Last Trams
I
THAT street washed with violet
Writes like a tablet
Of living here; that pavement
Is the metal embodiment
Of living here; those terraces
Filled with dumb presences
Lobbed over mattresses,
Lusts and repentances,
Ardours and solaces,
Passions and hatreds
And love in brass bedsteads . . .
Lost now in emptiness
Deep now in darkness
Nothing but nakedness,
Rails like a ribbon
And sickness of carbon
Dying in distances.
II
THEN, from the skeletons of trams,
Gazing at lighted rooms, you'll find
The black and Röntgen diagrams
Of window-plants across the blind
That print their knuckleduster sticks,
Their buds of gum, against the light
Like negatives of candlesticks
Whose wicks are lit by fluorite;
And shapes look out, or bodies pass,
Between the darkness and the flare,
Between the curtain and the glass,
Of men and women moving there.
So through the moment's needle-eye,
Like phantoms in the window-chink,
Their faces brush you as they fly,
Fixed in the shutters of a blink;
But whose they are, intent on what,
Who knows? They rattle into void,
Stars of a film without a plot,
Snippings of idiot celluloid.
poem by Kenneth Slessor
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Related quotes
At the Window
The pine-trees bend to listen to the autumn wind as it mutters
Something which sets the black poplars ashake with hysterical laughter;
While slowly the house of day is closing its eastern shutters.
Further down the valley the clustered tombstones recede,
Winding about their dimness the mist’s grey cerements, after
The street lamps in the darkness have suddenly started to bleed.
The leaves fly over the window and utter a word as they pass
To the face that leans from the darkness, intent, with two dark-filled eyes
That watch for ever earnestly from behind the window glass.
poem by David Herbert Lawrence
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Moon At The Window
It takes cheerful resignation
Heart and humility
Thats all it takes
A cheerful person told me
Nobodys harder on me than me
How could they be
And, nobodys harder on you than you
Betsys blue
She says-tell me something good!
You know Id help her out if I only could
Oh, but sometimes the light
Can be so hard to find
At least the moon at the window--
The thieves left that behind
People dont know how to love
They taste it and toss it
Turn it off and on
Like a bathtub faucet
Oh sometimes the light
Can be so hard to find--
At least the moon at the window--
The thieves left that behind
I wish her heart
I know these battles
Deep in the dark
When the spooks of memories rattle
Ghosts of the future
Phantoms of the past
Rattle, rattle, rattle
In the spoon and the glass
Is it possible to learn
How to care and yet not care--
Since love has two faces
Hope and despair
And pleasure always turns to fear
I find--
At least the moon at the window--
The thieves left that behind
At least they left the moon
Behind the blind
Moon at the window
song performed by by Joni Mitchell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Outside Your Window
Outside Your Window;
And in the hands of fate:
I feel the seconds slowly pass,
Whilst you I anxiously await.
And behind the glowing glass;
I glimpsed a fading candlelight.
And I with hope was filled and so:
Wished I for love and life this night.
Outside Your Window;
And in the hands of fate:
I see through the looking glass,
To find my missing soulmate.
And when the light finally flew;
When darkness swamped the room:
A wide smile on my face drew;
And waited I for you to bloom.
Outside Your Window;
And in the hands of fate:
I feel my feelings all amass,
As I your beauty contemplate.
Seconds felt forever;
Nor beauty I did see.
All alone my eyes did glitter;
Whilst wondering where you would be!
Outside Your Window;
And in the hands of fate:
I walked on in your impasse;
Wishing it's not yet too late.
Outside Your Window;
And in the hands of fate:
I lonesome stood for long alas!
And didn't notice your window grate.
Outside Your Window;
And in the hands of fate:
I tried to drag out of that morass,
Myself; and my lost senses locate.
Outside Her Window;
And in the hands of fate:
I watched my heart swiftly by a lass,
Gets stolen; and did my soul sedate.
Outside Her Window;
I still pass by everyday.
Outside Her Window;
I can't just turn and walk away.
Outside Her Window;
I still have hope that she might show.
Outside Her Window;
I watch my life pass by so slow.
Outside Your Window;
And in the hands of fate:
I once awaited you alone all night.
