Keep Listening Still
when our friends finally abandon us
we are still lucky
to have us: me myself and I,
NOW, there is no need to adjust
and chart what the other
needs
what amount of light must this room
have
what shape must the window be
half-open or wide open to see
the long stretch of the road beyond
this room
narrow and noisy with the other
when everything fails
do not ponder upon any loss or regret
how useless and faulty have you become
there is no use
the world moves on
the ship sails still
when made to choose between the joy of the crowd
when you cannot afford it
choose silence instead
purify the mind
live in the solitude of the soul
like a pond without a ripple
however, when a leaf falls (another metaphor for death
or failure)
welcome it
for such shall become your
wise company
listen to the duet
of leaf and water.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
The Challenge Of The Day
on a rush you step outside the room
without a window
thick drapes
sealing you away from the noise of the world
solitude and silence
your treasures
as soon as you open the door
the heavy rains and traffic greet you
with a challenge
'this is the real world, come out! '
there is no place to hide
there are always places to go
and faces to deal with
amidst the crowd find the solitude and the silence
from within your soul
your heart must know and your mind must adopt
lest you shall be one of those carried by the flood of meaningless existence
out there
cold and dead
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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A Leaf
to a non-poet a leaf is just a leaf
and when it falls
on the ground, there is nothing but a
fall
but to us who claim this art
a leaf is not just a leaf
but it can be you or i
falling and when i reach the ground
you feel the heart of the leaf
beating
for its falling, its failure as a leaf,
its surrender to a certain death
its claiming a portion of this earth
to rest and be part of this
world, it rots, and it speaks some line
before it rots
a poem, a valediction on an anthill,
an eulogy of the other leaves that
fell before the great falling
it can be a story of humanity written
on the lines of its face, it will have flesh
on its layers, some mouths on its
seams, and it will tell too
about the tree where it comes from
how the clouds drifted so close to its stalk
how the sun kissed it on top of everything
a leaf is a world. just as a poem is.
we live inside it. Through it. Even
outside it. Even in circles.
we make understanding so complicated.
yet we are so simple as you see us.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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I Could Have Told You
THAT YELLOW
SOLO LEAF floating on a very clear pond,
was it last summer?
will it really matter when someone is finally gone?
will the wind remember?
will the deep water of the pond be always true to its clarity and peace?
that yellow leaf that sank on the very clear pond on one peaceful day
will someone still remember?
i think, i will,
if i, too, shall live
longer than
you.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Room
Through that window—all else being extinct
Except itself and me—I saw the struggle
Of darkness against darkness. Within the room
It turned and turned, dived downward. Then I saw
How order might—if chaos wished—become:
And saw the darkness crush upon itself,
Contracting powerfully; it was as if
It killed itself, slowly: and with much pain.
Pain. The scene was pain, and nothing but pain.
What else, when chaos draws all forces inward
To shape a single leaf? . . .
For the leaf came
Alone and shining in the empty room;
After a while the twig shot downward from it;
And from the twig a bough; and then the trunk,
Massive and coarse; and last the one black root.
The black root cracked the walls. Boughs burst
the window:
The great tree took possession.
Tree of trees!
Remember (when time comes) how chaos died
To shape the shining leaf. Then turn, have courage,
Wrap arms and roots together, be convulsed
With grief, and bring back chaos out of shape.
I will be watching then as I watch now.
I will praise darkness now, but then the leaf.
poem by Conrad Potter Aiken
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Walk Into This Room
Dont let em get to your heart
Dont lose your diamonds swimmin in a lake when its (? ? )
The whole wide world feels like a shrine built to the worker bees
Who stole it from God anyhow
Lay it down child
Lay it down child
And walk into this room
Dont let em get to your spark
That little light in the back of everything that says this
Isnt for madder love
The whole wide world feels like a clan of mad scientists removing the juice
So they can freeze-dry you and put you in a box
Lay it down child
Lay it down child
And walk into this room all made with love for you
Lay it down child
You can
You can
Lay it down child
And walk into this room
A hundred candles to make the walls come alive
A little frank insence to sweeten the air just right
Now take my hand
And open the door
And open the door
Yeah, oh...
