To John Greenleaf Whittier
ON HIS EIGHTIETH BIRTHDAY
1887
FRIEND, whom thy fourscore winters leave more dear
Than when life's roseate summer on thy cheek
Burned in the flush of manhood's manliest year,
Lonely, how lonely! is the snowy peak
Thy feet have reached, and mine have climbed so near!
Close on thy footsteps 'mid the landscape drear
I stretch my hand thine answering grasp to seek,
Warm with the love no rippling rhymes can speak!
Look backward! From thy lofty height survey
Thy years of toil, of peaceful victories won,
Of dreams made real, largest hopes outrun!
Look forward! Brighter than earth's morning ray
Streams the pure light of Heaven's unsetting sun,
The unclouded dawn of life's immortal day!
poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Forever
THOSE we love truly never die,
Though year by year the sad memorial wreath,
A ring and flowers, types of life and death,
Are laid upon their graves.
For death the pure life saves,
And life all pure is love; and love can reach
From heaven to earth, and nobler lessons teach
Than those by mortals read.
Well blest is he who has a dear one dead:
A friend he has whose face will never change—
A dear communion that will not grow strange;
The anchor of a love is death.
The blessed sweetness of a loving breath
Will reach our cheek all fresh through weary years.
For her who died long since, ah! waste not tears,
She's thine unto the end.
Thank God for one dead friend,
With face still radiant with the light of truth,
Whose love comes laden with the scent of youth,
Through twenty years of death.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Return Of Youth
My friend, thou sorrowest for thy golden prime,
For thy fair youthful years too swift of flight;
Thou musest, with wet eyes, upon the time
Of cheerful hopes that filled the world with light,--
Years when thy heart was bold, thy hand was strong,
And quick the thought that moved thy tongue to speak,
And willing faith was thine, and scorn of wrong
Summoned the sudden crimson to thy cheek.
Thou lookest forward on the coming days,
Shuddering to feel their shadow o'er thee creep;
A path, thick-set with changes and decays,
Slopes downward to the place of common sleep;
And they who walked with thee in life's first stage,
Leave one by one thy side, and, waiting near,
Thou seest the sad companions of thy age--
Dull love of rest, and weariness and fear.
Yet grieve thou not, nor think thy youth is gone,
Nor deem that glorious season e'er could die.
Thy pleasant youth, a little while withdrawn,
Waits on the horizon of a brighter sky;
Waits, like the morn, that folds her wing and hides,
Till the slow stars bring back her dawning hour;
Waits, like the vanished spring, that slumbering bides
Her own sweet time to waken bud and flower.
There shall he welcome thee, when thou shalt stand
On his bright morning hills, with smiles more sweet
Than when at first he took thee by the hand,
Through the fair earth to lead thy tender feet.
He shall bring back, but brighter, broader still,
Life's early glory to thine eyes again,
Shall clothe thy spirit with new strength, and fill
Thy leaping heart with warmer love than then.
Hast thou not glimpses, in the twilight here,
Of mountains where immortal morn prevails?
Comes there not, through the silence, to thine ear
A gentle rustling of the morning gales;
A murmur, wafted from that glorious shore,
Of streams that water banks for ever fair,
And voices of the loved ones gone before,
More musical in that celestial air?
poem by William Cullen Bryant
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Lonely Tear
A lonely tear falls down
A smile turns to frown
Trickles down the cheek
Does not make you weak
A lonely tear escapes
A lifetime of mistakes
A sad and lonely heart
Others broke apart
A lonely tear is dried
So many nights it cried
A friend reached out their hand
And tried to understand
The lonely tear is gone
Life will carry on
With love from a friend
The lonely tears will end
poem by Megan Dugan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Lonely is Just One Word
Lonely is just one word chosen to represent so much
To tell of feelings inside that the senses cannot touch
Lonely can be in the teardrops on a bereaved person’s cheek
Lonely can be in the silence of sorrows too deep to speak
Lonely can haunt a deserted room that Laughter once made proud
Lonely surrounds you when you’re alone or finds you in a crowd
Lonely is heard in echoed footsteps of a departing friend
Lonely penetrates the solitude of nights that will not end
Lonely will not listen to the pleadings of a broken heart
Lonely stays and torments until new Love shatters it apart
poem by Mary Havran
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Lonely Tear
A lonely tear falls down
A smile turns into a frown
Trickles down the cheek
doesn't it make you weak
A lonly tear escapes.