But now I know: it's just too late!
poem by Danny The Dreamer Boyd
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My Feelings of the Wrong and Innocent Part 1
I cry on a dark night.
In my room looking out the window
Nothing in sight,
Only my reflection out the window
As I cry.
I cry because I'm angry.
I see the boys in the street
With poor innocent ladies,
Scared to death, why?
As I cry.
47th street of Chicago filled with women
Trying to make a living.
They need guidence,
But who when all the women are gone
To takecare of their kids.
In my window I cry.
poem by Paris.O Johnson
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A Poem in Place of a Lecture
Or Vice-Versa
This morning, friends, the blackboard will be black
Behind my skull: your eyelids will be slack,
And I could wearily cajole from you, or you,
Slow answers to dull questions; or grow annoyed
Earnestly deploying on the black void
Lyra’s measured stars. But I must learn anew
To cope with darkness: these voids won’t do
As palps where I could plot the dusty lore,
The diagrams, the arty emblems you ignore,
Your blood too thin to tick into the brain
The winged horse mustered from the sod
To be the Muses’ pet, a demi-god
High in black heaven. I will not strain—
The chalk crumpling, your eyelids flickering—to explain
Why ignorant men pricked darkness full of scars
And gave them godly names, and called them stars.
You quench whole constellations on the black
Walls of your skulls; arts you dishonour die.
The sky will go black and Hippocrene run dry
Before I will fix one light in your blind skulls this black
Morning, friends. The blackboard will stay black.
poem by James Phillip McAuley
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Out the Window
The dark rain falls
Some say it is a sanctuary
Some fear the deep caverns
Fog in the morning jungle
Soldiers tremble
Sorrow like a green alien
She is sweet but dangerous
She writes poetry sitting on my lap
Soldier on a burning pyre
A child with a helmet
Darkness between the eternal stars
Darkness like a clown crying
Darkness in Van Gogh’s ravens
We sit on the circle of the moon
Cubicles as lonely as a cage
Creative like a red sunset
Torn from the land the buffalo gone
The world a pawn
We write by windows of life
Out the window the darkness cries
Out the window the moonrises
poem by Joseph Narusiewicz
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In the beginning
In the beginning
God looked at the dark void
and His voice structured
the universe and the sun, moon,
stars and the earth appeared.
There was no more void
and the breath from God
went out as His voice
that cleft the waters
and the deep
and there was no more continual darkness
and light broke
the everlasting night
and the waters parted
and sky and land appeared.
God created plants and vegetation
and animals and all
living things,
but with His hands
God formed man
and his mate
and build them in His image
and gave some
of His own breath
to them
to make them living.
poem by Gert Strydom
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No Star I Can See
There is no star,
Which I can see
From my window...
Boundless darkness
Is here in the
Chest of night.
The painted sky,
I saw in the daylight
Now is wiped away
As my last poem
I wrote but made
it vanish from
The page, because
It couldn't tell
The blank story,
Of my desolate
Life...no star
Still is visible
From this window..
Someone has spread
The melted pitch
On the road of my
Moped sky..I stare
And stare all night.
The caged breeze,
The starless sky
And night, none can share
My loneliness, I know
They are no living
Persons like me...
But, they can drown me
In complete void of
Sea of utter darkness.
One star can do this;
Only one star......
Thru my little window,
It's flickering light,
Can fill my dark room,
With its heavenly touch!
poem by Nilakshi Das
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Ribbon Of Darkness
Ribbon of darkness over me
Since my true love walked out the door
Tears I never had before
Ribbon of darkness over me
Clouds a-atherin oer my head
That kill the day and hide the sun
That shroud the night when day is done
Ribbon of darkness over me
Rain is falling on the meadow
Where once my love and I did lie
Now she is gone from the meadow
My love goodbye
Ribbon of darkness over me
Where once the world was young as spring
Where flowers did bloom and birds did sing
Ribbon of darkness over me
Here in this cold room lyin
Dont want to see no one but you
Lord I wish I could be dyin
To forget you
Oh how I wish your heart could see
How mine just aches and breaks all day
Come on home and take away
This ribbon of darkness over me
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Darkness
I sought freedom, I sought love
I delved into the unknown, into the void.
Blind so I was, Darkness surrounded me.
Frightened I became, aimless were my steps.
Sickness clouded my existence.
