En.Citatepedia^®.ro

The dreaded chair

He knew his time had arrived
his heart was beating fast
sweat trickled down his back
he felt faint and nauseous.
The night before he couldn't sleep
he lay there staring at the ceiling
the clock ticked noisily by his bed
he hoped tomorrow wouldn't come.
He wished he could find a way out
but he knew it had to be done
there was no turning back now
he just had to stay strong.
Then his name was called out
he was ushered to the large chair
his legs wobbled like jelly
strong hands stopped him from falling.
A light was shining into his face
a pair of eyes stared down at him
his throat was so dry he couldn't talk
fear gripped him like an evil vice.
He hoped this would be over quickly
get it over with he tried to say
but he was so scared it hardly came out
his heart wanted to explode out of his chest.
Then a calm voice spoke gently to him
'Don't be nervous, your in safe hands
your only going to have a tooth out.'
How he hated going to the Dentists!

poem by Kevin Halls
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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When You Want Something You Can't Have

I can still remember all the pain that I felt, I can't believe that back then the thought of you, or sound of your voice could make me melt

I can still remember all the pain that you caused and how in the end my heart was the one shattered in pieces on the floor, but what I can't believe is that after all that I just wanted you more

It was like I was the stupid moth to your flame, and in the end I got burned and have only myself to blame, I knew I couldn't have you but that didn't stop me from wanting you, I guess I hoped maybe deep down inside you wanted me too

I knew from the start liking you was pointless, but that didn't stop me and in the end I was the one cleaning up my big mess

To make matters worse you knew how I felt all along, I pegged you for a kind, sweet guy but in the end I guess I was wrong

Back then it felt like the worse kind of pain and it felt like i couldn't go on, but looking back on it now, I realized it made me smarter and it made me strong

So in the end even though I was the that was one hurting oh so bad, I must admit as I look back on it I'm kind of glad, because you taught me a valuable lesson in what happens when you want something you can't have

poem by Tiger Lily Love
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Gazing Upon A Star In Memory Of Another Star

Sometimes we take moments for granted
Some days we never really appreciate the meaning of life
Somehow we never realize what it really means to spend a day with those we care about
So somewhere beyond the clouds I hope we will meet again
so that I can make it up to you for the moments we never had.
With tears flowing to tell my sorrow,
Here I am gazing upon a star in memory of another star

Clock ticked, seasons changed
Smiles came, laughter passed
Wounds would heal but scars never did
Heart still bleeding a sea of pain,
Guess the bandages can never conceal the lesion left behind
If I had one wish it's your smile on my wish list
Two words to say, I'd say them to you
But now all I can do is gaze upon a star in memory of another star

Wish I could turn back the hands of time to make the moments we never lived
But it feels like the clock stopped ticking when your heart stopped beating
I kept believing because I never wanted to start grieving
I held their hands to keep them strong and with your words I sought to console them
Couldn't shed a tear because I had to dry their tears
But here I am drowning in my tears wishing I had someone to come comfort me
But all I can do is gaze upon a star in memory of another star
With 1 hand high I'll take 6 steps back
Can't breathe no more so I'll take a 0 to the floor and cry some more
8 moves to get up, I hope it's enough to express the pain deep inside my chest
i thought 0 wounds were left but it's truly a valley of anguish and I'm scared to visit it
hands together so I'll pray to the Lord that at His feet we'll meet again
Feel like I'm at the worlds edge trying to dance the pain away
1,6,0,8,0,9 are the figures my head will never forget.
So I'll dance and move all those steps till they spell that date
When I sat all alone gazing out into the night sky with 2 eyes wet
just like I'm doing now with both eyes soaked
Gazing upon a star in memory of you.

poem by Sir T.A.E.P.S
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Are You Going To See Your Mom?

'Mom,
I come back again.'
I shouted
in my mind.
It is said that
Plane flies fast.
But my heart
flew to my Mom
before the plane landed.

I knew
that my sisters come here
in turn everyday.
Now this day
I would be on duty.
When I stepped into the nursing home,
I saw Mom in a wheel chair,
with more white hair,
and more wrinkles on face.
I gave her a hug,
'Hi, Mom.' I shouted near her ear.

