Fall of the Evening Star
Speak softly; sun going down
Out of sight. Come near me now.
Dear dying fall of wings as birds
complain against the gathering dark...
Exaggerate the green blood in grass;
the music of leaves scraping space;
Multiply the stillness by one sound;
by one syllable of your name...
And all that is little is soon giant,
all that is rare grows in common beauty
To rest with my mouth on your mouth
as somewhere a star falls
And the earth takes it softly, in natural love...
Exactly as we take each other...
and go to sleep...
poem by Kenneth Patchen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Girl's Song
The Meuse and Marne have little waves;
The slender poplars o'er them lean.
One day they will forget the graves
That give the grass its living green.
Some brown French girl the rose will wear
That springs above his comely head;
Will twine it in her russet hair,
Nor wonder why it is so red.
His blood is in the rose's veins,
His hair is in the yellow corn.
My grief is in the weeping rains
And in the keening wind forlorn.
Flow softly, softly, Marne and Meuse;
Tread lightly all ye browsing sheep;
Fall tenderly, O silver dews,
For here my dear Love lies asleep.
The earth is on his sealèd eyes,
The beauty marred that was my pride;
Would I were lying where he lies,
And sleeping sweetly by his side!
The Spring will come by Meuse and Marne,
The birds be blithesome in the tree.
I heap the stones to make his cairn
Where many sleep as sound as he.
poem by Katharine Tynan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lullaby
My little one, sleep softly
Among the toys and flowers.
Sleep softly, O my first-born son,
Through all the long dark hours.
And if you waken far away
I shall be wandering too.
If far away you run and play
My heart must follow you.
Sleep softly, O my baby,
And smile down in your sleep.
Here are red rose-buds for your bed—
Smile, and I will not weep.
We made our pledge—you had no fear;
What then to fear have I?
Though long you sleep, I shall be near;
So hush—we must not cry.
Sleep softly, dear one, softly—
They cannot part us now;
Forever rest here on my breast,
My kiss upon your brow.
What though they hide a little grave
With dream-flowers false or true?
What difference? We will just be brave
Together—I and you.
poem by Harriet Monroe
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Bells in the Rain
Sleep falls, with limpid drops of rain,
Upon the steep cliffs of the town.
Sleep falls; men are at peace again
While the small drops fall softly down.
The bright drops ring like bells of glass
Thinned by the wind, and lightly blown;
Sleep cannot fall on peaceful grass
So softly as it falls on stone.
Peace falls unheeded on the dead
Asleep; they have had deep peace to drink;
Upon a live man's bloody head
It falls most tenderly, I think.
poem by Elinor Morton Wylie
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Fall Softly
Fall softly on my body
As it lays here cold as snow
The life is leached from these dead limbs
A warmth I'll never know
Fall softly on my body
Light from the dying sun
With all the things I'll never see
Having only just begun
Fall softly on my body
All the words I will not hear
Not the joy or the laughter
Nor the pain and the fear
Fall softly on my body
Thoughts from the one-time me
As a voice heard in the distance whispers
'Hope you fall softly'
poem by Anonymous Ghurl
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Tomorrow Is A Long Time
(Bob Dylan)
If today was not an endless highway
If tonight was not a crooked trail
If tomorrow wasn't such a long time
then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all
Ah but only if my own true love is waitin'
Yes and if I could hear her heart a softly poundin'
only if she were lying by me
would I rest in my bed once again
I can't see my reflection in the mirror
I can't speak the sounds that show no pain
I can't hear the echoes of my footsteps
and can't remember the sound of my own name
Ah but only if my own true love is waitin'
Yes and if I could hear her heart a softly poundin'
only if she were lying by me
would I rest in my bed once again
There's beauty in the silver singin' river
There's beauty in the sunlight in the sky
But none of these, and nothing else
can steal the beauty
that I remember in my true love's eyes
Ah but only if my own true love is waitin'
Yes and if I could hear her heart a softly poundin'
only if she were lying by me
would I rest in my bed once again
song performed by by Rod Stewart
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Tomorrow Is Such A Long Time
(bob dylan)
If today was not an endless highway
If tonight was not a crooked trail
If tomorrow wasnt such a long time
Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all
Ah but only if my own true love is waitin
Yes and if I could hear her heart a softly poundin
Only if she were lying by me
Would I rest in my bed once again
I cant see my reflection in the mirror
I cant speak the sounds that show no pain
I cant hear the echoes of my footsteps
And cant remember the sound of my own name
Ah but only if my own true love is waitin
Yes and if I could hear her heart a softly poundin
Only if she were lying by me
Would I rest in my bed once again
Theres beauty in the silver singin river
Theres beauty in the sunlight in the sky
But none of these, and nothing else
Can steal the beauty
That I remember in my true loves eyes
Ah but only if my own true love is waitin
Yes and if I could hear her heart a softly poundin
Only if she were lying by me
Would I rest in my bed once again
song performed by by Rod Stewart
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What Is Music
What is music?
