Peacemaker
The Peacemaker
The animal stood in the corner of the room chewing on
a bail of straw, dung on the floor; a woman, with a bucket,
came and collected it for the rose bushes. We know Israel
has nuclear weapons, but unless we are drunk and in bad
mood we are too polite to mention it; so I left the senate.
Stood on a bridge, threw tiny rocks into the river, a yacht
passed, and her navigator was hit; collapsed, but got back
on his feet again and waved to me with his fist
The Israeli army had blocked the entrance to the bridge and
Hamas, dressed in stylish black and silk scarves, the exit,
I didn’t know how to end this poem so I invented the phone,
it rang, Obama, he didn’t know either, I held up the phone
so both parties could hear his voice and they backed off long
enough for me to get away home to my thistle valley, where
eagles fly, sheep bleat, and no one pays attention to biblical
prophesies and self igniting bushes.
poem by Oskar Hansen
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Related quotes
Georgie And Her Rival
Georgie grew to hate her name
It sounded like a tiny man
And the one she had said "I can't see you, but I'll call you
whenever I can"
Sometimes the phone would ring, when she was half-asleep
A voice would drag her down with its suggestions
Though she often felt cheated, she never felt cheap
CHORUS
Well heaven knows what fills the heart and makes you feel so
alive
It's impossible to tear apart
Georgie and her rival
It was half-past February
And he hadn't called since New Year's Day
Maybe he'd found another woman to say those words no chapel girl
should say
Her mother would phone and always keep talking
She'd try to be polite, making faces
But somewhere in the back of her mind, her rival was stalking
CHORUS
Her rival would always wait till the eighth or ninth bell
He'd be desperate anyway and drunk as well
She always liked to hurt him to prove he was prepared
To love her anyway that she wanted
So she could tell which she preferred
He sat up with his address book trying to think what mood he's in
His finger traced past Georgie's name to someone who needed less
persuading
He didn't hear through her disguise he didn't leave her in a rush
Just like the promise that he left on her machine
That almost made her blush
The radio plays a lover's symphony
"The number you have dialed has been re-directed"
Now she puts him on the speaker-phone
Whenever she has company
CHORUS
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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How Often
They stood on the bridge at midnight,
In a park not far from town;
They stood on the bridge at midnight
Because they didn't sit down.
The moon rose o'er the city
Behind the dark church spire;
The moon rose o'er the city
And kept on rising higher.
How often, oh! how often
They whispered words so soft;
How often, oh! how often,
How often, oh! how oft.
poem by Benjamin Franklin King
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Bridget And The Bridge
Young Bridget was a cautious soul,
Not one to risk her all,
She'd rather have her self-control
Than jump up high then fall...
That's why she froze one Summer's day,
When at the bridge she stood...
She didn't trust the stones or clay,
She didn't trust the wood!
While others crossed the bridge ahead,
She watched through gritted teeth,
With one almighty sense of dread
That strengthened disbelief...
Yet there she stood while buses drove,
Full up for all to see,
Her mind, though numbed, for courage strove,
Yet brave she wouldn't be...
So Bridget made her way back home,
As if she had no choice,
As if no more from home to roam,
While she regained her poise...
Though fifty years have come and gone,
The bridge remains quite strong...
While Bridget lived her life alone,
Still asking, 'Was I wrong? '
Denis Martindale, copyright, October 2012.
poem by Denis Martindale
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Autumnal Light
Softly they walk on a day in October the old man
and sunlight amongst ageless olive trees planted
when his great grandfather was young.
On the track there is mark of hooves from flocks
of sheep that walk here daily on their way home
after grazing on the upland.
Bits of fleece on thorny bushes, black pellets
and the pungent aroma of the wooly backed
still lingers…
He sees the old cottage the roof has fallen
in and bushes grow through its floor, but
he doesn´t stop, it was all so long ago.
Light is fading wants to turn in, time to go
home for him too, autumn evenings are chilly,
and damp, no good for his chest.
poem by Oskar Hansen
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Picture Of You
Didn't they say that I would make a mistake
Didn't they say you were going to be trouble.
People told me you were too much to take
I couldn't see it
I didn't wanna know.
I let you in and you let me down
You messed me up and you turned my life around
You left me feeling I had nowhere to go
I was alone
How was I to know that
(Bridge)
You'd be there
When I needed somebody.
You'd be there
The only one who could help me
(Chorus)
I had a picture of you in my mind
Never knew it could be so wrong.
