Related quotes: for Sydney Pettit The lines...

The Church On Comiaken Hill

for Sydney Pettit

The lines are keen against today's bad sky
about to rain. We're white and understand
why Indians sold butter for the funds
to build this church. Four hens and a rooster
huddle on the porch. We are dark
and know why no one climbed to pray. The priest
who did his best to imitate a bell
watched the river, full of spirits, coil
below the hill, relentless for the bay.

A church abandoned to the wind is portent.
In high wind, ruins make harsh music.
The priest is tending bar. His dreams have paid
outrageous fees for stone and mortar.
His eyes are empty as a chapel
roofless in a storm. Greek temples seem
the same as forty centuries ago.
If we used one corner for a urinal,
he wouldn't swear we hadn't worshipped here.

The chickens cringe. Rain sprays chaos where
the altar and the stained glass would have gone
had Indians not eaten tribal cows
one hungry fall. Despite the chant,
salmon hadn't come. The first mass
and a phone line cursed the river.
If rain had rhythm, it would not be Latin.

Children do not wave as we drive out.
Like these graves ours may go unmarked.
Can we be satisfied when dead
with daffodils for stones? These Indians--
whatever they once loved or used for God--
the hill--the river--the bay burned by the moon--
they knew that when you die you lose your name.

poem by Richard Hugo
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Related quotes

River Man

Betty came by on her way
Said she had a word to say
About things today
And fallen leaves.
Said she hadn't heard the news
Hadn't had the time to choose
A way to lose
But she believes.
Going to see the river man
Going to tell him all i can
About the plan
For lilac time.
If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows
And all night shows
In summertime.
Betty said she prayed today
For the sky to blow away
Or maybe stay
She wasn't sure.
For when she thought of summer rain
Calling for her mind again
She lost the pain
And stayed for more.
Going to see the river man
Going to tell him all i can
About the ban
On feeling free.
If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows
I don't suppose
It's meant for me.
Oh, how they come and go
Oh, how they come and go

song performed by by Flaming Lips
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Before my grandpa built his own church, we went to the neighboring town, and it was a white community. You know, up north, mostly middle European people and Indians, Chippewa Indians. We were welcome to that church, but once we got in, they didn't know what to do with us.

quote by James Earl Jones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Grand Rapids

Air -- "Bright Alfaretta"

Wild roved the Indians once
On the banks of Grand River,
And they built their little huts
Down by that flowing river.
In a pleasant valley fair,
Where flows the river rapid,
An Indian village once was there,
Where now stands Grand Rapids.

Indian girls and boys were seen,
With their bow and quiver,
Riding in their light canoes
Up and down the river.
Their hearts were full of joy,
Happy voices singing
Made music with forest birds,
They kept the valley ringing.

Indians have left and gone
Beyond the Mississippi.
They called the river Owashtenong
Where stands this pleasant city.
Louis Campau the first white man
Bought land in Grand Rapids.
He lived and died, an honored man
By people of Grand Rapids.

When Campau came to the valley
No bridge was across the river;
Indians in their light canoes
Rowed them o'er the water.
Railroads now from every way
Run through the city, Grand Rapids;
The largest town in west Michigan
Is the city of Grand Rapids.

poem by Julia A Moore
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Water My Thirsty Soul

Can the rain fall from cloudless skies
Can your tears fall from hardened eyes
I cried out to the Lord, in my time of need
I prayed for the rain, my soul to feed

And my God, who is never far away
Opened up His heart as He listened to me pray
And from heaven on high He sent down the rain
There's a river of grace that's gonna wash away the pain

And out of my heart flows a river so deep
My once dry eyes they now continually weep
And everywhere the river flows there's grace from above
And everyone it touches they are filled with His love

This rain that falls, it falls from endless blue skies
It fills my empty heart and falls down from my eyes
The Lord Himself sent down the rain from above
And now the cloudless skies are filled with clouds of His love

So if it's rain your looking for, this moment, today
Wont you fall down on your knees and cry out and pray
The Lord of every rain dropp that falls down from above
Will sweep you down the river to an ocean of love

This ocean is boundless, its forever and a day
And in this sea of beauty you will hear the Lord say
I am the Father's tears that was shed from above
And I will carry you home across this ocean of love

poem by Frank McEleny
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The Thunder Cracks In The Gray Sky

The thunder cracks in the gray sky and the rain it is bucketing down
Above the high and dry and bare paddocks by the river that flows by the town
On those paddocks that need heaps of rain it has been awhile since they were green
This countryside is looking dry 'tis as dry as it ever has been
His feathers soaked wet from the rain the magpie flutes on the blackwood tree
From it's drenched leaves the rain drips and drips by the river that flows to the sea
To the river adown the bare hill the water in rivulets run
As soon as the rain will have stopped they will quickly dry out in the sun
The Summer has been warm and dry and the long range weather forecast is for a dry Fall
An hour of heavy thunder rain of little use though better than nothing at all
For months the farmers have been praying for rain their prayers in part answered today
But the sun shines across the brown hills and the rain clouds are clearing away
And the magpie shakes his feathers dry and no rain drops left to drip from the trees
And white butterflies flitting about in the sunshine and feshening breeze.

poem by Francis Duggan
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Give these Indians little farms, survey them, let them put fences around them, let them have their own horses, cows, sheep, things that they can call their own, and it will do away with tribal Indians.

quote by George Crook
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We’re Indians First and Lastly!

