All in a Hot and Copper Sky
Grilled golden grains glance through his restless hands,
strong suntanned fingers straining sandy rain.
Stranded on a strip of ocean land,
he lonely lingers. Glances once again
from his castaway kingdom’s salty strand,
where he remains in solitary reign
over seagulls banking on the sand
and mosquito clouds which whine, complain,
from morn till night amid the palm tree bands
which food and drink provide to ease his pain.
The cloudless compass round, on every hand,
north, south, east, west, his anxious eye has panned.
He scans the coral sea from sky to land,
stands screening, once again, the sun steeped main.
While distant sea lanes still he spans in vain,
the visions echo through his aching brain.
poem by Jonathan Robin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Alima
I am too old to have a husband and,
I am still unmarried;
So i keep on crying looking for my lover,
For i want to be with a man before my death.
To the land of the east,
To the land of the west,
To the land of the north,
And to the land of the south;
Yokshan begot Sheba and Dedan but,
Who will come to my aid?
Seven ewe lambs,
To the well of the oath;
Of a Tamarisk tree,
To the well of the seven;
And i am still in the wilderness of Beersheba like,
Alima in the wonderland of husbands.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
~ ~ Ocean ~ ~
O Divine ocean so vast,
holds many a secret from the past.
Mystery flows within her wake.
Manifest beauty constantly the land rake.
O Body of ocean water,
veins of currents as strong as mortar.
Watery soul, generations does feed,
Many a mouth into her leads.
Accumilating power, encompassing the land,
raging waves war, when she becomes mad.
Magnified authority within her belly holds,
Unravelling awakenings silently unfolds.
O Ocean beauty, why do you roar?
Even when seagulls above you do soar.
O Kingdom of water, your offspring you kindle,
Multitudes of life within you mingle.
Pacified beauty you are,
Reaching out, east to west, so far.
Ever so blue, majestic in reign.
Enthroned ocean, magnified domain,
God did you sincerely, ordain!
poem by Denise Bekker
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Song of the Republic
Sons of the South, awake! arise!
Sons of the South, and do.
Banish from under your bonny skies
Those old-world errors and wrongs and lies.
Making a hell in a Paradise
That belongs to your sons and you.
Sons of the South, make choice between
(Sons of the South, choose true),
The Land of Morn and the Land of E'en,
The Old Dead Tree and the Young Tree Green,
The Land that belongs to the lord and the Queen,
And the Land that belongs to you.
Sons of the South, your time will come –
Sons of the South, 'tis near –
The "Signs of the Times", in their language dumb,
Fortell it, and ominous whispers hum
Like sullen sounds of a distant drum,
In the ominous atmosphere.
Sons of the South, aroused at last!
Sons of the South are few!
But your ranks grow longer and deeper fast,
And ye shall swell to an army vast,
And free from the wrongs of the North and Past
The land that belongs to you.
poem by Henry Lawson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
No Place To Run
Joey rides the subway
Fast from east to west
On the street hes number one
Some say that hes the best
Got something going on
In a honkey tonk down town
He is expected
Word has got around
The other-side of midnight
Or in the combat zone
Meeting no resistance
Joe stands alone
Night riders prowling
Out into the night
Theres someone else out there
And theyre looking for a fight
Between the rain soaked buildings
A distant whistle blows
Fate lies in waiting
Its hand it never shows
* heart beating like a drum
Out in this wasteland
And theres no place baby for us to run
(in) jungle land (baby)
Jungle land, jungle land
Jungle land. jungle land
Under the railway arches
Someone calls his name
Streams out the words
Come on boy this aint no game
One flash of bright cold stsel
In a strangers hand
Kids dance away like shadows
Theres no one to command
Joeys got his name
Pairited on the wells
On the side of buses
Subways and tenement halls
(repeat *)
Jungle land, jungle land
Jungle land, jungle land
Jungle land, jungle land
Jungle land, jungle land
song performed by by Ufo
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
You Are Here
-nine!
From liverpool
To tokyo,
What a way to go.
From distant lands,
One woman, one man,
Let the four winds blow.
Three thousand miles over the ocean.
Three thousand light-years
From the land of the rising sun.
Love has opened my eyes,
Love has blown right through.
Wherever you are, (wherever you are)
You are here. (you are here)
Wherever you are, (wherever you are)
You are here. (you are here)
Three thousand miles over the ocean.
Three thousand light-years
From the land of surprising sun.
Well, now east is east
And west is west,
The twain shall meet.
East is west and west is east,
Let it be complete.
Three thousand miles over the ocean.
Three thousand light-years
From the land of the morning star.
