The Harpooner
He told me over the deck to call him
Whenever there was a theatre of war;
A whale may inhibit me at times,
It is caretaker of the voyage home.
Another ship can be brought to buy
The slaves and jewellery and fuel.
Clear and contrasting was the report,
Idle chatter beamed on the people of the port,
People had the answers to questions they quoted.
The harpooner came on deck
And was in evidence.
poem by Naveed Akram
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Related quotes
O Captain! My Captain!
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
poem by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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Jonah
Jonah was God’s special prophet;
One stormy day a whale he met.
He had run far, far, far away,
From where he was to be that day.
He had went on a old tough ship
That was now by big waves whipped
But he was tired as the storm broke
And went and snuggled in his cloak
So down in the old ship he slept
While the others on the ship wept
Captain came down him to awake
Call on your god for your own sake
They would cast lots to see just why
The gods wanted them all to die
Up on the deck they cast the lot
Who’s fault was it for what they got?
Then on Jonah the lot did fall
And then and there he told them all
He told them why all was not well
He cried Throw me in the sea swell
So up and out they threw him in
And all at once the storm did dim
But in the sea Jonah did swim
And a fish came swallowing him
In a big fish three days and nights
So dark, slimy, and with no light
So deep down in there he did pray
That God would pardon his wrong way
That fish spat him on the dry land
Onto the soft, hot desert sand
To Nineveh he quickly went
To now do just as God had sent
poem by Joses Tirtabudi
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Casabianca
Love's the boy stood on the burning deck
trying to recite `The boy stood on
the burning deck.' Love's the son
stood stammering elocution
while the poor ship in flames went down.
Love's the obstinate boy, the ship,
even the swimming sailors, who
would like a schoolroom platform, too,
or an excuse to stay
on deck. And love's the burning boy.
poem by Elizabeth Bishop
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Lost At Sea
Lost At Sea
It was a quiet night when I woke up in the small cabin I shared with
the other deck-boy. The porthole was open and brought a welcoming
cooling breeze and I fell asleep again wondering idly what the other
deck boy was up to. He was missed at eight o’clock by, the time his
watch began, the ship turned around and on the enormous sun sparkly
mirror, we looked for him. We knew this was hopeless but something
had to be written in the ship’s logbook.
His name was Terje, a puny little boy who cried a lot when shouted
at and therefore was an easy target to make fun of by the crew.
His steady masturbation had gone on my nerves, mostly because
he dried his fluid on the curtain that covered each bunk for privacy.
Crew, silent for a few days, feeling guilty for teasing him, I too felt
a nip of guilt I enjoyed having the cabin by myself, when we docked
in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Terje was all but forgotten.
poem by Oskar Hansen
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Waving to moments passing by
Moments happy moments
people think about them
people write about them
people talk about them
people hope about them
I see moments
lots of moments
but I wave to my moments
as they pass me by...
My life is a ship
on an Ocean deep
passing by is the ship 'Could've been'
it holds all my moments in its keep
I stand on my lifes deck
waving to moments till they're just a speck
Moments happy moments
people live them
people grab them
people make them
people savour them
but I wave to my moments
as they pass me by...
Goodbye 'Could've been'
Goodbye moments...
poem by Michelle Melody
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Viewpoint
some people said I was crazy
And some people said I was lazy
And some people said I was on course
For a fully fledged 'divorce'
Until I said 'listen, I'm not married'
Some people said I was always carried
By other people with as much emotional baggage
Some people said I looked like a cabbage
And some people said I was as BIG AS A HOUSE
Some people said I was as quiet as a mouse
And some people said I should get a life
some people said I was a pain in the neck
And some people said they felt the pain
And some people who salvaged the wreck
Abandoned the deck
Broadcasting the ship would sink
And some people of the same clan
Disconnected their phone
Leaving me to ponder on my own
About all that they had said
And all their words fell silent
And suddenly dead.....
