A Maypole
Deprived of root, and branch and rind,
Yet flowers I bear of every kind:
And such is my prolific power,
They bloom in less than half an hour;
Yet standers-by may plainly see
They get no nourishment from me.
My head with giddiness goes round,
And yet I firmly stand my ground:
All over naked I am seen,
And painted like an Indian queen.
No couple-beggar in the land
E'er joined such numbers hand in hand.
I joined them fairly with a ring;
Nor can our parson blame the thing.
And though no marriage words are spoke,
They part not till the ring is broke;
Yet hypocrite fanatics cry,
I'm but an idol raised on high;
And once a weaver in our town,
A damned Cromwellian, knocked me down.
I lay a prisoner twenty years,
And then the jovial cavaliers
To their old post restored all three -
I mean the church, the king, and me.
poem by Jonathan Swift
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Hind Horn
In Scotland there was a babie born,
Lill lal, etc.
And his name it was called young Hind Horn.
With a fal lal, etc.
He sent a letter to our king
That he was in love with his daughter Jean.
He's gien to her a silver wand,
With seven living lavrocks sitting thereon.
She's gien to him a diamond ring,
With seven bright diamonds set therein.
"When this ring grows pale and wan,
You may know by it my love is gane."
One day as he looked his ring upon,
He saw the diamonds pale and wan.
He left the sea and came to land,
And the first that he met was an old beggar man.
"What news, what news?" said young Hind Horn;
"No news, no news," said the old beggar man.
"No news," said the beggar, "no news at a',
But there is a wedding in the king's ha.
"But there is a wedding in the king's ha,
That has halden these forty days and twa."
"Will ye lend me your begging coat?
And I'll lend you my scarlet cloak.
"Will you lend me your beggar's rung?
And I'll gie you my steed to ride upon.
"Will you lend me your wig o hair,
To cover mine, because it is fair?"
The auld beggar man was bound for the mill,
But young Hind Horn for the king's hall.
The auld beggar man was bound for to ride,
But young Hind Horn was bound for the bride.
When he came to the king's gate,
He sought a drink for Hind Horn's sake.
The bride came down with a glass of wine,
When he drank out the glass, and dropt in the ring.
"O got ye this by sea or land?
Or got ye it off a dead man's hand?"
"I got not it by sea, I got it by land,
And I got it, madam, out of your own hand."
"O I'll cast off my gowns of brown,
And beg wi you frae town to town.
"O I'll cast off my gowns of red,
And I'll beg wi you to win my bread."
"Ye needna cast off your gowns of brown,
For I'll make you lady o many a town.
"Ye needna cast off your gowns of red,
It's only a sham, the begging o my bread."
The bridegroom he had wedded the bride,
But young Hind Horn he took her to bed.
poem by Anonymous Americas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Marriage & Love
Love spoke to marriage,
“It is I who come first.”
For which marriage replied,
“It is for me you come.”
Arguments arose and words clashed.
Both who were one with another,
Split away and, the result,
No love ended in marriage,
And all marriages broke.
At last, He the Maker spoke,
“Love, you are My happening.
Marriage, you are My new beginning.
Without the other you shan’t survive.”
And then on, they walked hand-in hand.
poem by Santhosh Vijayakumar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
On Marriage.
Whom Love has joined no man may put asunder,
And he has never joined those who can part:
Marriage is this, no more, howe'er priests moan;
The rest is words, mere words, and custom's vapour
The heart will brush aside as easily
As fancy paints a picture.
poem by Robert Crawford
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Old Pair There
The old pair there they seem so very happy and they are two who've never sought renown
Raised on the same street they were childhood sweethearts and they raised their children here in their Hometown
Still so much in love and they in their late sixties they walk in the Town Parkland hand in hand
And others unhappy in their third or fourth marriage us human beings are hard to understand.
How come some can fall in love in their teen years and stay in love for the rest of their life
After all these years she's in love with her husband and after all these years he's in love with his wife
Whilst others go through many wives or husbands and their marriage always seems to end in tears
But they go searching for another partner they've fallen in and out of love for years
And could it be that they've never found their soul mate and unhappiness in love is all they find
They fall in and out of love so very quickly but then again some do say love is blind
But some will stay in love till death will take one and the living one for the dead one will grieve
Suppose they who stay in love for their whole lifetime in each others worth must firmly believe.
