Revolutions
Before man parted for this earthly strand,
While yet upon the verge of heaven he stood,
God put a heap of letters in his hand,
And bade him make with them what word he could.
And man has turn'd them many times; made Greece,
Rome, England, France;--yes, nor in vain essay'd
Way after way, changes that never cease!
The letters have combined, something was made.
But ah! an inextinguishable sense
Haunts him that he has not made what he should;
That he has still, though old, to recommence,
Since he has not yet found the word God would.
And empire after empire, at their height
Of sway, have felt this boding sense come on;
Have felt their huge frames not constructed right,
And droop'd, and slowly died upon their throne.
One day, thou say'st, there will at last appear
The word, the order, which God meant should be.
--Ah! we shall know _that_ well when it comes near;
The band will quit man's heart, he will breathe free.
poem by Matthew Arnold
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Related quotes
Word Made Flesh
Suck my breast, I'm the word made flesh
Ain't no rest for the word made flesh
My lips are moving but I hear no sound
It's that same old noise, it's in sensurround
Tune yourself up and count yourself down
Word made flesh, word made flesh
Lord help me rise to this occasion
Word made, word made flesh
I've been toiling so hard in the vineyard
Pay your debts to the word made flesh
East meets west in the word made flesh
I see you talking, but I still can't hear
Like a box of glass blocking off my ears
Turn off the charm and prey on your fears
Brainless pests for the word made flesh
Wall Street desks curse the word made flesh
song performed by by Todd Rundgren
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Today... 'The Word
Word of love and the Word made flesh
Word incarnate forever blessed
Word of life and the Word of light
Word of power and Word of might.
Word that was spoken, Word of the Lord
Word of the Law and the Word of God
Word of peace and Word eternal
Word of truth and last Word of all.
Word of wisdom and the Word of healing
Word from heaven, a Word so appealing
Word fulfilling the Word of prophecy
Word of the Spirit and Word of destiny.
Word of exhortation and Word of grace
Word of encouragement and Word of faith
Word of promise and a Word of insight
Word from the beginning and Word of delight.
Word of knowledge and a Word of boldness
Word of peace and the Word of righteousness
Word of the covenant and Word of love
Word of the Father from heaven above.
(see also the additional information in the Poet's notes box)
Goodbye
I hate the word goodbye
It makes the angels cry
But I've been hurt too many times
Now the time for fair well is ripe
I hate the word goodbye
It always makes me cry
But you've also made me cry
You've done it so many times
Though there were times when you made me smile
During the happiest days of my life
When I had to hold forever
You were the best and you made me better
But the bonds broke and you let me go
I was in pain and left all alone
Your face still holds that memory
My heart still holds that agony
So it's better we say goodbye
Its better that the angels cry
Its better that you go your way
And its better that I go mine
It hurts me now to see you stay
And you've hurt me so many times
It's a shame what could have been
It's a shame what couldn't be
But the biggest shame this time
Is the very fact that I tried
Some things just can't be understood
In every sense of the word
And when I tried to comprehend you
It proved to be not of any worth
We once said goodbye
But the angels didn't cry
They always knew it was for the better
Although it wouldn't be forever
It felt like it was
So here I say the word I hate
But I'll say it a softer way
It's time we say goodbye
It's time that the angels cry
Better to cry once rather than forever
You would hurt again all over
And keep me crying forever
So the time for goodbye is ripe
And forever I say goodbye
And though the angels might cry
You have hurt me too many times
Better they cry once rather than forever
Goodbye my love, goodbye forever
poem by Hafeni Nghidinua
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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So Much Like My Dad
I know that I surprised you comin home
Its not my usual time of year
But Ive got myself a problem
And I know that I might find the answer here
Remember when I was dads pride and joy
And your little man
Every time that I got hurt
You were there to give a hand
Youõd pick me up and youd kiss my hurt away
Remember what youd say
Boy, youre gettin more like him each and everyday
Can we have a talk like it was yesterday
Your boys back in trouble and he needs you right away
She said shes gonna leave me momma
Nothing on gods green earth will make her stay
I cant live with out her momma
But this time you cant kiss the hurt away
But if Im so much like my dad
There mustve been times you felt her way
So tell me word for word what he said
That always made you stay
She said shes gonna leave me momma
But if Im so much like my dad
There mustve been times you felt her way
So tell me word for word what he said
That always made you stay
Is it already time
song performed by by George Strait
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Incarnate One
The windless northern surge, the sea-gull's scream,
And Calvin's kirk crowning the barren brae.