Why'd it take me so long just to find
The friend that was there all along
Who'd believe that after all we've been through
I'd be able to put my trust in you
Goes to show you can forgive and forget
Looking back
I have no regrets 'cos
(Bridge)
(Chorus)
(Bridge)
(Chorus) - repeat to fade
song performed by by Boyzone from Where We Belong
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Winter Of Discontent
The phone rang a day before Christmas a message I knew would come
but would not like to hear. Mother had died and there was a great haste
now before the festive season. Yet in my despair I picked up the phone
and rang her number in the hope it had all been a dreadful mistake…any
minute now she will answer be glad to hear my voice; and she would tell
me I’m susceptible to cold and remember to wear a scarf.
Fully awake I rushed to the airport, sorry fully booked till after Christmas.
“Please if there is a cancellation ring me.” The phone didn’t ring.
When I finally got there snow had covered flowers and her name was not
yet carved on a stone. This emptiness, this hole in my heart, I knew it had
to happen one day, but not now not ever. At her home they were busy
dividing her things. No I didn’t want anything only her reading glasses,
she had thought me how to read. A life had ended and for the first time in
my life I knew how it felt like to be alone under a cold Nordic sky.
poem by Oskar Hansen
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35 W Bridge
Bridge collapsed on highway 35,
some people didn’t make it out alive.
There was some daring souls,
that went into rescue victims
they didn’t know.
Now this was a great tragedy,
that happened over river Mississippi,
President Bush came out to see,
he helped a little,
but here’s the story:
South side of bridge decks goes one way,
and then it falls,
killing people,
leaving a death toll.
50 feet from center line,
Superstructure goes the other way,
bringing people to an early grave.
Now I say,
Pollution had played it’s part,
causing the metal truss's joints,
to give away from the very start.
Just like the soil below this bridge,
it was contaminated by
'coal to gas' processing plant,
thank you for listening to my rant.
Also fumes from cars
make black ice,
many accidents
on bridge not very nice.
I believe if there was never any pollution,
this would of never happened,
and we wouldn’t need a solution.
Written by Christina Sunrise Feb.20,2011
poem by Christina Sunrise
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35 W Bridge
Bridge collapsed on highway 35,
some people didn't make it out alive.
There was some daring souls,
that went into rescue victims
they didn't know.
Now this was a great tragedy,
that happened over river Mississippi,
President Bush came out to see,
he helped a little,
but here's the story:
South side of bridge decks goes one way,
and then it falls,
killing people,
leaving a death toll.
50 feet from center line,
Superstructure goes the other way,
bringing people to an early grave.
Now I say,
Pollution had played it's part,
causing the metal truss's joints,
to give away from the very start.
Just like the soil below this bridge,
it was contaminated by
'coal to gas' processing plant,
thank you for listening to my rant.
Also fumes from cars
make black ice,
many accidents
on bridge not very nice.
I believe if there was never any pollution,
this would of never happened,
and we wouldn't need a solution.
Written by Suzae Chevalier Feb.20,2011
poem by Suzae Chevalier
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We Belong Together
I didn't mean it
When I said I didn't love you so
I should have held on tight
I never should've let you go
I didnt know nothing
I was stupid
I was foolish
I was lying to myself
I could not fathom that I'd ever
Be without your love
Never imagined I'd be
Sitting here beside myself
Cause I didn't know you
Cause I didn't know me
But I thought I knew everything
I've never felt.
