On a Voluntary Basis
Oh...
I can get dark and thick with it.
I can pluck your nerves...
And nit pick.
I can be all of that which you ask.
I am up to any challenge you have as a task.
Oh...
I can be very sensitive and insincere like you.
And all of those things you have done to me?
Guess who can do them too.
I can be all of that which you ask.
I am up to any challenge you have as a task.
Oh...
I can be full of myself sometimes.
Those times that are mine...
To come along when you are being self centered.
In a constant attention grabbing whine.
And when I begin getting dark and thick...
You will not escape the hold my hands have on your wrists.
Getting ready to deep throat your breath away.
With you much aware...
I am not begging you to listen!
I demand it.
Unless you agree,
To do that on a voluntary basis!
With your mouth shut...
And ears perked up and open!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
River-Mates
I’LL be an otter, and I’ll let you swim
A mate beside me; we will venture down
A deep, dark river, when the sky above
Is shut of the sun; spoilers are we,
Thick-coated; no dog’s tooth can bite at our veins
With eyes and ears of poachers; deep-earthed ones
Turned hunters; let him slip past
The little vole; my teeth are on an edge
For the King-fish of the River!
I hold him up
The glittering salmon that smells of the sea;
I hold him high and whistle!
Now we go
Back to our earths; we will tear and eat
Sea-smelling salmon; you will tell the cubs
I am the Booty-bringer, I am the Lord
Of the River; the deep, dark, full and flowing River.
poem by Padraic Colum
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Because I Know I Can
How can I do it?
Because I know that I can!
I wasn't the one to say I could...
If I wasn't willing to understand.
Embarrassments I withstood.
That did not keep me,
From the challenge at hand.
I wanted this task,
To challenge myself.
I am not one,
To say I will do something.
And then sit and wait...
For an earthquake to shake,
The land before I make a stand!
How can I do it?
Because I know that I can!
I am not the one to say I could...
If I am not willing to be that man,
To do a task I did not understand.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Otters
I'LL be an otter, and I'll let you swim
A mate beside me; we will venture down
A deep, full river when the sky above
Is shut of the sun; spoilers are we;
Thick-coated; no dog's tooth can bite at our veins
With ears and eyes of poachers; deep-earthed ones
Turned hunters: let him slip past,
The little vole, my teeth are on an edge
For the King-fish of the River!
I hold him up
The glittering salmon that smells of the sea:
I hold him up and whistle!
Now we go
Back to our earth; we will tear and eat
Sea-smelling salmon: you will tell the cubs
I am the Booty-brmger: I am the Lord
Of the River the deep, dark, full, and flowing River!
poem by Padraic Colum
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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How Good It Can Get
Slow down
Youre breaking up
Use your words
Dont yell so much
I dont understand a word
That youre saying
Now move in
Come up close
You look like
Youve maybe seen a ghost
Tell me
Has someone gotten to you baby
Now open your arms
Pick up your head
Open your eyes
So you can see
What happens next
You wont believe
Just how good it can get
Well make a lover
Out of you yet
The fog is so thick
I cant see my hands
It got much worse
Soon as I got in
And I know youre somewhere
Here in the water
Its ten feet deep
And the river wont stop
Ill tell you whats in it
When I make it across
You could make it too
If you let someone help you
But you gotta give in
And you gotta let go
Then you can begin
To come up slow
Like a desert rose
[chorus]
Take a deep breath
And hold it in tight
And put your face up
Right into the light
Cant you feel that full moon
Shining down on you
Help is coming
From the great unknown
Just maybe not
When you needed it most
Cause I can see you already
Know that youre leaving
But I wish youd stay
And just let me in
Cause everything can change
But you gotta be ready
Cause you wont know when
[chorus]
song performed by by Wallflowers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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How Good It Can Get
Slow down
Youre breaking up
Use your words
Dont yell so much
I dont understand a word
That youre saying
Now move in
Come up close
You look like
Youve maybe seen a ghost
Tell me
Has someone gotten to you baby
Now open your arms
Pick up your head
Open your eyes
So you can see
What happens next
You wont believe
Just how good it can get
Well make a lover
Out of you yet
The fog is so thick
I cant see my hands
It got much worse
Soon as I got in
And I know youre somewhere
Here in the water
Its ten feet deep
And the river wont stop
Ill tell you whats in it
When I make it across
You could make it too
If you let someone help you
But you gotta give in
And you gotta let go
Then you can begin
To come up slow
Like a desert rose
[chorus]
Take a deep breath
And hold it in tight
And put your face up
Right into the light
Cant you feel that full moon
Shining down on you
Help is coming
From the great unknown
Just maybe not
When you needed it most
Cause I can see you already
Know that youre leaving
But I wish youd stay
And just let me in
Cause everything can change
But you gotta be ready
Cause you wont know when
[chorus]
song performed by by Wallflowers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sleep II
She holds a soft cloth over my mouth
Whispers it will be alright-my nostrils burn
Her lips are on mine. Her embrace is so close,
Massive, dark as every dark, heavy with the weight of all things.
