In the spirit of Rumi - 71 - In praise of Metaphor
It’s not a playground where
you run around shouting
without noticing whether
there’s a listener
or a playgroup where
there’s paper, paste, scissors,
all over the place,
thoughts pasted on thoughts,
without noticing anyone else
no, it’s some specific calling,
saying, see that far-off other?
we’re related; see us as together,
your surprise may tell you
about that vastness –
maybe, awe, wonder, beauty,
wisdom, truth…goodness…
so treat me, metaphor,
as if god’s priest:
respectfully, sparingly, carefully;
as you would look at twins,
each sleeping, but holding hands;
love requires that
poem by Michael Shepherd
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They're Noticing
I sit
An average day
I roll my arm over
He notices first
What happened to your arm?
I look at the cuts
That are freshly there
Nothing my cat attacked me
I say
He smiles and turns back around
But it's not my cat's fault
It's my fault
I made the cuts
With my old scissors
Next, She notices them
What happened?
I look at my arm
With the healing scars
Nothing, My cat
She smiles and laughs
I smile a little, too
But that poor cat
Taking the blame
When it's really me
And my scissors
Then, She tells me
You need to put your cuts
Some place else
People are noticing
Your cover is falling
Your cat won't last forever
I nod and cry
She tries to help
But what can she do
To make me stop
They're noticing, Darling
They're noticing
poem by Alyssa Ray
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The One
'Come over here' he said
'Let's you and me
talk private.
I've noticed you
noticing me
and I wonder if
that is illusion
and am I making it up
or if it is true
and you did
notice me.
If not fine
I'm gone.
If so
let's talk.
What is the truth?
She:
'Yes I noticed you-
I saw you;
I mean
but that is all-
I noticed'
He: 'Well what did you think of me
when you noticed me?
Did you like me? '
She: ,
'Like you?
I don't know you'
.
'Well what did you think.
Well I thought you, , , ,
Actually I didn't
I wasn't thinking
I was just noticing?
'
Ok, nothing
no spark?
'No, no spark.'
In my twenties i would look into every
face and ask
are you my Future One?
And each face I peered into
would be examined and evaluated
and ultimately graded
and done within 3 seconds.
But if one
noticed me
noticing
I would end up
in conversations
like the above one.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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Untouched by Grace, but not by Snow
Waking up, noticing the ground
To my surprise I am surround by snow
Every detail in which was lay
With perfect precise wonder
In this most daring betray of beauty
And all is quiet
All is so annoyingly quiet
The dirt that is covered peeks through the ground
Destroying what was once beauty
That was pronounced by the glistened snow
And all I can do is wonder
How this world become simple to lay
When sleep takes us on we lay
And all is deeply quiet
Our dreams become our wonder
Weather we stand on solid ground
An undefined map layer out by snow
Creates to us sleeping beauty
But what is this beauty?
And where does it lay?
What is understood to be a lie as white as snow
And all has become a false quiet
Life, which puts our burdens to the ground
And here we are left to wonder
To whom to we place our wonder
The one who holds onto your beauty?
Who picks you up off the ground
And will be contempt as you lay
This is the lovely quiet
Dawn, of our love as pure as snow
To ask what is this snow
Pure, grace, love to which we wonder
Making this moment freeze in quiet
Holding unto this betrayed beauty
Which pours unto us as we lay
To the emissive ground
To become as pure as snow is beauty
But do we wonder under stars we lay?
And all was quiet as the snow flake touched ground
A Platonic Reminiscence of a Great Lady
Someone mentioned your name yesterday
and I was silent
You loved goodness, you were goodness,
and I think goodness must have
loved you; and we,
we loved you for your goodness
You loved truth, spoke truth,
and surely the truth
loved you for loving it; and how
we loved to hear you
speaking truth
You loved beauty in
so many ways that beauty
blessed you: in movement,
in actions, in thought, in words and yes
the beauty of goodness and
the beauty of truth shone from you –
how could we not love you
beyond you?
How often in this poem to you
the word love appears
as it did
in you
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Effigy Of A Nun
Infinite gentleness, infinite irony
Are in this face with fast-sealed eyes,
And round this mouth that learned in loneliness
How useless their wisdom is to the wise.
In her nun's habit carved, carefully, lovingly,
By one who knew the ways of womenkind,
This woman's face still keeps its cold wistful calm,
All the subtle pride of her mind.
These pale curved lips of hers holding their hidden smile,
Show she had weighed the world; her will was set;
These long patrician hands clasping he crucifix
Once having made their choice, had no regret.
She was one of those who hoard their own thoughts lovingly,
Feeling them far too dear to give away,
Content to look at life with the high insolent
Air of an audience watching a play.
If she was curious, if she was passionate,
She must have told herself that love was great,
But that the lacking it might be as great a thing
If she held fast to it, challenging fate.