I screamed for help but no response.
Upon the vast desert of Arabia, I once strolled.
The darkness of the night descended upon me.
Embraced me with fear like the darkness within
Despite the warmth of the night, I shivered.
I stretched my fragile body on the sand as I quivered.
I looked up to the heavens for comfort.
The brightness of the stars through the darkness of the night
Guided me to search for the stars in my deep darkness.
The first star shone when Malcolm stated
He felt most free when he was incarcerated.
The second star glowed when I realized
I must love me first before a true love for another
Can materialize.
poem by Ibrahim Ibn Salma
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Sonnet: Eternal Light
As long as there was some light, I could see;
And when the lights went out, I became blind,
Like a mole; the window-pane did I find!
The light came through, I regained acuity.
The blind can’t see even in broad daylight,
But they discern what men with eyes cannot!
The latter struggle more than what blind ought!
Men cannot see at night without moonlight.
In light or darkness, who helps man to see?
’Tis Maker-God, the true light of the world;
Man’s inward eye can see his destiny;
A soul in sin, to divine light is cold.
God is Light in light and in darkness;
No man is blind, his soul in God’s harness!
poem by John Celes
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Black Curtain
They walk with the black curtain over their faces
They gather others with the pain it leaves behind
The people live in darkness nothing in their minds
Their faces are blank no expresion no feeling
Those who have seen know what it does
Those who know weep in solitude and sorrow
They don't look forward to today or tomorrow
They know everything yet they know nothing
The peoples skin all white and sickened
Their voices a raspy mist
All they look for all they long for is peace and bliss
Their cloths worn and tattered
They know there is no cure
They know there is no hope, no place for them to rest
For they know they will soon be one less
They know there is no cure they know they will rot away
They walk through this aweful place
With dread and dispare
Everyone knows, and try not to stare
Yet it is so hard to sheild your eyes, to hold back the tears
The black curtain lays over their eyes
The cloth that shall never be lifted
For it is too far they have drifted
The curtain falls over their faces
The darkness sets in
They know the time has come for them to leave this place
There is no expresion on their faces
As the curtian and sickness leaves
They will suffer no more
They will go home
And will never be alone
For the curtain is lifted and they are in the light once more
poem by Bethany Maxwell
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Light & Darkness
I remember light dimmed without darkness and darkness dimmed without light if you think about it there would be no light if there were no darkness, darkness needs lights, and light needs darkness, is that why heaven and hell do not fight, there calm but why.... they are enemies no? ....but even enemies know how to maintain balance... this light there is darkness on it... i see why.... what is light without darkness, if there were no darkness how would there be a light....... it would be a void of emptiness, thank you hells thank you heavens, thank you demons, thank you angels you know we must last so you maintain balance, you know of light and darkness......
poem by Richie Rampershad
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I'll Wait When You Finally Say, You Don't Love Me Anymore
i will not be dumb but i will be very patient
i know how to figure out
to decipher glances and appearances
the way your finger moves when you hand me
my clothes the way you find disgust in my underwear
but i will not waste any of the words i have saved
for the years i will keep them locked with key
your dreams are no longer my dreams
somehow we no longer look in the same direction
as we used to
gazing in the stars at night and giving them names
when we say
i love you and i love you too
some stars fell and you tell me they are but meteorites
ordinary occurences, and they do not mean any wishes
i can tell the changes in the skies
i can tell the coming of the storm and i am always prepared for them
there will be no surprises
when you will call me by my name and you say you want
a heart to heart talk
something to shake me but i will listen attentively
you will have no questions
just mere declarations about the river that dried
about the fish that died and you counted them all
there are no stars to light this darkness
this room where the air is free to go from window to window
i will wait when you will finally say
what i already know and i will be patient
then you must go and then i must as a solemn duty
close this door and never shall i open it again
i will not watch you go and dissolve in a distance
i will not cry, i am saving my tears for the right occasion
the tears of joy and this happiness that finally
in my solitude i still love myself
(you will never know, how i have waited for this moment)
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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But That's Not It On A Hartford Train
Riding backwards
each brick is
surprise peripheral.
Gaze shapes itself
solidly
a moment then to movement
succumbs.
Again.
And I am dumb.
