To Li Po (Li Bai) and Uriah
Dear Li Po,
strange things happen to poets
during their life,
especially those who like wine.
But now, more than a thousand years
after your suicide,
men have named a crater on
the planet Mercury with your name…
Mercury, the planet the Greeks called
Hermes Apollo, messenger of gods and poets;
the shining one;
although men have not been there yet.
When they do, they may find you
sitting in your crater, watching the Moon
(we think it will appear to you
two times a day instead of once…)
and drinking wine with Uriah;
(and your shadows will be there too,
tall on the crater’s slope…)
you’re teaching him Chinese;
he’s translating your poems into English
with your approval.
He’d like that. We hope you would.
A strange place for immortals to drink wine;
but poets do and say strange things;
that’s why we love them, just as
children love surprises,
dear Li Po.
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Strange Things Happen
She believes in god
And karma too
Paranormal powers
You know some people do
Got scorpio risin
Uh huh
Tell you whats in your stars
She was down in rio
Turn the heads of state
Got em into makin
This planet a better place
On copacabana
Uh huh
Oh yeah she radiate better go meditate
Everytime I touch my baby
Strange things happen
Strange things happen
Everytime I touch my baby
Strange things happen to me
Strange things happen
Oh ohhh ohhhh
Oh oh strange things happen
Everytime I touch my baby
Strange things happen to me
Met a pshycic reader
With a crystal ball
Had a vision
Said we could have it all
I caught her gazin
Uh huh
At our destiny cosmically
Everytime I touch my baby
Strange things happen
Oh ohhh ohhhh
Oh oh strange things happen
Everytime I touch my baby
Strange things happen to me
Strange things happen
Oh ohhh ohhhh
Oh oh strange things happen
Everytime I touch my baby
Strange things happen to me
Strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange
Strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange
Strange strange strange
Strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange
Strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange
Strange strange strange
Strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange strange
Strange strange strange strange strange
song performed by by Beach Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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0005 Totally Boring Poem
I’m totally bored by:
poems that sound like other poems
poems that try to sound unlike any other poems
poets who never take risks
poets who think that taking risks
makes them good poets
poems with 'meaning'
poems with no meaning
poets who slag off other poets
as if that achieves something
poets that tell you that rhyme
is not for an age but for all time
poets that tell you that rhyme is outmoded and boring
poets who think that the poetry of 'the past'
is greater than that of 'the present'
poets who think that the poetry of 'the present'
is greater than that of 'the past'
poems that tell you the poet's the first to discover sex
poets that tell you they’re the best sex you’ll ever have
although you’ll never meet them to find out
poets that tell you they’ve been dumped
poets who've never known love and being dumped
poets who are ambitious
poets who are unambitious
poets who tell you all about higher things
poets who reject higher things
poets who think life’s just a joke
poets who think life’s no joke
poets who sit on the fence
poets who have no sense of balance
poets who despise 'the middle ground'
poets who talk about technique
poets with no technique
poets who just throw down their thoughts
poets who 'work up' their poems to a self-satisfied polish
poets who list what they like (who cares?)
poets who list what don’t like (who cares?)
poets who write about extreme states
poets who think they’re immune to extreme states
poets who tell you why they’re bored
poets who have opinions
poets who seem to have no opinions at all
poets who have boring opinions to air - why choose poetry?
poets who comment on others' poems
as if it's the last word
poets who never bother to comment
on others' poems
poets who don't love poetry passionately
poets who tell you they 'love poetry passionately'
poets who – oh I’m too bored to go on reading this,
how about you?
I suppose you have boring opinions too?
another time perhaps
and oh yes I'm most of all bored by
those who waste their precious time on this earth
being bored
well I feel better for that.
how about you?
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lilac Wine
James shelton
I lost myself on a cool damp night
Gave myself in that misty light
Was hypnotized by a strange delight
Under a lilac tree
I made wine from the lilac tree
Put my heart in its recipe
It makes me see what I want to see...
And be what I want to be
When I think more than I want to think
Do things I never should do
I drink much more that I ought to drink
Because I brings me back you...
Lilac wine is sweet and heady, like my love
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, like my love
Listen to me... I cannot see clearly
Isnt that she coming to me nearly here?
Lilac wine is sweet and heady wheres my love?
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, wheres my love?
Listen to me, why is everything so hazy?
Isnt that she, or am I just going crazy, dear?
