It Holds Nothing
My faint White wardrobe
Opened with two scarlet handles,
There my clothes inside,
Silk, cotton, housing legions of you.
I stand choosing, indecisive,
Combinations cluttering my mind;
Colours and kind blinding those eyes
That powder into black sand
And put space, that deep desert,
Between my right ear and my left.
My head a vacuum: death into life into death.
Frozen.
Meanwhile, yellow-striped moths
Crawl out your mouth and mine too,
Line after line, not a few; trillions.
They eat, feast on evening-suit to the right
And darned mottled cape on the left, even the least
They bring to inexistence, their evening dish
To drape, I wish, the beggar's garb.
I am stood, staring at my
Empty wardrobe, no say left,
I am right naked,
Exposed to exposure
And nothing.
poem by Mark Challenger
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The Suit
The Suit
After the surgery my son come visiting
he had brought a dark suit along, hung
it in my wardrobe, said he had brought
it along in case we went to a party.
A fortnight later he flew back home but
left the suit behind so he didn’t have
to bring one next time he came visiting.
poem by Oskar Hansen
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I loved all the love away
I loved all the love away
Left with mine prodigal hand
Mine heart through my fingers play
To soft white sensual sand
In a desert of sheer famine
Bereft of love and love's sea
I scavenge the ground and examine
The desert of what's left of me
Nothing but white sand and shore
Where the moon tide's waves
move rippled sand of desert galore
to taunt and with will depraves
The love I need, but shows the love I had
Lost in the desert delusional I'm utterly mad…
poem by Kevin Michael Murphy
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I Cheated Death.
Suddenly all went cold
And of my mother's hand I took hold
I held on like a drowning man would a lifeline
For I knew this might be the end of my timeline
And there in the corner he stood
Bright silvery robes, a golden cord around his waist, there he stood
Shoulder length hair as golden as the sun's rays
Eyes bluer than the Caspian, bronze skin that hath no flaws
His feet shod in sandals
His presence brightened the candles
I felt a hope build inside
A fire rekindled inside
But as quickly as it came
The hope left and with it the fear came
As I looked in horror to the other corner
There she stood, crowned by darkness in the left corner
Her eyes the colour of blood
In a black robe of death she was clad
As I focused on her, I felt the life leave me
Just as the anaconda squeezes the life out of its prey, the life left me
The odour of burning Sulphur filled the room
And with it an impeding gloom
I squeezed my mother's hand ‘til it hurt
Every breath I took hurt
I tried to tell my mother I loved her
But all that came out was a croak
Slowly the woman in the left corner removed her cloak
Revealing a crown of long fiery hair
Her eyes fixed on me in an evil stare
Her blood red lips parted in a smile
A smile so evil it shouldn't be called a smile
I turned to the other corner seeking comfort from my angel and this evil evade
But woe unto me he had slowly began to fade
And with him, the light
Impeding my sight
I felt my body consumed by a cloud of darkness
And at that moment, I felt the presence of death in the darkness
Funny how in the movies they tell you to stay away from the light
How I longed to see a light
For I knew the darkness would only lead to more pain
I shut my eyes hoping that when I opened them again
My angel would be there telling me it's alright
Bringing back hope and light
But lo and behold as I re-opened mine eyes
There I lay, in my hospital bed my mother looking on with wet eyes
She told of how I almost died
Of how my breathing stopped but her hope never died
I sat up in wonder looked to the right and there my angel stood
In fear, I turned to the left, and she too in her shroud of evil, stood
Her eyes blazing with anger
For death had been cheated and left with a deep hunger
And I knew, she would be back
And then it struck me,
Death never leaves empty handed
That's when I saw the nurses covering the old woman's body across
With a white sheet and a priest making the sign of a cross
Once again, death did reap
And it is inevitable that she will return to reap
Her taste of fruit, the unripe fruit...
poem by Esperanza Chilupula
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My Tails
I haven't worn my evening dress
For nearly twenty years;
Oh I'm unsocial, I confess,
A hermit, it appears.
So much moth-balled it's but away,
And though wee wifie wails,
Never unto my dimmest day
I'll don my tails.
How slim and trim I looked in them,
Though I was sixty old;
And now their sleekness I condemn
To lie in rigid fold.
I have a portrait of myself
Proud-printed in the Press,
In garb now doomed to wardrobe shelf,--
My evening dress.
So let this be my last request,
That when I come to die,
In tails I may be deftly drest,
With white waistcoat and tie.