Mom stared me with dull sight,
then held my hands,
'Sister' she called me,
She couldn't recognize me!
I couldn't hold my tears any more.
Mom didn't cry,
just wiped out my tears
using her hand.

When lunch was ready,
I fed her one spoon after another;
Mom nodded her head while she's chewing;
A little smile showed up at the edge of her lips.

I hated that It's time to leave,
I stood up, and said
'Good bye, Mom.'
She looked at me,
held my hands, and asked me:
'Are you going to see your Mom? '

* Mom had dementia two years before and moved into a nursing home.
Also, she has hearing problem.
Are You Going To See Your Mom? *

poem by Jade Huang
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Zero Options

At first I thought I was day dreaming,
but very soon I realised I was not.
The man I was looking at died weeks ago
from an overdose of cocaine and pot.

The man I once knew saw me staring,
his pupils were gone from his eyes.
He was obviously a dead man walking,
and I hadn’t the time to ask him why.

My mind was in chaos with the situation;
it was unreal and just couldn’t be true.
But it was, and to prove it, I saw him,
but why, and what was I to do?

For a week I was edgy and scared witless,
and hoped I’d never see him again.
The early hours brought a knock at the door,
and someone out there spoke my name.

I looked through the door’s spy-hole,
and it was the man who was dead.
I told him this wasn’t the time for visitors,
and to come back at mid-day instead.

He said it was urgent that he spoke with me,
and I was to go with him right a way.
If I didn’t the consequences would be terrible,
and the ‘evil one’ would have the last say.

poem by Orlando Belo
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Tuesday Morning

Too many sad days
Too many tuesday mornings
I thought of you today
I wished it was yesterday morning
I thought of you today
I dreamt you were dressed in mourning
But I knew that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a tuesday morning
I fell through the window
And I found that I was still breathing
I thought of tomorrow
And the fear that you might leave me
I thought of tomorrow
And I wished it was monday morning
But I knew that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a tuesday morning
Turn your face from me
And I will cover myself with sorrow
Bring hell down upon me
I will surrender my heart to sorrow
Bring hell down upon me
And I will say goodbye tomorrow
But I knew that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a tuesday morning

song performed by by Pogues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Day I Died

Yes, it was just another day -
The sun rose once again
To send the night upon its way
And light the world of men.
The children woke to go to school,
While I slept on in bed.
Old men feel tired as a rule,
So I dreamt on instead.
At ten o'clock, I got up, too.
I got dressed as before.
I did the things I had to do,
Although they were a chore.
I opened letters, read them all
And put the TV on.
The cup I held began to fall...
My balance now was gone.
I hit the floor quite suddenly,
Confusion then set in.
The ceiling stared right back at me.
I knew I couldn't win.
So there I was, with nervous breath,
My hand upon my heart...
Aware, above all, facing death -
Expecting to depart.
I lay there, waiting on the Lord,
My Saviour and my King -
To whom I turned for each reward
And every blessed thing.
I heard no voice, no angel came,
No vision at that time
And yet, by faith, I spoke Christ's Name,
With hope that felt sublime.
My spirit left my body there
And left my world behind...
I rose to meet Christ in the air,
The Saviour of Mankind.
Eternal life had been bestowed
The second I believed.
My spirit felt no heavy load,
For I no longer grieved.
The day I died, no more to roam,
Was just a stepping stone...
The precious day Christ called me home...
To kneel before God's Throne...

poem by Denis Martindale
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Not A Poem

It's flush left,

The first letter

In each line is

Capitalized, and

I use a simile, but

It's more police report

Than poem.

At just past 7 a.m.,

On a Saturday,

My father slapped my face.

He slapped my face

Because I didn't eat

The scrambled eggs he made.

It was easy for him to slap my face

Because it reminded him

Of the people he hated.

He hated my face.

He slapped my face so hard that

My heart stopped beating,

I stopped breathing, my eyes

Bounced around in their sockets, and

My cheek was pushed hard

And deep into the empty space

Where a tooth was.

Then he quickly went back up to his room,

He was always going back up to his room,

And he slammed the door.

My face was numb, my arms went limp

And my legs buckled. I watched

The squares on the kitchen floor go up

And down. The bicyclists

On the wallpaper moved.