We’re Indians firstly!
And that’s the way, we’re known all o’er the globe;
And that is what we tell the world around;
This is our primary identity.

We’re Indians firstly!
We may belong to any state by birth;
Then come our language, creed, community;
We’re Indians primarily!

We’re Indians firstly!
United are we by the tricolor;
The soil is one, though states be many;
We’re Indians basically!

We’re proud of our rich our Indian heritage;
Our thirst is quenched by rivers of India;
Our hunger is appeased by crops grown here;
We’re Indians first and ultimately!

Let none dare try to sow seeds of discord;
The Indian’s free to live in any state;
When asked, let always be our reply,
‘We’re Indians firstly!

God gave one sun and moon to all of us;
We live under the sky, our common roof;
We enjoy freedom got by same ‘Struggle’!
We’re Indians all, firstly!

We’re Indians firstly!
Our patriotism is Indianness;
Our pride’s in being born as Indians;
We’re Indians first and lastly!

All Indians are our brothers and sisters;
We love our fellowmen as our brethren;
Same blood of oneness flows within us all;
We’re Indians first, always, ultimately!

‘Jai Hind! Jai Bharat! Jai bharatiya! Jai bharatvaasi!

poem by John Celes
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60th Republic Day Celebrations in India (Jan 26th 2010)

Unfurl the tricolor flag, Indians!
And hoist it high upon the mast;
And let it move in freedom’s wind;
And make the country, Indians, proud!

Salute the national flag, Indians!
And sing the song of freedom’s love!
Remember how freedom was won
By Fighters’ Struggle, sacrifice!

Pray for the lives lost in the fight,
And emulate their examples;
Learn to be patriotic more,
And do your duty with fervor.

Take oath to serve our motherland;
Bharat is home of Indians;
We love its varied heritage;
All Indians are our fellowmen!

Let’s foster love, peace, harmony;
Let’s make the country better still;
Let’s unite against terrorism;
Let’s make India, a nation strong!

Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!

poem by John Celes
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Mother Nature's Fall Dress

The wind came up and started to blow
A sky filled with dark and rain coming slow.

Trees swaying touching the ground
The rain still coming but now surrounds.

Lightening slashing the fabric of the sky
Exposing the vestigial virgins, colorful eye.

The river was in a tourmoil with patches of wake
Falls first weather and summer heat to break

The wind picking up almost to a gale
Thunder and lightening with enough rain to fill a pail.

I sit among nature's eventual force
Wind, lightening and dark clouds; of course.

More white caps on the river below
In a few short months we will call them snow.

The butterfly with flapping wings in haste
Wind takes no excuse for being late.

Disneyland could put on a replica of this endeavor
Wind, rain; thunder and lightening and be very clever.

10-28-05 Aho speaks.

poem by AHO Speaks
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Mother Natures Fall Dress

The wind came up and started to blow
A sky filled with dark and rain coming slow.
Trees swaying touching the ground
The rain still coming but now surrounds.

Lightening slashing the fabric of the sky
Exposing the vestitial virgins colorful eye.
The river was in a turmoil with patches of wake
Falls first weather and summer heat, to break.

The wind picking up almost to a gale
Thunder and lightening with enough rain to fill a pail.
I sit among natures eventual force
Wind, ligntening and dark clouds of course.

More white caps on the river below
In a few short months we will call them snow.
The butterfly with flapping wings in haste
The wind takes no excuse for being late.
Disneyland could put on a replica of this endeavor
Wind, rain, thunder and lightening and be very clever.

poem by chuck Hurley
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Those Wild Pink Salmon

Now, this ‘wild pink salmon’ thing…

are they just wild about pink
like that designer with the limp wrist

or wild like you wouldn't want
to share an estuary with them

or wild that they're not so good
at jumping up the waterfalls

or wild that they’re pink
when they’d like to be red
and so, wild that the other salmon are red

is it some muted colour-snobbery
like used to be in the Windies
between chocolate and coffee

and possibly I don’t know
between Red Indians and Pink Indians
whose mother got around a bit

though on the other hand
it could be boring on the reservation
being a Hiawatha brave or squaw
10 to 5 each day for the tourists

envying the other Indians
with a real job
like standing outside a cigar store
stained with nicotine
or even inside

is it like the Monty Python sketch
the pink salmon look up to the red salmon
but look down on the tame salmon

but then, are wild and tame
really opposites anyway
even if those are the correct terms individually

is it any consolation to wild pink salmon
that we think
they’re supposed to be salmon-pink anyway
so red salmon are the ones
to be red-faced

