She Lit up the Candles
When
her daughter died
she said
there is no God
in Heaven.
Still
the years
floated away
with the waters
of the rivers
as life
went on.
One day
returning home
from
the frozen street
she
opened the door
and stared into
the gloaming space
of
a widowed room.
She
uttered
a soft sigh
and covered her
ailing shoulders
with a scarf.
And then
she lit up the candles
and prayed.
In
her struggle
with God
she got
the lower hand.
poem by Paul Hartal
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Perfect Circle
Put your hair back, we get to leave
Eleven gallows on your sleeve
Shallow figure, winners paid
Eleven shadows way out of place
Standing too soon, shoulders high in the room
Standing too soon, shoulders high in the room
Standing too soon, shoulders high in the room
Pull your dress on and stay real close
Who might leave you where I left off?
A perfect circle of acquaintances and friends
Drink another, coin a phrase
Heaven assumed, shoulders high in the room
Heaven assumed, shoulders high in the room
Heaven assumed, shoulders high in the room
Try to win and suit your needs
Speak out sometimes but try to win
Standing too soon, shoulders high in the room
Standing too soon, shoulders high in the room
Standing too soon, shoulders high in the room
Standing too soon, shoulders high in the room
Standing too soon, shoulders high in the room
song performed by by REM
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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No Difference
i stared out the window
at the bare frozen limbs
of my favorite old tree...
i closed my eyes...
saw leaves bud forth
and turn green...
i opened my eyes...
knowing there was no difference.
i stared at the young girl
reading at a corner table
i closed my eyes...
and saw an old grandmother
washing dishes with her grandbabies
playing in the floor at her feet...
i opened my eyes...
knowing there was no difference.
i saw the young man
carrying his son on his shoulders
i closed my eyes...
and saw an old man standing
by his son's casket
draped by a flag...
i opened my eyes...
knowing there was no difference.
i saw an old man
standing on the corner begging
i closed my eyes...
i saw a young boy
playing ball in the street
laughing and dodging cars
i opened my eyes...
knowing there was no difference.
i saw a crack head shivering
by an electric heater in a bare apartment
i closed my eyes...
and saw a young a/g student
helping some kid with his math
i opened my eyes...
knowing there was no difference.
i saw a desperate girl
walking the streets
looking for a john
i closed my eyes...
and saw a young girl's room
stuffed animals on the bed
pictures of her and her daddy on the wall
i opened my eyes...
knowing there was no difference.
i saw a young man
wild-eyed with fear
in a prison cell
i closed my eyes...
i saw a young boy gone hunting
with his grandpa on thanksgiving morn
with his dog by his side
i opened my eyes...
knowing there was no difference.
i pulled back the veil of time...
knowing, there is no difference!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sitting By Heaven's Door
My love without two being together
Through the good times and stormy weather
Ooh, but you fall for us
It should lose in you sudden darkness
You should always know I'll always be
Sittin' by heaven's door (Mmmhmmhmmmmm)
Waiting for you to come home (I'm waiting on you to come back home, oh baby)
Sittin' by heaven's door (Oohoohhoobaby)
Waiting for you to come home (I'll be waiting, no hesitating)
Hohoall I know is from this day on
We bond as one forever more
No way, no way we can lose, mmm
And any mountain we can move
With a team who beat the game called love
And, oh, oh, ooh, ooh
You know the time will come
When life will end somehow
And one of us is left without the other
If it happens to be me
Don't worry much, darling
I'll leave a passage to my heart and this is where I'll be
With the key in my hand
Sittin' by heaven's door (Hoooohooh)
Waiting for you to come home (I'm waitin' for you, baby, ooh, yeah)
Sittin' by heaven's door (Hoooohoohooh)
Waiting for you to come home (Waiting, baby, for you)
Sittin' by heaven's door (Hoo)
Waiting for you to come home
Sittin' by heaven's door (Hoo)
Waiting for you to come home
Sittin' by heaven's door (I'm waitin', anticipating, yeah)
Waiting for you to come home (Come on, come on, baby, ooh, yeah)
Sittin' by heaven's door (Come on home to me, yeah, oohhoo)
Waiting for you to come home (Come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby)
Sittin' by heaven's door (Come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby)
Waiting for you to come home (Come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby)
Sittin' by heaven's door (Now come on back, come on, baby, oh, come on, baby, come on, baby)
Waiting for you to come home (Come on, come on, come on, come on, baby)
Sittin' by heaven's door
Waiting for you to come home
song performed by by En Vogue
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ballad of L. in Lesotho
Singer:
Frozen rivers
Seen from the plateau
Of a new edge that is this leaving
That sometimes
Makes you hard, and cry
In the weakness.