My heart became bloated with sadness.

More than ever before.

It dropped, like a water balloon

Falling to the sidewalk

From a second story window

With a never ending anticipation

Of destruction.

poem by Francis Santaquilani
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When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes

(holland / dozier / holland)
He gave me the eye
But I just passed him by
I treated him unkind
But he didnt seem to mind
I told him be on his way
Not a word did he say
He just stood there kind of bored
What am I acting for?
When the lovelight starts shining through his eyes
Made me realise I should apologise
And when he placed a kiss upon my face
Then I knew, oh baby I knew
That hed won my heart
So I quickly apologised
Hopin he hadnt changed his mind
Not a word did he say
So I turned to walk away
When the lovelight starts shining through his eyes
Made me realise all he felt inside
And when he placed a kiss upon my lips
Then I knew, oh baby I knew
That hed won my heart, oh yeah
Then he asked could he walk my way
I hoped sweet things hed say
Then he smiled a-kind of nice
As he held my hand kind of tight
When the lovelight starts shining through his eyes
Made me realise all he felt inside
And when he placed a kiss upon my face
Then I knew, oh baby I knew
A-that hed won my heart, oh yeah
When the lovelight starts shining through his eyes
Made me realise all I felt inside
And when he placed a kiss upon my face
Then I knew, oh, baby, I knew
A-that hed won my heart, oh yeah
That hed won my heart

song performed by by Dusty Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dont Stop

The clock is ticking, and Im here wishing
This new found love will find no end
Dont wanna feel, another feeling
Dont wanna know what time will send
I wanna stop, the earth from turning,
The rain from falling,
The wind from blowing
But dont stop (stop), the love from growing, keep that river flowing
We can find a way
Dont stop (stop), the love from showing
I dont want tomorrow, just give me today
Dont stop (stop), stop the hands of time
Hold back the time
And make forever, the same as the moment I felt your love
Youve touched my heart
Erase the pain, the memories, and mistakes I made
Stop, the earth from turning, the rain from falling, the wind from blowing
But dont stop (stop), the love from growing, keep that river flowing
We can find a way
Dont stop (stop), the love from showing
I dont want tomorrow, just give me today
Dont stop (stop), the flame from burning
Stop tomorrows hurting, from seeing the light
Dont stop (stop), my heart from beating
Keep the time from fleeting, into the night
Cant think about tomorrows fears, cause today is here to stay
Clear away all of yesterdays tears, theres nothing to block our way
Stop, the earth from turning, the rain from falling, the wind from blowing, the sun from shining
Cant find the reason, another season
Could never match a love so pleasin
Dont let it go, no, no, no, no, no
Dont stop (stop), the love from growing, keep that river flowing
We can find a way
Dont stop (stop), the love from showing
I dont want tomorrow, just give me today
Dont stop (stop), the flame from burning
Stop tomorrows hurting, from seeing the light
Dont stop (stop)
My heart from beating, keep the time from fleeting, into the night
Dont stop (stop), the love from growing, keep that river flowing
We can find a way
Dont stop (stop), the love from showing
I dont want tomorrow, just give me today
Dont stop the love, stop the time, another day, to keep you mine
Dont stop the love, stop the time, another, to keep you mine

song performed by by Gloria Estefan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Dreamed About Mama Last Night

I've just been to heaven with someone so true I dreamed about mama last night
She read me the Bible like she used to do I dreamed about mama last night
She never close her eyes to sleep till we were all in bed
And on party nights when we come home she often sat and read
We little thought about it then for we were young and gay
Just how much mama worried when we children were away
We only knew she never slept when we were out at night
That she waited just to know that we'd all come home alright
Why sometimes when we'd stay away till one or two or three
It seemed to us that mama heard the turnin' of the key
For always when we'd step aside she'd call and we'd reply
But we were all too young back then to understand the reason why
Until the last one had returned she'd always keep a light
For mama couldn't sleep until she kissed us all goodnight
She had to know that we were safe before she went to rest
She seemed to fear that the world might harm the ones that she loved the best
And once she told me when you're grown to women and to men
Perhaps I'll sleep the whole night through I may be different then
And so it seemed that night and day we knew a mother's care
That always when we got back home we'd find her waitin' there
Then came the night that we were called together round her bed
The children're all with you now the kindly doctor said
And in her eyes the gleam again that old time tender light
That told that she's just been waitin' to know that we were alright
She smiled that old familiar smile and prayed to God to keep
Her children safe from harm throughout the years tand then she went to sleep
My dream is a treasure that I'll always keep I dreamed about mama last night

song performed by by Hank Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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After Nights

I've hated to talk about it,
but there has been so many after nights.
I've needed to work out, one more story.

