The Secret
WHAT says the wind to the waving trees?
What says the wave to the river?
What means the sigh in the passing breeze?
Why do the rushes quiver?
Have you not heard the fainting cry
Of the flowers that said 'Good-bye, good-bye'?
List how the gray dove moans and grieves
Under the woodland cover;
List to the drift of the falling leaves,
List to the wail of the lover.
Have you not caught the message heard
Already by wave and breeze and bird?
Come, come away to the river's bank,
Come in the early morning;
Come when the grass with dew is dank,
There you will find the warning —
A hint in the kiss of the quickening air
Of the secret that birds and breezes bear.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
The Fickle Breeze
Sighing softly to the river
Comes the loving breeze,
Setting nature all a-quiver,
Rustling through the trees!
And the brook in rippling measure
Laughs for very love,
While the poplars, in their pleasure,
Wave their arms above!
River, river, little river,
May thy loving prosper ever.
Heaven speed thee, poplar tree,
May thy wooing happy be!
Yet, the breeze is but a rover,
When he wings away,
Brook and poplar mourn a lover!
Sighing well-a-day!
Ah, the doing and undoing
That the rogue could tell!
When the breeze is out a-wooing,
Who can woo so well?
Pretty brook, thy dream is over,
For thy love is but a rover!
Sad the lot of poplar trees,
Courted by the fickle breeze!
poem by William Schwenck Gilbert
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Blue Evening
My restless blood now lies a-quiver,
Knowing that always, exquisitely,
This April twilight on the river
Stirs anguish in the heart of me.
For the fast world in that rare glimmer
Puts on the witchery of a dream,
The straight grey buildings, richly dimmer,
The fiery windows, and the stream
With willows leaning quietly over,
The still ecstatic fading skies . . .
And all these, like a waiting lover,
Murmur and gleam, lift lustrous eyes,
Drift close to me, and sideways bending
Whisper delicious words.
But I
Stretch terrible hands, uncomprehending,
Shaken with love; and laugh; and cry.
My agony made the willows quiver;
I heard the knocking of my heart
Die loudly down the windless river,
I heard the pale skies fall apart,
And the shrill stars' unmeaning laughter,
And my voice with the vocal trees
Weeping. And Hatred followed after,
Shrilling madly down the breeze.
In peace from the wild heart of clamour,
A flower in moonlight, she was there,
Was rippling down white ways of glamour
Quietly laid on wave and air.
Her passing left no leaf a-quiver.
Pale flowers wreathed her white, white brows.
Her feet were silence on the river;
And "Hush!" she said, between the boughs.
poem by Rupert Brooke (1909)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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My river bank
The water hit the bank
Like a wave upon a shore
Happiness just out of reach
Finding that is something you can’t teach
No one to talk to
No one to see
As you can tell just me
I sit alone on my river bank
No happy people passing by as I let out a gentle sigh
I realized I sit alone on my river bank
Unreal happiness in this unreal tournament they call life
I sit alone, isolated on my river bank
I shall always sit alone on my river bank
I will always be alone on this river bank
poem by EmOzEd johnston
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Leudeman's-on-the-River
Toward even when the day leans down,
To kiss the upturned face of night,
Out just beyond the loud-voiced town
I know a spot of calm delight.
Like crimson arrows from a quiver
The red rays pierce the water flowing,
While we go dreaming, singing, rowing,
To Leudeman's-on-the-River.
The hills, like some glad mocking-bird,
Send back our laughter and our singing,
While faint--and yet more faint is heard
The steeple bells all sweetly ringing.
Some message did the winds deliver
To each glad heart that August night,
All heard, but all heard not aright;
By Leudeman's-on-the-River.
Night falls as in some foreign clime,
Between the hills that slope and rise.
So dusk the shades at landing time,
We could not see each other's eyes.
We only saw the moonbeams quiver
Far down upon the stream! that night
The new moon gave but little light
By Leudeman's-on-the-River.
How dusky were those paths that led
Up from the river to the hall.
The tall trees branching overhead
Invite the early shades that fall.
In all the glad blithe world, oh, never
Were hearts more free from care than when
We wandered through those walks, we ten,
By Leudeman's-on-the-River.
So soon, so soon, the changes came.
This August day we two alone,
On that same river, not the same,
Dream of a night forever flown.
Strange distances have come to sever
The hearts that gayly beat in pleasure,
Long miles we cannot cross or measure--
From Leudeman's-on-the-River.
We'll pluck two leaves, dear friend, to-day.
The green, the russet! seems it strange
So soon, so soon, the leaves can change!
Ah, me! so runs all night away
This night wind chills me, and I shiver;
The summer time is almost past.
One more good-bye--perhaps the last
To Leudeman's-on-the-River.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The List Goes On
Radio play, just depresses me today,
Why is it so throwaway?
