads his poverty,
They within doors do him an alms deny.
He doth repeat and aggravate his grief,
But they repulse him, give him no relief.
He begs, they say, Begone; he will not hear,
But coughs, sighs, and makes signs he still is there;
They disregard him, he repeats his groans;
They still say nay, and he himself bemoans.
They grow more rugged, they call him vagrant;
He cries the shriller, trumpets out his want.
At last, when they perceive he'll take no nay,
An alms they give him without more delay.
Comparison.
This beggar doth resemble them that pray
To God for mercy, and will take no nay,
But wait, and count that all his hard gainsays
Are nothing else but fatherly delays;
Then imitate him, praying souls, and cry:
There's nothing like to importunity.
poem by John Bunyan
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Related quotes
I know that a man who shows me his wealth is like the beggar who shows me his poverty; they are both looking for alms from me, the rich man for the alms of my envy, the poor man for the alms of my guilt.
The Beggar To Mab, The Fairy Queen
Please your Grace, from out your store
Give an alms to one that's poor,
That your mickle may have more.
Black I'm grown for want of meat,
Give me then an ant to eat,
Or the cleft ear of a mouse
Over-sour'd in drink of souce;
Or, sweet lady, reach to me
The abdomen of a bee;
Or commend a cricket's hip,
Or his huckson, to my scrip;
Give for bread, a little bit
Of a pease that 'gins to chit,
And my full thanks take for it.
Flour of fuz-balls, that's too good
For a man in needy-hood;
But the meal of mill-dust can
Well content a craving man;
Any orts the elves refuse
Well will serve the beggar's use.
But if this may seem too much
For an alms, then give me such
Little bits that nestle there
In the pris'ner's pannier.
So a blessing light upon
You, and mighty Oberon;
That your plenty last till when
I return your alms again.
poem by Robert Herrick
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Lord Buddha begged.
The society has more thieves than beggars.
In a way, beggars are better than thieves.
They beg but steal not and get but usurp not.
Mortgaging their ego, they are begging.
It is easy to steal but hard to beg.
Give or not, don’t treat beggars with contempt.
Do treat them at par while you give them alms.
Feel elated while you offer them alms.
While giving, dispel their humiliation.
Lord Buddha too led His life as a beggar.
19.10.2007
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
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Beggar
I would not call who
Asks for alms
But I would call him
A beggar who
Gives a little
And takes away all
Gets the dirt cleaned
Makes all the dots turn
From black to white
After using as an intercessor
Leaves us to feel
We are all treated
Used or misused
Either as a napkin or tool
poem by Abdul Wahab
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Licia Sonnets 36
Hear how my sighs are echoed of the wind;
See how my tears are pitied by the rain;
Feel what a flame possesséd hath my mind;
Taste but the grief which I possess in vain.
Then if my sighs the blustering winds surpass,
And wat'ry tears the drops of rain exceed,
And if no flame like mine nor is nor was,
Nor grief like that whereon my soul doth feed,
Relent, fair Licia, when my sighs do blow;
Yield at my tears, that flintlike drops consume;
Accept the flame that doth my incense show,
Allow the grief that is my heart's perfume.
Thus sighs and tears, flame, grief shall plead for me;
So shall I pray, and you a goddess be.
poem by Giles Fletcher The Elder
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Of The Flie At The Candle
hat ails this fly thus desperately to enter
A combat with the candle? Will she venture
To clash at light? Away, thou silly fly;
Thus doing thou wilt burn thy wings and die.
But 'tis a folly her advice to give,
She'll kill the candle, or she will not live.
Slap, says she, at it; then she makes retreat,
So wheels about, and doth her blows repeat.
Nor doth the candle let her quite escape,
But gives some little check unto the ape:
Throws up her heels it doth, so down she falls,
Where she lies sprawling, and for succour calls.
When she recovers, up she gets again,
And at the candle comes with might and main,
But now behold, the candle takes the fly,
And holds her, till she doth by burning die.
