A New Simile
IN THE MANNER OF SWIFT
LONG had I sought in vain to find
A likeness for the scribbling kind;
The modern scribbling kind, who write
In wit, and sense, and nature's spite:
Till reading, I forget what day on,
A chapter out of Tooke's Pantheon,
I think I met with something there,
To suit my purpose to a hair;
But let us not proceed too furious,
First please to turn to god Mercurius;
You'll find him pictur'd at full length
In book the second, page the tenth:
The stress of all my proofs on him I lay,
And now proceed we to our simile.
Imprimis, pray observe his hat,
Wings upon either side--mark that.
Well! what is it from thence we gather?
Why these denote a brain of feather.
A brain of feather! very right,
With wit that's flighty, learning light;
Such as to modern bard's decreed:
A just comparison,--proceed.
In the next place, his feet peruse,
Wings grow again from both his shoes;
Design'd, no doubt, their part to bear,
And waft his godship through the air;
And here my simile unites,
For in a modern poet's flights,
I'm sure it may be justly said,
His feet are useful as his head.
Lastly, vouchsafe t'observe his hand,
Filled with a snake-encircl'd wand;
By classic authors term'd caduceus,
And highly fam'd for several uses.
To wit--most wond'rously endu'd,
No poppy water half so good;
For let folks only get a touch,
Its soporific virtue's such,
Though ne'er so much awake before,
That quickly they begin to snore.
Add too, what certain writers tell,
With this he drives men's souls to hell.
Now to apply, begin we then;
His wand's a modern author's pen;
The serpents round about it twin'd
Denote him of the reptile kind;
Denote the rage with which he writes,
His frothy slaver, venom'd bites;
An equal semblance still to keep,
Alike too both conduce to sleep.
This diff'rence only, as the god
Drove souls to Tart'rus with his rod,
With his goosequill the scribbling elf,
Instead of others, damns himself.
And here my simile almost tript,
Yet grant a word by way of postscript.
Moreover, Merc'ry had a failing:
Well! what of that? out with it--stealing;
In which all modern bards agree,
Being each as great a thief as he:
But ev'n this deity's existence
Shall lend my simile assistance.
Our modern bards! why what a pox
Are they but senseless stones and blocks?
poem by Oliver Goldsmith
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Modern Dancing
Modern, modern, modern, modern dancing
Modern dancing, modern dancing
Modern dancing, modern
I see you acting modernly with the boys and girls
Exposure breeds discovery in the modern world
The 60's hairdos 90's eyes are just flashing lights
A touch of neon hinting class for the modern night
Modern dancing, modern dancing
Modern dancing, modern dancing
Dancing
Modern dancing, modern dancing
Modern dancing, modern
Mono vision tv face and determined eyes
The clothes are perfect the rips in place just the perfect size
Familiarity breeds contempt but it doesn't show
We've heard the music times before but it still makes you go
Modern dancing, modern dancing
Modern dancing, modern dancing
Modern dancing, dancing
....variations to fade....
song performed by by Men Without Hats
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Modern Age
Well I found a road and off I sped
I met a man with no little toe and a real big head
Though I did not speak somehow I said
Where are you from? He said the modern age
And where are you from? I said the modern age
On the shore by the sea that was still lathering
I met a man in the business of hunting and gathering
Somehow we understood each other's blathering
And he said where are you from? I said the modern age
And where are you from? He said the modern age
Stopped at a light in my car
I asked the next car how they are
They say that we are fine and how are you?
I say that I am fine and thank you
I'm feeling fine in the modern age
Driving around in the modern age
Driving around in the modern age
song performed by by Frank Black
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Modern Day
I stand up for my pride
I dont wanna be just like anyone
In this world I cannot hide
I must finish what I have begun
Thats the way I play
In the modern day
cause I wanna stay
In the modern day
Got a picture in my mind
Of the way that I wanna be
So I search until I find
The power inside of me
Its another phase
Of the modern day
Gotta face up to this life
Cant let it get the best of me
So I make a sacrifice
If thats the way it has to be
Im doin what I feel is right
Im ready if I need to fight
In the modern way
In the modern day
Gotta face up to this life
Cant let it get the best of me
If I make a sacrifice
Thats the way it has to be
Like a motor in overdrive
I feel good and I feel alive
I got no need to beg or borrow
Got a shortcut to tomorrow
And Im on my way
To the modern day
Got a lot to say
In the modern day
cause I need to stay
In the modern day
In the modern day
song performed by by Foreigner
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Modern Cinderella
I'm a modern Cinderella.
I wish I was more like Twighlight's Bella.
