Know Thyself
at the entrance of all our doors
in our delphis
we put this notice
addressed to ourselves
know thyself
sometimes i wonder
what does this mean?
do i have a self?
have i given it a name?
is the name myself?
i look inside
this self, there is none
it is not me
it is thinking thoughts
not my own
we quarrel
we disagree
this is not me
this ought not to be me
the oracle of delphi
must be wrong
how oedipus rex hurt himself
because he did not like himself
suggests somehow
there is another self
within us........
how many now?
this self? that self?
these selves?
somehow the oracle
of all oracles must be correct
we are unhappy
because 99% of what we do
is for the self
the self and nothing but the self
and there is none any anymore
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
A Poem For Us
this is the sign
at the entrance of the Oracle of
Delphi
Oedipus, he says, you must stop,
right here, in the middle of
an ignorance,
you know what happens next
when you know
finally the root cause
of this misery
You will finally be free
until you become
blinded
by the Truth
You chose your own
Destruction
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Know Thyself And Then Live Your Life The Way You Deem It Fit
at the gates
of Delphi
of the oracle's
house it is written:
know thyself
it is only then
that life becomes
worth living.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Envoys from Alexandria
They had not seen, for ages, such beautiful gifts in Delphi
as these that had been sent by the two brothers,
the rival Ptolemaic kings. After they had received them
however, the priests were uneasy about the oracle. They will need
all their experience to compose it with astuteness,
which of the two, which of such two will be displeased.
And they hold secret councils at night
and discuss the family affairs of the Lagidae.
But see, the envoys have returned. They are bidding farewell.
They are returning to Alexandria, they say. And they do not ask
for any oracle. And the priests hear this with joy
(of course they will keep the marvellous gifts),
but they also are utterly perplexed,
not understanding what this sudden indifference means.
For they are unaware that yesterday the envoys received grave news.
The oracle was given in Rome; the division took place there.
poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Oracle
The oracle said we would lose, its message was very clear.
'Abandon the bones of your fathers, your lands, businesses,
Round up your children, gather what articles of worth
Might feasibly be carried on your backs and get the heck out;
For the foe', it said, 'will descend like a whirlwind
Drink your blood and impress who's ever left
Into the vilest servitude.'.
Most believed and prepared to flee. Only one wise, old woman
Reluctant to leave her potato garden, shook a wise, gnarled finger
At the crowd and demanded a re-interpretation
(Which, of course, she got)
'Clearly', said the divines, 'on reconsideration
The oracle meant just to foretell the destruction of the foe';
We, ourselves, had nothing much to worry about
If we'd only take heart, think and manage our resources wisely;
Talk to each other with an extra measure of politeness and agree to agree;
Oh, and build a fleet.
Such was the re-interpretation of the divines.
That was ten years ago. Putting our faith entirely in the oracles
message;
As the divines bid we did, and when the foe invaded, won the day.
Truly these oracles have a way of changing that optimism never does.
Odd. Could it be that oracles are mostly a matter of interpretation?
poem by Morgan Michaels
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
What The Oracle Said About My Love For You
and so i consulted the oracle of Delphi
about my love for you
that such
must only be felt
not touched
because the moment my skin
touches yours
like the wax wings of Daedalus
i may fall and
drown myself and then
i die
tonight when i have the chance
to be near you
i will hug you.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Quandary
Never have I been glad or sad
That there was such a thing as bad.
There had to be, I understood,
For there to have been any good.
It was by having been contrasted
That good and bad so long had lasted.
That's why discrimination reigns.
That's why we need a lot of brains
If only to discriminate
'Twixt what to love and what to hate.
To quote the oracle at Delphi,
Love thy neighbor as thyself, aye,
And hate him as thyself thou hatest.
There quandary is at its greatest.
We learned from the forbidden fruit
For brains there is no substitute.
'Unless it's sweetbreads, ' you suggest
With innuendo I detest.
You drive me to confess in ink:
Once I was fool enough to think
That brains and sweetbreads were the same,
Till I was caught and put to shame,
First by a butcher, then a cook,
Then by a scientific book.
