Related quotes: A gentle touch upon the...

Living in the Heart's Memory

A gentle touch upon the forearm
with a hand, gloved or warm with life,

outside the church door;
turning away from the open grave;
by that concrete place
where they lay the floral tributes
by the cemetery chapel;
or later, as you hand the food around;

a gentle touch upon the forearm
or a hand sought for to squeeze and hold; or
man to man, they favour a shoulder briefly gripped,
as if that’s the pressure point
where empathetic camaraderie should be applied;

the single sentence of consolation,
sometimes so well rehearsed, it comes out awkwardly –
‘she’ll be much missed…’
‘you have so many memories…’
‘he’ll always be there in our hearts…’
‘if there’s anything…’

they’ve been through this, themselves,
or fear the time they shall –

…‘words must be said,
but yet there are no words for this;
accept then, these few words
in lieu of that deep silence
which is itself in lieu of words…’

* * *

measured, immutable, as precise
as any equation of the calculated world,
the heart’s memories:
every moment that our heart in many years
opened to them, the heart has stored.

We know the mind can span the imagined world –
from travel brochures to the thought of heaven;
yet we forget that greater still, the heart is vast –
there’s all the room for them to live on there,
sustained by every moment of love freely given; for
the whole creation is one single act of love.

[written for a bereavement website]

poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes

Died Of A Rose

A reporter he was, and he wrote, wrote he:
'The grave was covered as thick as could be
With floral tributes'-which reading,
The editor man he said, he did so:
'For 'floral tributes' he's got for to go,
For I hold the same misleading.'
Then he called him in and he pointed sweet
To a blooming garden across the street,
Inquiring: 'What's them a-growing?'
The reporter chap said: 'Why, where's your eyes?
Them's floral tributes!' 'Arise, arise,'
The editor said, 'and be going.'

poem by Ambrose Bierce
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Suicide (Distance)

the long slow breath
of your indifferent stare...
miles away, across the room.
your words ring hollow,
and your face disappears
in the gloved hand
that dares not touch...
i planted flowers by your grave,
but i fear the birds
have eaten the last seeds...

i die on your cross
in a land you dare not go to...
behind a door
you choose not to open!

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Murrow Turning Over In His Grave

All the sainted sinners
They pay handsomely
And eventually?
They make the weapons
And they run the prisons
And they sell the justice
Cause being guilty is
Just good business
And well be standing on
The borderline
Aint no one there gonna
Stop it now
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Better watch out
Murrow turning over in his grave
Hes gonna turn wild
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Better watch out
Murrow turning over in his grave
Hes gonna run wild
Half-closed eyes
And the countrys deadly
Do you feel the ooze as your brain drains out
From your pneumatic drills and sharpening knives
Blood in the sky
Are you dead or alive?
All the restless people and the bitter green
Well it fakes this gold, makes the spirit mean
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Better watch out
Murrow turning over in his grave
Hes gonna turn wild
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Murrow turning over in his grave
Better watch out
Murrow turning over in his grave
Hes gonna run wild

song performed by by Fleetwood Mac
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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That's The Way I Feel

You are that gentle breeze on a summer's day
You are the beat inside my heart
You are that place that I go when I need someone that's real
I want you to know that's the way I feel
I can look in your eyes and see every dream I've dreamed
I can see peace inside your fire
I can see joy in my life then only your love can reveal
I want you to know that's the way I feel
Life is a mystry
How lucky I am that your love has found me
thatfor, you are the key that opened the door to a world of ( )
And yes, I find that this is the my moment of my time
To really let you know the way you make me feel
You are that place that I go when I need someone that's real
A something, A gentle touch, A lover's hand to hold
Your the passion in my life is real
I want you to know that's the way, I feel

song performed by by Lionel Richie
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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This concrete city
infects the sky...turning it
into concrete too.
Concrete sun and concrete rain.
Concrete humans... cry...real tears

tanka by Dónall Dempsey
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War Dead

As the sun sets tremulous,
The carrion church wardens,
Shadowy paradoxes, stand sentinel.
The pale eyed dead look on silent
At this memorial to conflict.
These stark floral tributes;
Wreaths woven in blood red
These poppies of sacrifice,
To the slaughter of wars past.
They do not glorify war.....no,
But honour the long dead.