What is music?
Is music the languages that shoot out of my mouth and speak in silence?
Is music the moving of my lip according to my mind command?
What is music?
Music is the one two word that my mind put together in my mouth
Music is the airs that escape a snap of my violence teeth
Music is the wisdom sound my mind and mouth produce
Music is the combine sound that entertain my ear drum
What is music?
Music is a simple sound I verbalize to state my joyful soul
Music is the jingle that loosen my soul in time of desire
Music is the sounds that launch me to a free world
Music is the spirit that struggle in me
What is music?
Music is the sound I scream from my mouth to a free humanity
Music is a one two word I yell
Music is the lyric I cry to express my mental mind,
My beating heart
My jumping feet
My shouting soul
My sweating body
What is music?
Music is the rhythm of my voice, what is music? ?
poem by Robert Otim
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A Year and a Day
Slow days have passed that make a year,
Slow hours that make a day,
Since I could take my first dear love
And kiss him the old way;
Yet the green leaves touch me on the cheek,
Dear Christ, this month of May.
I lie among the tall green grass
That bends above my head
And covers up my wasted face
And folds me in its bed
Tenderly and lovingly
Like grass above the dead.
Dim phantoms of an unknown ill
Float through my tired brain;
The unformed visions of my life
Pass by in ghostly train;
Some pause to touch me on the cheek,
Some scatter tears like rain.
A shadow falls along the grass
And lingers at my feet;
A new face lies between my hands --
Dear Christ, if I could weep
Tears to shut out the summer leaves
When this new face I greet.
Still it is but the memory
Of something I have seen
In the dreamy summer weather
When the green leaves came between:
The shadow of my dear love’s face --
So far and strange it seems.
The river ever running down
Between its grassy bed,
The voices of a thousand birds
That clang above my head,
Shall bring to me a sadder dream
When this sad dream is dead.
A silence falls upon my heart
And hushes all its pain.
I stretch my hands in the long grass
And fall to sleep again,
There to lie empty of all love
Like beaten corn of grain.
poem by Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Child's Fancy
"Hush, hush! Speak softly, Mother dear,
So that the daisies may not hear;
For when the stars begin to peep,
The pretty daisies go to sleep.
"See, Mother, round us on the lawn,
With soft white lashes closely drawn,
They've shut their eyes so golden-gay,
That looked up through the long, long day.
"But now they're tired of all the fun--
Of bees and birds, of wind and sun
Playing their game at hide-and-seek;--
Then very softly let us speak."
A myriad stars above the child
Looked down from heaven and sweetly smiled;
But not a star in all the skies
Beamed on him with his Mother's eyes.
She stroked his curly chestnut head,
And whispering very softly, said,
"I'd quite forgotten they might hear;
Thank you for that reminder, dear.
poem by Mathilde Blind
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Butterfly, You Fly So Softly
Little butterfly
You fly so softly
You flutter your wings twice
In the blink of an eye
And catch a nuance of the Spring breeze
You float up, the air tilts you
I see your beauty as you fly near
Butterfly, you fly so softly
you make my heart skip a beat
and then it settlles down
and I feel blessed with serenity
Butterfly, you fly so softly
I fall in love with you a thousand times
Then you smile at me
With your perfect pearly smile
and I wish I could change shape
and fly by your side
Butterfly, you fly so softly
I imagine making love
And know I would not fall out of love
Not with you...