After so much defintion
I chose life instead
yvette smith march 09
poem by Yvette Smith
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Christmas
They're singing 'Deck the Halls'
But it's not like Christmas at all
I remember when you were here
And all the fun that we had last year
The snow's coming down
Now I'm watching it fall
All the people around
Baby please come home
The church bells in town
All ringing in song
Full of happy sounds
Baby please come home
They're singing 'Deck the Halls'
But it's not like Christmas at all
I remember when you were here
And all the fun that we had last year
Now the snow's coming down
Now I'm watching it fall
Lot's of people around
Baby please come home
(won't you please, oh)
They're singing 'Deck the Halls'
But it's not like Christmas at all
I remember when you were here
And all the fun that we had last year
The snow's coming down
Now I'm watching it fall
All the people around
Baby ,baby, baby please come home
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
Now I'm feeling all alone
Oh the snow's coming down
Now I'm watching it fall...
song performed by by Hanson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Christmas
It's Christmas
Baby, please come home
(Yeah!)
The snow's coming down
I'm watching it fall
Watching the people around
Baby please come home
The churchbells in town
They're rining a song
What a happy sound
Baby please come home
Theyr'e singing deck the halls
But it's not like Christmas at all
I remember when you were here
And all the fun we had last year
Pretty lights on the tree
I'm watching 'em shine
You should be here with me
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
They're singing deck the halls
But it's not like Christmas at all
I remember when you were here
And all the fun we had last year
If there was a way
I'd hold back these tears
But it's Christmas day
Baby please come home
Ohh...
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
Ohh...
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
song performed by by U2
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Salty Dog
'all hands on deck, we've run afloat!' i heard the captain cry
'explore the ship, replace the cook: let no one leave alive!'
Across the straits, around the horn: how far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course, and no one left alive
We sailed for parts unknown to man, where ships come home to die
No lofty peak, nor fortress bold, could match our captain's eye
Upon the seventh seasick day we made our port of call
A sand so white, and sea so blue, no mortal place at all
We fired the gun, and burnt the mast, and rowed from ship to shore
The captain cried, we sailors wept: our tears were tears of joy
Now many moons and many junes have passed since we made land
A salty dog, this seaman's log: your witness my own hand
song performed by by Styx
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Its christmas
Baby, please come home
(yeah!)
The snows coming down
Im watching it fall
Watching the people around
Baby please come home
The churchbells in town
Theyre rining a song
What a happy sound
Baby please come home
Theyre singing deck the halls
But its not like christmas at all
I remember when you were here
And all the fun we had last year
Pretty lights on the tree
Im watching em shine
You should be here with me
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
Theyre singing deck the halls
But its not like christmas at all
I remember when you were here
And all the fun we had last year
If there was a way
Id hold back these tears
But its christmas day
Baby please come home
Ohh...
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
Ohh...
Baby please come home
Baby please come home
song performed by by U2
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Living In China
They got the red book, they got the new look
All the little people that are living in china
They got the answers to all the questions
All the little people that are living in china
The solution is revolution
For all of the little people that are living in china
They got ping pong egg foo yung
For all the little people that are living in china
What would chairman mao say, if he knew what theyre doing to his wife today
What did china do? she ordered out for submarines instead of chinese food
China fields of rice, modern man no longer evil hes a paradise
What did the chairman want?
A great big wall they could all watch orientals on
They got the red book, they got the new look
The little people that are living in china
They got the answers to all the questions
The little people that are living in china
The solution is revolution
For all the little people that are living in china
They got ping pong egg foo yung
All the little people that are living in china
What would chairman mao say
If he knew what his people think of him today
Revolution is out of hand
The gang of four, trying to make it as a western band
China, what do you need
Youve got everything from your scruffy head to dirty feet
China you want to dance
Youre wearing makeup and listening to adam and the ants
They got the new look, they got the red book,
All the little people that are living in china
They got the answers to all the questions
All the little people that are living in china
The solution is revolution
For all the little people that are living in china
They got ping pong egg foo yung
The little people that are living in china
The solution is revolution
They got the answers to all the questions
All the little people that are living in china
China, living in china
China, living in china
China, living in china
song performed by by Men Without Hats
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Atlantic
The Atlantic
Thought I was over it now, the call that is my destiny;
twice I have tried to be a part of the sea,
but I failed swam to the surface inhaling life giving air.
I have moved inland, far from the sea,
where there is a puny lake and it dries up in June.