The feeling that I'm feeling now
That I don't hear your voice
Or have you touch and kiss your lips
Cause I don't have a choice
Or what I wouldn't give
To have you lying by my side
Right here
Cause baby
When you left
I lost a part of me
It's still so hard to believe
Come back baby please cause
We belong together
Who else am I gonna lean on
When times get rough
Who's gonna talk to me on the phone
Till the sun comes up
Who's gonna take your place
There aint nobody better
Ohh baby, baby
We belong together
I can't sleep at night
When you are on my mind
Bobby Womack's on the radio
Sing to me
'If you think you're lonely now'
Wait a minute
This is too deep (too deep)
I gotta change the station
So I turn the dial
Trying to catch a break
And then I hear Babyface
I only think of you
As breaking my heart
I'm trying to keep it together
But I'm falling apart
I'm feeling all out of my element
Throwing things
Crying
Trying to figure out
Where the hell I went wrong
The pain reflected in this song
Ain't even half of what
I'm feeling inside
I need you
Need you back in my life baby
When you left
I lost a part of me
It's still so hard to believe
Come back baby please cause
We belong together
Who else am I gonna lean on
When times get rough
Who's gonna talk to me on the phone
Till the sun comes up
Who's gonna take your place
There ain't nobody better
Ohh baby, baby
We belong together
[Bridge]
Ohh , Baby , Baby
We Belong together baby
When you left
I lost a part of me
It's still so hard to believe
Come back baby please
Cause we belong together
Who am i going to lean on
When times get rough
Who's going to talk to me
Til the sun comes up
Who's going to take your place
There ain't nobody better
Ohh baby, baby
We belong together
song performed by by Mariah Carey
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To My Daughter
Probably only one memory
Fragile bridge passed the river rapids
The bridge was really glad
when your feet step on
Stand up on top of tweak
Then the longer it confidently
And finally you can run on it
Maybe you're be able to laugh now
But when you were sad
Don't you forget the bridge
Hold -the bridge it was- necessarily
because the bridge, it was me
(2012)
poem by Imam Setiaji Ronoatmojo
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Georgie & Her Rival
Georgie grew to hate her name
It sounded like a tiny man
And the one she had said I cant see you, but Ill call you whenever I can
Sometimes the phone would ring, when she was half-asleep
A voice would drag her down with its suggestions
Though she often felt cheated, she never felt cheap
Chorus
Well heaven knows what fills the heart and makes you feel so alive
Its impossible to tear apart
Georgie and her rival
It was half-past february
And he hadnt called since new years day
Maybe hed found another woman to say those words no chapel girl should say
Her mother would phone and always keep talking
Shed try to be polite, making faces
But somewhere in the back of her mind, her rival was stalking
Chorus
Her rival would always wait til the eighth or ninth bell
Hed be desperate anyway and drunk as well
She always liked to hurt him to prove he was prepared
To love her anyway that she wanted
So she could tell which she preferred
He sat up with his address book trying to think what mood hes in
His finger traced past georgies name to someone who needed less persuading
He didnt hear through her disguise he didnt leave her in a rush
Just like the promise that he left on her machine
That almost made her blush
The radio plays a lovers symphony
The number you have dialed has been re-directed
Now she puts him on the speaker-phone
Whenever she has company
Chorus
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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She Came In Through Bathroom Window
She came in through the bathroom window
Protected by a silver spoon
But now she sucks her thumb and wanders
By the banks of her own lagoon
Didn't anybody tell her?
Didn't anybody see?
Sunday's on the phone to Monday
Tuesday's on the phone to me
She said she'd always been a dancer
She worked at 15 clubs a day
And though she thought I knew the answer
Well I knew what I could not say
And so I quit the police department
And got myself a steady job
And though she tried her best to help me
She could steal but she could not rob
Didn't anybody tell her?
Didn't anybody see?
Sunday's on the phone to Monday
Tuesday's on the phone to me
Oh yeah
song performed by by Beatles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Eyes Of Mr D (Part 4)
Entering the flat
the Constable found no one there.
He searched every room,
nothing, only the fired gun on a note
left on the table.
He had noticed the back window
was left slightly ajar.
He picked up the note
and quickly read it through,
then put it in his pocket
along with the gun.
He smiled to the neighbour
as he left the flat.
He told her to lock it;
Mr D would be coming back.
At the car he got in
saying that,
they had to go back
to the station.
He sat on a bench
near the waters edge.
The white walking stick
resting between his legs.
He could not look at his watch,
as that would give the game away.
A blind man is not supposed to see,
so he had no idea of the time.
All he could tell
that day was turning into night.
He stood up;
he had to stretch his legs.
He moved along to
the bench by the bridge.
The dark waters of the lake,
lapped against the shore.
Then he heard the footsteps
walking across the wooden bridge.
He knew by the sound
they were of a woman’s shoe.
He did not look up
to see who it was,
just listened, as they got closer,
until they were in front of him.
He could now see her face,
under the light of the moon.
Her hair was dark,
and danced on her shoulders.
He wanted to say something,
but though he better not.
The killer could be lurking,
in the bushes somewhere,
waiting for his chance,
when he thought
the coast was clear.
She stopped and stood,
near the waters edge;
she watched the moon’s silver finger
dance on the breeze-ruffled waves.
He sat unnoticed except
for his white walking stick.
The blind could see nothing
at least that is what he hoped
anyone passing would think.