The lists that you write just to classify this tripe,
When clearly it all sounds the same
I've heard it all done before,
100 years ago, or more,
Orginality is so passe
Just the same old politics
Through pretentious effects units,
By self obsessive slobs... the list goes on
Madia press has become an utter mess,
The opinions of failed pop stars,
They constantly try to divert the public eye,
Led by large cash advances and such
I've heard it all done before,
100 years ago or more
Originality is so passe,
Forgotten geners get re-hashed
Create the craze, create the cash,
Will you buy anything... the list goes on
And I will try, not to let this get to me,
But it goes on,
Yeah it goes on, and on and on and on...
I've heard it all done before,
100 years ago or more,
Originality is so passe,
I'll never lose my faith in you,
If nothing's good what can you do,
Just don't buy anything,
The list goes on,
On the list goes on
song performed by by Ordinary Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Winds Message
There came a whisper down the Bland between the dawn and dark,
Above the tossing of the pines, above the river's flow;
It stirred the boughs of giant gums and stalwart iron-bark;
It drifted where the wild ducks played amid the swamps below;
It brought a breath of mountain air from off the hills of pine,
A scent of eucalyptus trees in honey-laden bloom;
And drifting, drifting far away along the Southern line
It caught from leaf and grass and fern a subtle strange perfume.
It reached the toiling city folk, but few there were that heard--
The rattle of their busy life had choked the whisper down;
And some but caught a fresh-blown breeze with scent of pine that stirred
A thought of blue hills far away beyond the smoky town;
And others heard the whisper pass, but could not understand
The magic of the breeze's breath that set their hearts aglow,
Nor how the roving wind could bring across the Overland
A sound of voices silent now and songs of long ago.
But some that heard the whisper clear were filled with vague unrest;
The breeze had brought its message home, they could not fixed abide;
Their fancies wandered all the day towards the blue hills' breast,
Towards the sunny slopes that lie along the riverside,
The mighty rolling western plains are very fair to see,
Where waving to the passing breeze the silver myalls stand,
But fairer are the giant hills, all rugged though they be,
From which the two great rivers rise that run along the Bland.
Oh! rocky range and rugged spur and river running clear,
That swings around the sudden bends with swirl of snow-white foam,
Though we, your sons are far away, we sometimes seem to hear
The message that the breezes bring to call the wanderers home.
The mountain peaks are white with snow that feeds a thousand rills,
Along the rive banks the maize grows tall on virgin land,
And we shall live to see once more those sunny southern hills,
And strike once more the bridle track that leads along the Bland.
poem by Andrew Barton Paterson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Adieu
Waving whispering trees,
What do you say to the breeze
And what says the breeze to you?
'Mid passing souls ill at ease,
Moving murmuring trees,
Would ye ever wave an Adieu?
Tossing turbulent seas,
Winds that wrestle with these,
Echo heard in the shell,—
'Mid fleeting life ill at ease,
Restless ravening seas,—
Would the echo sigh Farewell?
Surging sumptuous skies,
For ever a new surprise,
Clouds eternally new,—
Is every flake that flies,
Widening wandering skies,
For a sign—Farewell, Adieu?
Sinking suffering heart
That know'st how weary thou art,—
Soul so fain for a flight,—
Aye, spread your wings to depart,
Sad soul and sorrowing heart,—
Adieu, Farewell, Good-night.
poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1876)
Submitted by anonym
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Kiss On My List
Lyrics & music: janna allen, daryl hall
My friends wonder why I call you all of the time
What can I say
I dont feel the need to give such secrets away
You think maybe I need help, no, I know that Im right
Im just better off not listening to friends advice
When they insist on knowing my bliss
I tell them this
When they want to know what the reason is
I only smile when I lie, then I tell them why
(because your kiss) your kiss is on my list
(because your kiss) your kiss is on my list
Because your kiss is on my list of the best things in life
(because your kiss) your kiss is on my list
(because your kiss) your kiss I cant resist
I go crazy wondering what there is to really see
Did the night just take up your time, cause it means more to me
Sometimes I forget what Im doing, I dont forget what I want
Regret what Ive done, regret you? I couldnt go on
And if you insist on knowing my bliss
Ill tell you this
If you want to know what the reason is
Ill only smile when I lie, then Ill tell you this
song performed by by Hall & Oates
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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That Old River
Look at that old river, sitting there so still
Full of fear, almost frightening - got to get
to that old river tonight somehow.
Freedom calls for me tonight, dreams only of old
dusty fields - no more, no more at last - got
to get to that old river somehow.
Is that biscuits I smell in that old kitchen - not
tonight I cry - across that old river tonight before
I die. Out the door I began feeling the warm breeze
in the air. Oh Lord! Help me to make it there.