No, not for me a vulgar shroud
My carcass to caress;--
Oh let me do my coffin proud
In evening dress!
poem by Robert William Service
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Empty Chairs
I feel the trembling tingle of a sleepless night
Creep through my fingers and the moon is bright
Beams of blue come flickering through my window pane
Like gypsy moths that dance around a candle flame
And I wonder if you know
That I never understood
That although you said you'd go
Until you did I never thought you would
Moonlight used to bathe the contours of your face
While chestnut hair fell all around the pillow case
And the fragrance of your flowers rest beneath my head
A sympathy bouquet left with the love that's dead
And I wonder if you know
That I never understood
That although you said you'd go
Until you did I never thought you would
Never thought the words you said were true
Never thought you said just what you meant
Never knew how much I needed you
Never thought you'd leave, until you went
Morning comes and morning goes with no regret
And evening brings the memories I can't forget
Empty rooms that echo as I climb the stairs
And empty clothes that drape and fall on empty chairs
And I wonder if you know
That I never understood
That although you said you'd go
Until you did I never thought you would
song performed by by Don McLean
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Layin It On The Line
You see it every day in every way
We all hear the same routines
They all say that its okay
Just let us take care of everything
So we lay it on the line
Layin it on the line (layin it on the line)
Layin it all, right on the line
Just layin it on the line (layin it on the line)
Layin it all, were livin on the front line
I can see it in the faces
We got trouble in the streets tonight
And power keeps us in our places
And it doesnt matter if youre left or right
You lay it on the line
Layin it on the line (layin it on the line)
Just layin it all, right on the line
Layin it on the line, (layin it on the line)
Layin it all, right on the line
Take it to the wilderness
Into the jungle sun
Lookin for the voice of reason
Inside this babylon
Got u.s. boys on foreign soil
Spillin their blood to keep the peace
Cities will vanish in turmoil
While the sheiks lay sleepin on the beach
We lay it on the line
Layin it on the line (layin it on the line)
Layin it all, right on the line
Just layin it on the line (layin it on the line)
Layin it all, right on the line
Layin it on the line
Just layin it all
Layin it on the line
Just layin it all
song performed by by Jefferson Starship
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A song of sadness
When stars appear at night
the garden still have a kind of beauty
when the evening flower opens pure,
when there is love between us.
There I forget any kind of pain
are surrounded by yellow-white jasmine
even when heartache brings tears to my eyes,
when there is love between us
There is the smell of lavender
that softly is carried by the evening breeze,
when I lift my eyes to God,
when there is love between us
In times of pain and longing
the birds are still singing to each other,
under the big old yellow moon,
when there is love between us.
There I see stars sparkling blue,
I never become bitter,
even when death suddenly comes,
when there is love between us.
Still memories are gliding,
as if it can bring you back again,
although my days continue alone,
when there is love between us.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Night Close
Under night close
Death rose to greet me.
I turned; looked back,
Though nothing beckoned -
No one cried or mourned.
Scorned by all
- My fellow race -
I shed the byes to empty space, then
Gazed upon the stony face
Of Death anon, and
So chose our treaty.
Line of Death
death death death death death death death death death death death
poem by Mark R Slaughter
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Two Fifties and a Tomato Cart
Two.50 calibre rounds destroyed the old man's head
there was nothing left in the space
where once eyes, nose, mouth had lived
his face was shredded
The tomato cart untouched because
Americans fire tight shot groups
and they were directed at his head
The female MP surveyed the horror
with cool distaste posed the question
'cause of death? ' It was procedure.
An Army private could not resist delivering
his line with a wry twist of gallows humor
'Seems to me, seargeant, loss of head
would be the cause of death.'
Hearing this story now, second hand,
I am unable to make any sense of it.
I fail to grasp the value of it's telling
The facts are clear-
American convoy drew near
the old man and his tomato cart
two fifties opened up and took his head apart
head controls heart thus, life functions ceased
threat eliminated the American convoy eased
to a stop-
and the paperwork started with clinical indifference
to the recently departed tomato cart man
I feel nothing
I am unable to engage emotions though I guess
Somewhere, someone will be lost in an ocean of grief
that will bear no consolation-
no amount of belief in God, Allah, Jahweh
can begin to explain the immensity of their loss
as I attempt to calculate the cost to the Army as roughly-
nothing,
the empty feeling inside of me as
I try to tell myself I'm not dead-
try to sell myself on the idea that somewhere-deep inside
I'm aghast at the cheapness of life in the combat zone
where everybody dies alone and I know
each loss is a personal tragedy to someone back home
a catastrophy to mothers like Cindy Sheehan.