I think of Giotto the Tuscan shepherd's dream,
Christ, man and creature in their inner day.
How could our race betray
The Image, and the Incarnate One unmake
Who chose this form and fashion for our sake?
The Word made flesh here is made word again
A word made word in flourish and arrogant crook.
See there King Calvin with his iron pen,
And God three angry letters in a book,
And there the logical hook
On which the Mystery is impaled and bent
Into an ideological argument.
There's better gospel in man's natural tongue,
And truer sight was theirs outside the Law
Who saw the far side of the Cross among
The archaic peoples in their ancient awe,
In ignorant wonder saw
The wooden cross-tree on the bare hillside,
Not knowing that there a God suffered and died.
The fleshless word, growing, will bring us down,
Pagan and Christian man alike will fall,
The auguries say, the white and black and brown,
The merry and the sad, theorist, lover, all
Invisibly will fall:
Abstract calamity, save for those who can
Build their cold empire on the abstract man.
A soft breeze stirs and all my thoughts are blown
Far out to sea and lost. Yet I know well
The bloodless word will battle for its own
Invisibly in brain and nerve and cell.
The generations tell
Their personal tale: the One has far to go
Past the mirages and the murdering snow.
poem by Edwin Muir
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Hello (Love Poem)
Hello is just too a small word to express the
Happiness of hearing your voice, the close
Feeling I get when we talk, I wonder why?
Five letters in a word that was made for us
Because of the telephone, what happened
Before, was it just "How do you do today? "
This does not explain why, when you pick up,
My heart beats fast when you say the word,
And the missing-you distance is not so hard.
poem by Ian Beckett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Word
Find the word, understand the word,
Depend on the word;
The word is heaven and space, the word the earth,
The word the universe.
The word is in our ears, the word is on our tongues,
The word the idol.
The word is the holy book, the word is harmony,
The word is music.
The word is magic, the word the Guru.
The word is the body, the word is the spirit, the word is being,
The word Not-being.
The word is man, the word is woman,
The Worshipped Great.
The word is the seen and unseen, the word is the existent
And the non-existent.
Know the word, says Kabir,
The word is All-powerful.
I made, over the years in Cambridge, several very good American friends, and America appeared to me, a land of promise in every sense of that word, a land of freedom from the inhibitions and restrictions that I felt in England.
quote by Peter Shaffer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Vast Empire And Fallen Throne.
A vast empire surrounds us
But we stand with the fallen throne and
Confounded and crestfallen we are.
Our empire of amasses; not of accumulations!
Our empire of ownership; not of master-hood!
Our empire of intelligence; not of erudition!
The throne lies down with its jewels gone,
It lies at our feet and none can pick it up.
We feel on our skull the shame of past.
Our throne of civilisation; not of progress!
Our throne of peace; not of harmony!
Our throne of diamonds; not of copper
The empire will swell and explode next
And our throne will lie buried ever.
The empire will thereafter turn into a planet of its own
And go on the orbit of might and moss and
Our throne will join the fossils down deep!
The ides of the present remain told aloud!
poem by M.d Dinesh Nair
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Word
If I make a word
it is first sculpted from letters
on the page
a canvass across which
letters skate
from margin to margin transforming
into meanings and sentences
which give us art, science, poetry
and civilization.
This is created from an arbitrary entity,
the scratchings we call letters
which in turn form yet another
mysterious entity we call the alphabet.
What manner of miracle is this?
All of civilization is born from
these scribbly scratchings?
So if each letter is an imaginary entity,
an arbitrary symbol we made up
which has no meaning by itself
and lives inside another arbitrary entity
we call the alphabet
we may properly ask
what is going on here?