Lilac wine, I feel unready for my love...
song performed by by Nina Simone
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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An Exhortation
Chameleons feed on light and air:
Poets' food is love and fame:
If in this wide world of care
Poets could but find the same
With as little toil as they,
Would they ever change their hue
As the light chameleons do,
Suiting it to every ray
Twenty times a day?
Poets are on this cold earth,
As chameleons might be,
Hidden from their early birth
In a cave beneath the sea;
Where light is, chameleons change:
Where love is not, poets do:
Fame is love disguised: if few
Find either, never think it strange
That poets range.
Yet dare not stain with wealth or power
A poet's free and heavenly mind:
If bright chameleons should devour
Any food but beams and wind,
They would grow as earthly soon
As their brother lizards are.
Children of a sunnier star,
Spirits from beyond the moon,
O, refuse the boon!
poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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Lilac Wine
I lost myself on a cool damp night
I gave myself in that misty light
Was hypnotized by a strange delight
Under a lilac tree
I made wine from the lilac tree
Put my heart in its recipe
It makes me see what I want to see
And be what I want to be
When I think more than I want to think
Do things I never should do
I drink much more that I ought to drink
Because it brings me back you
Lilac wine is sweet and heady,
Like my love
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady,
Like my love
Listen to me, I cannot see clearly
Isnt that she, coming to me
Nearly here
Lilac wine is sweet and heady,
Wheres my love
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady,
Wheres my love
Listen to me, why is everything so hazy
Isnt that she, or am I just going crazy, dear
Lilac wine, I feel unready for my love
Feel unready, for my love.
song performed by by Jeff Buckley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Peace Poets
We are a bunch of peace poets
We hate war and sing songs of peace
Poets of the planet, come and join us
Our pens are now much stronger than weapons
It roars more than a gun.
Planet belong to peace lovers
Warmongers have no place on this planet
Days of warmongers are over
We are a bunch of peace poets
We sing songs of peace.
Oh poets of this planet
Come and join us
We shall make our planet a heaven
Warmongers are dead forever.
poem by Devil Poet
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Good Poets and Bad Poets
Some poets get awards and think they are good poets.
Some poets never get awards and think they are bad poets.
Some poets think they are good poets only in their own mind
Some poets think they are bad poets in somebody's else mind.
Some poets think they are good poets in somebody else mind.
Some poets think others think they are good poets but they don't in their hearts.
Some poets think they are good poets in their hearts but not in anyone else's mind.
All are insecure, except those who get security from the opinions of others and that, alas, doesn't last and isn't real.
Some poets have left the entire scene and live only in their mind.
Some poets take criticism and don't mind.
Some poets avoid criticism and do mind.
Some poets write poetry to get love.
Some poets love to write poetry.
Some poets are ahead of their time, in their mind
Some poets spend a lifetime feeling like failures in their mind
Some poets live only after they die.
Some poets have much to say but can't articulate
Some poets retreat, believing others don't understand
So which one of these am I?
I guess I am all of these and none of these
and no matter what my description
I intend to keep doing what I do:
Write. Right
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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I Write Poems For Poets
I WRITE POEMS FOR POETS
I write poems for poets
Our situation as poets-
The longings the feelings
We so need to express-
The love of language-
The hunger for recognition-
The frequent rejection-
The kind word of a reader that moves-
Poems for poets
We as we each are
All so different-
And we as we share
Words and worlds
We hope to have read.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Strange Things
I was on top of the world
It was right in my pocket
I was livin' the life
Things were just the way they should be
When from out of the sky like a bomb comes some little punk in a rocket
Now all of a sudden some strange things are happenin' to me
I had friends,
I had lots of friends
Now all my friends are gone
And I'm doin' the best I can to carry on
I had power (power)
I was respected (respect)
But not any more
And I've lost the love to the one whom I adored
Let me tell you about the strange things are happenin' to me
Strange things
Strange things are happenin' to me...