But i'm locked away.
It's like that everyday.
I'm the modern Cinderella.
I wish I was the Enchanted Ella.
My family wants to get rid of me.
This no one really sees.
I'm the Modern Cinderella.
Never mind Bella.
I'm meeting you for the very first time.
This the day I challenge my self to sing 'The Climb.'
I'm the modern Cinderella
Never mind Ella.
We feel in love at first sight.
Now the clock strikes midnight.
I'm the modern Cinderella.
Never the orginal.
Never mind Bella.
Never mind Ella.
I don't run in flight.
I'm prepared to fight.
I'm the modern Cinderella.
See me as I am.
See the real me.
Not the person I pretened to be.
I'm the modern Cinderella.
Nothing like the original.
Not like Bella.
Not like Ella.
Now i've found my modern Prince.
I am me.
I'm the Modern Cinderella....
poem by Desiree Bradford
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Ode to the Modern Work-Man
O, wretched modern work-man
The years, they pass you by
Everything you believe
Is nothing but a lie.
O, wretched modern work-man
From your neckties to your socks
You’re nothing but a slave
To pictures in a box.
O, wretched modern work-man
You live for the Public Eye
Your life is but a parody
Whose foundation is a lie.
O, wretched modern work-man
You strive, and save, and yearn
To keep up with the Kamaus
Spending more than you earn.
O, wretched modern work-man
You’re nothing but a slave
Your dreams are dead and buried
Lying in a shallow grave.
O, wretched modern work-man
You strangled your own dreams
You smothered your own happiness
Your hand stifled its screams.
O, wretched modern work-man
For the camera so aesthetic
Beneath the plastic smile
You’re pitiful and pathetic.
O, wretched modern work-man
You work yourself half to death
Chasing pounds and shillings
To swell another’s wealth.
O, wretched modern work-man
You lived your whole life as a show
Yet the only Watcher who mattered
Didn’t like what He saw.
O, wretched modern work-man
When you finally died
Your surname, and hospital bill
Were all you left behind…
Critique Of Poetry
A poem is a sorry thing,
Not fit for reading to a king:
It’s often full of silly rhymes
That waste a lot of people’s times.
But modern poets can’t rhyme at all,
Which really is abominable;
Their rhythm quickly gets all out of whack,
Because I guess it just seems like for rhythm and rhyme they don’t have the necessary knack.
Phrases created on demand
Which nobody can understand,
Like wool that's thrown across a fence
And stirred until it is quite dense.
Syntax gets twisted out of shape
Not unlike a grinning ape -
Examples which of, I think cannot,
So, yet to learn have I a lot.
Poems do not make much sense
When talking of abstract sentiments
Or waffle philosophical
On subjects what ain’t topical.
A poem can be so abstruse
It makes you feel you’re quite obtuse;
You scratch your head until it’s sore,
And still can’t follow any more.
So poets often write of love,
Usually rhymed with “heaven above”,
Neither of which they know about -
But mostly they are not found out.
And many a poet is a bore
With simile and metaphor
That fill up many an empty line
With silly thoughts like yours and mine.
A simile is like a ball
(Or maybe not - I can’t recall) ,
Or like a man who runs around
And never seems to touch the ground.
A metaphor’s a stranger’s child,
And so to you it might seem wild;
But just when you think, “This is rum! ”
It up and bites you in the part of the anatomy on which a homo sapiens normally sits.
Now, if you think you’ve got my drift,
Then you have a very special gift,
‘Cause I can’t understand myself -
So, best to leave me on the shelf!
poem by Rory Hudson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Modern World
The alarm goes off, another monday morning
Just one more time you wake up in this mess
And baby it scares you but you catch yourself
You do whatever you do to face the test
I know you feel alone in this great big world machine
Its crazy, but maybe theres a soul somewhere out there
Whos just like you now what are you waiting for
Baby dont mourn what might have been
Heres the only world were living in
This is the modern world, this is the modern world
This is the modern world, and this is all its going to be
Living in the modern world
Yeah, the telephone rings, another faceless caller
Youre not a soul youre just a number
Youre looking at families living on the street
Where mama cant buy her baby enough to eat
We all feel alone, in this great big world machine
But baby, just maybe listen to your heart
I dont know just what youre waiting for
Cause baby heres just where you begin
In the only world were living in
This is the modern world, this is the modern world
This is the modern world, and this is all its going to be,
Living in the modern world
song performed by by Rick Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Modern Poets And Modern Poetry
Modern poets and modern poetry seem far too complex to understand
For such as I a common labourer from the boglands of Ireland
Though whether it be good or not so it is not for me to say
As I'm not a poetry critic and so I'll keep my tongue at bay.