Meaning here is deriving from an arbitrary nothingness
arbitrarily created from arbitrary letters
by virtue of common agreement around
what words will mean?
Ponder this:
we too, as individuals are letter unique
and, in our variety, form a kind of human alphabet.
What we all mean and can mean to each other
therefore depends upon the words we form
in our families and communities; our human alphabets.
So, one word letters such as 'I' are too self-regarding
and are narcissistic anomalies
not true words at all.
Better words have more syllables than that
and have enabled us to form social sentences
more complex
which we can use for good or ill
peace or war, love or hate.
So watch your words and sentences
don't swing them recklessly in a crowded room
you'll put somebody's mind out
or create genius.
Big responsibility this
especially for us poets.
So in the end
in mass society
you and I are a single letter
but combined create all there is.
You can take that
as the first
and last
Word
And by the way
arbitrary letters
are electrons at the sub-atomic level
and combine to make molecules
and the greatest meaning of all
All of the Universe.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Say The Word
Ooo say the word
And Ill be yours
Say the word
So Ill be sure
That what Im feeling goes for both of us
I hate to hear you tell me what you feel is really love
Say the word
Open up
Say the word
Whats the hold up
Before I go and give my heart away
I need to know Im falling for a man who aint afraid to
Chorus:
Say the word
Its just four little letters
And if you really mean it
Youve got me forever
And Ive got so much love for you
That all you gotta do
Is say the word
And Ill be there
Anytime, anywhere
Repeat chorus
And Ill be yours
So Ill be sure
Say the word
And Ill be there
Anytime, anywhere
song performed by by Reba Mcentire
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Since I Have Felt The Sense Of Death
Since I have felt the sense of death,
Since I have borne its dread, its fear—
Oh, how my life has grown more dear
Since I have felt the sense of death!
Sorrows are good, and cares are small,
Since I have known the loss of all.
Since I have felt the sense of death,
And death forever at my side—
Oh, how the world has opened wide
Since I have felt the sense of death!
My hours are jewels that I spend,
For I have seen the hours end.
Since I have felt the sense of death,
Since I have looked on that black night—
My inmost brain is fierce with light
Since I have felt the sense of death.
O dark, that made my eyes to see!
O death, that gave my life to me!
poem by Helen Hoyt
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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It is hardly fair to accuse us of ignorance when it was made a crime under the former order of things to learn enough about letters to even read the Word of God.
quote by George H. White
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Word From You
One word
Could make me consumed with guilt
One word
Could light the burden of my heart
So don’t ignore me
Don’t ever hate me
I will do everything
To make you see only me
One word
Could sink me to deepest abyss
One word
Could fly me to heaven
So don’t leave me
Don’t ever disappear from me
It will carve a big hole
If you gone from my eyes
One word
Could clear my suspicion
One word
Could erase it in second
So don’t lie to me
Don’t hide it from me
I will walk in fragile world
When I don’t know which the truth is
One word
Could dropp my guard
One word
Could wake me up
So don’t play with me
Don’t even try to
I will turn a dangerous enemy
Once you decide to deceive me
poem by Maria Sudibyo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Darling
The word was printed and flew away,
the letters were lining up in a threat.
I didn't want! No! I didn't want to print this word.
But! It was so naughty.
It bravely came off my heart
and jumped on the keyboard. My Lord!
It came off my heart and flew away
traveling half way around the world.
It was so foolish, so quiet, so timid and modest.
Seven little letters flied away
into the realms of fancy.
It was the greatest word!