Comparison.
This candle is an emblem of that light
Our gospel gives in this our darksome night.
The fly a lively picture is of those
That hate and do this gospel light oppose.
At last the gospel doth become their snare,
Doth them with burning hands in pieces tear.
poem by John Bunyan
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Alms
Yes
Today
I will
Give her alms
But only
If she asked
Which she always did
Mysterious cruelty
Not a single glance
As she passed
Hands full of alms
No
Alms full of hands
Yes, My, My hands.
poem by Sanjay Mehta
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On Another's Sorrow
Can I see another’s woe,
And not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another’s grief,
And not seek for kind relief?
Can I see a falling tear,
And not feel my sorrow’s share?
Can a father see his child
Weep, nor be with sorrow fill'd?
Can a mother sit and hear
An infant groan, an infant fear?
No, no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!
And can He who smiles on all
Hear the wren with sorrows small,
Hear the small bird’s grief and care,
Hear the woes that infants bear,
And not sit beside the nest,
Pouring pity in their breast;
And not sit the cradle near,
Weeping tear on infant’s tear;
And not sit both night and day,
Wiping all our tears away?
O, no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!
He doth give His joy to all;
He becomes an infant small;
He becomes a man of woe;
He doth feel the sorrow too.
Think not thou canst sigh a sigh,
And thy Maker is not by:
Think not thou canst weep a tear,
And thy Maker is not near.
O! He gives to us His joy
That our grief he may destroy;
Till our grief is fled & gone
He doth sit by us and moan.
poem by William Blake from Songs of Innocence (1789)
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Upon The Skilfull Player Of An Instrument
He that can play well on an instrument,
Will take the ear, and captivate the mind
With mirth or sadness; for that it is bent
Thereto, as music in it place doth find.
But if one hears that hath therein no skill,
(As often music lights of such a chance)
Of its brave notes they soon be weary will:
And there are some can neither sing nor dance.
Comparison.
Unto him that thus skilfully doth play,
God doth compare a gospel-minister,
That rightly preacheth, and doth godly pray,
Applying truly what doth thence infer.
This man, whether of wrath or grace he preach,
So skilfully doth handle every word;
And by his saying doth the heart so reach,
That it doth joy or sigh before the Lord.
But some there be, which, as the brute, doth lie
Under the Word, without the least advance
Godward; such do despise the ministry;
They weep not at it, neither to it dance.
poem by John Bunyan
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Sonnet -Blessed are the Poor on Earth
Let discontented men, learn from the poor,
Who smile despite the anguish in their hearts;
Hard-working all their lives for bread, succor;
Yet, struggling always to improve their lots.
No job is mean but honesty matters;
The vagaries of life tease them so much;
And scarcely clothed, that too in such tatters;
They wait with patience for God's magic touch.
Yet, all the while, their faces wear big smiles;
Their hearts are moved by beggar's cries for alms;
Barefoot in Rain or Sun, they walk the miles;
Their hearts are soft but roughened are their palms.
The Gates of Heaven are open to them;
Their poverty becomes their diadem.
poem by John Celes
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Sonnet LIII
THe Panther knowing that his spotted hyde,
Doth please all beasts but that his looks the[m] fray:
within a bush his dreadfull head doth hide,
to let them gaze whylest he on them may pray.
Right so my cruell fayre with me doth play,
for with the goodly semblant of her hew:
she doth allure me to mine owne decay,
and then no mercy will vnto me shew.
Great shame it is, thing so diuine in view,
made for to be the worlds most ornament:
to make the bayte her gazers to embrew,
good shames to be so ill an instrument.
But mercy doth with beautie best agree,
as in theyr maker ye them best may see.
poem by Edmund Spenser
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The Gift of Tritemius
Tritemius of Herbipolis, one day,
While kneeling at the altar's foot to pray,
Alone with God, as was his pious choice,
Heard from without a miserable voice,
A sound which seemed of all sad things to tell,
As of a lost soul crying out of hell.