But ' twas by making sweetbreads do
I passed with such a high I.Q.
poem by Robert Frost
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Can We See The Future Today? [Part 3]
Human beings have peeped into the future with clairvoyance
Clairvoyance is the ability to perceive future events with
powers that are beyond the natural range of the senses
The practitioners of this art are called clairvoyant or psychic
In esoteric language, clairvoyants are said to possess second sight
How true is clairvoyance as a tool to peep into the future?
The accuracy depends on the clairvoyant or the psychic
The ancients have used the oracle to foresee the future
This is a process of consulting the oracular gods through
a priest or priestess to learn about future events.
The oracles are still in use in many places around the world
Even today, some people will not start a new project
or commence an undertaking without consulting the oracle
How correct is the oracle as a means to foretell the future?
The precision depends on the oracle priest or priestess
Can we see the future today?
Human beings have peeped into the future using necromancy
This is the process of invoking or conjuring up the
spirit of the dead to make prophesies and foretell the future
The practitioners of this art are called medium or spiritualist
How accurate is necromancy as a device to forecast the future?
The veracity depends on the spiritualist or the medium
Can we see the future today?
Some people have used I Ching to peep into the future
I Ching is a Chinese system of divination or
fortune-telling that has been in use since the B.C era
In English language, I Ching is called the Book of Changes
There are many methods of using I Ching, but the most
popular ones are the yarrow stalks and the coin methods
Another Chinese method of divination that has been
practiced since the B.C era is called Feng Shui
Feng shui which in english means wind and water is
defined by encarta as a Chinese system that studies
people’s relationships to their environment, especially
their home or workspace, in order to achieve maximum
harmony with the spiritual forces believed to influence all places
Today, believers in feng shui can be found in many countries
[To Be Concluded in Part 4]
poem by Julius Babarinsa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Rebuff
Rebuff!
Reach, peach, leach, teach, beach;
And like the oracle of the one whose eyes are very sharp!
But how beautiful is your love?
Mule, fuel, cruel, duel, trend;
Alas! ! There i met your love;
But you uttered the oracle and i fell into the hole,
And the darkness of it was full of red.
Seven times of love and three times with your muse,
Alas! ! There i met your love;
But you were consumed like a burning fire.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Cant Take The Hurt Anymore
Now that the past has ended
My lifes an open door
I know that we could have been mended
Oh but I cant take the hurt anymore
Cant take the hurt anymore
Ooh ooh cant take the hurt anymore
The rainbows over
But Ive seen it leave before
A love thats been left in the corner
Ooh cos I cant take the hurt anymore
Cant take the hurt anymore
Ooh ooh cant take the hurt anymore
Lady of my ladys
Cant we find the right
And leave behind the sorrow
Lady of my ladys
Cant we find the light
Bright enough to guide us
Cant take the hurt anymore
Ooh ooh cant take the hurt anymore
This love grows older
But Ive felt it all before
Yesterdays over my shoulder
Ooh cos I cant take the hurt anymore
Cant take the hurt anymore
Ah ah cant take the hurt anymore
My love I found has lost its crown
But I just cant leave it die
I fool myself and no one else
Cos I would if I could and I try
Cant take the hurt anymore etc....
song performed by by Cliff Richard
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Displeases
Clue, glue, flew, threw, drew, pitch, ditch;
She was ridding on her donkey and you were with your monkey,
But i will turn back to my lover in the garden of peace.
Perverted, realised, displeases, fetch, teach, witch;
He was ridding on his donkey and you were with your monkey!
And like the oracle of the one whose eyes are opened.
Denounced, delighted, enchantment, pole, hole;
The oracle of your love had taken control over me,
But how beautiful is your body?
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Delphi, c.430 BCE
She saw them coming, that rainy day;
popped her head out of the cave,
saw them trudging sandalled up the hillside;
being an oracle, she knew all the answers;
but had to guess the questions, or wait
to see what stupidity or conceit
framed their speech;
upmarket bunch, this lot; not the usual
money market slickers whom
it was a pleasure to turn away..