Uh hu -
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
You Are Here
From liverpool to tokyo
What a way to go
From distant lands one woman one man
Let the four winds blow
Three thousand miles over the ocean
Three thousand light years from the land of the rising sun
Love has opened up my eyes
Love has blown right through
Wherever you are, you are here
Wherever you are, you are here
Three thousand miles over the ocean
Three thousand light years from the land of the surprising sun
Well now east is east and west is west
The twain shall meet
East is west and west is east
Let it be complete
Three thousand miles over the ocean
Three thousand light years from the land of the morning star
song performed by by Lennon John
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Swagman and His Mate
FROM north to south throughout the year
The shearing seasons run,
The Queensland stations start to shear
When Maoriland has done;
But labour’s cheap and runs are wide,
And some the track must tread
From New Year’s Day till Christmastide
And never get a shed!
North, west, and south—south, west and north—
They lead and follow Fate—
The stoutest hearts that venture forth—
The swagman and his mate.
A restless, homeless class they are
Who tramp in Borderland.
They take their rest ’neath moon and star—
Their bed the desert sand,
On sunset tracks they ride and tramp,
Till speech has almost died,
And still they drift from camp to camp
In silence side by side.
They think and dream, as all men do;
Perchance their dreams are great—
Each other’s thoughts are sacred to
The swagman and his mate.
With scrubs beneath the stifling skies
Unstirred by heaven’s breath;
Beyond the Darling Timber lies
The land of living death!
A land that wrong-born poets brave
Till dulled minds cease to grope——
A land where all things perish, save
The memories of Hope.
When daylight’s fingers point out back
(And seem to hesitate)
The far faint dust cloud marks their track—
The swagman and his mate.
And one who followed through the scrub
And out across the plain,
And only in a bitter mood
Would seek those tracks again,
Can only write what he has seen—
Can only give his hand—
And greet those mates in words that mean
“I know”, “I understand.”
I hope they’ll find the squatter “white”,
The cook and shearers “straight”,
When they have reached the shed to-night—
The swagman and his mate.
poem by Henry Lawson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Ports of the Open Sea
Down here where the ships loom large in
The gloom when the sea-storms veer,
Down here on the south-west margin
Of the western hemisphere,
Where the might of a world-wide ocean
Round the youngest land rolls free—
Storm-bound from the world’s commotion,
Lie the Ports of the Open Sea.
By the bluff where the grey sand reaches
To the kerb of the spray-swept street,
By the sweep of the black sand beaches
From the main-road travellers’ feet,
By the heights like a work Titanic,
By a bluff lined coast volcanic
Lie the Ports of the wild South-east.
By the steeps of the snow-capped range,
By the scarped and terraced hills—
Far away from the swift life-changes,
From the wear of the strife that kills—
Where the land in the Spring seems younger
Than a land of the Earth might be—
Oh! the hearts of the rovers hunger
For the Ports of the Open Sea.
But the captains watch and hearken
For a sign of the South Sea wrath—
Let the face of the South-east darken,
And they turn to the ocean path.
Ay, the sea-boats dare not linger,
Whatever the cargo be;
When the South-east lifts a finger
By the Ports of the Open Sea.
South by the bleak Bluff faring,
North where the Three Kings wait,
South-east the tempest daring—
Flight through the storm-tossed strait;
Yonder a white-winged roamer
Struck where the rollers roar—
Where the great green froth-flaked comber
Breaks down on a black-ribbed shore.
For the South-east lands are dread lands
To the sailor in the shrouds,
Where the low clouds loom like headlands,
And the black bluffs blur like clouds.
When the breakers rage to windward
And the lights are masked a-lee,
And the sunken rocks run inward
To a Port of the Open Sea.
But oh! for the South-east weather—
The sweep of the three-days’ gale—
When, far through the flax and heather,
The spindrift drives like hail.
Glory to man’s creations
That drive where the gale grows gruff,
When the homes of the sea-coast stations
Flash white from the dark’ning bluff!
When the swell of the South-east rouses
The wrath of the Maori sprite,
And the brown folk flee their houses
And crouch in the flax by night,
And wait as they long have waited—
In fear as the brown folk be—
The wave of destruction fated
For the Ports of the Open Sea.
Grey cloud to the mountain bases,
Wild boughs that rush and sweep;
On the rounded hills the tussocks
Like flocks of flying sheep;
A lonely storm-bird soaring
O’er tussock, fern and tree;
And the boulder beaches roaring
The Hymn of the Open Sea.
poem by Henry Lawson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
To Our Destination
They wear a direction for their utmost pleasure,
The direction is either north or south,
Not west or east, like the compass shows,
The directions are clearly seen with balanced vision.