Yeah, oh...
Lay it down child
You can
You can
Lay it down child
And walk into this room
Walk into this room
Lay it down child
Just lay it down, lay it down
Lay it down
Lay it down, lay it down
Into this room
song performed by by Live
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Up in my room on my unmade bed
Up in my room on my unmade bed
I sat and read.
There was work waiting for me below.
I didn't go.
For in my little green room the song
Flickered along.
If the singer had seen the way it fared
She would have stared,
Have wondered and stared at me who read
With tumbled bed,
Wide-open window, wide-open door,
Books on the floor.
Hers was a disciplined, comely, wise
Christina-guise.
But what's the hell of a mess to me
When I am free
And wind blows in and a delicate song
Flickers along.
poem by Lesbia Harford
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The Apparition
Now Im here can you see me
cos Im out on my own
When the room goes cold tell me you can feel me
... cos Im here
Here I am can you see me
Passing through on my way
To a place where Id been to only in my dreams
... before
In a world of delusion
Never turn your back on a friend
cause you can count your real true friends on one hand
... through life
There are those that decieve you
There are those thatll let you down
Is there someone out there that would die for you
... thought not
Live your life with a passion
Everything you do, do well
You get out of life what you put in
... so they say
In a world of confusion
People never say what they mean
If you want a straight answer go look for one
... right now
In a room full of strangers
Do you stand with your back to the wall
Do you sometimes feel like youre on the outside
... looking in?
You can make your own luck
You can create your destiny
I believe you have the power if you want to
... its true
You can do what you want to
If you try a little bit harder
A little bit of faith goes a long way
... it does
Are we here for a reason?
Id like to know just what you think
It would be nice to know what happens when we die
... wouldnt it?
There are some who are wise
There are some who are born naive
I believe that there are some that have lived before
... dont you?
As for me well Im thinking
You gotta keep an open mind
But I hope my life is not an open and
... shut case
Extra sensory perception
Life after death telepathy
Can the soul live on and travel through
... space and time
You know I feel so elated
cause Im about to find it out
And when I know all the answers maybe then Ill come back
... to fill you in
You dont be alarmed now
If I try to contact you
If things go missing or get moved around
... its me
And dont disbelieve it
No matter what your friends might say
Well meet up again some place some way
... one day
song performed by by Iron Maiden
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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An Emptiness Again?
this emptiness moves upon its hands
on the carpeted floors of the hallways
upon an old catholic church
the pillars as you see are taller
than the rugby players
the windows are as wide as the shoulders
of african men
i stand on the threshold of this door
the sun gets in
and i must choose which way to be
outside is the wind full of uncertain origins
inside there is this light that fears dissolution
the moment the wide window closes upon itself
there are two windows inside myself
i open them soon and then i will fly away
inside there is too much feasting
outside there is only your silence
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Let My Love Open The Door
Pete Townshend) (various dates)
The people keep repeatin'
The children follow along
Everybody keeps from changin'
And you could say you did enough...
Let my love open your door... (3x)
To your heart...
Let my love open the door (2x)
When everything feels all over
Everybody seems unkind
I'll give you a four-leaf clover
Take all worries out of your mind
Let my love open your door... (3x)
To your heart...
Let my love open the door...
To your heart...
Let my love open the door...
Have the only key to your heart...
I can stop you from fallin' apart
Tried to say in my own way...
Somebody give me the chance to say...
Let my love open your door...
It's all I'm lookin' for
And erase yourself from misery
There's only one thing that's gonna set you free...
When trouble really falls you...
Don't let it tie you down
Love can cure your problems
You're so lucky I'm around
Let my love open your door... (3x)
To your heart...
Let my love open the door...
To your heart...
Let my love open the door... (5x)
Oh...to your heart...
Oh...baby, I know I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said...
...I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said...
Oh...na na na...let my love open the door...