She who so loved herself and her own warring thoughts,
Watching their humorous, tragic rebound,
In her thick habit's fold, sleeping, sleeping,
Is she amused at dreams she has found?
Infinite tenderness, infinite irony,
Hidden forever in her closed eyes,
That must have learned too well in their long loneliness
How empty their wisdom is even to the wise.
poem by Sara Teasdale
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My love lays sleeping
My love lays sleeping
~
Sleep eludes me
My thoughts play on
Into the quiet of the night
A whispered chatter of thoughts
Fill my restless mind
~
My love lays sleeping
Beside me, safe
While I sit writing
I write of her beauty
The gentle nature of her soul
I write as if to say
How much I love her
~
What I would give
To see into her dreams
And gift them all to her
That she may smile and laugh
And share in this love
As though to dream forevermore
~
Sleep eludes me
My love lays sleeping
Sleep on sweet beauty
poem by Matthew Holloway
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Yes Im Glad
Lend an ear to what I have to say
The rain outside has stopped with you to play
But if you notice just what I am noticing
Youll be glad
Step outside
Step outside youll find
Look above
Look above your mind
Lend an ear to what I have to say
The sun outside is going to shine today
But if you notice what I am noticing
You will be glad
Look around
Look around youll find
See the sound
See the sound of mind
Lend an ear to what I have to say
Turn around and see the light of day
Yes, I know just what you are noticing
Are you glad
Thank you for all you have given me
The reasoning to see what is good and bad
And I am thankful finding a way to
See the way and feel the way I am
I said look around
Look around youll find
See the sound
See the sound of mind
Lend an ear to what I have to say
Turn around and see the light of day
Yes I notice what youre noticing
Are you glad
Yes, Im glad
Are you glad
Yes, Im glad
Are you glad
song performed by by Rick Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Last Breath
Hold on to me love
You know I cant stay long
All I wanted to say was
I love you and Im not afraid
Can you hear me?
Can you feel me in your arms
Holding my last breath?
Safe inside myself
Are all my thoughts of you
Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight.
Ill miss the winter
A world of fragile things
Look for me in the white forest
Hiding in a hollow tree
I know you hear me,
I can taste it in your tears.
Holding my last breath
Safe inside myself
Are all my thoughts of you.
Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight.
Closing your eyes
You pray your dreams will leave you here,
But still you wake and know the truth -
No ones there.
Say goodnight, dont be afraid
Calling me, holding me, as you fade to black.
(say goodnight) holding my last breath
(dont be afraid) safe inside myself
(holding me) are my thoughts of you
Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight.
song performed by by Evanescence
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You Are Asking Now For A Metaphor To Understand
i heard you when you said you find it hard to understand
my scribblings on the sand
words seem not to be related to the next word
illogical
not having a connection between their close distances
how can you connect a star to an ant
or an electric eel to a ladle
the sea to a cooking pot
something too far and something too near
the universe to a grain of sand
the wilted sunflower
to the screw of this motorcycle,
make the link, that is a challenge and you complain
i am just confusing you
there is no meaning to all these bickerings of thoughts and
anti-thoughts, you tell me
but let me ask you my friend,
how do you relate to God?
is He the same as You,
far and near
thoughts to anti-thoughts
matter to non-matter
flesh to spirit
you want a word always to correspond to an object
at first
there is no problem here but go beyond what the word
should be
or what a word must be to non-objects
you need the help somewhere
you are asking now for a metaphor
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Le Cheval
Dining with an angel
I was taken by beauty
Hardly noticing the food
poem by Rick Elpers
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Kansas City Milkman
Born in this place
You only see so far
Hear what we say
If we put the truth in your hands
Would you really like to know
Kansas city milkman
A row of houses
Through the dawn
A sleeping city
Where I was born
I hear laughter
In the early light
Outside the playground
Were I learned to fight
Born in this place
You only see so far
Hear what we say
If we put the truth in your hands
Would you really like to know
Kansas city milkman
I read the papers
Every word
My only access
To the outside world
Yeah ... survival
Thats my game
Just a common man
In that there is no shame ... is there? ...
Too much talking
Information ... in the hands of the few
All the talking
Dis-information ... that we take for the truth
Born in this place
You only see so far
Hear what we say
The world is a stage
And we know just who you are
What part do you play?
If we put the truth in your hands
Would you really like to know
Kansas city milkman
song performed by by Level 42
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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How Do I Love You?
How do I love you?
Let me be specific;
I love you because,
You simply are terrific
Love your;
Beauty and grace
The way a smile appears
Upon your pretty face
Love you;
For your common sense
That always finds the truth
And requires no defense
Love you;
For a thousand reasons more
To numerous to describe…
“My heart, my soul, Mi Amore”
(ROTMS)
poem by Ray Lucero
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Is There Anyone Out There?