Thereat the Abbot paused; the chain whereby
His thoughts went upward broken by that cry;
And, looking from the casement, saw below
A wretched woman, with gray hair a-flow,
And withered hands held up to him, who cried
For alms as one who might not be denied.
She cried, 'For the dear love of Him who gave
His life for ours, my child from bondage save,-
My beautiful, brave first-born, chained with slaves
In the Moor's galley, where the sun-smit waves
Lap the white walls of Tunis!'-'What I can
I give,' Tritemius said, 'my prayers.'-'O man
Of God!' she cried, for grief had made her bold,
'Mock me not thus; I ask not prayers, but gold.
Words will not serve me, alms alone suffice;
Even while I speak perchance my first-born dies.'
'Woman!' Tritemius answered, 'from our door
None go unfed, hence are we always poor;
A single soldo is our only store.
Thou hast our prayers;-what can we give thee
more?'
'Give me,' she said, 'the silver candlesticks
On either side of the great crucifix.
God well may spare them on His errands sped,
Or He can give you golden ones instead.'
Then spake Tritemius, 'Even as thy word,
Woman, so be it! (Our most gracious Lord,
Who loveth mercy more than sacrifice,
Pardon me if a human soul I prize
Above the gifts upon his altar piled!
Take what thou askest, and redeem thy child.'
But his hand trembled as the holy alms
He placed within the beggar's eager palms;
And as she vanished down the linden shade,
He bowed his head and for forgiveness prayed.
So the day passed, and when the twilight came
He woke to find the chapel all aflame,
And, dumb with grateful wonder, to behold
Upon the altar candlesticks of gold!
poem by John Greenleaf Whittier
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Tree
O, Tree
Give me
Some of
Your beauty.
I'm not as
Beautiful
As thee.
O, Tree
Give me
Some of
Your
Endurance.
I'm not as
Resilient
As thee.
O, Tree
Give me
Some of
Your
Silence.
There's
Not much
Calmness
In me.
O, Tree
Give me
Some of your
Divinity.
I'm not as
Godly as thee.
O, Tree
You are a
Treasure trove
Of wealth
With your
Flowers,
Fruits,
Leaves,
And holy
Spirits.
I'm a beggar
Before you.
Won't you
Give alms
To me?
poem by Aparna Chatterjee
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Sonnet: Blessed Are The Poor On Earth
Let discontented men, learn from the poor,
Who smile despite the anguish in their hearts;
Hard-working all their lives for bread, succor;
Yet, struggling always to improve their lots.
No job is mean but honesty matters;
The vagaries of life tease them so much;
And scarcely clothed, that too in such tatters,
They wait with patience for God's magic touch.
Yet, all the while, their faces wear big smiles;
Their hearts are moved by beggar's cries for alms;
Barefoot in Rain or Sun, they walk the miles;
Their hearts are soft but roughened are their palms.
The Gates of Heaven are open to them;
Their poverty becomes their diadem.
6-14-2002 by Dr John Celes
poem by John Celes
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SONNET: Some great men on earth
What doth a man of letters desire?
To share his knowledge with others unread;
To hand the torch of curiosity's fire;
His pupils to be better than his head!
What doth a doctor aim to do in life?
To heal the wounds of body and of mind;
To free the anguished heart from pain thats rife;
To labour hard, the bio-clock to wind!
What doth a bard expect readers to do?
To feel the joy and sorrow in his lines;
To make the earthly life, heavenly too;
To make the world better, he always pines.
What doth a man of God try to achieve?
To stir the souls in sin to God perceive!
poem by John Celes
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Sonnet- O Listen To...
O listen to the songs, so sweet of Birds;
0 listen to the sea-waves hitting shore;
0 listen to the noise of trampling herds;
0 listen to the breeze that slams the door.
0 listen to the animals all wild;
0 listen to the Wind that howls and screams;
0 listen to the cries of orphaned child;
0 listen to the shrieks of ghosts in dreams.