You will have to walk on ice for a while.
Woven weeds
Black as the sheep on the mountain
And for some time
Love
Widowed you from me
As you wander
Your sadness draped upon you like a shawl.
But on the hill
There is one
Waiting
Like sunlight, to come through.
Narrator:
Twenty years after you trod the foothills of Lesotho
You tracked me down to the Indian Ocean coast
I was married by then and again we could not meet
You had lost your only child, mine was soon to be born.
Once more we failed to run the streams of our lives together.
And I remembered the song of the frozen rivers
Where you walked on ice and still had not come through.
poem by Frank Bana
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Room
(chris waters/tom shapiro)
When I pull in the drive where your car used to be
It doesnt hurt me like it used to
I can walk through the door, and not wonder anymore
Where you are, like I used to
I can go down the hall, see the pictures on the wall
And not miss you
But I just cant bring myself to go into..
The room
Where I spent every night with you
And the light of the moon
Came through the window
And I held you
We were so close
And its just too soon
For me to go into the room
Id remember too much if I opened that door
And Im not sure if I could face it
The beds emptiness would remind me youre with
Someone else, and I couldnt take it
So, I sleep on the couch in our living room now
Since our love died
cause Im still not ready yet to go inside...
The room
Where I spent every night with you
And the light of the moon
Came through the window
And I held you
We were so close
And its just too soon
For me to go into the room
Where the light of the moon
Came through the window
And I held you
We were so close
And its just too soon
For me to go into the room
song performed by by Wade Hayes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When I was asked what my favorite body part was?
When I was asked what my favorite body part is?
It was not the kind of question
I get asked every day
When I mentioned
this question to my friends
they all thought for a second
and laughed…
so I thought I would
ask those close to me what they thought
someone said the soft tissue
on my hand between my thumb
and second finger
it has no known use
but it is a soft place to hide feelings
and provides a hook to hold on too…
someone else said my hands
because they are able to express
what I am feeling inside
and my hands are what I use to write
down my poetry
another person told me
it was my tongue
that is able to pierce the space
between her mouth
with my warmth
for me I think
it is my smile
which is often the first thing
they notice when they see me.
and when I saw another wrestling dad
in Minnesota at a wrestling tournament
a week after his daughter died
he said he was glad he did not stay home
but support the team, because his daughter was
the team manager
and he was happy to see me
because he said
my smile reminded him
of his daughter, who was always happy
and smiling
poem by Oscar Mireles
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Three Mice Who Hoped
Six mice stared out their door.
The Cat was crouching there.
“Have hope! ” one cried.
“The Dog will come and scare it away! ”
But one mouse ran out, gave up.
In the jaws of Cat he died.
Five mice stared out their door.
Still the feline purred.
“Have hope! ” one cried.
”The Dog will be here soon! ”
But one mouse could wait no more.
In the jaws of Cat she died.
Four mice stared out their door.
The Cat was waiting for them, too.
“Have… hope…” one said.
But one mouse snapped and darted out.
And soon, in jaws of Cat, was dead.
Three mice stared out their door.
The Cat sat ready, claws extended.
“Have… h-hope…” one said.
But one mouse squealed and started –
The one who’d spoken held her down.
“Have hope! ”
For hours more the three mice sat.
The watched, trembling, the mighty Cat.
But still: “Have hope! ” they cried.
Then came the Dog.
The Cat scurried away to hide.
The mice were free at last.
poem by Sophia White
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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No Reply
This happened once before,
When i came to your door,
No reply.
They said it wasn't you,
But i saw you peep through your window,
I saw the light, i saw the light,
I know that you saw me,
'cause i looked up to your face.
I tried to telephone,
They said you were not home,
That's a lie,
'cause i know where you've been,
I saw you walk in your door,
I nearly died, i nearly died,
'cause you walked hand in hand
With another man in my place.