They must reach their destination with safety,
Licking its food, fulfilling the commands
And realising less danger, for danger is clearly erected.
The north is where food is, the south is an opposite direction,
We wear a proper bracelet, golden and silver and diamond,
These are the jewels of the adventurer,
One to take on the rivers and mountains is the ruby.
So pleasurable is the journey we have designed,
Mapping the way home with zeal.
poem by Naveed Akram
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Seagulls [1]
Seagulls are flying from edge tot edge,
their screeching voices call the veldt, the sky the sea
of South Africa stretching east and west
to a carnivorous hunt above the ridges, sea ditches
and small crabs, whose lives are spent in shell crevices, yield
splashing blood, ooze from their guts, their veins with
a little nucleus of skeleton. It was when I walked
facing the sea at its east end with a kind of dredge
of sprinkling sand, strolled through the lathering water
naked legged in the winter water, with a member as bait
under cast moon with rocks itching and scratching my feet
after I saw in my rising eyes the stretches, flattening
of this one land, a country stretching east to west,
(as if no other exists anywhere else)
south to north, wherever I were going
with hillocks, mountains, flashing city lights,
even trees looking somewhat blatantly
as if staring at me with cold winter bitterness.
I know that the sun still turns, until the next day
and the morning will visit as owls or rats to us
in hues of brilliant blue, only in the Cape it will be grey
and I know that day and night the seagulls fly over me
or we or us with wings covering South Africa, the whole
the continent of Africa, even the whole wide world
and their screeching will last until eternity.
[Reference: Owls by Leslie Norris.]
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Seagulls
Seagulls are flying from edge tot edge,
their screeching voices call the veldt, the sky the sea
of South Africa stretching east and west
to a carnivorous hunt above the ridges, sea ditches
and small crabs, whose lives are spent in shell crevices, yield
splashing blood, ooze from their guts, their veins with
a little nucleus of skeleton. It was when I walked
facing the sea at its east end with a kind of dredge
of sprinkling sand, strolled through the lathering water
naked legged in the winter water, with a member as bait
under cast moon with rocks itching and scratching my feet
after I saw in my rising eyes the stretches, flattening
of this one land, a country stretching east to west,
(as if no other exists anywhere else)
south to north, wherever I were going
with hillocks, mountains, flashing city lights,
even trees looking somewhat blatantly
as if staring at me with cold winter bitterness.
I know that the sun still turns, until the next day
and the morning will visit as owls or rats to us
in hues of brilliant blue, only in the Cape it will be grey
and I know that day and night the seagulls fly over me
or we or us with wings covering South Africa, the whole
the continent of Africa, even the whole wide world
and their screeching will last until eternity.
[Reference: Owls by Leslie Norris.]
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
4. Blow me down
The North wind blew on Monday
As the East wind got the flu
The West wind blew on Tuesday
As the South wind never knew
The North East wind had Wednesday
As the South West wasn’t chuffed
The North West blew on Thursday
As the South East hardly puffed
The East and West blew Friday
As the others had a rest
The North and South blew Saturday
As the weekends were the best
The lot of them had Sunday
As the winds turned into storm
The whole of them had Monday off
As the week got back to norm
poem by David Threadgold (2008)
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
In Your Mind There Remains Unrest
If you can't see it in the East.
And it can't be seen in the North.
So you look about in the West,
To declare that the South is best.
But,
Yet in your mind there remains unrest.
If you can't see it in the East.
And it can't be seen in the North.
So you look about in the West,
To declare that the South is best.
You seek a model,
In the East.
One you can bottle,
From the North.
To establish a nest,
One picked from the West.
And,
In the South you'll have that house...
Successfully built by an architect.
You seek a model,
In the East.
One you can bottle,
From the North.
To establish a nest,
One picked from the West.
And,
In the South you'll have that house...
Successfully built by an architect.
If you can't see it in the East.
And it can't be seen in the North.
So you look about in the West,
To declare that the South is best.
