Related quotes: You had the prose of...

Odysseus: In Memory Of Arthur Griffith

You had the prose of logic and of scorn,
And words to sledge an iron argument,
And yet you could draw down the outland birds
To perch beside the ravens of your thought
The dreams whereby a people challenges
Its dooms, its bounds. You were the one who knew
What sacred resistance is in men
That are almost broken; how, from resistance used,
A strength is born, a stormy, bright-eyed strength
Like Homer's Iris, messenger of the gods,
Coming before the ships the enemy
Has flung the fire upon. Our own, our native strength
You mustered up. But I will never say this,
Walking beside you, or looking on you,
With your strong brow, and chin was like a targe,
And eyes that were so kindly of us all.

And sorrow comes as on that August day,
With our ship cleaving through the seas for home,
And that news coming sparkling through the air,
That you were dead, and that we'd never see you
Looking upon the state that you had builded.

The news that came was like that weight of waters
Poured on our hopes! Our navies yet unbuilded,
Our city left inglorious on its site,
Our fields uncleared, and over
Our ancient house the ancient curse of war!
And could we pray, touching the island-homeland,
Other than this: 'Odysseus, you who laboured
So long upon the barren outer sea;

Odysseus, Odysseus, you who made
The plan that drove the wasters from the house,
And bent the bow that none could bend but you:
Be with us still:
Your memory be the watcher in our house,
Your memory be the flame upon our hills.

poem by Padraic Colum
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Related quotes

The Proud Farmer

[In memory of E. S. Frazee, Rush County, Indiana]

Into the acres of the newborn state
He poured his strength, and plowed his ancient name,
And, when the traders followed him, he stood
Towering above their furtive souls and tame.

That brow without a stain, that fearless eye
Oft left the passing stranger wondering
To find such knighthood in the sprawling land,
To see a democrat well-nigh a king.

He lived with liberal hand, with guests from far,
With talk and joke and fellowship to spare, —
Watching the wide world's life from sun to sun,
Lining his walls with books from everywhere.
He read by night, he built his world by day.
The farm and house of God to him were one.
For forty years he preached and plowed and wrought —
A statesman in the fields, who bent to none.

His plowmen-neighbors were as lords to him.
His was an ironside, democratic pride.
He served a rigid Christ, but served him well —
And, for a lifetime, saved the countryside.

Here lie the dead, who gave the church their best
Under his fiery preaching of the word.
They sleep with him beneath the ragged grass...
The village withers, by his voice unstirred.

And tho' his tribe be scattered to the wind
From the Atlantic to the China sea,
Yet do they think of that bright lamp he burned
Of family worth and proud integrity.

And many a sturdy grandchild hears his name
In reverence spoken, till he feels akin
To all the lion-eyed who built the world —
And lion-dreams begin to burn within.

poem by Vachel Lindsay
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Table Bay

The sun sets over table bay
and that rough sea lies calm
and a moon rises full,
above the waves
and the thundering breakers
roar like they did
many years before

Odysseus sailed from the island of Ithaca
and went to Troy to war
where he accompanied the heroes
Neoptolemus and Philoctetes and the
armour and shield of great Achilles,
was his to take
and for years he dwelt
on stormy seas and in far away lands.

If per chance his ship would stray
and reach the cape of storms
in another age and time
and his eyes could see
the beauty of that lovely shore,
no other place would
his ship sail to

When Bartolomeu Dias set his ships sails
and left king John ashore,
he was prepared to sail
to the ends of the earth
and no horrendous sea creature
could keep his ships in check.

I wonder what he thought
when the fog faded away
and table mount sprang into view
and table bay lay stretched out
up to its shore
and when he set his cross
did he know that he was marking
a great place
and when he marked his charts
did he wish to come back
to that stormy Cape?

When King John gave the name
Cabo da Bõa Esperança,
did he know that he was naming a place
from where a nation would sprout
and that it would become a city of hope?