A lifetime of mistakes.
A sad lonely heart
that others broke apart
A lonely tear is dried
So many nights it cried
A friend reached out their hand
And tried to understand
The lonely tear is gone
Life will carry on
With love from a friend
The lonely tears will end
poem by Vanessa Hernandez
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Lonely
Lonely life,
Lonely mind,
Lonely heart,
Lonely love,
Lonely fun,
Lonely work,
Lonely talk,
Lonely thoughts,
Lonely death,
Lonely walk,
Lonely run,
Lonely friend,
Lonely crying,
Lonely recess,
Lonely money,
Lonely health,
Lonely kissing,
Lonely loniness...
poem by Dragon Crenshaw
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
So Lonely
Well someone told me yesterday
That when you throw your love away
You act as if you just dont care
You look as if youre going somewhere
But I just cant convince myself
I couldnt live with no one else
And I can only play that part
And sit and nurse my broken heart
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely
Know no ones knocked upon my door
For a thousand years or more
All made up and no where to go
Welcome to this one man show
Just take a seat theyre always free
No surprise no mystery
In this theatre that I call my soul
I always play the starring role
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
I feel so lonely...
song performed by by Police
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
So Lonely
Well someone told me yesterday
That when you throw your love away
You act as if you just dont care
You look as if youre going somewhere
But I just cant convince myself
I couldnt live with no one else
And I can only play that part
And sit and nurse my broken heart
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely
Know no ones knocked upon my door
For a thousand years or more
All made up and no where to go
Welcome to this one man show
Just take a seat theyre always free
No surprise no mystery
In this theatre that I call my soul
I always play the starring role
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
I feel so lonely...
song performed by by Police
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
We Can Make The Morning
(words & music by j. ramsey)
I just thought I heard a small voice crying
Looked again and saw that it was me
I feel like a little boy denying
That he fears the night cause he cant see
Then a larger thought said stop your crying
Dont be scared to search cause you may find
Fate holds out a candle for your footsteps
Time rolls back the shadows of your mind
Its a long, long lonely night
You can make the morning if you try
Its a long, long lonely night
Oh, we can make the morning if we try
Girl, we can make the morning you and i
Together, together, together
Loneliness is darkness first companion
Spend the night alone and faith may bend
Share it all and see how fear starts fading
Chase away the shadows with a friend
Dawns elusive light is just beginning
Now the day can push away the night
Dreams can make the sun feel much brighter
Hope creates a foothold for the light
Its a long, long lonely night
We can make the morning if we try
Its a long, long lonely night
We can make the morning if we try
Girl, we can make the morning you and i, oh
Together
Its a long, long lonely night
We can make the morning if we try
Its a long, long lonely night
We can make the morning if we try
Its a long, long lonely night
We can make the morning if we try
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Youth And Manhood
Another year! a short one, if it flow
Like that just past,
And I shall stand -- if years can make me so --
A man at last.
Yet, while the hours permit me, I would pause
And contemplate
The lot whereto unalterable laws
Have bound my fate.
Yet, from the starry regions of my youth,
The empyreal height
Where dreams are happiness, and feeling truth,
And life delight --
From that ethereal and serene abode
My soul would gaze
Downward upon the wide and winding road,
Where manhood plays;
Plays with the baubles and the gauds of earth --
Wealth, power, and fame --
Nor knows that in the twelvemonth after birth
He did the same.
Where the descent begins, through long defiles
I see them wind;
And some are looking down with hopeful smiles,
And some are -- blind.
And farther on a gay and glorious green
Dazzles the sight,
While noble forms are moving o'er the scene,
Like things of light.
Towers, temples, domes of perfect symmetry
Rise broad and high,
With pinnacles among the clouds; ah, me!
None touch the sky.
None pierce the pure and lofty atmosphere
Which I breathe now,
And the strong spirits that inhabit there,
Live -- God sees how.
Sick of the very treasure which they heap;
Their tearless eyes
Sealed ever in a heaven-forgetting sleep,
Whose dreams are lies;
And so, a motley, unattractive throng,
They toil and plod,
Dead to the holy ecstasies of song,
To love, and God.