Staring at the stars at night
it makes you wonder
if this is the only planet with life
in the vastness of space.
You feel like shouting at times.
Is there anyone out there?
People see things in the night sky
that they cannot explain.
Even in the daylight
mysterious objects appear unexplained
and all the time you feel like shouting.
Is there anyone out there?
Years from now when
we might have learned to listen,
we might find someone else
is really out there listening
to us shouting.
Is there anyone out there?
It is quite possible one day
in the truth we might find
that all the time we’ve been shouting
someone else has been out there
shouting back at us too.
Is there anyone out there?
21 February 2011
poem by David Harris
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Do You Have Any Thoughts About Me?
Do you have any thoughts about me?
And I want to know if the thoughts that you have about me
Are any good?
Do you mind sharing the thoughts about me?
What are the thoughts about me like?
Are the thoughts about me semtimental?
Are the thoughts about me very romantic?
Are the thoughts about me full of love?
poem by Aldo Kraas
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Beauty or Truth
How shall I love you
................in beauty or in truth?
Your beauty is plain to see,
Not something you can hide.
Your truth must you freely give me.
So deeply within you it abides.
I prefer to touch your beauty,
There in your eyes where it glows.
I cannot feel the truth
That in you somewhere grows.
I cannot taste the truth,
Sweet words in your mouth,
From deeper thoughts where it lies,
But your lips are tasty buds of everything alive.
I cannot smell the truth
................of your firmament,
But the perfume of your beauty
.................is the fragrance I long to sense.
I will love you in your beauty
.................embrace your breasts and womanness
And I will love you in your truth
.................nestled in your inner essence
I cannot desire the one and not the other.
I’m compelled to feel the beauty of your charms
And in your arms embrace the treasure of who you are
....................— even if it takes an eternity.
poem by Ben Gieske
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My Thoughts
Thought in the eyes,
The ears.
Thought in mind,
The brain,
Thought in heart,
The soul.
Great thought is great
when it becomes great deeds.
With my thoughts within
Building my world within
Learning with thought;
Is great learning wisdom.
Learning without thought,
Is opportunity lost.
Thought for others
Thought for God
Thought for good
Thought for God’s blessing
Thoughts teach me,
Thoughts educate me,
Thoughts clarify me,
Thoughts enlighten me.
Thoughts make me wise
Thoughts make me patience
Thoughts make me trust others
Thoughts make me clam.
Thoughts before act
Is smart and wise
Act before thoughts
Is stupid and foolish
That’s my thoughts
They make thinking clear
They make belief deepen
They make confidence high.
In thoughts, my world
In my world, make my thoughts.
In thoughts, my words
In my words, make my speech
It’s my thoughts count
Counting my thoughts
To endless counting thoughts
Thinking the thoughts endlessly
My thoughts and thoughts again.
poem by Lawrence Hiung
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Pasted! (january 10 2011)
i live the pasted, dreaming the future.
afraid if i let go then no one will care about me
afraid no one will really understand me because of the pasted, because i'f i didn't always tell them about my pasted then they will say I'm nothingthat i don't know what it like to have a bad pasted
afraid if i don't let go then i'm going to lose everyone i love and i don't what that
i need help out of the pasted and in to the future
so how do i come in to the future after being so long in my pasted?
poem by juggalette Tiffany ann
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Sight Persists
In small cells it grows
glows in vitreous seas
like phosphorescent slugs
by currents released
holding all the motion, color,
loveliness
of the captured world,
until noticing, at last,
I see.
poem by Steven Federle
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Train thoughts
You see the train fires our thoughts-
We find a white metallic sky up there,
As though the train itself were the earth
Spinning like a top in cosmic space.
The train’s hoot pierces our awareness.
We then come down from the upper berth
To mundane matters of trivial concern-
Thoughts which are not train thoughts
But home kitchen and patio thoughts
Waiting for inquisitive neighbours to talk
So that we could pick large comic holes.
In the train, between our finiteness and sky
There is another white sky, train sky
Under which several celestial thoughts
Take place in our upturned sleeping faces
It is as though the metal sky does not exist
And we are faced with the Big sky itself.
poem by Jagannath rao Adukuri
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My Idea of beauty
Beauty is the sensation of your heart skipping a beat,
when eyes full of mischief glance at you...
Beauty is the smile which appears on your lips, when you think of the way he smiles at you...
Beauty is in the heart which touches another
Beauty is tender hands holding each other
Beauty is strong arms holding you warm
Beauty is in water, beauty is in weather,
beauty is in air, beauty is in life
Beauty is in love, beauty is in wind...
Beauty surrounds you days and nights
yet no one knows beauty's heights...
poem by Nitya Pillai
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