[Reference: =>”Cabo da Bõa Esperança=>Cape of Good Hope”]

poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Love Make Me Strong

(terry britten/sue shifrin)
Theres no power capable of
Coming between us--dividing our love
To be faithful I have sworn
Together we can weather the storm
Our tomorrows are ticking away
Our hands are tied--were victims of fate
In my darkness I will pray
For destiny to send me your way
Love make me strong
Give me the strength to carry on
Love make me strong
A tower of strength to lean upon
Love make me strong
The seven seas wont keep us apart
Not with an ocean of love in my heart
My devotion will see me through
Cause nothings gonna keep me from you
Love make me strong
Give me the strength to carry on
Love make me strong
A tower of strength to lean upon
Love make me strong
Oh its a sad sad story
True lovers forced to part
Shot down in all its glory
Youll hear the sound of broken hearts
My devotion will see me through
Cause nothings gonna keep me from you
Love make me strong
Give me the strength to carry on
Love make me strong
A tower of strength to lean upon
Love make me strong
Oh oh love make me strong
Love make me strong, make me strong
Love make me strong

song performed by by Olivia Newton-John
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Home For Love

Because the earth is vast and dark
And wet and cold;
Because man's heart wants warmth and light
Lest it grow old;

Therefore the house was built--wall, roof
And brick and beam,
By a lost hand following the lost
Delight of a dream,

And room and stair show how that hand
Groped in eager doubt,
With needless weight of teasing timber
Matching his thought--

Such fond superfluousness of strength
In wall and wood
As his half-wise, half-fearful eye
Deemed only good.

His brain he built into the house,
Laboured his bones;
He burnt his heart into the brick
And red hearth-stones.

It is his blood that makes the house
Still warm, safe, bright,
Honest as aim and eye and hand,
As clean, as light.

Because the earth is vast and dark
The house was built--
Now with another heart and fire
To be fulfilled.

poem by John Freeman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

The Houses

1898 -- A Song of the Dominions

'Twixt my house and thy house the pathway is broad,
In thy house or my house is half the world's hoard;
By my house and thy house hangs all the world's fate,
On thy house and my house lies half the world's hate.

For my house and thy house no help shall we find
Save thy house and my house -- kin cleaving to kind;
If my house be taken, thine tumbleth anon.
If thy house be forfeit, mine followeth soon.

'Twixt my house and thy house what talk can there be
Of headship or lordship, or service or fee?
Since my house to thy house no greater can send
Than thy house to my house -- friend comforting friend;
And thy house to my house no meaner can bring
Than my house to thy house -- King counselling King.

poem by Rudyard Kipling
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Only When I Had You

(song lyrics. maybe this marks the end of my writer's block. i sure do hope so)

i guess this is the end
of everything that we once knew
and now we're moving on
except i'm not moving anywhere
i'm stuck right here to wait for you
to turn around and laugh again
and tell me that you knew

you knew i'd be okay
you knew i had the strength to wake up everyday
especially when i had you
you knew i'd stand up strong
you knew i had the strength to make it on my own
but you never knew..

i guess this is the end
of my dreamless nights and wakeful eyes
my nightmares come right back
and you still walk away
i lay right here and die today
because you. turned. away...

and you thought..
you thought i'd be okay
you thought i had the strength to wake up everyday
but only when i had you
you thought i'd stand up strong
you thought i had the strength to make it on my own
but only if i had you...

poem by Something Changing
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Sailing Home

In the redwood house sailing off
into the ocean,
I sleep with you-
our dreams mingling,
our breath coming & going
like gusts of wind
trifling with the breakers,
our arms touching
& our legs & our hair
reaching out like tendrils
to intertwine.

The first time
I slept in your arms,
I knew I had come home.
Your body was a ship
& I rocked in it,
utterly safe in the breakers,
utterly sure of this love.
I fit into your arms
as a ship fits into water,
as a cactus roots in sand,
as the sun nestles into the blazing horizon.

The house sails all night.
Our dreams are the flags
of little ships,
your penis the mast
of one of the breeziest sailboats,
& my breasts floating,
half in & half out
of the water,
are like messages in bottles.

There is no point to this poem.
What the sea loses
always turns up again;
it is only a question of shores.

poem by Erica Jong
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

In this house of pain

In this house of pain
We’re nothing but slaves
Giving into such desires
Will it bring us any pleasure?
Weeping for a lover lost
She’ll cast her own spell
Deprived by all
Depleting the life of everyone that has betrayed her
Hidden in the shadows is where she will feel alive

In this house
Is nothing but sinners?
In this house
Is nothing but broken promises?
In this house
Is where you left me for dead?

Walking through the fogged trees
Blind to all
The songs of old
Are here for the comfort of all.
Beneath the garden of secrets
Hides a lonely heart
Calling to her lover
From which she had to part.

I am alone again.
Alone with my thoughts
That I am left to ponder upon
I am alone again.