Dear God! if that I may not keep through life
My trust, my truth,
And that I must, in yonder endless strife,
Lose faith with youth;
If the same toil which indurates the hand
Must steel the heart,
Till, in the wonders of the ideal land,
It have no part;
Oh! take me hence! I would no longer stay
Beneath the sky;
Give me to chant one pure and deathless lay,
And let me die!
poem by Henry Timrod
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I Hope
I hope when I take my final breath
it will be in my dreams.
In the country places I used to go,
the woods, meadows and streams.
The summer day is bright and sunny
a light warm breeze cuts the air.
Rippling water echoes against the river bank
as it flows over rocks and long green hair.
I see my parents are sitting close by
on a blanket by the riverside.
My sister and brothers play in the shallows
splashing, and chanting nursery rhymes.
My daughter and sons are also there,
and my grandchildren too.
Everything is like a bygone Sunday afternoon,
so peaceful a memory to take with you.
poem by Orlando Belo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
From The Upland To The Sea
Shall we wake one morn of spring,
Glad at heart of everything,
Yet pensive with the thought of eve?
Then the white house shall we leave,
Pass the wind-flowers and the bays,
Through the garth, and go our ways,
Wandering down among the meads
Till our very joyance needs
Rest at last; till we shall come
To that Sun-god’s lonely home,
Lonely on the hill-side grey,
Whence the sheep have gone away;
Lonely till the feast-time is,
When with prayer and praise of bliss,
Thither comes the country side.
There awhile shall we abide,
Sitting low down in the porch
By that image with the torch:
Thy one white hand laid upon
The black pillar that was won
From the far-off Indian mine;
And my hand nigh touching thine,
But not touching; and thy gown
Fair with spring-flowers cast adown
From thy bosom and thy brow.
There the south-west wind shall blow
Through thine hair to reach my cheek,
As thou sittest, nor mayst speak,
Nor mayst move the hand I kiss
For the very depth of bliss;
Nay, nor turn thine eyes to me.
Then desire of the great sea
Nigh enow, but all unheard,
In the hearts of us is stirred,
And we rise, we twain at last,
And the daffodils downcast,
Feel thy feet and we are gone
From the lonely Sun-Crowned one.
Then the meads fade at our back,
And the spring day ’gins to lack
That fresh hope that once it had;
But we twain grow yet more glad,
And apart no more may go
When the grassy slope and low
Dieth in the shingly sand:
Then we wander hand in hand
By the edges of the sea,
And I weary more for thee
Than if far apart we were,
With a space of desert drear
’Twixt thy lips and mine, O love!
Ah, my joy, my joy thereof!
poem by William Morris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I Leave Thee for Awhile
I leave thee for awhile, my love, I leave thee with a sigh;
The fountain spring within my soul is playing in mine eye;
I do not blush to own the tear,--let, let it touch my cheek,
And what my lip has failed to tell, that drop perchance may speak.
Mavourneen! when again I seek my green isle in the West,
Oh, promise thou wilt share my lot, and set this heart at rest.
I leave thee for awhile, my love; but every hour will be
Uncheered and lonely till the one that brings me back to thee.
I go to make my riches more; but where is man to find
A vein of gold so rich and pure as that I leave behind?
Mavourneen! though my home might be the fairest earth possessed,
Till thou wouldst share and make it warm, this heart would know no rest.
I leave thee for awhile, my love; my cheek is cold and white,
But ah, I see a promise stand within thy glance of light;
When next I seek old, Erin's shore, thy step will bless it too,
And then the grass will seem more green, the sky will have more blue.
Mavourneen! first and dearest loved, there's sunshine in my breast,
For thou wilt share my future lot, and set this heart at rest.
poem by Eliza Cook
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Happy Birthday My Dear Brother
Happy Birthday to you! !
Happy Birthday Brother!
May you be my brother
Every time I am born.
Happy Birthday to you! !
Happy Birthday Brother
You are my Hero,
and my inspiration
You have made me proud Sister
in the entire Universe.
May you keep making me prouder.
Happy Birthday to you! !
Happy Birthday Brother
You have given me the courage,
to dream the most impossible,
and given me the strength,
to fight the greatest disasters,
and win the battle of my Life.
May all the Sisters have a brother like you.
Happy Birthday to you! !
Happy Birthday Brother
You have granted me the opportunity,
to leave the hell,
and live in the heaven,
Happy Birthday to you! !
Happy Birthday Brother
You stole your dreams,
To fulfill your families need.
Yet you reached the top of your aim.
Your victory is a lesson for the ones who,
Give up on their dreams.
Happy Birthday to you! !