I have no son or daughter that will visit me
at the old people’s home.
No one to fuzz over me tell me not to smoke or waiting for me to go.
The sea is my friend.
My youth was spent there, alone at night standing on the deck,
of a ship, talking to the ocean, listening to its warm hum;
I resisted wanted more of life I think.
I have been wrong now that I’m old and have lost my dignity,
holding on to life when every
stab of pain tells me I’m there.
The sea has retreated I know it waits for me to know when it
is time to go home.
poem by Oskar Hansen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Ship Of Earth.
'Thou Ship of Earth, with Death, and Birth, and Life, and Sex aboard,
And fires of Desires burning hotly in the hold,
I fear thee, O! I fear thee, for I hear the tongue and sword
At battle on the deck, and the wild mutineers are bold!
'The dewdrop morn may fall from off the petal of the sky,
But all the deck is wet with blood and stains the crystal red.
A pilot, GOD, a pilot! for the helm is left awry,
And the best sailors in the ship lie there among the dead!'
poem by Sidney Lanier
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Christmas
- P. Spector - J. Barry - E. Greenwich -
(Christmas)
The snow's coming down
(Christmas)
I'm watching it fall
(Christmas)
Lots of people around
(Christmas)
Baby please come home
(Christmas)
The church bells in town
(Christmas)
All ringing in song
(Christmas)
Full of happy sounds
(Christmas)
Baby please come home
They're singing 'Deck The Halls'
But it's not like Christmas at all
Cuz I remember when you were here
And all the fun we had last year
(Christmas)
Pretty lights on the tree
(Christmas)
I'm watching them shine
(Christmas)
You should be here with me
(Christmas)
Baby please come home
They're singing 'Deck The Halls'
But it's not like Christmas at all
Cuz I remember when you were here
And all the fun we had last year
(Christmas)
If there was a way
(Christmas)
I'd hold back this tear
(Christmas)
But it's Christmas day
(Please)
Please
(Please)
Please
(Please)
Please
(Please)
Please
Baby please come home
(Christmas)
Baby please come home
(Christmas)
Baby please come home
(Christmas)
Baby please come home
song performed by by Mariah Carey
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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More Questions Than Answers
There are wars around us daily and the world sleeps,
But read your Bible always to know the facts about all these prophesies!
For there are more questions than answers on this earth,
And like a red mark on the foreheads of mankind.
Of hope in life,
Of power in the name of war,
Of love to the people we care for,
Of faith on the journey on this earth,
And of a sound mind in the land of roses;
But there are more questions than answers on this earth.
Beside the service of two,
Elias came as a surprise to us! !
And like the prophecy that is known to you;
But there are more questions than answers on this earth.
Captured by various lusts,
But we brought nothing to the world and we will take away nothing out of it!
And like our tears after the bombs,
But there are more questions on this earth than answers.
Bombs everywhere! !
And like the corpses after the wars;
But in youthful lusts with green-uniforms like the flesh and blood as seen in Ivory Coast and in Libya!
And the world sleeps because of its many problems.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Threats To Keep A People In Grief
How can we seek solutions...
When our denials love to bask,
In a pleasing done by deceit.
How can we non-fictionalize our lives,
When fiction is all we seek.
How can we ever expect to accept the truth,
When none of it is believed.
And how is a greatness once perceived,
So willing to feed decadence...
And allow conflict and division succeed.
All of these may be questions!
But the opportunity to answer them,
Become threats to keep a people in grief.
Threats to keep a people in grief.
'Why no one answers them? '
They're threats to keep a people in grief!
'Why? '
They're threats to keep a people in grief!
Threats to keep a people in grief.
'Why no one answers them? '
They're threats to keep a people in grief!
'Why? '
Threats to keep a people in grief.
'Why no one answers them? '
They're threats to keep a people in grief!
'Why? '
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Why not to be true?
I was much delighted to see
You come to work expecting me
As I came there longing for you.
I was resonated to feel
You suppressed the tempting answers
To the questions I intended to put.
When we had a tryst to converse,
We beamed to have conveyed the sense
Through the nonsense of our talks.
We don’t call our relation love
But others call it a scandal.