But,
Yet in your mind there remains unrest.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
At My Window Sad And Lonely
At my window, sad and lonely
Oft times do I think of thee
Sad and lonely and I wonder
Do you ever think of me
Every day is sad and lonely
And every night is sad and blue
Do you ever think of me my darling
As you sail that ocean blue
At my window, sad and lonely
I stand and look across the sea
And I sad and lonely wonder
Do you ever think of me
Will you find another sweetheart
In some far and distant land
Sad and lonely now I wonder
If our boat will ever land
Ships may ply the stormy ocean
And planes may fly the stormy sky
I'm sad and lonely but remember
Oh I'll love you till I die
song performed by by Wilco
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I am hopeless
If I am a bird
I can fly any land
I can rest any tree
I can eat any fruit
I can drink any water
If I am a rain
I can wet any land
I can walk any street
I can swim any river
I can touch anyone
If I am a wind
I can feel any land
I can sail any ocean
I can climb any mountain
I can hug anyone
If I am not a human
I may have no racism
I may have no religion
I may have no region
I may have no rivalry
But I am a human
I am a muted wind
I am a cloudless rain
I am a wingless bird
I am a hopeless being
poem by Kranthi Pothineni
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Nation Builders
A handful of workers seeking the star of a strong intent -
A handful of heroes scattered to conquer a continent -
Thirst, and fever, and famine, drought, and ruin, and flood,
And the bones that bleach on the sandhill, and the spears that redden with blood;
And the pitiless might of the molten skies, at noon, on the sun-cracked plain,
And the walls of the northern jungles, shall front them ever in vain,
Till the land that lies like a giant asleep shall wake to the victory won,
And the hearts of the Nation Builders shall know that the work is done.
To North, on the seas of summer, where the pearl flotillas swim,
To East, where the axe is ringing in the heart of the ranges grim,
On the plains where the free wind bloweth by never a tree or shrub,
On the pine-topped slopes where the settler carves a home in the tropic scrub,
On fields where the miner sleeps unstirred by the ceaseless monotone
And crash of the stampers night and day at work on the milk-white stone,
'Tis war and stress, with never a pause to mourn for a stout heart gone,
Till the souls of the Nation Builders shall know that the work is done.
On the deck of the lonely light-ship, in the sand of the new-found West,
Where strong men fall and die like sheep in the thirst of the golden quest,
By the dry stock routes, by the burnt-up creeks, where the cattle sink and fail,
By the coral reefs, where the bêching boats swing on 'neath the sun-tanned sail,
In the wild ravine where the searcher's gold is bought with his own heart's blood,
In the dark of the drive where the miner's life goes out with the swirling flood,
'Tis war and stress, with never a pause to mourn for a stout heart gone,
Till the lives of the Nation Builders have paid for the victory won.
In the glare and steam of the cities, the thunder and chatter of wheel,
By the teeming wharves, where the liners lie at rest on an even keel,
In the strife of a swelling commerce, at the desk in the dull routine
Where the soul of a man is warped and sunk to the soul of a mere machine,
In the flash of the wire to west and north, in the hum of the restless street,
In the pulse of the toiling press that beats all night in a fever heat,
Where the weary brain and the pen plod on 'neath the white electric light -
Tho' we fail and fall still the fight goes on; and ever our sons shall fight,
Till the land that lies like a giant asleep shall wake to the victory won,
And the hearts of the Nation Builders shall know that the work is done.
We are but the hands of the Builder, who toileth and frameth afar;
System, and order, and sequence; sun, and planet, and star -
Faint sparks of a Mighty Genius, a breath of the Over Soul,
Who shapes the thought of the workers wherever his worlds may roll.
On! tho' we grope and blunder, the trend of our aim is true!
On! there is death in dalliance whilst yet there is work to do,
Till the land that lies like a giant asleep shall wake to the victory won,
And the eyes of the Master Worker shall see that the work is done.
poem by George Essex Evans
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Up North (Down South, Back East, Out West)
(Danny Wells/Jill Wood)
In spite of the name, Independence, Kansas
Didn't grow many wild roses
But she was young and restless
And I loved her though holding her down was hopeless
I wanted her to say she couldn't live without
The life I had to offer but all she could talk about
Was faraway dreams, cities she'd never seen
How do I find that girl when she could be
Out there anywhere she just up and left
She didn't leave a forwarding address
Or a trail for my lonely heart to follow
Which one of those four winds should I go chasing
She could be in a million places I guess
Up north, down south, back east, out west
She could be up in the Windy City
Where the world spins a little bit faster
Or gettin' a tan down in Miami that might be where I'd catch her
Maybe back in Virginia, her cousin lives there
Out in Arizona, she'd fit in anywhere
It's anyone's guess where she came to rest
My one chance for happiness is
Out there anywhere she just up and left
She didn't leave a forwarding address
Or a trail for my lonely heart to follow
Which one of those four winds should I go chasing
She could be in a million places I guess
Up north, down south, back east, out west
I'm sitting here at a four-way intersection
Praying Lord won't you point me in the right direction
She could be
Out there anywhere she just up and left
She didn't leave a forwarding address
Or a trail for my lonely heart to follow
Which one of those four winds should I go chasing
She could be in a million places I guess
Up north, down south, back east, out west
Up north, down south, back east, out west
song performed by by Wade Hayes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Beautiful Land Of Nod
Come, cuddle your head on my shoulder, dear,
Your head like the golden-rod,
And we will go sailing away from here
To the beautiful land of Nod.