But what about the tomato cart man, his head squashed
like a ripe tomato by the twin hammers
of two fifties?
How much does his death really affect me?
It hits me then and I want to take the fact
and drive it through my own head like
those two fifties until
my head gives way
and my heart stops because
it is now clear that the numbness has become so severe
that I might as well be dead
Cause of death?
Not loss of Head
Oh no, no
I'd say loss of Heart
poem by Troy Younts
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The Holy Virgin
The Holy Virgin
The time has…has come the time of death,
The death of my life, death of my breath,
Death of all but one…death of one but all,
Yet into the void for death I shall call.
It is near but death itself is nearer,
For all those who shall not be cheerer,
Death was the love I called upon into the world,
It was love that trembled as my death built a new world.
A new world with one less,
A new world with a greater mess,
For death of one is death of all,
Still into the void, My love for death I shall call.
‘Cause there is none like death
And none like death can take my breath.
For I was me and me alone,
And I was mine and mine own.
‘Cause there is none like me-
None as different…and not one so free.
Death was all I had ever known,
From when I as a seed into the earth was sown,
To the skies I reached out yet grew not,
Higher than all I was yet was so merely short.
I knew not what I wanted,
But I knew that what I was gifted,
But I knew not what I had to do,
But I knew very well what to do.
Behind bars I had threw mine soul and heart,
But not my mind which was my delicate art,
‘Cause that was all I had,
It was merry yet sad,
‘Cause I was far from all, I severed myself,
Yet my love was not for myself,
Unfathomable was my love for love,
Yet I hid it all up in a cove.
But I did what I did,
For I was me and not some other silly did.
I told them not when they told I was wrong;
When they told I was bad I told I was wrong,
For I knew my action,
Yet lost was the proper reaction.
Sins were mine, sins to all,
Sins were mine but mine sins not all.
Robbed by death I was of all but one,
One was my mind- the special one.
For my mind was mine and mine alone,
Amidst all it sparkled and shone,
For death touched it not as what it was it knew not,
Yet of that it never forgot,
For it was the only that was beleft,
When death made love to earth and none was left,
Because when all was gone,
Left was the different one,
When gone was the origin,
Left behind was my mind – The Holy Virgin.
JamesGreen…
poem by James Green
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Layin It On The Line
You see it every day in every way
We all hear the same routines
They all say that its okay
Just let us take care of everything
So we lay it on the line
Chorus:
Layin it on the line, layin it on the line
Layin it all, right on the line
Just layin it on the line, layin it on the line
Layin it all, were livin on the front line
I can see it in the faces
We got trouble in the streets tonight
And power keeps us in our places
And it doesnt matter if youre left or right
You lay it on the line
Layin it on the line, layin it on the line
Just layin it all, right on the line
Layin it on the line, layin it on the line
Layin it all, right on the line
Take it to the wilderness
Into the jungle sun
Lookin for the voice of reason
Inside this babylon
(guitar solo)
Got u.s. boys on foreign soil
Spillin their blood to keep the peace
Cities will vanish in turmoil
While the sheiks lay sleepin on the beach
We lay it on the line
Layin it on the line, layin it on the line
Layin it all, right on the line
Just layin it on the line, layin it on the line
Layin it all, right on the line
Layin it on the line
Just layin it all
Layin it on the line
Just layin it all
song performed by by Starship
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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All I Need Is The Girl
Once my clothes where shabby
Tailors called me cabby
So I took a vow
Said this bum'll be Beau Brummell
Now I'm smooth and snappy
Now my tailor's happy
I'm the cat's meow
My wardrobe is a-wow
Paris silk, Harris tweed
There's only one thing I need
Got my tweed pressed
Got my best vest
All I need now is the girl
Got my striped tie
Got my hopes high
Got the time and the place and I got rhythm
Now all I need is the girl to go with 'em
If she'll just appear
We'll take this big town for a whirl
And if she'll say
"My darling, I'm yours," I'll throw away
My striped tie and my best pressed tweed
All I need now is the girl
song performed by by Barry Manilow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Black and White
Black and White By Dilantha Gunawardana
A story in black and white
Black and white;
Black in white; perhaps black on white;
White embedded in black;
Black around white, sprinkle or a speckle even a trickle;
Shadows on the porch on an eerie white night;
A piano keyboard, intertwined in ebony and white;
A checker or a droughts board or lofty chess pieces;
Black stallions and white mares;
All galloping in the pursuit of unending happiness;
A flow of nimbus with a speckle of cumulus;
Showers of blessings, black rain and even snow and hale;
The smog that kisses the snow flake clouds;
Chimneys and embers inside snowy winter bungalows;
We begin in ashes, black residual ashes;
Connected to a white umbilical cord;
We are born white, virgins in every sphere of life;
Then we learn of the agony of the ebony;
Even the bright light of white, even white water that softens our stance;
Criss-cross, diagonal, straight or in jumps in the many paths of life;
Life, a game of chess, as we sprinkle our lives with black and white;
And in the end, we are left with nothing but black and white;
A powdered white peau against the back dropp of a charcoal black suit
In an ebony coffin, with white shimmering handles
Then we burn in to ashes, residual embers
Ashes to ashes, powder of our existence
Black and white;
Our true essence of life.