If i were you'd realize that i
Love you more than any other guy,
And i'll forgive the lies that i
Heard before when you gave me no reply.
I've tried to telephone,
They said you were not home,
That's a lie,
'cause i know where you've been,
I saw you walk in your door,
I nearly died, i nearly died,
'cause you walked hand in hand
With another man in my place.
No reply, no reply.
song performed by by Beatles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Tattooed Man
He looked like a common sailor
As he wandered up from the port,
Carried his swag on his shoulder,
Wore a cap of the jaunty sort,
His eyes were livid and bloodshot,
Staring, under a tattooed brow,
And on his cheeks, a scatter of stars
As seen from an old ship's prow.
He stopped at the Mariners Arms
And bought a room on the upper floor,
Went out and stood on the balcony,
And stared on down at the square,
He'd left his shirt in the tiny room,
His torso, full in view,
There wasn't an inch of his sailor skin
Untouched by a bright tattoo.
His arms were covered in serpents
Writhing up, and under his chin,
His shoulders, Chinese Characters,
Of Ports, where he might have been,
His sides were covered in fungi
Found in tropical forest glades,
And down on his muscular midriff
The ubiquitous Queen of Spades.
And there on his chest in colours
Very subtle, and so refined,
There lay a naked woman
Baring all as she lay reclined,
Her lips were coloured in scarlet gloss
And pursed in a sensual pout,
Her eyes a searching, brilliant blue
That would find her lover out.
He turned away from the village square
And rested back on the rail,
So now the tattoos across his back
Could be seen... a Schooner's sail,
With storm-filled clouds and a rising swell
As the breakers slid on by,
And over the top, above it all
A piercing, staring eye!
For every passer-by that stared
The eye had stared them back,
Had stared right into the guilty soul
Where every sin was black!
And hairs rose up on the back of the neck,
And shivers ran down the spine,
As guilt drove men to the 'Man of War'
To drown their fears in wine!
And I... I came to the Mariners Arms
And I saw the tattoos there,
And the woman, bared on the sailor's chest
Made me quake and shake in fear,
For the face was unmistakable,
I had left her safe at home,
That face of lust was the woman I trust,
Was the wife I knew as Joan.
For days the sailor prowled the streets
And he peered through windows there,
But he never wore a shirt nor coat,
And he kept his torso bare,
The tattoos seemed to come to life
As he moved, they moved with him,
I saw the serpents flickering tongues
Reach out, and under his chin!
And from his back, the eye stared out
Made strong men weak and quail,
Their knees gave way as it stared them down
And they felt their courage fail,
Then Joan saw him in the market place,
And stood there, hypnotized,
As she stared at the face on the sailor's chest,
And he pierced her, with his eyes.
I saw her enter the Mariners Arms
And I tried to call her back,
But she walked like one in a crazy dream
And I heard her call him, 'Jack...'
They disappeared up the stairway,
Made their way to the upper floor,
I had raced to the top of the stairs when they
Went in, and locked the door.
Out in the street, the clouds rolled in
And the sea beat up on the shore,
The rain came down in a torrent,
Lightning flashed at the old Inn door,
Then he came out on the balcony,
Turned round, and showed his back,
Clung to the mast of the Schooner
There was a woman, dressed in black!
I followed the sailor down the street
In the wind and the pouring rain,
As lightning lit the storm on his back
And the woman screamed in pain,
But on his chest was an open space
And the eye had stared me down,
As he boarded a battered Schooner,
And then sailed away from the town!