Strike no pose
that a poem
could love
much less linger
petulant in a
tinted window.
A brick sticks
in the throat.
No.
An eye.
No.
It is red.
It is dead
weight leaving
residue in
a palm
or place it
sighing to my
chest still
overcome by
the last
brick, and
the other
one
and so on,
all lost,
a last attempt
to see without
poses and write
it.
The heart says,
No.
The other eye,
the one turned
away from the
window, says:
'God forbid I'm
going to crash the
whole universe.
Goodbye.'
But that's not
it.
poem by Warren Falcon
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Im Not Sayin / Ribbon Of Darkness
Im not sayin that I love you
Im not sayin that Ill care if you love me
Im not sayin that Ill care
Im not sayin Ill be there when you want me
I cant give my heart to you
Or tell you that Ill sing your name up to the sky
I cant lay the promise down
That Ill always be around when you need me
Now I may not be alone each time you see me
Along the street or in a small cafe
But still I wont deny you or mistreat you
Baby if you let me have my way
Im not sayin Ill be sorry
For all the things that I might say that make you cry
I cant say Ill always do
The things you want me to
Im not sayin Ill be true but Ill try
Ribbon of darkness over me
Since my true love walked out the door
Tears I never had before
Ribbon of darkness over me
Clouds are gatherin oer my head
That chill the day and hide the sun
That shroud the night when day is done
Ribbon of darkness over me
Rain is falling on the meadow
Where once my love and I did lie
Now she is gone from the meadow
My love goodbye
Oh how I wish your heart could see
How mine just aches and breaks all day
Come on home and take away
This ribbon of darkness over me
Yes come on home and take away
Ribbon of darkness over me
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lost In A Lost World
I woke today, I was crying
Lost in a lost world
So many people are dying
Lost in a lost world
Some of them are living an illusion
Bounded by the darkness of their minds
In their eyes its nation, against nation, against nation
With racial pride
Sounds...
Thinking only of themselves
They shun the light
(shun the light)
They think theyre right
(think theyre right)
Living in their empty shells
Oh, can you see their bodies thrashing
(so many people, so many people)
Crashing down around their feet
Angry people in the street
Telling them theyve had their fill
Of politics, people who kill
Grow... the seed of evolution
(so many people, so many people)
Revolution everyone
Its just another form of gun
To do again what they have done
Let all our brothers come and get some
(so many people, so many people)
Everywhere you go you see them searching
Everywhere you turn you feel the pain
Everyone is looking for the answers
Well look again, come on my friend
Love will find us in the end
Come on my friend
(on my friend)
Weve got to bend
(got to bend)
Down on our knees and say a prayer
Oh, can you see the world is pining
(so many people, so many people)
Pining for someone who really cares enough to share his love
With all of us so we can be
An ever loving family
Have we forgotten who loves who
(so many people, so many people)
Children from a family tree
Thats longer than a centipede
Started long ago when you and i
Where only love....
(so many people, so many people)
I woke today, I was crying
Lost in a lost world
So many people are dying
Lost in a lost world
So many people, so many people
People lost in a lost world
So many people, so many people
People lost in a lost world
song performed by by Moody Blues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Seventh Plague
and there came a time
when darkness covered the land,
and sucked at the souls
of the living.
and the darkness had faces
insulated in plastic tombs,
waving flags and rhetoric,
thriving on despair.
and the lips of the dying
were parched with thirst;
bodies thrown in the great fires,
melted into vapor.
and the promise of apathy
came to be with violence.
the carcass of the eagle lay rotting,
feathers lost to the infidel wind...
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Deep Blue
When sunshine is not enough
To make me feel bright
Its got me suffering in the darkness
Thats so easy come by on the road-side
Of one loong life-time
Its got me deep blue
You know Im deep blue
When you stand there, watch tired bodies
Full of sickness and pain
To show you just how helpless you really are
When you get down to the truth
It hurts me
Its got me deep blue
You know Im deep blue
When I think of the life Im living
Pray God help me; give me your light
So I can love you and understand
This repetition that keeps me here
Feeling deep blue
Its got me deep blue
You know Im deep blue
song performed by by George Harrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hope
an angel a bridge
of heart
Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness
Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness
Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness
Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness
Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness Darkness
a light
of humanity tree