poem by Dilantha Gunawardana
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I Met Death
I was waiting, watching one day
When Death came along, looking
As if there was something he wanted to say
His hair was as black as the sky at night
And in the wind it blew like smoke
He had come a long way in his worn black cloak
So I invited him in and I did say
If you’d like to you can stay
But Death said:
“I’m only passing through
For the clock’s hands they say
They are ticking the seconds of my life away”
And I answered,
Thinking I’d misunderstood
As Death’s dark black eye gleamed under his dark black hood
“If your Death, how can you die? ”
You see, Death didn’t seem the kind to lie.
And Death wasn’t phased at all,
“No longer Death I may become,
Or so says He if I don’t complete
The most horrible, horrible, feat.
“The most horrible feat? ”
I had to say
Could it be so horrible,
That Death couldn’t say?
“Death, ” said Death, “is the horrible feat.”
And then he faded away, like smoke into the blue, blue sky
But I think, before he left, I might have seen him cry.
I had never in my life, seen Death again
Until the night I stood outside in the rain
When he said, “I’m sorry miss, but this is good bye.”
And I found out what it’s like to die.
So we went, and parted, to each our own way,
But one more time I want to heard Death say, “I’m sorry miss, -“
Marking the end of the day
poem by Jinny Tikanus
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The Widower
She left him in death's egg,
the bone sack & the gunny sack,
the bag of down & feathers-all black . . .
Somehow he couldn't get back.
It was night,
a night of shark-faced jets
winking brighter than blue stars,
a night of poisoned cities
mushrooming beneath the eyes of jets,
a night of missile silos
sulking in the desert,
a night of babies howling in the alleys,
a night of cats.
She left a death so huge
his life got lost in it.
She left a bloodstained egg
he had to hatch.
poem by Erica Jong
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My Legacy
My great aunt bequeathed me her wardrobe;
hand carved and made from oak.
It matched the chest of drawers my mother had,
which my ancestors had made bespoke.
We washed, cleaned, and wax polished it,
and placed it where our old one used to be.
It had a distinctive smell of moth balls,
but we were overwhelmed by its history.
My great aunt believed it to be sixteenth century,
and was built especially for the church.
Any further information that we could glean
would be well worthwhile search.
After the smell had gone I filled it with my clothes,
but then it began to smell of church incense.
It wasn’t bad enough to make the clothes smell,
but why it did, made no sense.
A few weeks later whilst I was sleeping
the sound of church bells woke me up.
This was most unusual for the time of night,
so I opened the window to take a look.
By the time I’d looked out of the window
the bells had stopped, so I got into bed.
I had no trouble getting back off to sleep,
and the bells went out of my head.
The next night the same thing happened,
the church bells rang out loud and clear.
This time I realised they weren’t outside,
they were somewhere else quite near.
The ringing was coming from the wardrobe,
so nervously I slowly opened the door.
I sort of expected to see a portal to a church,
but there was only the clothes I wore.
The bells became a common occurrence,
so much so, they didn’t wake me up,
but when I began to hear an organ playing,
my wife and I, had to take a look.
Again there was nothing out of place
except for the music which continued to play.
We couldn’t understand what was happening,
and this was happening everyday.
No harm was coming from the wardrobe,
so I accepted our unusual legacy.
I didn’t discuss it to the family, or anyone,
in the fear of them laughing at me.