I am born down and down, ears,
Nostrils, throat, into each orifice she runs
Like the sea into the ruins of an antique city,
Eddies in my belly, relaxes my limbs,
Her ckeek is not rough, her hair smooth and mink-like.
I can see her heavy-lidded, half-closed eyes
My eyelids fall shut, my mouth falls open
My tongue falls to the back of my throat, everything falls,
I do not want her. I regret my huge obligation
Yet it is good to be held so, immobilized,
But strangely free to range, the night is for us.
What shall...
poem by Morgan Michaels
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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This Action Should Strengthen Your Vision!
Now I'm getting your attention.
As if you are allowing your ears to listen.
Your eyes to uncloud from their haze.
With your mouth shocked shut.
And I'm to do 'something' with this focus?
Was it ever mentioned,
Your attention was not on my agenda?
In brief encounters I wanted to extend my hand.
And in doing so you became offended.
In brief encounters I wanted to take a stand,
Against all that I thought...
You too prioritized in your life.
I did not approach you to assist,
In the conflicts you fight.
Igniting them for purposes to mask your insecurities.
I am of peace!
Not about that nonsense you daily release.
As frequently as your choice to use cuss words.
To cuss yourself and others,
With a desire to be overheard!
NOW I'm getting your attention.
As if you are allowing your ears to listen.
Your eyes to uncloud from their haze.
Your mouth shut.
And I'm to do 'something' with this focus?
What do you expect?
A magic wand followed by 'Hocus Pocus? '
A begging on my knees pleading a forgiveness?
While you and the others,
Use that as another joke to provoke?
Look...
Let me help you understand something here!
I'm not seeking to sacrifice my time to charities.
Those donations have been exhausted.
Nor do I intend to give away anything I have,
I myself desperately need.
What I offered to you was a quality of life,
I had to recognize to appreciate the giving of it away.
Something basic to share I hoped would stay with you.
I came to you to extend,
An open-ness that was not judgemental.
Sincere in the giving.
Something you could have shared with someone...
And I would be on my way!
But you decided to turn that into betrayal.
And today you perceive it okay,
That I should welcome your decay?
Now I'm getting your attention.
As if you are allowing your ears to listen.
Your eyes to uncloud from their haze.
With your mouth shocked shut.
And I'm to do 'something' with your focus?
Oh...
And I am too!
Watch me as I distance myself from you.
AND maintain your focus.
This action should strengthen your vision!
If not...
Click your heels three times for clarity.
And...
Do not believe I am embittered.
Or 'sweet'.
I've been mistaken for both too often.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The First Tooth
There once was a wood, and a very thick wood,
So thick that to walk was as much as you could;
But a sunbeam got in, and the trees understood.
I went to this wood, at the end of the snows,
And as I was walking I saw a primrose;
Only one! Shall I show you the place where it grows?
There once was a house, and a very dark house,
As dark, I believe, as the hole of a mouse,
Or a tree in my wood, at the thick of the boughs.
I went to this house, and I searched it aright,
I opened the chambers, and I found a light;
Only one! Shall I show you this little lamp bright?
There once was a cave, and this very dark cave
One day took a gift from an incoming wave;
And I made up my mind to know what the sea gave.
I took a lit torch, I walked round the ness
When the water was lowest; and in a recess
In my cave was a jewel. Will nobody guess?
O there was a baby, he sat on my knee,
With a pearl in his mouth that was precious to me,
His little dark mouth like my cave of the sea!
I said to my heart, "And my jewel is bright!
He blooms like a primrose! He shines like a light!"
Put your hand in his mouth! Do you feel? He can bite!
poem by William Brighty Rands
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Task
If I say that I can then I know that I will
Or I will do the best that I can
I will try to prevail, where others had fail
At the job or task that I had began.