With each step my feet got heavier and heavier - holding
my breath, scared to death. It's just me and you Lord,
sure can't turn back from this journey now.
This night seem longer somehow - suddenly I could hear
voices from afar - must be getting closer I sigh. Come
on over I heard someone cry, got to get across this old
river, freedom before I die.
Slowly, down the river we went, my heart gave a big sigh.
Suddenly, the boat hit solid ground - I jumped up
Hallelujah! Lord! I made it to the other side.
As I began to look back at that old river, it didn't seem
so big at all. Good-bye Old River, Old River Good-bye
poem by Cassandra Mitchum
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Love your enemies!
Should an enemy be in the friend's list?
Should an enemy be in the ban's list?
When the enemy is in the friend's list,
Either the enemy is dubious or a friend,
When the friend is in the Ban's list,
Either the friend is dubious or a foe,
When that famous enemy of someone,
Was listed in the friend's list of the same,
How many of you shocked and never asked?
As a vocal person, I never raise my voice against abuse,
As I am still confused with the traits of the artists,
Who are good at acting as predators and victims.
poem by Veeraiyah Subbulakshmi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Sea Is Very Big
Do not ask me to be the wave of some vast sea.
I can agree though if you promise that the wave of the sea
Will but lose itself in the depths of the ocean and
Return again to the refuge of the childhood river.
I do not want to merge with the sea, for
It is vast, it has too great a pride,
And I am afraid of it.
It is bent on devouring the river
in intoxicated ravenousness, but
I refuse to be its victim: only
I can be its occasional companion
some morning, or,
May even go with it to the far distance
some lazy noon.
Provided it gives me the pledge
That each evening it will restore me to the quiet
River of my childhood, which I have seen
Flowing in my body and soul from birth,
That when I shall watch my river some winter night,
Sitting on its bank, it will fill this river of mine
With a new flood tide.
No oceanic cyclone
Only the soft drip-dropp of dew, like a musical tune,
Making the two 'bakul' branches on the bank
Mildly quiver.
Note: Bakul- A kind of flower tree.
poem by Ahsan Habib
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A River Isle.
A little island in the river
There is, round which the breezes quiver
Like sweet birds that would stay
A moment on their way,
So green it is with leaves and grass,
And chequered by the clouds that pass
Far over in the blue above:
As sweet with flowers as life with love,
And breathing of a mood
That, like a wild bird in the city's din,
Though far from all its kith and kin,
Sustains its solitude.
poem by Robert Crawford
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Right Across The River Bend
Right across the river bend there’s a warm gentle breeze.
Right across the river-bend are trees with yellow leaves.
Right across the river bend the water reflects the sun.
Right across the river bend is a smell of innocence.
Right across the river bend a robin’s egg is broken.
Right across the river-bend are peaceful mountain valleys.
Right across the river bend a dandelion is carried.
Right across the river bend are fields of shiny green grass.
Right across the riverbend are memories made to last.
poem by Alicia Page
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Tall Story part two
There is a bridge that crosses over a river
A river that is eerie and makes you quiver
With the light of the moon the river will gleam
and a boat will go sailing, on its own down
stream. The mist will come from out of the trees
and horrible sounds can be heard in the breeze.
It sounded like cats caught up in a fight a claim
for territory in the dead of night, but cats never fight
on the waters edge just in case they fall over the ledge.
A river bank full of matted reeds where plants had died
without dispersing their seeds.A man dressed in green
who paddles the stream who can be seen clear in the
moonlit beam.Sometimes you hear him digging on
the side of the river bank, could this be true or is it
some sort of a prank
A river full of alge green and that's how it had
always been. No carp, no bream no fish to fish not
even a place for a secret wish.
No river bank wildlife to give it grace, just run over the
bridge and get out of this place.
The story tells of a robber who stood about three feet
tall and because of his height he couldent climbe over
the wall. Now behind the wall was the river which spread
down far and wide and the man in green had a problem
because he could'nt get to the other side.So he hid the
loot inside his boot and started to dig under the wall
but as he dug the water flooded in and he sank to
the bottom of the pool.
Apart from one thing he could not swim and the weight
of the loot that was in his boot no doubt made him take
root.If you go to the river and see the man in green, then
please come back and tell us what you have seen.