You land on my shoulder
and look up at me
I see love in your eyes
or think I do
and then you twitch your wings
and fly away
Butterfly, you fly so softly
in and out of my heart
I love you from afar
In a world far from me
and in dream we share our lives
these humble earthly lives
and make the best of life
I know somehow you would always have love for me
And if in love, you would never abandon me or hurt me
Butterfly, you fly so softly
that sometimes my heart breaks when you're away
I wait in the garden for you
but you come and go too quickly
and the wait for your return feels forever
Butterfly, you fly so softly
How I wish we could share forever
But I dare not say
For fear you will fly away and not return
As you fly away
I cry and pray
I tell no one about you
for fear the magic will be broken
And my heart will grow cold
poem by James T. Adair
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Papersnow
Pink confetti, shotgun wedding
Rocket secrets someones shredding
Nineteenth floor.
Laundry ticket that exploded
Joust with quaker pamphlet goaded
Into war.
Ankle deep we heroes amble
Ankle deep we wade
Ankle deep through someone elses
Ticker tape parade
Softly, softly, softly
Falls papersnow...
Softly, softly, softly
All of our works blow away...
Petals fell on petaluma
Till receipt from montezumas
Burger hut.
Every day a billion dollars
Fall as black and white blue-collars
Plough their rut.
Softly, softly, softly
Falls papersnow...
Softly, softly, softly
All of our works blow away...
Ankle deep we heroes amble
Ankle deep we wade
Ankle deep through someone elses
Ticker tape parade
Jets folded from wall street journal
Shoot down cartons care of colonels
Chicken ranch.
Kleenex where the guys been cryin
Goodbye note from girl whos flyin
To new branch.
Softly, softly, softly
Falls papersnow...
Softly, softly, softly
All of our works blow away...
Letter that Id meant to send you
To torpedo and up-end you
Sheet by sheet.
Tore up all the beg and bitter
Add them to the drift of litter
On your street.
Softly, softly, softly
Falls papersnow...
Softly, softly, softly
All of our works blow away...
Ankle deep we heroes amble
Ankle deep we wade
Ankle deep through someone elses
Ticker tape parade
song performed by by Xtc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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How Is It That I Am Now So Softly Awakened
How is it that I am now so softly awakened,
My leaves shaken down with music?—
Darling, I love you.
It is not your mouth, for I have known mouths before,—
Though your mouth is more alive than roses,
Roses singing softly
To green leaves after rain.
It is not your eyes, for I have dived often in eyes,—
Though your eyes, even in the yellow glare of footlights,
Are windows into eternal dusk.
Nor is it the live white flashing of your feet,
Nor your gay hands, catching at motes in the spotlight;
Nor the abrupt thick music of your laughter,
When, against the hideous backdrop,
With all its crudities brilliantly lighted,
Suddenly you catch sight of your alarming shadow,
Whirling and contracting.
How is it, then, that I am so keenly aware,
So sensitive to the surges of the wind, or the light,
Heaving silently under blue seas of air?—
Darling, I love you, I am immersed in you.
It is not the unraveled night-time of your hair,—
Though I grow drunk when you press it upon my face:
And though when you gloss its length with a golden brush
I am strings that tremble under a bow.
It was that night I saw you dancing,
The whirl and impalpable float of your garment,
Your throat lifted, your face aglow
(Like waterlilies in moonlight were your knees).
It was that night I heard you singing
In the green-room after your dance was over,
Faint and uneven through the thickness of walls.
(How shall I come to you through the dullness of walls,
Thrusting aside the hands of bitter opinion?)
It was that afternoon, early in June,
When, tired with a sleepless night, and my act performed,
Feeling as stale as streets,
We met under dropping boughs, and you smiled to me:
And we sat by a watery surface of clouds and sky.