The work that I do or the task I accept
It will become the job that must be done
It I will try to complete, as that of any job or feat
As I will always finish what I have begun.
I will not ignore the task that I have undertaken
It will become my objective and my pride
I will do my best, just like the rest
And from that work I shall never hide.
If I say that I can then I know that I must
As I have given my word and my oath
The task will be finished, my ethics replenished
And never will I brag or boast.
When finished I will move to my very next task
With a determination and a blistered hand
My mind will be ready, my nerves will be steady
Because if I know that I will, I know that I can.
RANDY L.McCLAVE
poem by Randy McClave
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Would You Follow Me
(john kongos)
Would you follow me if I search for another life
Would you walk with me through the dark and the hungry times
If I said, Im gonna leave today
What would you do
Would you pack some things and come away too
Lose or win, thick or thin
Where would you like to be
Lose or win, thick or thin
Would you follow me
Would you follow me
Even though my dreams seem too far away today
Take a chance and
Stand by my side and
Lose or win, thick or thin
Where would you like to be
Lose or win, thick or thin
Would you follow me
Would you follow me
If I said Im goin away to join some revolution
Could you ever give up what they call the good life
Would you care to know what Im lookin for
And if I find it
Would you take note of the time, would you mind it
Lose or win, thick or thin
Where would you like to be
Lose or win, thick or thin
Would you follow me
Would you follow me
song performed by by Olivia Newton-John
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The stone in you
It is your silence
That is full, and dark and deep
Impenetrable
A vast desert
Spreading in a mirage
Dry, deserted, so lonely
To ever conceive
There is no music of the dunes
There are no palms, no trees
In your wordless existence
I am giving you
My full attention
You’re being alone in your deep darkness
The dawning may not come
I have not heard the sound
Of the coming of the sun
Because of your ego
Thick and tall
The silence that blocks you
To have life
In the stone that is you.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Don't Shout when You Wipe Out
To those misguided,
And surfing to ride...
On the crest of waves,
Behind those who champion...
The act as a challenge,
And not a followed task.
Don't shout when you wipe out!
Screaming for the attention you seek.
If the water is too deep...
And you wish to touch the sand,
By using your own abilities.
It will be your own feet,
Upon which you will eventually stand...
To explain why you surf,
When you are not yet deserving...
To qualify yourself as a champion!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Might Be Your Love
Written by dewey bunnell, 1980
Found on alibi.
Sometimes when youre there all alone
Someone will call you at home
You dont want to but pick up the phone
Might be your love
Might be your heart
Someone to hold you
All alone in the dark
Someone who you thought would belong
Came passing, moved right along
You dont know why but something went wrong
Might be your love
Might be your heart
Someone to hold you
All alone in the dark
Someone to hold you, someone to hold
Someone to hold you, someone to hold
Some girl who you watched at her desk
Came dancing on with her dress
And she looked up and wouldnt you guess
She might be your love
Might be your heart
Someone to hold you
All alone in the dark
Might be your love (might be your love)
Might be your heart (might be your heart)
Someone to hold you
All alone in the dark
(someone to hold you)
Might be your love (someone to hold)
Might be your heart (someone to hold you)
Might be your love (someone to hold)
Might be your love (might be your love)
Might be your heart (might be your heart)
Someone to hold you
All alone in the dark
Might be your love (might be your love)
Might be your heart (might be your heart)
Someone to hold you
All alone in the dark
Might be your love (might be your love)
Might be your heart (might be your heart)
Someone to hold you
All alone in the dark ...
song performed by by America
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In these times, the hardest task for social or political activists is to find a way to get people to wonder again about what we all believe is true. The challenge is to sow doubt.
quote by Lawrence Lessig
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Evans
Evans? Yes, many a time
I came down his bare flight
Of stairs into the gaunt kitchen
With its wood fire, where crickets sang
Accompaniment to the black kettle"s
Whine, and so into the cold
Dark to smother in the thick tide
Of night that drifted about the walls
Of his stark farm on the hill ridge.
It was not the dark filling my eyes
And mouth appalled me; not even the drip
Of rain like blood from the one tree
Weather-tortured. It was the dark
Silting the veins of that sick man
I left stranded upon the vast
And lonely shore of his bleak bed.