Chaerophon addressed her:
was there any man who was wiser
than Socrates? She sighed inwardly;
always their leading questions
gave them away..
tell them what they want to hear..
she did the smoke thing, but
the rain spoiled the trick;
a theatrical pause always gives
better value, a certain weight..
no, she said at length, no man
is wiser than Socrates..
swiftly satisfied, they turned away;
did not hear her add,
‘but his wife is wiser…’
typical men… but she chuckled to herself
ironically, remembering what
her father said when she told him
she wanted to be an oracle when she grew up:
‘Men think they know… but women
think they know better…’ Dad
spoke truer than he knew -
in her case.
She gathered her robe
around her; checked the time;
caves are OK, have a certain drama;
but temples, she thought, are friendlier..
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Know Thyself (at The Gate)
at the gate
there hangs this notice
know thyself, and i
reflect upon it, how other
people can be so mean
about his neighbor simply because
and this is too important
he is confused and does not know what
to do
about himself, and his being mean,
and so the notice at the gate still hangs in there
and it will be for a long, long time,
until man really knows himself,
which could at time be too confusing too,
for how can one so embellished in himself
not know himself, for how can one be so attached
to his bone and flesh and his veins
be not knowing himself, and so i reflected some more,
where is thyself? is it not a possibility too
that there is no self and so one is too unhappy
because he searches for himself througout his whole
lifetime only to find out that there is no such
self as I?
come to think of it, who am I? and who are you?
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
0149 Donald Rumsfeld Meets Descartes
which is why the Greeks
trudged off to Delphi
to find out
if 'Know Thyself'
was consumer-friendly or
as sore-footed a path
as Oedipus trod
and if you think this
doesn't concern you personally
let me ask you about a 'known'
that you know, but don't know
that you know
- or have forgotten...
that moment in childhood
that we've forgotten that we remember
when just for a moment, time stood still
and we knew we knew something
with absolute certainty
but didn't know what it was, that
we knew...
you remember?
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Orpheus Magic Poetic Music
Orphus 'twas playing
His most magical tune
While Greek soldiers
Fought under blue moon
Tyrants and despots
Bent towards their evil whims
Undaunting acrimony
Their foul mouths spin
But in the distance
Near the Aegean Sea
Orpheus's music
Has inticed little me
The Oracle announced him
'He's magic' The oracle bemused
Poetry came to me
I so very enthused
The Acropolis of Athen's
Stood tall at attention
In hopes that Orpheus
Would give them honrable mention
Dedicated to: Origins of Poetry
To Orpheus and all things Greek
I love You...
poem by Theodora Onken
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Miracle
Believe in me for everything i was doing was right for you
and everything here resembles the reasons why i escaped for you.
We are in peace.
They will go and die in peace.
These feelings have knocked me cold,
These feelings have knocked me cold.
But where now?Where to hide?
But where now? Where to hide?
Come leave with me to walk through the desert, soak up all oracle.
And we will combine because you're my one and only miracle.
We are in pieces,
They will go and die in peace.
These feelings have knocked me cold,
These feelings have knocked me cold.
But where now?Where to hide?
but where now?Where to hide?
You will never know.
You will never know how much pain and hurt, there is burning inside my flesh.
You will never know how much pain and hurt, there is burning inside my flesh.
You will never know how much pain and hurt, there is burning inside my flesh.
You will never know how pain pain and hurt, there is burning inside my flesh.
These feelings have knocked me cold,
These feelings have knocked me cold.
But where now?Where to hide?
But where now?Where to hide?
You will never know how much pain and hurt, there is burning inside my flesh.
You will never know how much pain and hurt, there is burning inside my flesh.
song performed by by Inme
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
My Unhappy Anniversary
You ask me, how am I?
Well I'm still standing, aren't I?
That's something, that's one thing , that's gone my way
It's so hard, to go out, like everything ok now
When inside, I still cry for yesterday
This is my unhappy anniversary! !
But I lie, saying it's just another day
This is my unhappy anniversary! !
I know it's so stupid to feel brokenhearted
I wonder if you know just how much I hurt
I drink up and think up a toast to numb the hours
To get through without you is so hard today
Cause it's unhappy anniversary! !