Throughout the weeks the sounds became varied,
singing choirs of a gone by age.
Church services spoken entirely in Latin,
and sermons delivered with rage.
Weddings, Christenings, Funerals, and Communions,
and every Christian festival and feast.
This was without doubt an insight of the past,
but now it was affecting our sleep.
One night when a service had ended,
the wardrobe began to shake on the floor.
Noises of movement came from within,
and suddenly there opened a door.
I jumped out of bed rather quickly
and had a look around inside.
Cassocks were hanging upon the rail,
and my clothes had been cast aside.
This situation had now become intolerable,
something had to be done without delay.
I dismantling the whole of the wardrobe,
and burned it the very next day.
I never saw my missing clothes again,
and when my family asked about my legacy,
I told them everything about the wardrobe,
and how it grew into a frightening mystery.
Now that I’m able to talk and write about it,
some people smile, and don’t believe a thing.
But if they care to spend a night in my bedroom,
they will still hear the church bells ring!
poem by Orlando Belo
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4th Dimension
i tried and tried
finally i realized
why she left this 3d world behind
go!
she got tired of the same old story
she had a mind that would not quit
she'd insist a plot must exist
with an ending that she could not guess
she tried hard to convince me
then she took off like a bright idea
she believed there just had to be
a movie that she'd never seen
i watched as her fingers drew
a perfect line in space
i watched as she looked on through
into another place
she found out what she'd been missing
she decided she could change her luck
she was right life's not black and white
it's something more than meets the eye
i watched as her fingers drew
a perfect line in space
i watched as she walked straight through
into another place
she parted with convention
now she's living in the 4th dimension
without me
i tried and tried
and still i don't know why
she left me no address
or a way to guess
now she's somewhere in the 4th dimension
she's living in 4d
she found herself a new direction there
she's living without me
song performed by by Devo
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Morbidity
The whitest white youll'ever see is bone
2 jobs, no life, what you knew is gone
when you work so hard, flesh is stripped
nothing left, just a skelaton, standing alone
Innocence gone, no more fun
Innocence gone, never found again
The whitest white you'll ever see is bone
Break your back, break a leg
Snow will never compare, never be as white
Bang your head, split your skull
Innocence gone, no more fun
Innocence gone, never found again
Death inside, death outside, death on all sides
Soul on fire, hung by the neck, invisible line
Life precarious, walking completely oblivious
Ignor the danger, just filled with anger
Innocence gone, no more fun
Innocence gone, never found again
Hate everyone, trying to be someone
Gamble everyday, look for paradise
Take the risk, and throw the dice
Give a cheer, to avoid your own fear
Death at your door, laying on the floor
Death at your door, waiting to see a perfect shore
poem by Jason Luneau
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Then You Left Me
I never ask for any time from you baby.
I never ask for any lies.
You only hurt the one you love the most baby.
You only had to make me cry.
'Cause you left me (you left me) all alone (you left me)
You left me(you left me) to stand alone.
And ev'ry night I sit beside my bed baby.
And I keep thinking of your love.
The things we dreamed about.
How much I love you baby.
We had the world and the stars above.
But then you left me (you left me) all alone.(you left me)
You left me . You left me (you left me) to stand alone.
You left me to stand alone.
You left me to stand alone.
You left me. You left me. You left me. You left me.
song performed by by Bee Gees from Cucumber Castle
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Timeless Visions
Try to rape your mind with your drugs and your guns
And try to change the world, for your time will never let go
Of all of the industries of hate, all of the industries of crime
All of the industries ov time
They leave you once again
They rip apart your mind
They steal up all your time
They never ever let go
We always left, so live it up
All in the back they scrape apart the flesh on your mind
They never believe in treachery
They never opened their mind
They are the ones who steal your life
They are the ones who get out of sight
We are just here to live our lives
They always win the war with their pride
They all live in death
They all shine in it
They are death unleashed to the world
They all breath undone in your head
Tomorrow's time is your past alone in being
And dying is your past, a lie
Feel the pain, the cross on your back
Now, die, we'll feel the pain on your mind
On the edge, on the edge, on the edge
You'll melt away
You'll fade away
Life is a double edged sword for you to choke on
And cry some more
No vision, no light, no nothing, empty inside, no time
Just a void eating up your mind for space and time, no one realign
Your mind is junk but you just eat it up
No feeling no light feel your head after all this time
You run with these ideas to explain your disposition.
song performed by by Velvet Acid Christ
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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