Submitted by Andrew Mayers
poem by Ronald Stuart Thomas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Deep Blue Heart
Written by John Mellencamp
Daylight is leaving
And the night is closing in
In just a few hours
The sleeplessness begins again
My head feels thick
And I'm unable to think
I guess I'll wait 'til tomorrow
And see what it brings
I have a little hope left
And I guess that's someplace to start
But my memory's full
Of a deep blue heart.
My fun-loving sense of humor
Is nowhere to be found
I stare into my own eyes
With tears flowing down
I'd sing out a song
But I've forgotten the tune
And the words now escape me
But I think it's about you
My vision now is way out in the dark
With just a little sight left
Of a deep blue heart
I see us both flying
In the clear blue sky
Floating out on the ocean
With the sun in our eyes
Caught in a moment
Just me and you
In complete honesty
Where everything is true
That's what I wanted to believe
Right from the start
Just a little place for myself
In a deep blue heart
Carve out a place for myself
In your deep blue heart
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Bunch Of Lonesome Heroes
A bunch of lonesome and very quarrelsome heroes
were smoking out along the open road;
the night was very dark and thick between them,
each man beneath his ordinary load.
"I'd like to tell my story,"
said one of them so young and bold,
"I'd like to tell my story,
before I turn into gold."
But no one really could hear him,
the night so dark and thick and green;
well I guess that these heroes must always live there
where you and I have only been.
Put out your cigarette, my love,
you've been alone too long;
and some of us are very hungry now
to hear what it is you've done that was so wrong.
I sing this for the crickets,
I sing this for the army,
I sing this for your children
and for all who do not need me.
"I'd like to tell my story,"
said one of them so bold,
"Oh yes, I'd like to tell my story
'cause you know I feel I'm turning into gold.
song performed by by Leonard Cohen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Heart fully yell 'There is a hero in me
I heart fully yell
There is a hero in me
Based on my prowess
Skill and experience
I took up this challenge
But, the challenge ahead is
Breathtaking
Demands all the potentials of my strengths
I hold on before it for a while
Assess the challenge-meeting requirements
Try to accomplish
Fail once, twice
And a number of times
Now I know my weaknesses too
I garner all the strengths in me
I harness all my acquired multifaceted skills
I am prepared better now to
Face the challenge
Yes, I proved a success
Reach the destination
Where I want to be
And I heart fully yell
There is a hero in me
poem by Bashyam Narayanan
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Accepting Things Are They Are
when i was new in this place
i like seeing and staring at things
and think about how to make them more beautiful
on the way i want them changed
from my one
point-of-view and so if something is so short
i try stretching them
even if there is pain and i always think that
all things are flexible and that with a little
retouching
they then fit as i see it fit.
there were storms. There were instabilities
there were unnecessary silences
and there were times when i was forced
to keep my mouth shut
and hide myself in a dark room
and sleep and let time pass by
like some moments
that i do not like to remember
that i like to throw up
and then mumble and then
surrender like a defeated soldier.
and then there is this subsiding
there are tiny waves, gentle winds, and
restive sands, and moments
of solitude
this may be nearer to an end
but look, we arrive at the point to accept things as they are
that changes are shaped like pointless objects
and blunt as they are
we do not want them sharpened
because sharpness has no use at all
to all these blunt happenings.
things appear and they talk and we listen.
we shake their hands. we know they are strangers.
we let them in and seep like rain to our sponges.
we no longer shake our shoulders. we listen.
i do not know if i really smiled when i first confronted them.
they are here. and as you tell me, i agree, i make most
of what is here. This is my best form and i am showing it now.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Bunch Of Lonesome Heros
A bunch of lonesome and very quarrelsome heroes
Were smoking out along the open road;
The night was very dark and thick between them,
Each man beneath his ordinary load.
Id like to tell my story,
Said one of them so young and bold,
Id like to tell my story,
Before I turn into gold.
But no one really could hear him,
The night so dark and thick and green;
Well I guess that these heroes must always live there
Where you and I have only been.
Put out your cigarette, my love,
Youve been alone too long;
And some of us are very hungry now
To hear what it is youve done that was so wrong.
I sing this for the crickets,
I sing this for the army,
I sing this for your children
And for all who do not need me.
Id like to tell my story,
Said one of them so bold,
Oh yes, Id like to tell my story
cause you know I feel Im turning into gold.
song performed by by Leonard Cohen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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