And....it was... DARLING.
poem by Larisa Rzhepishevska
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Never A Word
(GillanGloverPaiceMorseAirey)
Never a word, a word so true
Passed between us, me and you
Heard you found your pot of gold
That's the story I've been told
Never a word was said in vain
Some were never sad again
Some were lost in lovers' heat
Some lay fallen at our feet
All day all night
You and only you
All day all night
I think of you and only you
Never a word escaped my lips
Silenced by your fingertips
I kept my word, can you believe
All this time so hard to breathe
Hard to breathe
song performed by by Deep Purple
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Change The World
Imagine a place only your soul can vision
The heart of a child who looks, sees, and listens
Paints a picture using every color
And what she sees she sees it like no other
One word, a voice unheard
You can Change The World
With everything I know your made of
One word, a voice unheard
You can Change The World
If everyone would stop and listen
The art of innocence makes so much sense
Of a place there no wrong has well then it's wasted
Filtered through the eyes of a pure mind
A one of a kind, paradise for you and I, you and I
One word, a voice unheard
You can Change The World
With everything I know your made of
One word, a voice unheard
You can Change The World
If everyone would stop and listen
Break the cycle, find your rhythm
Share the gift that you've been given - Love
You can, You can Change The World
You can Change The World with love
One word, a voice unheard
You can Change The World
With everything I know your made of
One word, a voice unheard
You can Change The World
If everyone would stop and listen
One word, a voice unheard
You can Change The World
With everything I know your made of
One word, a voice unheard
You can Change The World
If everyone would stop and listen
song performed by by P.O.D.
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Made In Heaven
Im taking my right with destiny
Willing to play my part
Living with painful memories
Loving with all my heart
Made in heaven, made in heaven
It was all meant to be, yeah
Made in heaven, made in heaven
Thats what they say
Cant you see
Thats what everybody says to me
Cant you see
Oh I know, I know, I know, that its true
Yes its really meant to be
Deep in my heart
Im having to learn to pay the price
Theyre turning me upside down
Waiting for possibilities
Dont see too many around
Made in heaven, yes made in heaven
Its for all to see
Made in heaven, made in heaven
Thats what everybody says
Everybody says to me
It was really meant to be
Oh cant you see
Yeah, everybody, everybody says
Yes it was meant to be
Yeah, yeah
When stormy weather comes around
It was made in heaven
When sunny skies break through behind the clouds
I wish it could last forever, yeah
Wish it could last forever, forever
Im playing my role in history
Looking to find my goal
Taking in all this misery
But giving it all my soul
Made in heaven, made in heaven
It was all meant to be
Made in heaven, made in heaven
Thats what everybody says
Wait and see, it was really meant to be
So plain to see
Yeah, everybody, everybody, everybody tells me so
Yes it was plain to see, yes it was meant to be
Written in the stars...
Written in the stars...
song performed by by Queen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hymn For The Use Of The Sunday School At Olney
Hear, Lord, the song of praise and prayer,
In heaven thy dwelling-place,
From infants, made the public care,
And taught to seek thy face!
Thanks for thy word and for thy day;
And grant us, we implore,
Never to waste in sinful play
Thy holy Sabbaths more.
Thanks that we hear,--but oh! impart
To each desires sincere,
That we may listen with our heart,
And learn as well as hear.
For if vain thoughts the minds engage
Of elder far than we,
What hope that at our heedless age
Our minds should e'er be free?
Much hope, if thou our spirits take
Under thy gracious sway,
Who canst the wisest wiser make,
And babes as wise as they.
Wisdom and bliss thy word bestows,
A sun that ne'er declines;
And be thy mercies showered on those
Who placed us where it shines.
poem by William Cowper
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Boy Boy (I'm The Boy)
Words that pull the trigger
Fear the laughing sound
Haunts you
to consider
Love might turn you around
To face a blind emotion
Words like hey let's try
Words like thinking it over
They just don't apply
I'm the boy (you made me)
I'm the boy
I'm the boy
I'm the boy (you made me)
I'm the boy
I'm the boy
Love is...
What you make it
Love the overflow
Play if you can take it some...
They just don't know
If all the rules they're making
Break somebodys heart
Whats the use in taking
Babys fall apart
I'm the boy (you made me)
I'm the boy
I'm the boy
I'm the boy (you made me)
I'm the boy
I'm the boy
You made me realise
That love is just a word
That goes unheard in a situation
Where love is nothing
And you...
Are all I can see
this boys in love with you
You're everything
I can see
This boy's in love with you
You have taken it all
Away from me
song performed by by Culture Club
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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