They've been in love since they were in their teen years and arm in arm they walk along the street
They are so in love after fifty years of marriage as if last week for the first time they did meet
Whilst others are in their fourth or fifth marriage but their love out of love's feeling seems to run
And then they go off in search of another perhaps it's in the chase they find their fun.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Ring
Lead vocal: eric stewart
Round your finger
Token of the love we give one another
Music of the future that well discover
Promises to keep more than any other
Symbolising all that we share
The ring is magic
The ring is power
Like a candle in the dark for everyone to see
The ring is madness
The ring is fire
And it burns with all the brightness of the sun
In a circle
Living in a world of perpetual motion
Turning with the tide of a restless ocean
Spinning on the wheel of your own emotion
Ridin on a wild carrousel
Youll be turning round and round
Round and round we go
Promises, promises, promises, promises
Round your finger
After all the years weve been together
Walking in the sun and stormy weather
Sharing in a moment to last forever
Memories and dreams without end
The ring is magic
The ring is power
And it finds you in the darkness of the night
The ring is madness
The ring is fire
And it guides you when youre blinded by the light
The ring is magic
The ring is power
Like a candle in the dark for all to see
The ring is madness
The ring is fire
And it burns with all the brightness of the sun
The ring is magic, magic, fire, fire
The ring is mine
song performed by by Alan Parsons Project
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Dying Gamblers Story
In a little secret Gambling house in a city known for fame
There sits a man of tender years his head bowed down in shame
That young man told a story as sad as can be
And if you will but listen this is what he said to me.
A year ago I had a wife but she was called one day
And as she lay so near to death she pressed my hand to say
I'm giving you my wedding ring to cherish all your life
And with these words the reaper called away my loving wife.
Soon I started gambling til I never had a thing
And on a hand I thought would win I bet my dead wife's ring
I drew the card and looked at it, Oh God I cried aloud
I've lost my dead wife's wedding ring to this drunken jeering around.
When he had finished speaking he bowed his head and sighed
And we who heard his story knew that he had died
But that dying gamblers story didn't mean a thing
Too bad they said, dealt the cards, and bet his dear wife's ring.
poem by Kenneth T. Schofield
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ring Them Bells
Ring them bells yea heathen from the city that dreams
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries cross the valleys and streams
For they're deep and they're wide
And the world's on it's side
And time is running backwards and so is the bride
Ring them bells
Ring them bells
Ring them bells
Ring them bells!
Ring them bells Saint Peter where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an iron hand so the people will know
That the rush hour is now on the wheel and the plow and the sun is going down upon the sacred cow
Ring them bells
Ring them bells
Ring them bells
Ring them bells
Ring them bells Saint Martha for the poor man's son
Ring them bells so the world will know that God is one
For the shepherd is asleep where the willows weep
And the mountains are filled with little lost sheep
Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf
Ring them bells for all of us who are left
Ring them bells for the chosen few who would judge the many when the game is through
Ring them bells for the time that flies
song performed by by Heart from Desire Walks On
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Rosary
Ring a Ring no Rosary
Standing in a row
Waiting for the hand to fall
God's children take a bow.
Ring a Ring no rosary
Shadow at the door
Sweat around his puffed up neck
Pain upon the floor.
Ring a Ring no Rosary
A whispered word to God
Judies, where's your mercy
From the stripping and the rod.
Ring a Ring no Rosary
Wipe away the tear.
Stained and dirty fingers
Garbing at my years.
Ring a Ring no Rosary
Now the pain is done
Christ upon his alter
Disciples in my Tomb.
poem by Alan Halford
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ring Out , Wild Bells
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Coronation
At the king's gate the subtle noon
Wove filmy yellow nets of sun;
Into the drowsy snare too soon
The guards fell one by one.
Through the king's gate, unquestioned then,
A beggar went and laughed, 'This brings
Me chance, at last, to see if men
Fare better being kings.'
The king sat bowed beneath his crown,
Propping his face with listless hand;
Watching the hour-glass sifting down
Too slow its shining sand.
'Poor man, what wouldst thou have of me?'
The beggar turned, and pitying,
Replied, like one in dream, 'Of thee,
Nothing. I want the king.'
Uprose the king, and from his head
Shook off the crown, and threw it by.
'O man, thou must have known,' said he,
'A greater king than I.'
Through all the gates, unquestioned then,
Went king and beggar hand in hand.
Whispered the king, 'Shall I know when
Before
his
throne I stand?'