24 August 2010
poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Splitting The Light
then I saw and we knew
a single light spark
buried unlit
a single breath mark
of a misfit
lighting a fire for two
then I heard and we tried
a single right word
shyly uttered
almost unheard
I frozen muttered
before it died
then I smelled ashes and we ran
a single step covered all dust
left the world living in a den
left each stammer rotten and rust
then there was the hand I raised
a left heart beat but the hand was right
my sunward eyes stood still amazed
at the horizons splitting the light
poem by Miroslava Odalovic
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Real Life Tale Of An Ungrateful Daughter
an ungrateful poor daughter blames her father
her mother sad died thirty-two long years ago
her mother did not choose to suffer illness die
was not mother’s fault choice to daughter leave
daughter in bitterness hate life torments father
her father worked two three jobs her education to pay
her poor father said study succeed attend university
she wanted to spend money work in Texas chicken
she married a shiftless dreamer saying play party angles
her father helped raise their two children in his home
she appreciates nothing saved not never to buy her home
she appreciates not years her family lived with her father
she appreciates not her eldest daughter her father raised
this daughter her husband accept no responsibility blame
daughter says if mother were alive life would be different
poem by Terence George Craddock
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Day She Was Born
I remember so vividly the day you were born
That day seemed like it would never end
I prayed you would come to the world safe
and I prayed my mother would come with you
I prayed and I prayed
The first time I held you in my arms
I felt the power of a sister bond
your face glowed with a divine light
the prints on your palms were delicately printed
there were soft stroked of curly black hair decorating your tiny head
When you opened your dark brown eyes
I then realized who I was holding in my arms
My sister, own sister
my little sister
On that day I vowed
to protect you with all my life
to provide you with life
and to be with you all throughout my life..
poem by Sinigdha Biswas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Street Child
Who will care for me when i am born into this world?
For day and night i've been walking on the streets;
And i have to struggle to survive for i am a street child.
No, not even one!
For many parents do not even know their children;
And i was born into a lovely home but now,
I do live on the street as a street child.
Lust and sex,
We were born out of it;
But how many parents still know that we do exist?
How many?
They really do not care abour us,
And i have to struggle to survive on my own;
How many days more left for me?
And i have to make ends meet from the streets;
Because there is nobody around to help me,
And i have no place called home again.
A street child that i am,
And of the many rivers to cross for my survival;
How many social workers do know of our plights?
How many?
How many streets do we have to sleep on?
How many? Hopw many governmenets do we have to wait for?
How many?
Yet still i am a street child.
Who really care about us?
And who really care about me?
My parents do not even know my where about;
Right from Kwazulu Natal Province to Tingitingi,
And from Obbia to Nima!
How many do care?
I am born into this world but,
I am living on the street;
And who will care about me?
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In Another Land
In another land where the breeze and the
Trees and flowers were blue
I stood and held your hand.
And the grass grew high and the feathers floated by
I stood and held your hand.
And nobody else's hand will ever do
Nobody else will do
Then I awoke
Was this some kind of joke
Much to my surprise
I opened my eyes.
We walked across the sand and the sea and
The sky and the castles were blue.
I stood and held your hand.
And the spray flew high and the feathers floated by
I stood and held your hand.
And nobody else's hand will ever do
Nobody else will do
Then I awoke
Was this some kind of joke
Much to my surprise
When I opened my eyes.
We heard the trumpets blow and the sky
Turned red when I accidently said
That I didn't know how I came to be here
Not fast asleep in bed.
I stood and held your hand.
And nobody else's hand will ever do
Nobody else's hand
Then I awoke
Was this some kind of joke
I opened my eyes.
Much to my surprise.
song performed by by Rolling Stones from Their Satanic Majesties Request
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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This Isn't Everything You Are
He walked into a drugstore that day
He took a bullet and saved a girl
Not for heroic reasons
But to end his journey
His mum held his feet and prayed
with a hundred teardrops
Two thousand hands of a thousand angels
Performed CPR and with four thousand teardrops
Warmed his frozen body
God sits, turns his face and sheds a dropp or two
He lies alone in pitch darkness
The going had been tough
And he chose to get going
He dug a hole, lay and covered himself
Grace felt fat and took a stroll that day
He walked and smiled
Stepping on a heap of sand, he felt pain
Stooped and moved the sand
Turned his face and stared the turned teary face
Face to face they stared
The angels keep at it and look to God and grace
'There's joy not far from here', the angels echoed
He'd strayed, mum prayed, angels stayed
God came, breathed in him
Whispered and said, 'this isn't everything you are'
His heart beat, his mum smiled
Angels cried, God tried
To show him, all he was made to be
He cried, angels smiled
You are more than what you've been through
You are more than what you are today
And hope, though not bankable
Is the thread of life
And if you ever feel like walking away from it all
Keep this in mind:
THIS ISN'T EVERYTHING YOU ARE.
poem by Jenim Dibie
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dark Bodies (demo)
Dark bodies floating in darkness
No sign of light ever given
Imprisoned in a world without a memory
Unconscious, or am I conscious?