And now it's near midnight, a few minutes and I
Return to get back to my former life
Pretending our ending was not so bad, I know that
It's time to escape you until next year
When it's unhappy anniversary! !
This is my unhappy anniversary
But I smile like it's just another day
It's just my unhappy anniversary
poem by Vivek Khanna
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Dont Want To Fight Anymore
Dont want to fight anymore oh no
Dont want to cry anymore no more
Dont want to fight anymore oh no
Dont want to cry anymore no more
One nation
One family
No limitation
No enemy
No I dont want to fight anymore
No I dont, I dont, no I dont
No I dont want to cry anymore
Dont want to cry
No I dont, I dont
No I dont, oh no
No weapons
No secrecy
All slogans
Blind loyalty
No I dont want to fight anymore
No I dont, I dont, no I dont, no I dont
No I dont want to cry anymore
No I dont, I dont, no I dont, no I dont
You know I dont, you know I dont
You know I dont, you know I dont want to cry
You know I dont, you know I dont
You know I dont, you know I dont
You know I dont, you know I dont
You know I dont, you know I dont want to fight
You know I dont, you know I dont
No righteous
No cruelty
No weapons
No self-defence
No quarrel
No arrogance
No hurt you
Rise above revenge
No I dont want to fight anymore
No I dont, no I dont dont dont
No I dont want to cry anymore
No I dont no I dont
Do I want to fight anymore oh no
Dont want to cry anymore no more
I dont no I dont
No I dont want to fight anymore
I dont no I dont
Dont want to fight anymore oh no
Dont want to cry anymore no more
No I dont want to fight anymore
No I dont no I dont
No I dont want to cry anymore
No I dont no I dont no I dont!
song performed by by Howard Jones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Oracles
Invaders, invaders! The oracles must be consulted;
From the North to the South and,
From the East to the West are the African Oracles.
The oracles of my ancestors are,
The trademarks of my African identity to a call;
We have to consult the oracles in times of need.
Who said it is not rue?
Who said it is not powerful?
Visit the Oracles of Africa and know the truth.
The African Oracles,
Do ask Mr. Okonkwo about it;
He will tell you why,
The Whiteman's 'iron Horse' was hanged on a tree.
Oh! The oracles of my ancestors;
Out of their mystic myths,
So lay their powers.
Of their creative arts and acts,
Of their spell which makes me think otherwise;
Yet still, the African lacks behind in many things.
If onne could fly in the thin air and able to vanish,
Why can't they form a Universal Soldier in Africa? !
Those are they who are bullet-proof too;
Are these Oracles also working for them?
The oracles,
The Oracles of Africa!
With respective rites for a passer-by who,
Wants to know more about the African;
Oh, the oracles of my forefathers.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
My Dear Lady
You who have the world at your feet
Sit there and tell me you feel so alone
Yet you give your advice so easily
And tell me this is my one and only home
Dear Lady I disagree with you
There are times you will act friendly
Other times you will be so cold inside
How you try to somehow scold me
With your stern voice and angry eyes
Dear Lady I disagree with you
You tell me that one day I'll learn
All my wild ways will lead me wrong
I stand there and shake my head so
Knowing you are more then wrong
Dear Lady I disagree with you
poem by Suelynn Walters
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Unhappy Anniversary
You ask me, how am i?
Well Im still standing, arent i?
Thats something, thats one thing thats gone my way
Its so hard, to go out, like everything ok now
When inside, I still cry for yesterday
1:
This is my unhappy anniversary
But I lie, saying its just another day
This is my unhappy anniversary, oh
I know its so stupid to feel brokenhearted
I wonder if you know just how much I hurt
I drink up and think up a toast to numb the hours
To get through without you is so hard today
Cause its
Repeat 1
And now its near midnight, a few minutes and i
Return to get back to my former life
Pretending our ending was not so bad, I know that
Its time to escape you until next year
When its
Repeat 1
This is my unhappy anniversary
But I smile like its just another day
Its just my unhappy anniversary
Its just my unhappy anniversary
song performed by by Vitamin C
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!