Then from the darkness, he emerged.
A mask of death he wore.
He moved quietly up behind the woman,
extended his hands out to her neck.
To be concluded……
poem by David Harris
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Our House With The Rotary Phone
I sit in a room that no longer exists
On a chair long since splintered and gone
While I pick at a meal I once would devour
in our house with the rotary phone.
I sit in the room that doesn’t exist
Enjoying my choice of ice creams
Recalling the window in Tiffany glass
Forgive an old man his daydreams
A simple “A” frame with three beds and a bath,
obsolete, yes, but our home.
It stood with its’ sisters on Queens borough Hill,
where the L.I.E. jams are well known.
I had known for some time that her best days were gone
A plywood fence circled our home
Title had passed to a contractor’s hands
Neglected, our house looked forlorn
My past like a picture ripped from its frame
They left not a stone on a stone
Not even the numbers on wood painted green
of our house with the rotary phone.
Our house and its twin have been wrecked and removed
And replaced with a modern brick “home”
So pardon my tear as I stand at the bier
Of our house with the rotary phone
poem by John F. McCullagh
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What is the only provocation that could bring about the use of nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. What is the priority target for nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. What is the only established defense against nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. How do we prevent the use of nuclear weapons? By threatening the use of nuclear weapons. And we can't get rid of nuclear weapons, because of nuclear weapons. The intransigence, it seems, is a function of the weapons themselves.
quote by Martin Amis
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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I Hate My Phone
Have you ever had a phone?
That you couldn’t stand?
If you have, you are not alone.
My phone doesn’t like to follow my command!
My phone hates me!
I hate it!
I would love to throw it in the sea,
But, my life would be gone I have to admit!
I hate my phone!
What can I do?
If only another one I could own.
Another phone I need, but it should be new.
If I get a new phone it will need,
A camera that pictures and video it takes,
Unlimited texting is what we agreed.
I have no time for mistakes!
Also, I would need free long distance,
In case there is someone I want to call that is not where I am,
No, I don’t need any assistance.
For my new phone, all I have to say is DANG!
My new phone will be the envy of everyone,
Everyone will want mine,
To bad that they don’t get it, I’m the only one,
There is no need to whine!
Go Ocean, Go Ocean, Go Ocean!
That’s what they’ll be saying!
I and my phone will be all the rage and commotion!
Everyone will be around me and no, nobody will be playing!
I hate my phone,
I need a new one,
I know I’m not alone,
To have the greatest and newest phone would be fun!
Go Ocean, Go Ocean, Go Ocean! ! ! !
I still hate my phone!
Ha, this poem is long because of a motion!
Ha, I got many problems, luckily I’m not alone!
I Hate My Phone! ! !
poem by Ocean Myranda
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The Fear
A lantern light from deeper in the barn
Shone on a man and woman in the door
And threw their lurching shadows on a house
Near by, all dark in every glossy window.
A horse's hoof pawed once the hollow floor,
And the back of the gig they stood beside
Moved in a little. The man grasped a wheel,
The woman spoke out sharply, 'Whoa, stand still!'
'I saw it just as plain as a white plate,'
She said, 'as the light on the dashboard ran
Along the bushes at the roadside-a man's face.
You must have seen it too.'
'I didn't see it.
Are you sure--'
'Yes, I'm sure!'
'-it was a face?'
'Joel, I'll have to look. I can't go in,
I can't, and leave a thing like that unsettled.
Doors locked and curtains drawn will make no difference.
I always have felt strange when we came home
To the dark house after so long an absence,
And the key rattled loudly into place
Seemed to warn someone to be getting out
At one door as we entered at another.
What if I'm right, and someone all the time-
Don't hold my arm!'
'I say it's someone passing.'
'You speak as if this were a travelled road.
You forget where we are. What is beyond
That he'd be going to or coming from
At such an hour of night, and on foot too.
What was he standing still for in the bushes?'
'It's not so very late-it's only dark.
There's more in it than you're inclined to say.
Did he look like--?'
'He looked like anyone.
I'll never rest to-night unless I know.
Give me the lantern.'
'You don't want the lantern.'
She pushed past him and got it for herself.
'You're not to come,' she said. 'This is my business.
If the time's come to face it, I'm the one
To put it the right way. He'd never dare-
Listen! He kicked a stone. Hear that, hear that!
He's coming towards us. Joel, go in-please.
Hark!-I don't hear him now. But please go in.'