(in memoriam Rupert Brooke)

poem by Paul Brookes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Where Love Hides

I open the door
You stand there in the rain
Your eyes say it all
I know cause I feel the same
Why do we do the things we do?
How can both of us be so cruel?
Why are we so afraid?
Take my hand and step into the light
As we touch our hearts will open wide
Kiss my lips and hold me now
And lie here by my side
Help me find a place where love hides
We will find the place where love hides
I follow you home
You smile there in the dark
I hear your words
How they twist me and tear me apart
Why do we hurt the ones we trust?
Is that all thats become of us?
Why are we so afraid?
Take my hand and step into the light
As we touch our hearts will open wide
Kiss my lips and hold me now
And lie here by my side
Help me find the place where love hides
We will find the place where love hides

song performed by by Belinda Carlisle
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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How Beautiful Is Pregnancy

A man is so glad to know- that inside you
His child grows.
The most beautiful thing on this earth
Is a woman giving birth.

As her stomach starts to grow
And her soft caressing hands begin to show
You'll see her face take on a radiating glow.

She will see life in a different way
As her motherly instincts come into play.
her body which she had taken for granted before
Is about to open a new door.
This is the door to life
and as you do the pushing pains
From this moment on your life will change.

And when you feel that child stretching
Those walls of life
You'll know it was worth the pains and sacrifice.

You may see its head and then its face
Searching this unfamiliar place.
Looking for the warmth that it knew
When it was inside of you.

It will take some time for the child to adjust
But it'll recall your gentle touch
Now the first step comes into place
When you look at each others face.

An indefinable feeling that you can't put into words
But for nine months this child has heard.
The beating of its mothers heart
Had become as one
And a new life had begun.
Now you have become what GOD intended
A mother of life - of hopes and dreams
And all that is seen and unseen.

Look deeply into that child s eyes
And it will take you where you've
Never been before - as it opens
Up its souls door.

This is what - 'as a man'- I see
And you can't take that away from me.

poem by Louis Rams
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Secret Touch

The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way in...
Out of touch
With the weather and the wind direction
With the sunrise
And the phases of the moon
Out of touch
With life in the land of the loving
With the living night
And the darkness at high noon
You can never break the chain
There is never love without pain
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
Out of sync
With the rhythm of my own reactions
With the things that last
And the things that come apart
Out of sync
With love in the land of the living
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
A healing hand, a secret touch on the heart
There is never love without pain
Life is a power that remains

song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Reach Out And Touch

(nickolas ashford/valerie simpson)
Reach out and touch
Somebody's hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
Reach out and touch
Somebody's hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
(just try)
Take a little time out of your busy day
To give encouragement
To someone who's lost the way
(just try)
Or would i be talking to a stone
If i asked you
To share a problem that's not your own
We can change things if we start giving
Why don't you
Reach out and touch
Somebody's hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
Reach out and touch
Somebody's hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
(just try)
If you see an old friend on the street
And he's down
Remember his shoes could fit your feet
(just try)
Try a little kindness you'll see
It's something that comes very naturally
We can change things if we start giving
Why don't you
Reach out and touch
Why don't you (why don't you)
Reach out and touch somebody's hand
Reach out and touch
Somebody's hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
Reach out and touch
Somebody's hand
Make this world a better place
If you can

song performed by by Diana Ross
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Door Is Always Open

The door is always open,
there is a welcome
always in here,
so come on in at anytime
and we will raise a cup of good cheer.
The world can go on its merry way,
just pull a chair up by the fire
and warm yourself a bit.
There door is always open,
there is a welcome mat
and a friendly face
will always greet you
at anytime night or day.
As the door is always open,
you can come in anytime.
You will never leave hungry
as something is cooking
all the time.
So take up my invitation
and just come on in.
The door is always open
to welcome you.

23 February 2008

poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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You Can Never Go Home

Open the door and adjust my eyes
The concrete streets are as gray as the skies
The wind stings my face and this world just melts away
And it brings me back to another place bur memories are such a waste
You can never go home, you left that world behind
Is this the only place
The only place to go
Are these tired words, the only that we know
The old familiar taste, of the bottle in my hand
Or is this the only place, I can understand
Your whiskey tainted wisdom spills like vomit from your mouth
The world is closing in and I just gotta get out...
Of my head and of this town
Familiar places are bringing me down,
The truth can be hard to swallow
When its spit right in your face.
I just gotta get out
Hay

song performed by by Unseen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Sufi life

Pen in hand, and pensive…
sitting by the open window,
the curtains moving gently in the breeze,
listening to the spontaneous liveliness
of the fountain whose joyful drops
the sunlight plays with as they fall;

catching the scent of a rose
which comes and goes to the nostrils
as if it has its own intentions;

watching the sunlight moving round
the courtyard garden;
remembering with an inward stirring,
it’s the earth which moves…

words passing through the mind;
in this golden stillness, all things
are a metaphor for all else;
it’s beyond the tender tying
into lines of poetry;

just a light touch, these words;
nothing to prove; no-one to convince;
more like a hand unfolded towards life,
an acknowledgement;

as when you join the dervishes in turning,
and as the mind-free centre grows more strong,
more established (for this centre holds) ,
the thoughts spin off…

the poem too, spins off:
one arm upward which remembers,
palm open to receive in wonder;
one arm outward, palm open, offering all to all;
take it, while it’s warm with life.

poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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What Do You Do I Ask

(5/4/12)

What do you do when you feel all hope is gone
And hanging by a thread you linger on.
What do you do when you take three steps forward
And eight steps back, and in life you're always under attack.