This is a tall story one with a short tale, I am sorry it
didn't excit you, but my next one wont fail.
poem by Sylvia Spencer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Scissor Man
Snipping, snipping, snipping goes the scissor man
Putting end to evil doers games
Snipping, snipping, snipping goes the scissor man
Maybe you are in his book of names
Maybe you are in his book of names
So be kind and helpful to your mother
Just think twice before you try and steal
When he cuts with sticky silver snippers
You may find the wounds will never heal
All self made bad boys
If you refuse to believe he exist
You won't be frightened when you find out
You're on his list
You're on his list
You're on his list
So be good and never poison people
Just think twice before the deed is done
When you wake up guilty in the morning
You may find important pieces gone
song performed by by Primus
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Early In The Morning
Oh I bet
You were a virgin
'Til you let me
Oh I miss your kiss
When you are gone
I was young and foolish
Didn't know what I was doing
Didn't know I'd lost you
'Til you were gone
Oh I miss your loving
When you are gone
Now I gotta get up
Early in the morning
Find me another lover
Now I've got to get up early
Every morning
'Cos the early bird
Always catches the worm
Now I've got to get up early
Every morning
Got to make up for the
Lesson I learned
Got to find me a lover
Who won't run for cover
Find me a lover
Who won't run for cover
Got to get up
Early in the morning
Find me another lover
Now I gotta get up
Early in the morning
Find me another lover
I was young and foolish
Didn't know what I was doing
Didn't know I'd lost you
'Til you'd gone
She had a pretty face
Drove me wild
I even wanted her to have my child
song performed by by Robert Palmer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Poetry
It began from a simple word,
Of what the moon had seemingly spoken,
Or a bird’s song I once heard,
Or whispers of the wind of same token;
Then there were colors of the rainbow,
Sketched briefly below the sky blue,
And the clouds’ reflection to the sea,
Spread all their words in my poetry;
The sound of the roaring river,
The melting snow after winter,
The wind breeze in summer,
You hear them in my poetry,
But without the presence of spring,
Flowers blooming every morning,
If no trees, no mountains seen,
In my poetry, you’ll read nothing.
poem by Efren Petalver Carranza
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Early Morning Breeze
I open up my door to greet the early morning sun
Closing it behind me and away I do run
To the meadow where the meadow lark is singing in the tree
In the meadow I go walking in the early morning breeze
I cup my hands to catch a multi-colored butterfly
Perched upon the petals of flowers growing wild
Freeing it I watch it as it flies away from me
To visit with the flowers in the early morning breeze
Chorus:
Rainbow colored flowers kissed with early morning sun
The aster and the dahlia and wild geraniums
Drops of morning due still linger on the iris leaves
In the meadow where Im walking in the early morning breeze
Misty-eyed I look about the meadow where I stray
For its there I find the courage to greet the coming day
For there among the flowers I kneel gently to my knees
To have a word with God in the early mornig breeze
2nd chorus:
A rainbow colored meadow kissed with early morning sun
The aster and the dahlia and wild geraniums
Drops of morning due still linger on the iris leaves
In the meadow where Im walking in the early morning breez
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Santa's Gonna Take It All Back
You can have that perfume that you wanted
And you can have those earrings, too
I'll even get that TV set
But there's a few things you gotta do
'Cause you've been lettin' our love come second
And sometimes even third
Now, I've had enough and if you want that stuff
Hey, Santa's done give me the word that
If you ain't a good girl by Christmas
He said he's gonna take it all back
If you ain't got it right come Christmas night
He's gonna put it back in the sack
You've got a lot of things on your list
And you better straighten up your act
'Cause if you ain't a good girl by Christmas
Hey, Santa's gonna take it all back
Got you a car back on your birthday
But that didn't get me nowhere
I did dinner and wine on valentine's
And you acted like you didn't care
Hey, it's time you loved your fellow man
That's what the season is all about
Now, I've heard it said that it ain't what you get
But baby, I'm plum give out
If you ain't a good girl by Christmas
He said he's gonna take it all back
If you ain't got it right come Christmas night
He's gonna put it back in the sack
You've got a lot of things on your list
And you better straighten up your act
'Cause if you ain't a good girl by Christmas
Hey, Santa's gonna take it all back
Now, you've got a lot of things on your list
But if you don't straighten up your act
If you ain't a good girl by Christmas
Yeah, Santa's gonna take it all back
If you ain't a good girl by Christmas
Yeah, Santa's gonna take it all back
Aw, he's gonna get it all too baby
Box it up, put it up on that big sleigh
He might throw that car up with it
Wave bye-bye, I told ya, and I told ya
Santa's the man, baby
song performed by by Toby Keith
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Scissor Man
Snipping, snipping, snipping goes the scissor man,
Putting end to evil doers games.
Snipping, snipping, snipping goes the scissor man,
Maybe you are in his book of names.
Maybe you are in his book of names.
So be kind and helpful to your mother,
Just think twice before you try and steal.
When he cuts with sticky silver snippers,
You may find that some wounds never heal.
All self made bad boys,
If you refuse to believe he exist,
You wont be frightened when you find out,
Youre on his list.
Youre on his list.
Youre on his list.
So be good and never poison people,
Just think twice before the deed is done.
When you wake up guilty in the morning,
You may find important pieces gone.
song performed by by Xtc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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