Let my love... (2x
song performed by by Pearl Jam
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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339
you are telling me about a stone
who refuses to admit anyone simply
because it has no door, no room and no space
for someone like you,
you who does not even know what knowing someone
really means. you ask the stone for a space and it says no
and you tell the stone that it has a space
where the leaf and a dropp of water live
the stone says no, and you insist because of the state you are in
you are dying and you need a place
perhaps a burial space where you may finally lay yourself
to rest, but the stone still says no, telling you that it has
no feelings that for centuries it has always been its nature
stony, stony silence, stony stares, unfeeling, that in its
house of stone, there exists no word for sympathy
that it is simply living up to the demands of its true nature
its tradition, and you finally understand, yet somehow you
tell the stone about what it does not know
inside it there is this leaf with dew, there is dropp of water
coming from the rain, that until now it has not fully known,
that inside its stony silence, there is still this song
that it has a heart that it keeps denying.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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About A Stone Without A Door
you are telling me about a stone
who refuses to admit anyone simply
because it has no door, no room and no space
for someone like you,
you who does not even know what knowing someone
really means. you ask the stone for a space and it says no
and you tell the stone that it has a space
where the leaf and a dropp of water live
the stone says no, and you insist because of the state you are in
you are dying and you need a place
perhaps a burial space where you may finally lay yourself
to rest, but the stone still says no, telling you that it has
no feelings that for centuries it has always been its nature
stony, stony silence, stony stares, unfeeling, that in its
house of stone, there exists no word for sympathy
that it is simply living up to the demands of its true nature
its tradition, and you finally understand, yet somehow you
tell the stone about what it does not know
inside it there is this leaf with dew, there is dropp of water
coming from the rain, that until now it has not fully known,
that inside its stony silence, there is still this song
that it has a heart that it keeps denying.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Joy Of Solitude
with the kind and gentle
touch of the wind
a bamboo leaf falls
flip
flopping
in air
down
into the serene
pond
on moss filled
stone
beside the water
so like a a silk cloth
of a woman
thrown
on the carpeted
floor of the marital
room
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Water That Quenches Your Thirst
at four o'clock in the morning you wake up.
blood is boiling and you look for water to quench the fire.
there is no water in the kitchen.
you go upstairs
no one is there.
you open the window
there is no rain.
it is just the silence of the world
that becomes the water
to your soul.
you drink every moment of this silence.
every dew
in the leaves
of the tree of
solitude
you are refreshed and from that moment on
you know where water
is.
what dew is
what leaves are.
there is a thirst that you have just
defined.
it is not their water
neither yours.
it is beyond the ownership of everyone.
and you know
now
where to find it
because you
also know
what it
really
is
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In My Room The Window Is Open
in my room the window is open
as i sleep tonight
you shall be the moon
as i wait for your shining light
in my room the window is open
come tonight
wrap me with the warmth of the
fullness of your moonlight
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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429
in my room the window is open
as i sleep tonight
you shall be the moon
as i wait for your shining light
in my room the window is open
come tonight
wrap me with the warmth of the
fullness of your moonlight
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Lonely
The lonely live in silent moonlight
Waiting for dreams with open hearts
Soft words ripple the serene water
The sky is dark, the universe silent
A winter leaf falls to the ground
Alone in the cold wind
Through the wilderness I hear your cry
I wish I could come to your longing heart
I too am searching for the golden kingdom
Through the curtain a light shines faint
We are together in soul and spirit
Children of a dream, waiting, watching
The morning will come soon, sleep my dear
We hope we are in someone else's dream
Hearts are deep wells and fill with sorrow
Today isn't tomorrow, the lonely think it is
Love is so close it is far away
One soul to another soul, see the door way
You are far away, yet I know your soul
We are together, we both are seekers of love
poem by Joseph Narusiewicz
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The Love That I Have For You....