What do you do when you have door after door
Slam in your face, and to hide - there is no place.
What do you do when your loved ones have lost faith in you
And you don't know what to do.

What do you do when you pray every day
And the answers don't come your way.

Is this really the time to give up hope
When all your life you learned to cope.
Your dreams don't come when you want
And may never come at all
And to the ground they may fall.

Your dreams may not be what GOD has intended
But in your life, your dreams may be ended.
There may be another path that he wants you to travel
And his answers will all unravel.

Your life is not lived just for yourself
You must touch everyone else.
We are surrounded by millions of people
And each life touching another
And giving hope to so many others.

We can not see what he has in store
But we live with faith as we open the new door.
The door may be something that we don't expect
And it will make our lives better yet.
So open the door and let that radiating light shine through
For this is the light and path that belongs to you.

poem by Louis Rams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Friends?

i am extending my hand
like a door knob of my door

you are here just in front of me
where i am seated
with a rose in my mouth

please open the door
and please take my red rose
with your lips

do not speak any word
let me feast upon your face

your body, your soul
it has been a long time

and my world stopped turning.

poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Open The Door - IV

Mom! Open the door
I have been waiting on the door
It is chilly cold, havn't sufficient clothes
Mom! please open the door

the sun is on head
may i get stroke
Mom! please open the door

Mom! open the door
it is raining cats and dogs
my clothes are fully drenched
Mom! please open the door

Don't be so truculent
I shalt be thy obedient son
Please open the door

poem by Ramesh Rai
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Caress

A caress can be the simple touch
A friendly squeeze of one’s shoulder

Can also mean so very much
When caress becomes a bit bolder

A caress can be a gentle tug
On tresses spread cross shoulder

A warm reassurance that all is well
When all else seems to grow colder

A contact of comfort to a wee girl child
With love from the mum that holds her

Just the simple touch
of a caring caress,

A squeeze of one’s hand
That Can strengthen the weak

Is what we want and need
No more, …no less

Just a touch on the brow…
A pat on the cheek

Just a kind, warm caress…
As we all grow older

poem by David Whalen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The World Has Changed

The world has changed
Because you left it
I feel your presence
But where are you now?

I know that you are alive
Memories do not descend to the grave
I touch a flower and touch your soul
I talk to you
And you return at dreamtimes.

You are in heaven now
You are in paradise
But where is paradise
My angel, my darling?

Some say the Garden of Eden
Was an island in ancient seas
In Bahrain or Babylon

Others say
Paradise is an inner chamber
On a magic astral plane
On rainbow wings of love.

In enchanted castles of the soul
Flames in every corner
The love of beloved soars
Along corridors it flies elated
The rhapsody of spheres.

And when night falls
In gentle harmony
The golden door of dreams opens
And we walk together again
Hand in hand.

poem by Paul Hartal
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Nothing I Do Tells Me The Sadness I Am/ Like The Poems I Have Not Written

Nothing I do tells me the sadness I am
Like the poems I have not written
The love I have not had
The great life yearning beyond my hands
All that I have done
Turning and turning in this life
Comes back to the place
Where all are alone
I would have known about the grave long ago
But I was young then
The true poems are poems of life
And only the chosen of God can write them
As I could not.

poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Reach Out & Touch

(nickolas ashford/valerie simpson)
Reach out and touch
Somebodys hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
Reach out and touch
Somebodys hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
(just try)
Take a little time out of your busy day
To give encouragement
To someone whos lost the way
(just try)
Or would I be talking to a stone
If I asked you
To share a problem thats not your own
We can change things if we start giving
Why dont you
Reach out and touch
Somebodys hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
Reach out and touch
Somebodys hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
(just try)
If you see an old friend on the street
And hes down
Remember his shoes could fit your feet
(just try)
Try a little kindness youll see
Its something that comes very naturally
We can change things if we start giving
Why dont you
Reach out and touch
Why dont you (why dont you)
Reach out and touch somebodys hand
Reach out and touch
Somebodys hand
Make this world a better place
If you can
Reach out and touch
Somebodys hand
Make this world a better place
If you can