Then, why not to be true to them?
19.03.2008
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
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Welcome Onboard
Welcome onboard
I don’t care to read of other people dreams it has nothing to do with
me, so I will tell you a real story. The day after my anniversary I walked
along the docks of Faro saw a sign, a cargo ship needed a chief steward.
I walked up the gangway, spoke to the captain and got the job.
On deck when the provision arrived; I was in charge just like before.
The captain came he looked baffled; according to my passport I was 73
and far too old to join a ship. The master thanked me, getting victuals
onboard signing for them and getting the food stuff safely stored.
The ship left without me but her captain saluted me, it was raining no
one saw my tears. Whatever I do these days even driving a car there are
people telling me I’m too old. Yet in Japan their oldest porno star, a man
of 77 and still working, so why will they not let me go back to sea again?
poem by Oskar Hansen
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Greenland Whale Fisheries
[the pogues version]
------------------------------------------
In eighteen hundred and forty-six
And of march the eighteenth day,
We hoisted our colors to the top of the mast
And for greenland sailed away, brave boys,
And for greenland sailed away.
The lookout in the crosstrees stood
With spyglass in his hand;
Theres a whale, theres a whale,
And a whalefish he cried
And she blows at every span, brave boys
She blows at every span.
The captain stood on the quarter deck,
The ice was in his eye;
Overhaul, overhaul! let your gibsheets fall,
And youll put your boats to sea, brave boys
And youll put your boats to sea.
Our harpoon struck and the line played out,
With a single flourish of his tail,
He capsized the boat and we lost five men,
And we did not catch the whale, brave boys,
And we did not catch the whale.
The losing of those five jolly men,
It grieved the captain sore,
But the losing of that fine whalefish
Now it grieved him ten times more, brave boys
Now it grieved him ten times more.
Oh greenland is a barren land
A land that bares no green
Where theres ice and snow, and the whalefishes blow
And the daylights seldom seen, brave boys
And the daylights seldom seen.
[greenland fisheries]
------------------------------------------------
twas in eighteen hundred and fifty-three
And of june the thirteenth day,
That our gallant ship her anchor weighed,
And for greenland bore away, brave boys,
And for greenland bore away.
The lookout in the crosstrees stood
With spyglass in his hand;
Theres a whale, theres a whale,
Theres whalefish he cried
And she blows at every span, brave boys
She blows at every span.
The captain stood on the quarter deck,
And a fine little man was he;
Overhaul, overhaul! let your davit tackles fall,
And launch your boats for sea, brave boys
And launch your boats for sea.
Now the boats were launched and the men aboard,
And the whale was full in view.
Resolved was each seaman bold
To steer where the whalefish blew, brave boys
To steer where the whalefish blew.
We stuck the whale the line paid out,
But she gave a flourish with her tail,
The boat capsized and four men were drowned,
And we never caught that whale, brave boys,
And we never caught that whale.
To lose the whale, our captain said,
It grieves my heart full sore,
But oh! to lose (those) four gallant men
It grieves me ten times more, brave boys
It grieves me ten times more.
The winter star doth now appear,
So, boys well anchor weight;
Its time to leave this cold country
And homeward bear away, brave boys
And homeward bear away.
Oh greenland is a dreadful place
A land thats never green
Where theres ice and snow, and the whalefishes blow
And the daylights seldom seen brave boys
But the daylights seldom seen.
song performed by by Pogues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To Mother
In the old Strauss waltz for the first time
We had listened to your quiet call,
Since then all the living things are alien
And the knocking of the clock consoles.
We, like you, are gladly greeting sunsets,
And are drunk on nearness of the end.
All, with which on better nights we're wealthy
Is put in the hearts by your own hand.
Bowing to a child's dreams with no tire.
(Only crescent looked in them indeed
Without you)! You have led your kids past
Bitter lifetime of the thoughts and deeds.
From the early age the sad one's close to us,
Laughter bores and home we left behind..
Our ship not in good times left the harbor
And it sails by will of every wind!
Azure isle of childhood is paling,
On the deck of ship we stand alone.
It appears, oh mother, to your daughters
You've left an inheritance of woe.
poem by Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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