'In the first place you can't make me believe it's--'
'It is-or someone else he's sent to watch.
And now's the time to have it out with him
While we know definitely where he is.
Let him get off and he'll be everywhere
Around us, looking out of trees and bushes
Till I sha'n't dare to set a foot outdoors.
And I can't stand it. Joel, let me go!'
'But it's nonsense to think he'd care enough.'
'You mean you couldn't understand his caring.
Oh, but you see he hadn't had enough-
Joel, I won't-I won't-I promise you.
We mustn't say hard things. You mustn't either.'
'I'll be the one, if anybody goes!
But you give him the advantage with this light.
What couldn't he do to us standing here!
And if to see was what he wanted, why
He has seen all there was to see and gone.'
He appeared to forget to keep his hold,
But advanced with her as she crossed the grass.
'What do you want?' she cried to all the dark.
She stretched up tall to overlook the light
That hung in both hands hot against her skirt.
'There's no one; so you're wrong,' he said.
'There is.-
What do you want?' she cried, and then herself
Was startled when an answer really came.
'Nothing.' It came from well along the road.
She reached a hand to Joel for support:
The smell of scorching woollen made her faint.
'What are you doing round this house at night?'
'Nothing.' A pause: there seemed no more to say.
And then the voice again: 'You seem afraid.
I saw by the way you whipped up the horse.
I'll just come forward in the lantern light
And let you see.'
'Yes, do.-Joel, go back!'
She stood her ground against the noisy steps
That came on, but her body rocked a little.
'You see,' the voice said.
'Oh.' She looked and looked.
'You don't see-I've a child here by the hand.'
'What's a child doing at this time of night--?'
'Out walking. Every child should have the memory
Of at least one long-after-bedtime walk.
What, son?'
'Then I should think you'd try to find
Somewhere to walk--'
'The highway as it happens-
We're stopping for the fortnight down at Dean's.'
'But if that's all-Joel-you realize-
You won't think anything. You understand?
You understand that we have to be careful.
This is a very, very lonely place.
Joel!' She spoke as if she couldn't turn.
The swinging lantern lengthened to the ground,
It touched, it struck it, clattered and went out.
poem by Robert Frost
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With A Wish To Be Seen
I saw you the other day.
And you 'acted' as if,
You didn't know nobody!
'I did?
And where were you? '
Standing in the same line you were in,
At the grocery store the other day.
And the end of that long line.
'If I didn't see you,
Why didn't 'you' say something to 'me'? '
I'm not like that.
I don't like to bring undo attention to myself.
And besides...
You could have turned around,
To see who was standing behind you.
'You are so right.
But...
Aren't you glad I didn't?
That would have brought an undo attention,
You certainly didn't ask for.
And you were there for just one purpose.
To purchase groceries.
And I...
Stood there as patiently as possible,
With a wish to be seen.'
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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It's A Lonesome Desert At Night
I stood in a phone booth
In the middle of the desert
And listened to it ring,
It sounded like some sad old song
I think I used to know how to sing -
I heard Spanish horns
Wailing in the distant air,
A longing upon the Western wind
Rolling in from somewhere, far beyond here, or there -
Rain started down
As hypnotically I picked up the phone,
I heard lightning crackle through the line
And thunder seductively groan -
A voice in the wind
Blew hot and low
Throwing desperate dust into the fading sky,
While shadows in the flashes and trembles through the ground
Gave clouds cause to cry and cry -
I wanted so to call Someone...
But, I didn't know how; and
It really wouldn't have mattered anyway,
For I had no quarters...
Nor any good words left to say -
Upon the desert floor the next morn
I awoke, cold and alone
Covered in both dust and dew,
The phone booth and storm were gone...
But the sky remains forever, the deepest shade of pure blue.
poem by Smoky Hoss
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A Phone Call
The Phone Call
Phone rings I finally answer, it’s my daughter she wants to come home.
“Where are you ringing from? I ask she doesn’t know. Tell her I have no
home only phone that works in all weather, “I gave you all my money
and I sold my house so you could become a doctor.” But dear dad I’m
a dancer now in a country I don’t know the name of, only that people
talk funny and cry a lot when drunk.” Since we didn’t know where we
are, agree to meet in Tirana but, she doesn’t know when she’ll be there,
I don’t know when I’ll be going there. Dreams of becoming middle class
through my daughter has vanished. Where is Tirana? Anyone?
poem by Oskar Hansen
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