Trying to end, my often very sad's.
Another one, of my, the most incredibly bad's!

My heart, was shaking as I knelt on the ground.
My hands, were pressing his wounds.
Pressing hard, prayng, deeper and deeper.
Begging God, Help, Shouting, Holding back the Grim Reaper

Like his mother, my shaking hands
With a sobbing, torn chest
Held him tightly to my breast
Gently wiped the blood from his face and lips
I watched, and felt his soul, escaped my grip.
Raining tears washed the blood from his face.
Even now, I've often wished that God.
Would've let me take his place!

I couldn't bare to see my brother die!
The shouting of my heart, screaming why? God. Why?
Please! God! Why....?
I felt my buddies tears, they were hugging our backs.
Even though, I knew he was dead.
God,
I held him close, I kissed his head.
Like a mother with hurt child.
I sat, rocking him in the mud.
Filling a rice paddy with tears, and blood.

So now after all these years.
I've tried to tell, my life story. Of so many tears.
I've had enough, to make rice paddies flood?
My tears as I've relived, nights, after nights.
How I tried. To stop. My buddies blood
So, just, how, many tears, does it take to make a rice paddy flood?
I've seen that much, and his filled it with blood.

So when you read this, try to understand.
I'm doing the best that I can.
I fight every day the things that make me so sad.
But it helps to talk about it, and the many after nights!
The days and days, the nights after nights.
I've called my life stories, just incredibly bad...........

poem by Clyde Bryson
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He Who Hesitates

I knew it was love when I first saw your face
you were younger by far, but that’s no disgrace.
When we were introduced I could see in your eyes
that you felt the same; what a great surprise.

Our respective partners were also in this uncrowded room,
so we couldn’t make a date, besides it was much too soon.
Discreetly we smiled for the next two hours or so
and your eyes told me that we had further to go.

At the end of the evening we said a polite goodnight,
but deep inside we felt that this wasn’t right.
Our paths didn’t cross again for quite a long time,
but the instant our eyes met I knew you were mine.

With butterflies in my stomach and I felt excited inside,
your eyes and smile told me that we soon had to decide.
But nothing was planned for we dared not take the chance
on breaking our partners hearts for an uncertain romance.

Whenever we saw each other our feelings were still there
even though we had not said just how much we care.
Each time you smiled you brought a fluttering to my heart,
but when you were with your partner it tore me apart.

Can you remember when our fingers touched one day?
We stared at each other and didn’t know what to say.
My aching heart was throbbing and beating so fast
I thought it would explode with an almighty blast.

I’m sorry my darling for not asking you to be mine,
we could’ve been blissfully in love for all this time.
And now my heart deeply hurts whenever I see you,
you’re with a different partner and pregnant too.

poem by Orlando Belo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Within Your Arms

living in the world I’ve created in my dreams for you and me
I didnt understand that anything could happen
when you take a chance
I never believed it before I was in your arms
I never opened my heart to what I couldn’t see
I didn’t want to see all the possibilities
there could be
there should be between you and me

I know something is different in me
I’ve never felt this way
this could be the start of something deeper
it felt so right to be in your arms
when I looked into your eyes that one night
I saw that same need
that same want
that same drive
that I was feeling inside

who ever thought I would have met you here tonight
you’re the last thing I expected
the world looks so much brighter within your arms tonight
I can see the day though the night
you have reached deep inside me somewhere and started something new
cause I know I’ve never felt this way without it being you
you’ve unlooked some kind of new and more passionate feeling
I never knew it could happen until it happened to me
I never knew it could have happened like that
I never knew it could be that strong
so fast
I thought it would take more time
I didn’t know but now it’s easy to see
if only you just looked into my eyes you would have saw
you could have seen that I would be loyal to you
you could have had your way with me right then and there
I wanted you to take me away
I wanted you to have what we wanted
I was ready for you to
I dare not to say it out loud
dare not to even think it for you might see it in my all telling eyes
only feeling my body telling me that I was ready
ready for you
and ready to tell you I’m willing to stay in your arms for ever

poem by Mrs. Cynosure
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Talk To Me