Maybe some of these modern poets are special and the poems they write are great
And maybe they are superior thinkers writing from exalted state
Most poetical critics now acclaim them and prefer the modern style
And 'twould seem that modern style poets are now the in thing and their efforts seem worthwhile.
But for me it's old style ballad, give me good old fashioned rhyme
To the modern style of poetry I'd prefer it every time
Like I say I'm just a labourer from the boglands of Ireland
And the complex modern style of poetry is far too hard for me to understand.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dragons Teeth.
We know: We’ve seen it all before.
Devastation, desolation
the aftermath of modern war.
Although it shocks us to the core
It recalls to our attention.
We know: we’ve seen it all before.
We have chosen to ignore
Lack of valid information
The aftermath of modern war
To us it’s just another chore
needing little explanation.
We know: We’ve seen it all before
There is no way we can
restore any kind of cultivation.
The after math of modern war.
Still danger lies for evermore
unexploded ammunition.
The aftermath of modern war.
We know: We’ve seen it all before.
Sunday,28 November 2010
http: // blog.myspace.com/poeticpiers
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Modern Girl
Shes a modern girl
Out to rule the world
And nothing can stop her now
She knows what she wants
And shes out to get it
Shes a modern girl
Life is hard in a midlands town
For a girl with her head in the clouds
Everybody puts her down
Shes just one of the crowd
She finds it aint easy
To stand on her own two feet
It aint easy
She knows this time she wont be beat
Shes a modern girl
Out to rule the world
And nothing can stop her now
She knows what she wants
And shes out to get it
Shes a modern girl
Now its time for her to find
The way its always been
Love is just a word to her
Another broken dream
She finds it aint easy
To stand on her own two feet
It aint easy
She knows this time she wont be beat
Shes a modern girl
Out to rule the world
And nothing can stop her now
She knows what she wants
And shes out to get it
Shes a modern girl
[instrumental]
She finds it aint easy
To stand on her own two feet
It aint easy
She knows this time she wont be beat
Shes a modern girl
Out to rule the world
And nothing can stop her now
She knows what she wants
And shes out to get it
Shes a modern girl
Shes a modern girl
Out to rule the world
And nothing can stop her now
She knows what she wants
And shes out to get it
Shes a modern girl
Shes a modern girl
Out to rule the world
And nothing can stop her now
She knows what she wants
And shes out to get it
Shes a modern girl
[fade]
song performed by by Rick Astley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Modern Eyes
She know you bad
You don't sing songs of love
She treats you right, she treats you like a web of love
You know who's of the heart, her notions of societies
You belong to know and just like our sophiaties
[Chorus:]
Modern eyes
Modern eyes, to see what you want to see
Modern eyes
Modern eyes, she'll paint you with the modern eyes
What you look for in people is not hard to recognize
Black man, white man, short man
They're all the same in size
You breath the air, you feel the sea and the sand and the skies
When nighttime comes you blind men with modern eyes
[Repeat chorus]
She'll paint you with the hupskin on
She'll paint you with the fire in your eyes
She'll paint you with the modern eyes
[Repeat chorus]
song performed by by Toto
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Make it new is the message not just of modern art but of modern consumerism, of which modern art is largely a mirror image.
quote by Christopher Lasch
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Modern Art
I’m not sure how I should start
To write a poem on modern art.
It leaves me in a quandary
It holds no real appeal for me.
I don’t dismiss it out hand
I really try to understand.
What modern artists try to do.
I know it’s different for you.
It is quite true I realise
I’m not equipped to criticise
I prefer to feast my eyes
On something I can recognise.
Modern art just baffles me
I don’t know what it’s meant to be.
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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It is a Modern day, and these times need Modern solutions to Modern problems.