The beggar laughed. Free winds in haste
Were wiping from the king's hot brow
The crimson lines the crown had traced.
'This is his presence now.'
At the king's gate, the crafty noon
Unwove its yellow nets of sun;
Out of their sleep in terror soon
The guards waked one by one.
'Ho here! Ho There! Has no man seen
The king?' The cry ran to and fro;
Beggar and king, they laughed, I ween,
The laugh that free men know.
On the king's gate the moss grew gray;
The king came not. They called him dead;
And made his eldest son one day
Slave in his father's stead.
poem by Helen Hunt Jackson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ring Them Bells
Ring them bells ye heathen from the city that dreams
Ring them bell from the sanctuaries, 'cross the valleys and streams
For they're deep and they're wide, and the world's on its side
And time is a-runnin' backwards and so is the bride
Ring them bells St. Peter where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an iron hand so the people will know
Oh it's rush hour now. on the wheel of the plow
And the sun is a-goin' down upon the sacred cow
Ring them bells sweet Martha for the poor man's son
Ring them bells so the world will know that God is one
For the shepherd is asleep where the willow weep
And the mountain is filled with lost sheep
Ring them bells - for the blind and the deaf
Ring them bells - all those who are left
Ring them bells - for the chosen few
Who'll judge the many when the game is through
Ring them bells - for the time that flies
For the child who cries when innocence dies
Ring them bells St. Catherine from the top of the roof
Ring the bells from the fortress for the lilies that bloom
For the lines are long and the fighting is strong
And they're breakin' down the distance between right and wrong
song performed by by Alice In Chains
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
A Ring Of Bright Words Dancing
and that day
eighty words woke up, listened to each other,
smiled, joined hands,
danced in a ring
and as they danced around and round
the space inside the circle
became magic
the earth flowed
into a brightness in the air
which in its space
became sound
the words dancing
left a ring in the grass
in the sound of a poem
then returned home
to where words rest
in stillness and in silence
until called upon
to waken fresh
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Roundabaout
Ill be the round about
The words will make you out n out
You change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
The music dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they
Stand there
One mile over well be there and well see
You
Ten true summers well be there and
Laughing too
Twenty four before my love youll see Ill be
There with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
Even in the valley
Chorus
Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching
Down on the land
Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees
The rim of the land
The eagles dancing wings create as weather
Spins out of hand
Go closer hold the land feel partly no more
Than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time a thousand answers
By in our hand
Nex to your deeper fears we stand
Surrounded by a million years
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Chorus
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Roundabaout
Ill be the round about
The words will make you out n out
You change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
The music dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they
Stand there
One mile over well be there and well see
You
Ten true summers well be there and
Laughing too
Twenty four before my love youll see Ill be
There with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
Even in the valley
Chorus
Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching
Down on the land
Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees
The rim of the land
The eagles dancing wings create as weather
Spins out of hand
Go closer hold the land feel partly no more
Than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time a thousand answers
By in our hand
Nex to your deeper fears we stand
Surrounded by a million years
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Chorus
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The River's Tale
Prehistoric
Twenty bridges from Tower to Kew--
(Twenty bridges or twenty-two)--
Wanted to know what the River knew,
For they were young, and the Thames was old
And this is the tale that River told:--
"I walk my beat before London Town,
Five hours up and seven down.
Up I go till I end my run
At Tide-end-town, which is Teddington.
Down I come with the mud in my hands
And plaster it over the Maplin Sands.
But I'd have you know that these waters of mine
Were once a branch of the River Rhine,
When hundreds of miles to the East I went
And England was joined to the Continent.
"I remember the bat-winged lizard-birds,
The Age of Ice and the mammoth herds,
And the giant tigers that stalked them down
Through Regent's Park into Camden Town.
And I remember like yesterday
The earliest Cockney who came my way,
When he pushed through the forest that lined the Strand,
With paint on his face and a club in his hand.
He was death to feather and fin and fur.
He trapped my beavers at Westminster.
He netted my salmon, he hunted my deer,
He killed my heron off Lambeth Pier.
He fought his neighbour with axes and swords,
Flint or bronze, at my upper fords,
While down at Greenwich, for slaves and tin,
The tall Phoenician ships stole in,
And North Sea war-boats, painted and gay,
Flashed like dragon-flies, Erith way;
And Norseman and Negro and Gaul and Greek
Drank with the Britons in Barking Creek,
And life was gay, and the world was new,
And I was a mile across at Kew!