After it was over, after the crying
And all the angry shouting
When we'd both just given up
And you turned and closed the door
I didn't know what was wrong
Anymore than I did before
Maybe it was over
When you stopped trying
Or when I started doubting
Maybe you don't care enough
Maybe I'm just scared you'll go
But maybe what was really wrong
Is that I still don't really know
Talk to me quietly, peacefully
Tell me what to do
Talk to me honestly, don't you see
I need to talk to you
I need to hear that we're okay
And say the things that I meant to say
So talk to me before
Before it's really over
When it all was starting
When I first met you
We couldn't keep from talking
I knew everything you felt
And I felt you knew me too
Now I'm talking to myself
Or I'm just yelling back at you
How this could have happened
How I could lose you
Or you could think to leave me
After where we started from
I'm too dumb I guess to see
But you can't go 'till I do
And you know
You owe that to me
Talk to me quietly, peacefully
I don't wanna fight
Talk to me nice and slow
So I'll know
How to make it right
I'm not afraid to take the blame
I'm just afraid we'll stay the same
And we won't talk until
Until it's really over
I don't understand
Why you're always mad
What could I have done
What could be so bad
Don't you wanna know
Why I never sleep
Look what we've become
From all these secrets that we keep
When it's really over
'cause I can't take it
Or you've walked out
For the last time
When these years are just a dream
And these tears somehow have dried
I can't wake up in my bed
And regret what we never tried
So please don't say it's over
Don't even think it
Just think about the good times
Think of all we've got to lose
And not who's done what to who
And when it comes time to chose
Think of who would still die for you
Talk to me quietly, peacefully
Make me understand
Say what you need to say
Find a way
Take me by the hand
The only thing I ask of you
Is please, for once, just listen too
And talk to me before
Before it's really over
Talk to me
Before it's really over

song performed by by Barry Manilow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What You Never Knew

I first remember you from way back, when I was just a kid. You stopped your life and reached down to spend time with me.
I guess I'm getting rather old now, as I look back and wistfully wish. Wish that things would go back to how they use to be.
Cause you ain't there no more, to spend some time with me, find something for me to do, walk beside me, catch me when I fall.
Now I find that I'm all alone in a cold cruel world, faltering, running scared. I'm tired of running, I don't want to run no more.
Now I think I've found what you felt. The loneliness, the desolation, the desire to belong: the longing for someone who adores everything you do.
Well that was me, I followed you round. My little eyes watched your every move. You were my idol, but you never knew, that I was following you.
I would be your slave, your servant, whatever you bid. Who cares, as long as I got to be your accomplice.
Come the good times, yeah, come the trouble, I'll be there, anything just to get on your 'good friend's list.
I guess I'll never really know, if you knew I was watching, or if you were ignorant. But sometimes I wish that I knew, cause ignorance ain't always bliss.
If only you knew, how each morning, I stared into the mist, waiting for you to appear, but after so long, it's all boiled down to this.
What you never knew, is I loved you with every fiber and being of my heart. If there ever was a thing as the perfect devotee, that was me. Nothing could stop me.
What you never knew, is that I would move heaven and earth to stay close, but you let the mountains and giants make you flee.
As time passed, things got in my way. You let them cloud your vision, I didn't clear them out fast enough. Don't really know how it all collapsed.
Maybe I wasn't hard enough. Maybe I was too caring. Maybe I should have been more point-on. Maybe I should have followed my heart, but now it's crashed.
What you never knew, is that I didn't care what inflicted you, because I would walk through hell, just to carry through.
What you never knew, is that all I really cared about was you.