This sadness is overwhelming
And all I can do is give in
Does my heart still beat the same?
Or does it die along with you
These thoughts seem to keep me sane
Yet I’m still waiting for more
These memories seem to play a game
And in the end
I’m here to give in

In this house
Is nothing but heartache?
In this house
Is nothing but tears?
In this house
Is where you left me broken?

The feelings seem to fade
The laughter was lost long ago
But I would give everything up
Just to have it all back

In this house
Was when I first fell in love with you?
In this house is were I gave my heart to you
In this house was where i was lost to you.

This will be our doing
This will be our destruction
Swept up in such blissful dreams
Scarcely unaware
This is the house
Were we will rot forever?

poem by Teigan Klippel
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

When It Falls, It Falls All Over You

Selling papers on the corner,
I saw a man yesterday.
I asked him if hed wanna
Tell me what made him this way.
He said, when its born, its warm,
Then it gathers strength in lies,
When it falls, it falls all over you.
He used to pick his friends.
They left him in the end.
An easy thing to lose,
The right to pick and choose.
When its born, its warm,
Then it gathers strength in lies,
When it falls, it falls all over you.
He said he left his wife,
The back-bone of his life.
Another came along,
But now I guess shes gone.
When its born, its warm,
Then it gathers strength in lies,
When it falls, it falls all over you.
I think I used to see
That old man on tv,
Can you be the same?
It seems like such a shame.
When its born, its warm,
Then it gathers strength in lies,
When it falls, it falls all over you.
The world he thought he knew,
Has better things to do.
As I went on my way
I thought I heard him say:
When its born, its warm,
Then it gathers strength in lies,
When it falls, it falls all over you.

song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

When the Watchman Saw the Light

Winter, summer, the watchman sat there looking out
from the roof of Atreus' palace.
Now he has good news to report. He's seen the fire light up
in the distance and he's happy; besides, the drudgery's over now:
it's hard to sit there night and day in heat and cold,
waiting for a fire to show
on the peak of Arachnaion.
Now the longed-for signal has appeared. Yet when happiness comes
it brings less joy than one expected.
But at least we've gained this much: we've rid ourselves
of hope and expectation. Many things will happen
to the house of Atreus: no need to be wise
to guess this now the watchman has seen the light.
So let's not exaggerate.
The light is good; and those coming are good,
their words and actions also good.
And let's hope all goes well.
But Argos can do without the house of Atreus.
Ancient houses are not eternal.
Of course many people will have much to say.
We should listen. But we won't be deceived
by words such as Indispensable, Unique, and Great.
Someone else indispensable and unique and great
can always be found at a moment's notice.

poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Strength

To sustain life
It is required
To have a tower of strength.

Life is negated
When there is lack of strength.

A strong and vigorous life
Entails harmony and unity.

A feeble and tame life
With short coming of strength
Accords disunity.

With strength you acquire a boon
Of unalloyed love.

With strength in paucity
You get impoverished
And are in the mundane level.

Strength with tenacity
Enables you to realize God
In your vicinity.
.

poem by Chandra Thiagarajan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Black Woman

The day I met you I saw strength
and I knew from that point on
that you were pure woman to me
possessing a spirit that was strong
I want smiles to replace the sorrow
that you have encountered in the past
and since it was strength that attracted me to you
it will take strength to make it last
My negative side will attempt to change you
but please fight that with your all
it will be your strength that keep us both standing
while others around us fall

poem by Olufunmbi Aransiola
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Coming Home

It's a long and lonely highway.
When you're traveling all alone.
I was on my way to nowhere.
But now i'm coming home.
I'm coming home.
I've been running through the fire.
I've been running for so long.
If i took it any higher.
Baby i would be still be gone.
But now i'm coming home, coming home.i'm coming home.
Coming home, coming home, i'm coming home.
Well my home was really never.
On a far and distant shore.
If i stayed away forever.
I could never miss you more.
And so i'm coming home,coming home.i'm coming home.
Coming home,coming home,i'm coming home.
I think of all these years gone by.
Never even wondered why.
I never touched the ground.
All the time that's come and gone.
All the nights i've been alone.
And now i'm homeward bound.
I heard the thunder over canaan.
And i've heard the angels cry.
And their voices came revealing
"as you live,so will you die."
I'm coming home,coming home,i'm coming home.
I'm coming home,coming home,i'm coming home.
Coming home, coming home, i'm coming home
I'm coming home
I'm coming home, coming home, coming home...

song performed by by Roy Orbison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!