But the Roman came with a heavy hand,
And bridged and roaded and ruled the land,
And the Roman left and the Danes blew in--
And that's where your history-books begin!"
poem by Rudyard Kipling
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Brookland Road
I was very well pleased with what I knowed,
I reckoned myself no fool --
Till I met with a maid on the Brookland Road,
That turned me back to school.
Low down-low down!
Where the liddle green lanterns shine --
O maids, I've done with 'ee all but one,
And she can never be mine!
'Twas right in the middest of a hot June night,
With thunder duntin' round,
And I see her face by the fairy-light
That beats from off the ground.
She only smiled and she never spoke,
She smiled and went away;
But when she'd gone my heart was broke
And my wits was clean astray.
O, stop your ringing and let me be --
Let be, O Brookland bells!
You'll ring Old Goodman out of the sea,
Before I wed one else!
Old Goodman's Farm is rank sea-sand,
And was this thousand year;
But it shall turn to rich plough-land
Before I change my dear.
O, Fairfield Church is water-bound
From autumn to the spring;
But it shall turn to high hill-ground
Before my bells do ring.
O, leave me walk on Brookland Road,
In the thunder and warm rain --
O, leave me look where my love goed,
And p'raps I'll see her again!
Low down -- low down!
Where the liddle green lanterns shine --
O maids, I've done with 'ee all but one,
And she can never be mine!
poem by Rudyard Kipling
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Truth:
The truth will stand when all else falls
Till time becomes no more
Until God’s trumpet finally calls
Till death shuts tight its door
Truth needs no prop support or stay
But lies are bound to fail
Naked they’ll stand on judgement day
Beyond life’s hidden veil
The truth will stand the test of time
For truth is of The Lord
Guilty condemned of Satan’s crime
Deceit must face the sword
The truth stands firm, stands deep and sound
In Christ its seed has root
Ordained to grow in hallowed ground
To bear God’s name sweet fruit
Exposure brings to truth no fear
No devil can it move
No scheme no ploy no smile nor tear
As squalls of life will prove
Tempestuous storms may rant and rage
All elements let loose
Life, may turn its vicious page
But truth stands every ruse
For all deceit the dye is cast
God’s spoke with upheld hand
Wisdom will prove as in the past
Once truth’s embraced our land
Then truth will reign at Jesus’ hand
Sweet joy will never cease
Walking with God The Promised Land
In everlasting peace.
poem by Michael P. Johnson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Roundabout
Roundabout
(jon anderson/steve howe)
Ill be the round about
The words will make you out n out
You change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
The muses dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they
Stand there
One mile over well be there and well see
You
Ten true summers well be there and
Laughing too
Twenty four before my love youll see Ill be
There with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
Even in the valley
Chorus
Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching
Down on the land
Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees
The rim of the land
The eagles dancing wings create as weather
Spins out of hand
Go closer hold the land feel partly no more
Than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time a thousand answers
By in our hand
Next to your deeper fears we stand
Surrounded by a million years
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Chorus
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Roundabout
Roundabout
(jon anderson/steve howe)
Ill be the round about
The words will make you out n out
You change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
The muses dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they
Stand there
One mile over well be there and well see
You
Ten true summers well be there and
Laughing too
Twenty four before my love youll see Ill be
There with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
Even in the valley
Chorus
Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching
Down on the land
Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees
The rim of the land
The eagles dancing wings create as weather
Spins out of hand
Go closer hold the land feel partly no more
Than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time a thousand answers
By in our hand
Next to your deeper fears we stand
Surrounded by a million years
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Chorus
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Ring Them Bells
Ring them bells ye heathen from the city that dreams
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries cross the valleys and streams
For theyre deep and theyre wide
And the worlds on its side
And time is running backwards and so is the bride
Ring them bells saint peter where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an iron hand so the people will know
Oh its rush hour now
On the wheel and the plow
And the sun is going down upon the sacred cow
Ring them bells sweet martha for the poor mans son
Ring them bells so the world will know that God is one
For the shepherd is asleep
Where the willows weep
And the mountains are filled with lost sheep
Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf
Ring them bells for all of us who are left
Ring them bells for the chosen few
Who will judge the many
When the game is through
Ring them bells for the time that flies
For the child that cries
When innocence dies
Ring them bells saint catherine from the top of the room
Ring them from the fortress for the lilies that bloom
For the lines are long
And the fighting is strong
And theyre breaking down the distance between right and wrong
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!