Story behind the poem:
There are so many things that we 'never knew'. Perhaps if we actually took the time, we might be able to discover some of those things.: D

GZ

poem by Joses Tirtabudi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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He was a one night stand

I hoped he would understand
Afterall he was a grown up male
Used to frequently dishing out this same tale

There he stood out at the club
As I sat listening to a rock band
My legs were weak
My pants were wetting up like a freak
my heart was pounding
Tick, Tock, tick
my nipples were standing still
waiting for strong hands to feel them
and touch them until they stood erect
They strongly needed that effect

He was a one nightstand
but also arrogantly a snob
Somehow I managed to wave my wagic wand
In a land of music as he followed me
to my hotel hub
We started out in the bathroom tub
I had a strong sexual urge
So a huge interest in him I forged

As he pumped in and out
I had to rest with a bottle of stout
Before we copulated again
having a ball
In between it all
We caught a few hours sleep
then I disappeared
leaving him with memories to keep

He was a one night stand
I hoped he would understand
Instead I was bombarded
with numerous phonecalls
telling me that standing him up
would be the begining of my downfall

He stalked me night and day
'Its over accept, I would say'
He stopped me once on my return from work
it was dark and the streets were empty
but he wanted to talk

'When we made love, why did you show me feelings of care'

' Sweetheart I did then but no more, I'm afraid this life is unfair'

' But it was real, I could feel it'

'Then I am afraid I played against your wit'

I have never heard from him
After that night
I just hope my feeling is right
Its all over as it almost seems
He was a one night stand
I hoped he would understand

Copyright 2005 - Sylvia Chidi

poem by Sylvia Chidi
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Looking for Encouragement in ICU

He's gone
I never saw him go
Surprised that he fell

I thought he would get up
At first he looked like he'd be OK
He was upset that he'd slipped

Confused that the legs hadn't held
The strength that steadied
The foot and braced the legs

Held at the smoker in 1932
When three solid lefts
Couldn't take him down

Held when the Hammond trim saw kicked
Held on the wet rocks of Redwood Creek
When the salmon jumped and were on

Held splitting a second cord of wood
While after loading the first
I thought I needed a break

Now when he needed it most
They didn't hold they gave
Yet he somehow still held on

Over the ledge I could see him there
He was pulling himself up
Or at least I wanted him to

I tried to talk to him
I got his attention
He silently shook his head

The same as when we hunted
When I thought I had a clear shot
And he knew I didn't

He always challenged me
No matter what I did
To be a better shot

'We're not out here to wound
Chase down a revine then
Drag bloodshoot venison through the brush.

We're out here to put meat on the table.'
He also knew when to fish
And where the quail hid

He always encouraged me
To know what I was doing
Before I did it

'Its real important you learn
The difference between your ass
And a hole in the ground.'

Was his way
Of putting it
I knew what he meant

Shaking his head I recognized his signal
I still wanted to help even though
I couldn't have gotten to him anyway

Then he stopped trying
The strength and gruffness were gone
I was mad at him

For the tears in his eyes
For not trying
For knowing more than me

He knew there was no way up
The others calling to him
Were of no use

I knew then what he wanted
To push away from the side
To be over and done with it

He was caught tangled held back
He couldn't even let go
When he wanted to

I looked and he was there
I couldn't help
I didn't want to watch

I looked again
He was gone
I never saw him go

poem by Tom J. Mariani
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Forty-One

The years have rolled away
one after the other,
but it is only like yesterday
when it all begun.
It was a Saturday in September,
I remember it so well
and I was as nervous as could be.

The sun was shining thankfully
and the big day had arrived.
My best man took me for a drive
miles away from where I should be.
I became a clock-watcher,
watching the minutes tick on by
and fearing all the time I’d be late.

My heart was beating franticly
as I watched the hands on my watch.
My best man seemed to drag it out.
However, would I get there on time?
If this was to calm me down
it was having the opposite effect.
My hands were shaking like a leaf on a windy day.

Finally we started back,
my fears still not relieved.
I glanced at my watch
every time we had to stop.
Thinking all the while,
we were going to be late,
but my best man wasn’t ruffled.

My panic tones kept echoing
until we stopped outside
the small church down the street
from where I lived.
Thankfully, we got there
just in the nick of time,
as my bride had not arrived yet.

Here forty-one years later
I still remember my panic
on our wedding day,
as I wondered if I would
get there in time
to say the words I do,
but I did.