I hear only the susurration of intimate leaves;
The stealthy gliding of branches upon slow air.
I see only the point of your chin in sunlight;
And the sinister blue of sunlight on your hair.
The sunlight settles downward upon us in silence.
Now we thrust up through grass blades and encounter,
Pushing white hands amid the green.
Your face flowers whitely among cold leaves.
Soil clings to you, bark falls from you,
You rouse and stretch upward, exhaling earth, inhaling sky,
I touch you, and we drift off together like moons.
Earth dips from under.
We are alone in an immensity of sunlight,
Specks in an infinite golden radiance,
Whirled and tossed upon silent cataracts and torrents.
Give me your hand darling! We float downward.
poem by Conrad Potter Aiken
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Summer Pool
THERE is a singing in the summer air,
The blue and brown moths flutter o’er the grass,
The stubble bird is creaking in the wheat,
And perch’d upon the honeysuckle-hedge
Pipes the green linnet. Oh, the golden world!
The stir of life on every blade of grass,
The motion and the joy on every bough,
The glad feast everywhere, for things that love
The sunshine, and for things that love the shade!
Aimlessly wandering with weary feet,
Watching the wool white clouds that wander by,
I come upon a lonely place of shade,—
A still green Pool, where with soft sound and stir
The shadows of o’erhanging branches sleep,
Save where they leave one dreamy space of blue,
O’er whose soft stillness ever and anon
The feathery cirrus blows. Here unaware
I pause, and leaning on my staff I add
A shadow to the shadows; and behold!
Dim dreams steal down upon me, with a hum
Of little wings, a murmuring of boughs,
The dusky stir and motion dwelling here,
Within this small green world. O’ershadow’d
By dusky greenery, tho’ all around
The sunshine throbs on fields of wheat and bean,
Downward I gaze into the dreamy blue,
And pass into a waking sleep, wherein
The green boughs rustle, feathery wreaths of cloud
Pass softly, piloted by golden airs:
The air is still,—no birds sing any more,—
And helpless as a tiny flying thing,
I am alone in all the world with God.
The wind dies—not a leaf stirs—on the Pool
The fly scarce moves; earth seems to hold her breath
Until her heart stops, listening silently
For the far footsteps of the coming rain!
While thus I pause, it seems that I have gain’d
New eyes to see; my brain grows sensitive
To trivial things that, at another hour,
Had pass’d unheeded. Suddenly the air
Shivers, the shadows in whose midst I stand
Tremble and blacken—the blue eye o’ the Pool
Is clos’d and clouded; with a sudden gleam
Oiling its wings, a swallow darteth past,
And weedling flowers beneath my feet thrust up
Their leaves, to feel the fragrant shower. Oh, hark!
The thirsty leaves are troubled into sighs,
And up above me, on the glistening boughs,
Patters the summer rain!
Into a nook,
Screen’d by thick foliage of oak and beech,
I creep for shelter; and the summer shower
Murmurs around me. Oh, the drowsy sounds!
The pattering rain, the numerous sigh of leaves,
The deep, warm breathing of the scented air,
Sink sweet into my soul—until at last,
Comes the soft ceasing of the gentle fall,
And lo! the eye of blue within the Pool
Opens again, while with a silvern gleam
Dew diamonds twinkle moistly on the leaves,
Or, shaken downward by the summer wind,
Fall melting on the Pool in rings of light!
poem by William Cosmo Monkhouse
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Land-Locked
Black lie the hills; swiftly doth daylight flee;
And, catching gleams of sunset's dying smile,
Through the dusk land for many a changing mile
The river runneth softly to the sea.
O happy river, could I follow thee!
O yearning heart, that never can be still!
O wistful eyes, that watch the steadfast hill,
Longing for level line of solemn sea!
Have patience; here are flowers and songs of birds,
Beauty and fragrance, wealth of sound and sight,
All summer's glory thine from morn till night,
And life too full of joy for uttered words.