Ain't no doubt about it
You got someone you think you know well
It turns out a stranger
The minute you turn your back
You're in it all by yourself
They laugh at your jokes
You think you're doin' well
But you're in danger, boy
You end up alone, forgotten, way up on the shelf
Strange things are happenin' to me
Strange things
Strange things are happenin' to me
Ain't no doubt about it
Strange things are happenin' to me
Strange things
Strange things are happenin' to me
Strange things
Strange things
song performed by by Randy Newman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Every Day
Every day I see him coming
Every day he walks on by
Life used to be so plain and simple
Before he came into my life
Every night I keep on dreaming
Every night I take him home
We always go to bed together
I always wake up all alone
Chorus:
Oh its strange, so strange
What hes doing to me
Oh its strange so strange
Did this ever happen to you
The way it has happened to me
The way it just happened to me
Every day outside my window
Always minutes close to eight
I wish he stayed a little longer
But his bus is never late
Every night were dancing slowly
I play the music he adores
Like Sinatra then were talking
All important things for sure
Chorus:
Oh its strange so strange
What hes doing to me
Oh its strange so strange
Did this ever happen to you
The way it has happened to me
The way it just happened to me
Oh its strange so strange
What hes doing to me
Oh so strange real strange
Did this ever happen to you
The way it has happened to me
The way it just happened to me
song performed by by Roxette
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Chiang Chin Chiu
See the waters of the Yellow River leap down from Heaven, Roll away to the deep sea and never turn again! See at the mirror
in the High Hall Aged men bewailing white locks - In the morning, threads of silk, In the evening flakes of snow. Snatch the joys
of life as they come and use them to the full; Do not leave the silver cup idly glinting at the moon. The things that Heaven made
Man was meant to use; A thousand guilders scattered to the wind may come back again. Roast mutton and sliced beef will only
taste well If you drink with them at one sitting three hundred cups. Great Master Ts'êen, Doctor Tan-ch'iu, Here is wine, do not
stop drinking But listen, please, and I will sing you a song. Bells and drums and fine food, what are they to me Who only want
to get drunk and never again be sober? The Saints and Sages of old times are all stock and still, Only the might drinkers of wine
have left a name behind. When the prince of Ch'êen gave a feast in the Palace of P'ing-lo With twenty thousand gallons of wine
he loosed mirth and play. The master of the feast must not cry that his money is all spent; Let him send to the tavern and fetch
wine to keep our tankards filled. His five-flower horse and thousand-guilder coat - Let him call the boy to take them along and
pawn them for good wine, That drinking together we may drive away the sorrows of a thousand years.
Wine (Love Poem)
Wine is for laughing
Wine is for talking all night
Wine is for living life out loud
Wine is for making us beautiful
Wine is for all-night conversations
Wine is for getting together again
Wine is for ‘never again’ tomorrow
Wine is for sleeping like a baby
Wine is for telling the truth
Wine is food for love
Wine is friendship
Wine is fresh
Wine
Can
Be
The
One
Perfe ct
Companion
At the end of a long day
poem by Ian Beckett
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Strange
Start making sense
Of everything Ive seen before, well, um
Somewhere in my life
Been paying the price
But that aint enough anymore, well
Dont get me wrong now baby
Dont get me wrong baby
Strange, strange, strange
Things that happen to me
I dont know if Im coming or going, baby, well
Strange, strange, strange
Things you keep on doing
Somethings getting outta control
Cant help myself
To everything Im looking for
No, no, no
Sometimes I cant explain
Why I go insane
It just isnt fun anymore, well
Dont get me wrong now baby
Dont get me wrong baby
Strange, strange, strange
Things that happen to me
I dont know if Im coming or going, baby, well
Strange, strange, strange
Things you keep on doing
Somethings getting outta control
Outta control
Yeah
Shame on you
Dont get me wrong now baby
Dont get me wrong baby
Strange, strange, strange
Things that happen to me
I dont know if Im coming or going, baby, well
Strange, strange, strange
Things you keep on doing (keep on doing)
Somethings getting outta control
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, well
Strange, strange, strange
Things that happen to me
I dont know if Im coming or going, baby, well
Strange, strange, strange
Things you keep on doing (keep on doing)
Somethings getting outta
Somethings getting outta
Somethings getting outta control
Outta control
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Strange, strange, strange
Things you keep on doing
Strange, strange, strange
Things that happen to me
Strange, strange, strange
Things you keep on doing
Strange, strange, strange
Things that happen to me
To me, to me
Yes I will
Yes I will
No, woooh
song performed by by Wet Wet Wet
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Scope of time
I who write
Shall have long since gone away
Into the region of shadows
And those who read
Are among the living
Strange things happen
Through the centuries
Flasks of aged wine
Stand waiting to be drunk
The wine cannot quench your thirst
You become a small particle
In the scope of time
The region is a shadow
Light and darkness meet
And do battle.
poem by Howard Johnson
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A brief tribute to George Seferis, poet
When the gods allot
a time, a place, to those so mortal
mortals whom they love to test,
is it a greater gift they give to poets,
to live in a land of honeybees
and sun and sea and heroes sung, a land
assured, content, of gods and marble,
temples, amphitheatres, history,
or in that land in times of tragedy,
starvation, misery, division,
internal war and conquered servitude?