Happy Birthday Brother
You have given a little Girl,
a beautiful life,
Without you,
Which might have been just a dream.
poem by Pratisha Karki
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Cheek To Cheek
Irving berlin
Heaven, Im in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When were out together dancing cheek to cheek
Heaven, Im in heaven
And the cares that hung around me through the week
Seem to vanish like a gamblers lucky streak
When were out together dancing cheek to cheek
*:
Oh I love to climb a mountain
And to reach the highest peak
But it doesnt thrill me half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek
Oh I love to go out fishing
In a river or a creek
But I dont enjoy it half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek
**:
Dance with me, I want my arms about you
The charm about you
Will carry me through
To heaven, Im in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When were out together dancing cheek to cheek
(repeat *)
(repeat **)
song performed by by Billie Holiday
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Cheek To Cheek
Heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek
Heaven, I'm in heaven
And the cares that hung around me through the week
Seem to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak
When we're out together dancing (swinging) cheek to cheek
Oh I love to climb a mountain
And reach the highest peak
But it doesn't thrill (boot) me half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek
Oh I love to go out fishing
In a river or a creek
But I don't enjoy it half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek
Now Mamma Dance with me
I want my arm(s) about you
That (Those) charm(s) about you
Will carry me through...
(Right up) To heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing, out together dancing (swinging)
Out together dancing cheek to cheek
song performed by by Louis Armstrong
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Have a Happy Blessed Birthday
Its yo' birthday,
I wanna wish u,
This day, its somehow special,
its yo' birthday,
A remarkable day,
filled with cheer,
smile for today,
hope its fun,
thank God for today,
for today, its a gleeful day,
may u stay and live,
till another years and more birthdays.
Celebrate today,
Enjoy the fullest today,
Butta also some for us,
the dead and gone.
Its yo' birthday,
Happy birthday to you,
Some years back you was brought to this Earth today,
Yo' mum and daddy are,
Great people towards today,
Pray for them.
Grasp that and gift of wishes,
Behold the sky,
Today it's yo' birthday,
And all yours,
I found the birds whistling, singing,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear ma friend,
Happy birthday to you.
Also hope you lite the candles,
For a brighter tomorrow,
Than today.
poem by Kiyaga Lyttle Cephas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Cheek To Cheek
Heaven, Im in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When were out together dancing cheek to cheek
Heaven, Im in heaven
And the cares that hung around me through the week
Seem to vanish like a gamblers lucky streak
When were out together dancing (swinging) cheek to cheek
Oh I love to climb a mountain
And reach the highest peak
But it doesnt thrill (boot) me half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek
Oh I love to go out fishing
In a river or a creek
But I dont enjoy it half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek
(come on and) dance with me
I want my arm(s) about you
That (those) charm(s) about you
Will carry me through...
(right up) to heaven, Im in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When were out together dancing, out together dancing (swinging)
Out together dancing cheek to cheek
Instrumental version
song performed by by Irving Berlin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Its Lonely
Written by orbison/melson
Every sleepy dawn wakes to find you gone,and its lonely.
All my sunny days, laugh and run away, its lonely.
(oh so lonely)
The sun dont really shine,its lonely.
Always to remind me that its only another day,
To feel this way.its lonely.lonely.
I am lonely all the time, youre not mine.
Without you I find,its lonely.
Each new starry sky, smiles and says goodbye,its lonely.
Dreams we used to share tell me you dont care, its lonely.
The moon has lost its glow, its lonely.
It is there to show me that its only another night,
I cant hold you tight, its lonely.lonely.
I know why I cry, for all the world to see.
Youre not here with me. its lonely,lonely,lonely.
Transcribed by alberto
song performed by by Roy Orbison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Where My Plight And Labor In Vain
Where my plight and labor in vain…
Night stretch, stretch again…
Daylight and dreams abroad…
Sleep’s urge, tire retire…
Grant me a muse or amuse…
That night cease, else its turmoil
Enliven the earthly delight, heaven’s design…
Draw close the day…
Or oh! Magnificent eyes cast upon me your sight…
With your grandeur I rise
Fall upon earth’s humble bed…
Wake again to tread…
On Thine footsteps divine…
Holy flight
Early hours of light…
Ablution of soul…
Never before
Steps so firm…
As I follow thee
Tireless toil…
Now it seems…
For all that it was…
poem by Lama Abbas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!