Cut from the heart I am part of
Sometimes it feels as though I'm frozen in heaven
And I saw my own face in the black lonely space
Like a spark frozen grey
Floating away [x2]
In dreams I see myself flying
Closer to the sun and I'm climbing
Tried to touch the sun
But the brightness burned my eyes
Unconscious, or am I conscious?
Fell from the sky like a star
Sometimes it feels as though I'm frozen in heaven
And I saw my own face in the black lonely space
Like a spark frozen grey
Floating away
And I saw my own face in the black lonely space
Like a spark...
My mind was so dark...
My life was so dark...
My mind was so dark...
My life was so dark...
Everything was dark
Unconscious, or am I conscious?
Fell from the sky like a star
Sometimes I feel as though I'm frozen in Heaven
And I saw my own face in the black lonely space
Like a spark frozen grey
Floating away [x2]
And I saw my own face like a spark...floating away
song performed by by Fear Factory
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Statue
Cement up to the neck
& my head packed
with unsaid words.
A gullet full of pebbles,
a mouth
of cast concrete-
I am stuck
in a lovelessness so thick,
it seems my natural element.
My mouth closes
on stones.
Hand frozen to my chin,
my back a question mark,
my heart soldered
to its arteries,
my feet planted
in grass that cannot grow,
The Thinker ponders
ten more years of this:
a woman
living the life
of a statue.
Break free!
Melt the metal
in love's cauldron,
open doors, eyes, heart,
those frozen ventricles,
those stuck tongues,
those stuttering dependencies.
When the statue walks,
will the world dissolve?
When she shakes her shoulders,
will the sky shrug
& skitter off in space?
Or will the clouds cluster
to cover her,
& the blue wind gather
at her shoulders
& the men streak by
like jet trails in the air,
utterly ephemeral?
poem by Erica Jong
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In The End
I Saw Red
Warrant
Oo it must be magic
How inside your eyes I see my destiny Every time we kiss
I feel you breathe your love to deep inside of me
And if the moon and stars should fall
They'd be east to replace
I would lift you up to heaven
And you would take their place
Then I saw red
When I opened up the door
I saw red
Heart just spilled on to the floor
And I didn't need to see his face
I saw yours
I saw red then I closed the door
I don't think I'm gonna love you anymore
Everyday I wake up
I thank God that you are
Still a part of me
Opened up the door to which
So many people never find the way
Snd if the sun
Should ever fail to send its light
We will burn a thousand candles
And make everything alright
Then I saw red
Wnen I opened up the door
I saw red
Heart just spilled onto the floor
And I didn't need to see his face
I saw yours
I saw red then I closed the door
I don't think I'm gonna love you anymore
I've been hurt
And I've been blind
I'm not sure that I'll be fine
I never thought it would
End this way
Oo it must be magic
song performed by by Warrant
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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For Years Now
For years now
I have been dreaming about returning home.
For good.
For years now
I have been packing my bags.
in my thoughts.
For years now
I have been going home when I become nostalgic
and to rest from everything.
For years now I have been at home
and I go to London
when I want to bring more life to my life.
poem by Vida Nenadic
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Leather and Silk
It was a dance
at least I think it was
the silk scarf
drawn across her face
til only her eyes were revealed
having in them that playful gleam
only love play brings.
She took the scarf
allowing it to play
across her hips
which moved unseen behind the silk
making the scarf move
buffed by unseen promises..
It slithered up between her breasts
languishing upon her shoulders bare
then suddenly twirling
about her head
her laughing
a crystal laugh
spinning
round
wrapping her self in the silken wave
a twirling dervish
of light and perfume.
I rise
my back straight
fixing her gaze
advancing
hypnotized by her eyes
fixing me
capturing me
inside her now close breath
exhaling;
scarf thin is the space
between
and we both breathe shared air
inhale and exhaled waves
mutually taken in;
we both now light of head
with heat
and intoxicating oxygens
diving deep with
lung cavities
where they dance and swirl
exhale
and set themselves to receive
new incoming
exhilarations.
The eyes now closed
the scarf comes up again
circling my neck;
she taking both ends
drawing me close
eyes never leaving mine
frozen time
her body
was now my body
and I hers.
We two
now at short scarf length
twirl
my belt
now in play
encircling her neck;
my leather;
her silk;
joined
as our hearts play.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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