Ultimate, the irony – how can the gods
think up such things? – to be
ambassador, to represent a land
from which to have been exiled half a life;
exiled from within and exiled from without.
The love the gods bestow (the Chorus cries)
is terrifying; strange; to be hard learned.
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In the world of poetry there are would-be poets, workshop poets, promising poets, lovesick poets, university poets, and a few real poets.
quote by James Broughton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Old Poets
The old poets
sit drinking and conversing.
Speaking with long words; parts
of forgotten phrases, and occasional cursing.
There was among them another day, when
they thought they knew
precisely what to say, what to do.
But time, with the help of wine
has taken up the words.
Stealing their once steady voice
no longer the stronger, nor even again to be heard.
Now, the old poets gather round early
in narrow dusty bars, looking
far off, and puffing fat cigars.
Satisfied to simply sit and sip, upon
the failing wine, and fleeting time.
Watching, as both run dangerously low, like
the finish of a long and
melancholy picture show.
Time and wine, words and birds, all
fly so quickly by.
Going south with a closed mouth
the verbs and nouns of the past fall broken, and
are no longer sacramentally spoken.
What once moved so fine, within these aged poetic minds
flows now, no less, throughout each new day.
It turns old bodies weak, yet goes on bearing
the delicate souls like gold, further and further away.
poem by Smoky Hoss
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Poetry
To those of you who've never read poems
there is a vacancy in your homes.
For poets dream
and poets scream
words that should be said
and never left dead.
They speak of love in artful wonder
and even love that's torn asunder.
They tell the stories that affect the people.
Their hopes, their fears,
the ageing years
their laughing times,
their weeping tears.
Poetry has its own special flow.
If you've never read it you don't know
its magic with word
not silent but heard.
To evoke in the mind
something you find
with rhythm and cadences
allowing your senses
to come alive.
Alive.
Most poets are quiet except with their pen.
They become quite vociferous especially when
conveying to you what they deem to be true.
For poets are sensitive
to all they see.
They speak from the heart
and hope to be
inspirational, controversial
to awaken in you
a picture or image
for your mind to view.
Poems are music and praise for the soul
that hungers and thirsts
for you to become whole.
All of the poets who've come and gone
have left their thoughts and then moved on,
moved on to pursue loftier goals
accompanied by words to soothe their souls.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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Life On Mercury
If it had not once existed,
Could something without a history...
Become dependent permanently,
To fix and stick as if cement.
If it had not once existed,
Could respect and discipline...
Find their way into our minds,
And stayed forever as if meant!
Anything is possible,
Like life on Mercury.
A planet no one mentions.
But who knows what there breathes?
Anything is possible,
Like life on Mercury.
A planet no one mentions.
But who knows what there breathes?
If it had not once existed,
Could respect and discipline...
Find their way into our minds,
And stayed forever as if meant!
Anything is possible,
Like life on Mercury.
A planet no one mentions.
But who knows what there breathes?
Everyday something new is claimed and named.
Everyday something new created,
Comes and remains.
And everyday we find something new to entertain.
If it had not once existed,
Could something without a history...
Become dependent permanently,
To fix and stick as if cement.
Anything is possible,
If it's craved as a sentiment.
Anything is possible,
If it's wanted bad enough to begin.
If it had not once existed,
Could respect and discipline...
Find their way into our minds,
And stayed forever as if meant!
Anything is possible,
Like life on Mercury.
A planet no one mentions.
But who knows what there breathes?
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My Poetry Shop Will Be Open On December 22,2012
Dear Friends, Poets and pessimists,
I am to inform you all that
MY POETRY SHOP WILL BE OPEN ON DECEMBER 22,2012 also
The day after the so called DOOM`S DAY.
Poems old new will be showcased as usual
And I shall be visiting your POETRY SHOPS as well.
Dear Friends, Poets and optimists,
Let us discard the DOOM`S DAY imposed on us.
Regards...
poem by M.d Dinesh Nair
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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