Away from life’s hurry, and flurry, and worry,
Away from earth’s shadows and gloom,
To a world of fair weather we’ll float off together
Where the roses are always in bloom.
Just shut up your eyes, and fold your hands,
Your hands like the leaves of a rose,
And we will go sailing to those fair lands
That an atlas never shows.
On the North and the West they are bounded by rest,
On the South and the East by dreams;
‘Tis the country ideal, where nothing is real,
But everything only seems.
Just dropp down the curtains of your dear eyes,
Those eyes like a bright blue-bell,
And we will sail out under starlit skies
To the land where the fairies dwell.
Down the river of sleep our barque shall sweep,
Till it reaches the mystical isle
Which no man has seen, but where all have been,
And there we will pause for awhile.
I will croon you a song as we float along,
To that shore that is blessed of God,
Then ho! for that fair land, we’re off for that rare land,
That beautiful Land of Nod.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Echoes
Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves in labyrinths of coral caves
The echo of a distant tide
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine
And no one showed us to the land
And no one knows the wheres or whys
But something stirs and
Something tries
And starts to climb towards the light
Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand the best I can
And no one calls us to the land
And no one crosses there alive
And no one speaks
And no one tries
And no one flies around the sun
And now this is the day you fall
Upon my waking eyes
Inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Comes streamin in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning
And no one sings me lullabies
And no one makes me close my eyes
So I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky.
song performed by by Pink Floyd from Meddle
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Dirge Of The Winds
The four winds of earth, the North, South, East, and West,
Shrieked and groaned, sobbed and wailed, like the soul of unrest.
I stood in the dusk of the twilight alone,
And heard them go by with a terrible moan.
'What is it, O winds! that is grieving you so?
Come tell me your sorrow, and tell me your woe!'
'What is it?' I questioned. They shuddered, and said:
'We mourn for the dead! Oh! we mourn for the dead-
'For the dishonored dead that the wine-cup has slain;
For the wrecks that are lying on hill and on plain;
For the beautiful faces, so young and so fair,
That are lying down under the green grasses there;
For the masterful minds and beautiful souls
That were shattered, and drowned, and debased in the bowls;
For the graves that are scattered broadcast o'er the land,
The graves that were dug by King Alcohol's hand.
For the scenes that we saw, as we came on our way,
The sights and the sounds that degraded the day.
East and West, North and South, the tale is the same-
A tale of debasement, and sorrow, and shame.
And this is our sorrow, and this is our woe:
It is this, it is this, that is grieving us so.'
Three winds hushed their voices. The East wind alone
Told her tale in a moaning and sorrowful tone:
'I came yesterday, from the great Eastern land,
Where the mountains are high and the cities are grand;
But the devil walks there, night and day, in the streets,
And he offers red wine to each soul that he greets.
They drink, and the record of crimes and of sins,
And the record of shame and of sorrow begins.
I sped from the sin-burdened East to the West,
But I find not of balm for my agonized breast.
Wine blackens the West as it blackens the East.'
And the voice of the wind sobbed and wailed as it ceased.
'I come from the West!' another voice cried,
'Where the rivers are broad, and the prairies are wide.
There is vigor and strength in that beautiful land,
But the devil walks there with a bowl in his hand,
And the strongest grow weak, and the mightiest fall,
In the damnable reign of this King Alcohol.'
He ceased, and another came mournfully forth,
And spake: 'I came from the land of the North,
Where the streamlets are ice and the hillocks are snow,
And little of passions in mortal veins flow.
But the devil walks there in that land, day and night,
And he covers his face with a mask that is white;
And he smiles as he pours out the wine for his prey,
Nor counts up the legions he kills every day.'
The voice of the South wind spoke now in a sigh:
'And I, too, can tell of the thousands that die
By the hand of this king, in my soft, southern clime,
Where the sweet waters flow in a musical chime.
The devil walks there by King Alcohol's side,
And he pours out the wine till it flows in a tide;
It rushes along with a gurgling sound,
And thousands are caught in the current and drowned.'
Again the four winds cried aloud in their woe:
'It is this, it is this, that is grieving us so.
We see the mad legions go down to the grave,
Unable to warn them, unable to save,
We shriek and we groan, we shudder in pain,
For the souls that are lost, for the youths that are slain;
And the river flows onward, the river wine-red,
And we mourn for the dead, oh! we mourn for the dead.'
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!