outside i watch you
you are inside yourself
a room
a wall but there is window still
that allows light
to come in
and dress you like
a night without the armor
i am the light
and i like the way things are going with us
you just do not know
what is it
to be just light
without a body
what is it to have so many fingers
& yet
without a hand
the room is darker
but i know what it is to be a tiny sun
you fan yourself with your
innocence
your hands are callous
and it is a little bit colder
when by chance you touch my
rays and sheen
when i meet you
like i am water bathing your body
as i dress you once again
with the cloth
of my silk
soul
i quiver like a soft wind
on the reeds
of the moonlit night
i love it this way
this invisible presence
this nameless light
this desire that fulfills itself
without you
feeling it
must i be selfish?
or must i be the one that does not let you suffer
because you cannot love
light
because your coldness is uncertain about the gift
of warmth
its truth beyond all truths
when i am done with you
i summon the rain
& bathe myself again
to wash away
the dirt of guilt
the scars of pain
though
remaining
look at me
i am the morning light that spreads on the garden
of your thighs and
legs
as you watch
with all delight
you only see the wonder of light
and its accompanying music
and then
satisfied with all the caresses of thoughts that i have always loved you
i go with the herds of rain
and what is left to please me more
is your own
fading face
like those ripples on the pond
that the lonely leaf
had given
the shape of love that i carry with me
as air embracing the heavens
again....
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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T.b. Sheets
Now listen, julie baby,
It ain't natural for you to cry in the midnight.
It ain't natural for you to cry way into midnight through,
Until the wee small hours long 'fore the break of dawn,
Oh lord, huh uh ha. ha.
Now julie, an' there ain't nothin' on my mind
More further 'way than what you're lookin' for.
I see the way you jumped at me, lord, from behind the door
And looked into my eyes.
Your a little star struck innuendos
Inadequacies an' foreign bodies,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain, oh lord.
Ha, so open up the window and let me breathe.
I said open up the window, shh shh shh shh shh and let me breathe.
I'm looking down to the street below, lord, i cried for you,
Ha ha, i cried, i cried for you, ha ha. oh, lord.
The cool room, lord is a fool's room.
The cool room, lord is a fool's room.
And i can almost smell your t.b. sheets
And i can almost smell your t.b. sheets
On your sick bed.
I gotta go, i gotta go
And you said, "please stay, i wanna, i wanna,
I want a drink of water, i want a drink of water,
Go in the kitchen get me a drink of water."
I said, "i gotta go, i gotta go, baby."
I said, "i'end, i'll send somebody around here later.
You know we got john comin' around here later
With a bottle of wine for you, baby - but i gotta go."
The cool room, lord is a fool's room,
The cool room, lord, lord is a fool's room, a fool's room.
And i can almost smell your t.b. sheets,
I can almost smell your t.b. sheets, t.b.
I gotta go, i gotta go.
I'll send around, send around one that grumbles later on, babe.
We'll see what i can pick up for you, you know.
Yeah, i got a few things gotta do.
Don't worry about it, don't worry about it, don't worry.
Huh uh, go, go, go, i've gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go,
Gotta go, gotta go, huh uh, all right, all right, huh huh huh.
I turned on the radio,
If you wanna hear a few tunes, i'll turn on the radio for you.
There you go, there you go, there you go, baby, there you go, huh.
You'll be all right, too, huh huh, ha ha, yeah.
I know it ain't funny, it ain't runny at all, baby,
Always laying in the cool room, man, laying in the cool room,
In the cool room, in the cool room.
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Allegory Of The Cycle Of Doors
and so there is this door that appears before you
and you open it
and then when you enter the room
another door appears
this is the cycle of doors that keep on appearing and you
keep on opening
but the room still appears from a distance
always distant
from your eager feet to enter
you say to enter the room i must please the door
but the room moves away just the same
and the door tells you
to keep the room
you have to burn it and when the room is burned
the door finally disappears
and then both the door and the room shall tell you
now be happy
for you now have a house of your own
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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5 Minutes In Your Room
It was only 5 minutes in your room,
Then, it left the room;
For, this bird came through your window!
Only for 5 minutes,
Bar, car, tar, far, ear, jar, mar, oar, par, star, war! !
But, it exhibited marvellous moves in your room;
Then, it finally flew out of your room.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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