Neither am I ungrateful; but I dream
Deliciously how twilight falls to-night
Over the glimmering water, how the light
Dies blissfully away, until I seem
To feel the wind, sea-scented, on my cheek,
To catch the sound of dusky flapping sail
And dip of oars, and voices on the gale
Afar off, calling low, -- my name they speak!
O Earth! Thy summer song of joy may soar
Ringing to heaven in triumph. I but crave
The sad, caressing murmur of the wave
That breaks in tender music on the shore.
poem by Celia Thaxter
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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May Song
BIRDS in the green of my garden
Blackbirds and throstle and wren,
Wet your dear wings in the tears that are Spring's
And so to your singing again!
Birds in my blossoming orchard,
Chaffinch and goldfinch and lark,
Preen your bright wings, little happy live things;
The May trees grow white in the park!
Birds in the leafy wet woodlands,
Cuckoo and nightingale brown,
Sing to the sound of the rain on green ground--
The rain on green leaves dripping down!
Fresh with the rain of the May-time,
Rich with the promise of June,
Deep in her heart, where the little leaves part,
Love, like a bird, sings in tune!
poem by Edith Nesbit
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Little Butterfly (For Helen)
Little butterfly
You fly so softly
You flutter your wings twice
In the blink of an eye
And catch a nuance of the Summer breeze
Carrying you from the colts in the meadow
To your favorite Dogwood trees
You float up, the air tilts you
I admire your beauty as you fly near
Butterfly, you fly so softly
when you watch the children smile and play
You make my heart skip a beat
and then it settles down
and I feel blessed with serenity
With such unearthly grace and dignity
Butterfly, you fly so softly
I fall in love with you a thousand times
Then you smile at me
With your perfect pearly smile
and I wish I could change shape
and fly by your side
Butterfly, you fly so softly
I imagine your heartfelt hugs in flight
As you we fly toward the light
You land on my shoulder
and look up at me
I see love in your pretty brown eyes
Your spirit is always here with me I realize
and then you smile and twitch your wings
and fly but your love with us does ever stay
Butterfly, you fly so softly
With love that touches so many hearts
Your graceful love is never far
You’re still my beautiful star
and in dreams we share our lives
these humble earthly lives
and make the best of life as you showed us how
I know somehow you always send your kisses
And I know you would never would abandon me
Butterfly, you fly so softly
that sometimes my heart breaks when you're away
I wait on the bench in the garden for you
but you come and go too quickly
and the wait for your return feels forever
Butterfly, you fly so softly
How I know somehow we will share more moments
But I dare not say
For fear you will fly away
As you fly in and out of memory
I sometimes cry and pray
But end up smiling because of you
Your graceful magic is never broken
And because of your love, my heart shall not grow cold
© James T. Adair
poem by James T. Adair
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My Love Grows Deeper
My love grows deeper every day and takes a little piece of me
My love grows deeper every day and takes a little piece of me
My love grows deeper every day, deep into the sea
But takes a little piece of me, a little piece of me
Oh it's so beautiful out and I can't see why we're not allowed to be
Up in the sky with the birds counting the flowers
Oh my powers have failed me again when I can't see beginning to end
And I try to test it again through the hours
I get so stuck on leaving but I guess I think I'll stay
I'll be hanging around here anyway
I get so stuck on leaving, hell I think I'll go
Cuz they don't want me around here, no, no
My love grows deeper every day and takes a little piece of me
My love grows deeper every day and takes a little piece of me
My love grows deeper every day, deep into the sea
But takes a little piece of me, a little piece of me
Oh why can't I be green as the grass beneath my feet
As fresh as the dew hits the ground in the morning
And not yellow like bumble bees, please take me off my knees
Cuz I don't wanna be red forever
I get so stuck on leaving but I guess I think I'll stay
I'll be hanging around here anyway
I get so stuck on leaving so hell I think I'll go
Cuz they don't want me around here, no no
Traveling far, all up in the blue, traveling far,
could not be born because of you
Traveling far, up in the blue, could not be born because of you,
because of you you you you you you you
I get so stuck on leaving, I guess I think I'll stay
I'll be hanging around here anyway
I get so stuck on leaving, hell I think I'll go
You don't want me around here no more
I get so stuck on leaving, I get so stuck on leaving
I get so stuck on leaving, stuck on leaving
Stuck on leaving, I gotta go
You cut my wings long time ago
You cut my wings long time ago
My love grows deeper every day and takes a little piece of me
My love grows deeper every day and takes a little piece of me
My love grows deeper every day, deep into the sea
But takes a little piece of me, a little piece of me
song performed by by Nelly Furtado
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Matilda Gathering Flowers
And earnest to explore within--around--
The divine wood, whose thick green living woof
Tempered the young day to the sight--I wound
Up the green slope, beneath the forest’s roof,
With slow, soft steps leaving the mountain’s steep,
And sought those inmost labyrinths, motion-proof
Against the air, that in that stillness deep
And solemn, struck upon my forehead bare,
The slow, soft stroke of a continuous...