In a couple of weeks
we celebrate again
as another year has sped by.
Are we still happy?
Through all our troubles
and discord through the years,
we are still together
and that answers the question.

1 September 2011

poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Nothing Has Been Proved (Demo For Dusty)

=========
A nervous boy in several ways
I never knew the world could operate this way
I was nervous when we stopped to speak
And the world came crashing around my feet
We don't talk of love
We're much too shy
But nervously we wonder when and why
A nervous boy, in spite of which
I never thought I could tremble as much as this
Your flashing eyes and sudden smiles
Are never quite at ease, and neither am I
Oh, we'll talk about it all some night
But nervously we never get it
Right
From the start I approved of you
Right from the moment you turned to face me
A nervous boy from another town
With a nervous laugh and a concentrated frown
I spoke too fast with watchful eyes
Of a recent past and some nostalgic surprise
We don't talk of love
We're much too shy
But nervously we wonder when and
Smile
Knowing why I approved of you
Right from the moment you turned to face me
A nervous boy

song performed by by Pet Shop Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Wattle & Daub

She lived right next to the forest
In a cottage of wattle and daub,
A roof of bark and a floor of dirt
With a whisk of milk, absorbed,
Her man had died of a heart attack
For over a year, he'd gone,
Had left her to fend for herself out there
In the shade of a ghostly gum.

He lay right under a stringy bark,
She'd dug the grave herself,
Had made a cross with her loving hands
Deep planted at his head,
On lonely nights she would sit out there
And whisper him under the stars,
'Oh Jim, where now are your strong, brown hands,
Where now are your loving arms? '

She didn't cry, for she couldn't cry
For her heart had turned to stone,
Her love was buried and six feet down
With crumbling flesh and bone,
Her eyes were hard as the hardest flint,
Her lips a fine white line,
And when the stars came out at night
She would look for the slightest sign.

She looked for a heaven beyond the stars,
She looked for the eyes of God,
She knew that he watched her as she slept,
He watched where her steps had trod,
She prayed for her days to end in peace
And soon, for she was alone,
She carved a notch in the mantelpiece
Each day, since her love had flown.

She bucketed water from the creek
That trickled on past her door,
It once was a raging river bed
But that had been back, before...
Before a neighboring farmer dammed,
And quelled the flowing stream,
Had turned her husband's protests down
With a sneer, and words obscene.

Her Jim had worked then twice as hard
To irrigate his feed,
The cattle had died in the summer months
On the parched ground of their need,
He worked from the time the sun came up
To the time that the stars came out,
And in the end, collapsed and died
From the toil of a man-made drought.

The farmer up by the dam had said
That he'd take her land for free,
She'd never be able to stay out there
Alone, she would turn and flee,
Then he would double his pasture
And would open the dam to flood,
And let his cattle to roam abroad
By the cottage of wattle and daub.

Now during the long drawn evenings
And deep in the forest's shade,
She could hear strange noises, threatening,
As they howled across the glade,
She loaded the shotgun Jim had left,
And kept it inside the door,
She'd not be driven from off the land
Where her husband lay, forlorn.

One night a shadowy figure came
Strode out of the darkening wood,
Crossed the creek in the evening mist
In a cape with a long black hood,
It howled and jittered like one possessed
She opened the cottage door,
Then blanched as she saw it light a torch
And the flames begin to roar.

She went to reach for the shotgun then
But a hand caught fast her wrist,
Lifted the gun and pointed it,
She stood with her hand on her breast,
Her heart was pounding, her legs were weak
As she watched the phantom stand,
He shrieked in fear as he saw the gun
In a strong, brown pair of hands.

The blast took one of his legs clean off,
The phantom fell with a scream,
The shotgun dropped to the earthen porch
She thought it a crazy dream,
She turned to look for the strong brown hands
That she knew as well as her own,
But the porch was clear, and she felt no fear
For her husband had come home.

The dam was breached in a minute or so,
The torrent then flooded down,
Washed the remains of the farmer to
The lowlands, where he drowned,
She went out back and buried the gun
With a smile in her eyes, like stars
Looked up to the skies, and saw God's eyes
And round her, two loving arms!

4 June 2009

poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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