quote by Corin Nemec
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Post-Modern Poetry
The post-modern poem is the poet's surprise-
It has no agenda but its own interpretation-
It reads the ‘expressive I' as an infinite longing of the soul
To know and be known-
It writes out of many different places
But finds it difficult to call one its home-
It has many names and voices
But none speaks with an authoritative rhythm -
It is only its own alone home
And so I writing it know
It will not be found in me by those who write it as their own-
Chaos, perhaps, is its signature,
And loss of all the ancient rhythms and forms-
It wants to wander where it will as it does -
But I, I thinking back to what we were
And remembering years of reading others
Know too its voices are many even within the single self-
There is no ‘modern' anymore and no ‘post- modern' either
In the age where everything is accessible
And all is easily found and communicated
The single soul's signature cannot mean a name is real -
Only where all effort is and fails
Only where nobody really is
Only where many write and no one can really read
Perhaps beyond this
Beyond post- modern poetry
This poem too will teach Poetry how to live.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Modern Love
I'm here to keep your lonely nights away
cheek to cheek I dance with you today
And the closer I get, the more I'm obsessed by you
And the further I go, the more I'm obsessed by you
You know that I meant what I said
I wanna see you from above
I wanna be left on the dancefloor
I wanna be the modern love
I'm here to keep your loneliness away
I'll be your drained lover if I may
And the further I go, the more I'm possessed by you
And the closer I get, the more I'm possessed by you
You know that I meant what I said
I wanna see you from above
I wanna be left on the dancefloor
I wanna be the modern love
The modern love
Drag me through the masses by the stage
erotic temptations within range
And the closer we get, the more you're obsessed by me
And the further we go, the more you're obsessed by me
You know that I meant what I said
I wanna see you from above
I wanna be left in the dancehall
I wanna be the modern love
The modern love
The modern love
I wanna be your modern love
The modern love
I wanna be your modern love
I'm the modern love
song performed by by Yvonne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Modern Way Of Letting Go
If I know, what I know, then no one will watch over you
So someone shouldn't really tell me what I want to know
I know, I owe, and I know that matters don't matter as much
As you think they do
You will only be yourself
When you can never be yourself
And you will only be yourself
When you understand what you know
How long, will we go on with a modern way of letting go,
tell me how long will we go on with the modern way of letting you go?
If I know, what I know, losing isn't learning to be lost
It's learning to know when you're lost
If I know, what I know,
I'll want to make the most of what it seems like
You will only be yourself
You can never be yourself
And you will only be yourself
When you understand what you know
How long, will we go on with a modern way of letting you go,
tell me how long will we go on with the modern way of letting you go?
song performed by by Idlewild
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Modern Dance
Maybe I should go and live in amsterdam
In a side street near a big canal
Spend my evenings in the van gogh museum
What a dream, van gogh museum
Maybe its time to see tangiers
A different life-style, some different fears
And maybe I should be in edinburgh
In a kilt in edinburgh
Doin a modern dance
Doin a modern dance
Or maybe I should get a farm in southern france
Where the winds are wispy and the villagers dance
And you and I wed sleep beneath a moon
Moon in june and sleep till noon
And maybe you and I could fall in love
Regain the spirit that we once had
Youd let me hold you and touch the night
That shines so bright, so bright with fright
Doin a modern dance
Doin a modern dance
Shit, maybe I could go to yucatan
Where women are women, a mans a man
Ah, no one confused, ever loses place
With their place in the human race
Maybe Im not cut out for city life
The smell of exhaust, the smell of strife
And maybe you dont wanna be a wife
Its not a life being a wife
Doin a modern dance
Doin a modern dance
So maybe I should go to tanganyika
Where the rivers run, down mountains tall and steep
Or go to india to study chants
And lose romance to a mantras dance
I need a guru, I need some law
Explain to me the things we saw
Why it always comes to this
Its all downhill after the first kiss
Maybe I should move to rotterdam
Maybe move to amsterdam
I should move to ireland, italy, spain
Afghanistan where there is no rain
Or maybe I should just learn a modern dance
Where roles are shifting the modern dance
You never touch you dont know who youre with
This week, this month, this time of year
This week, this month, this time of year
Doin a modern dance
You dont know who youre with modern dance
I should move to pakistan, go to afghanistan
Dance, you dont know who youre with
Dance, you dont know who youre with
Modern dance
And maybe you dont wanna be a wife
Its not life being a wife
Doin a modern dance
You never touch you dont know who youre with
Dance, modern dance
The roles are shifting dance
You never touch you dont know who youre with
Dance, modern dance
Maybe you dont wanna be a wife
Its not a life being a wife
song performed by by Lou Reed
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lines Written For Insertion In A Collection Of Handwritings And Signatures Made By Miss Patty
In vain to live from age to age
While modern bards endeavour,
I write my name in Patty's page,
And gain my point for ever.
poem by William Cowper
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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When I want to dissect a modern problem, I actually find many similar problems in ancient days. In fact, without the many outer layers of so-called modern civilization, the themes I find in old stories are more clear-cut. They are so visible and extreme. I am not saying that all historical eras are similar to today. But by using a comprehensible social structure such as we had in the past, it is much easier for me to convey or re-create modern situations.
Kaneto Shindo in Voices from the Japanese Cinema (1975)
Submitted by Simona Enache
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