In which the ... leaves tremblingly were
All bent towards that part where earliest
The sacred hill obscures the morning air.
Yet were they not so shaken from the rest,
But that the birds, perched on the utmost spray,
Incessantly renewing their blithe quest,
With perfect joy received the early day,
Singing within the glancing leaves, whose sound
Kept a low burden to their roundelay,
Such as from bough to bough gathers around
The pine forest on bleak Chiassi’s shore,
When Aeolus Sirocco has unbound.
My slow steps had already borne me o’er
Such space within the antique wood, that I
Perceived not where I entered any more,--
When, lo! a stream whose little waves went by,
Bending towards the left through grass that grew
Upon its bank, impeded suddenly
My going on. Water of purest hue
On earth, would appear turbid and impure
Compared with this, whose unconcealing dew,
Dark, dark, yet clear, moved under the obscure
Eternal shades, whose interwoven looms
The rays of moon or sunlight ne’er endure.
I moved not with my feet, but mid the glooms
Pierced with my charmed eye, contemplating
The mighty multitude of fresh May blooms
Which starred that night, when, even as a thing
That suddenly, for blank astonishment,
Charms every sense, and makes all thought take wing,--
A solitary woman! and she went
Singing and gathering flower after flower,
With which her way was painted and besprent.
‘Bright lady, who, if looks had ever power
To bear true witness of the heart within,
Dost bask under the beams of love, come lower
Towards this bank. I prithee let me win
This much of thee, to come, that I may hear
Thy song: like Proserpine, in Enna’s glen,
Thou seemest to my fancy, singing here
And gathering flowers, as that fair maiden when
She lost the Spring, and Ceres her, more dear.
poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Homeward Going
GRAY smoke in the green leaves,
Someone homeward going,
No sound in the lone hills . . .
Only cattle lowing.
Still trees and a hushed world,
Leaf and limb unshaken,
No wind in the tall grass,
Creeksides bird-forsaken.
Pale, pale and with mute lips
One in shadow lying —
Near gone from the green world,
Sorrow nigh him sighing.
Day's strife and a life's strife
Each in quiet ending;
Life's light and the dark of death
Softly interblending.
One star on a far ridge,
Home the Homeward going,
No sound on the lone hills . . .
Only cattle lowing.
poem by Roderic Quinn
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Tomorrow Is A Long Time
If today was not an endless highway,
If tonight was not a crooked trail,
If tomorrow wasnt such a long time,
Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin,
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin,
Only if she was lyin by me,
Then Id lie in my bed once again.
I cant see my reflection in the waters,
I cant speak the sounds that show no pain,
I cant hear the echo of my footsteps,
Or cant remember the sound of my own name.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin,
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin,
Only if she was lyin by me,
Then Id lie in my bed once again.
Theres beauty in the silver, singin river,
Theres beauty in the sunrise in the sky,
But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty
That I remember in my true loves eyes.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin,
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin,
Only if she was lyin by me,
Then Id lie in my bed once again.
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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