0 listen to the beggar asking alms;
0 listen to the noises made by Science;
0 listen to the children clapping palms;
0 listen to God-given Conscience.
0 listen within you and hear God's call;
The Holy Spirit dwells in good souls- all.
poem by John Celes
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All Soul's Day
They throng the tombs of near and dear,
To pray for souls in Purgatory;
They offer masses, light candles,
And place flowers on cemetery.
They visit tombs of orphans, friends,
And hear Requiem masses this day;
They give alms, singing hymns for dead,
Pleading for God's mercy and pray.
No soul is sinless on dying;
The soul must be freed off all sins;
The venial sins forgotten need
To be dumped in Purgatory's bins!
We ought to pray for all the dead,
Our kith and kin and strangers too;
The dead cannot do more penance,
And earn the grace of God on own!
November is the month to pray
To God to grant eternal rest,
For all awaiting Judgment's Day,
And help them pass the final Test!
Let light perpetual shine on souls
In Purgatory, where they are cleansed;
Pardon them Lord and release them;
Permit them to enter Heaven!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 2-11-12
poem by John Celes
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Upon A Snail
She goes but softly, but she goeth sure,
She stumbles not, as stronger creatures do.
Her journey's shorter, so she may endure
Better than they which do much farther go.
She makes no noise, but stilly seizeth on
The flower or herb appointed for her food,
The which she quietly doth feed upon
While others range and glare, but find no good.
And though she doth but very softly go,
However, 'tis not fast nor slow, but sure;
And certainly they that do travel so,
The prize they do aim at they do procure.
Comparison.
Although they seem not much to stir, less go,
For Christ that hunger, or from wrath that flee,
Yet what they seek for quickly they come to,
Though it doth seem the farthest off to be.
One act of faith doth bring them to that flower
They so long for, that they may eat and live,
Which, to attain, is not in others power,
Though for it a king's ransom they would give.
Then let none faint, nor be at all dismayed
That life by Christ do seek, they shall not fail
To have it; let them nothing be afraid;
The herb and flower are eaten by the snail.
poem by John Bunyan
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Chained and Locked Away
She's pretty, she's cute, sexy as you need,
Boy's stay away those chains,
Are meant to be.
She is dangerous I say,
If you don’t believe,
Give her rum and wait to see.
Her eyes move light to dark,
The once ant turns to a pit bull ready to strike.
Not wanting to be another mans blow up doll,
But she will for a drink or a hit,
More she gets the more she’ll give.
She doesn’t want to leave this place,
Cause here she feels no pain.
Where she is chained and locked away.
Every night sober as can be,
She cries herself to sleep,
From what the men have done that day.
Life is hard when scars are felt,
Still more to come by each day.
Little sleep is give to her,
So rarely a man is a way.
She begs and pleads,
And screams in pain.
Its a wonder that she doesn’t pray?
You can’t imagine how it feels,
For you to be hurt each and every day.
She is bound in chains, ropes, and cords all of a kind.
If she wishes for it to stop,
She doesn’t know how,
In her mind she knows,
A pleasant place to be.
Not here or now where she screams for the hurt to stop.
None’s listening, none’s caring, none’s believing
The girl who is getting raped everyday.
poem by Mrs. Cynosure
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Sonnet. Love
Go forth in life, oh friend! not seeking love;
A mendicant, that with imploring eye
And outstretched hand asks of the passers by
The alms his strong necessities may move.
For such poor love to pity near allied,
Thy generous spirit may not stoop and wait,
A suppliant, whose prayer may be denied,
Like a spurned beggar's at a palace gate:
But thy heart's affluence lavish uncontrolled;
The largess of thy love give full and free,
As monarchs in their progress scatter gold;
And be thy heart like the exhaustless sea,
That must its wealth of cloud and dew bestow,
Though tributary streams or ebb or flow.
poem by Anne Lynch Botta from Poems (1848)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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