I mean how wild is wild
and how tame are farmed salmon
if at all
they could be wilder inside
about being hemmed in
when their wild brothers and sisters
are having a wild time
in the spawning grounds off Newfoundland
(though salmon won’t know it’s called that)
and so, excuse the phrase, see red?

and – the thought’s just struck me
like a slap around the gills
with a wet fish –
they probably don’t
read the label
there’s a message there
for all of us in this
colour-conscious age

poem by Michael Shepherd
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Who Let In The Rain

Things like this
can always take a little time
I always thought
we'd be together down the line
we start to fight
and can't get over what was said
'cause you see black and white
and I see red

And I wonder who let in the rain
you know without you
I'm not the same
when love gets strong
people get weak
sometimes they lose control
and wind up in too deep
they fall like rain
who let in the rain

I make the bed and cover
where you used to sleep
I'm smoothing over promises
made in these sheets
I envy lovers passing by
out on the street
'cause what they have
I couldn't keep

song performed by by Cyndi Lauper from Hat Full Of Stars
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Sneaking Tears

How heavy fell the rain that day
From burdened clouds of mournful grey.
The torrent forced them stay their height -
Composure swayed by onerous might.

My skin wrung wet with icy chill
As mud embraced that sodden hill;
But mind of mine had elsewhere gone -
'Twas clouds abandoned I was on.

The driving drops advanced their gears
To camouflage my sneaking tears -
Whence now did swell such floods of pain
To see me melt into this rain…

On equal bearing now were we:
This rain, myself, in harmony.

Rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain
Rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain
Rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain
Rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain

poem by Mark R Slaughter
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February Rain

To be the mud, the bog, the mire;
To soak the bones in February –
Eons from the autumn shower–
Even from a summer berry!

Sparrows chirp a desperate call,
Darting questions at the cows –
Oblivious to the dousing squall, they
Churn the sludge with pastern ploughs.

The crying air was lost in rhythm:
Drums incessant in the drops;
Not a chance for rainbow prism –
Even if the hammering stops!

Metallic chills entrap machines –
Tractors hushed within the shed.
Inside the house, a full cuisine
To bless with mead – and little said!

But out across the tiring field,
A sodden fox is hunting down
His prey of sorts – but nil of yield;
Perhaps he’ll starve; perhaps he’ll drown.

Still the clouds are hammering,
Hammering home their dreary aim –
A chatterbox in constant yammering,
Drenching all to make a claim.

rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain
rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain
rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain
rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain
rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain
rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain
rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain

poem by Mark R Slaughter
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Feels Like Rains

Here I go again
Hanging on to the bitter end
All alone
Nothing left to lose
Don't want to face tomorrow
I can't sleep tonight
Blame it on the weather
Till I get over you.
Chorus:
Feels like rain
Feels like I'll never fall in love again
There's a cold wind blowing every cloud my way
And it feels like rain today
Taking down every picture
Hanging on every wall
Broken dreams, painfull memories
Like the times I never listened
And the times I didn't try
It's gotta be the weather
'Cause you're not here with me
Chorus:
Feels like rain
Feels like I'll never fall in love again
There's a cold wind blowing every cloud my way
And it feels like rain today
Regretting every minute
Since I watched you walk away
Cause it's not the same without you
And now the clouds are hiding
Every sunny day
I guess I'll stay inside again
Cause it feels like rain today
Feels like rain
Feels like we'll never fall in love again
There's a cold wind blowing every cloud my way
And the clouds are hiding every sunny day
and the storm is coming so I'm here to stay
'Cause it feels like rain today
Yes, it feels like rain today

song performed by by Peter Cetera
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When The Indians Cry

Verse 1:
Babe tell me where
Will you sleep tonight
For there's such a pain in my heart
And I've got a flame
That's dying inside
And I feel that we'll soon have to part
Chorus:
When the indians cry
And the eagles die
Cos the winds of change blow again
Then I'll know that you
Turned the world into blue
And my tears will fall like the rain
Verse 2:
Love can be so cruel
When the light of hope is gone
I know cos I felt it before
In the desert of fear
I can hear this old song
Of a love that won't live anymore
Chorus:
When the indians cry
And the eagles die
Cos the winds of change blow again
Then I'll know that you
Turned the world into blue
And my tears will fall like the rain
Instrumental Solo
Chorus:
When the indians cry
And the eagles die
Cos the winds of change blow again
Then I'll know that you
Turned the world into blue
And my tears will fall like the rain
Then I'll know that you
Turned the world into blue
Then I'll know that you
Turned the world into blue
And my tears will fall like the rain

song performed by by Vanilla Ninja
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Goodbye To A River

(don henley/stan lynch/jai winding/frank simes)
The rains have come early, they say
Were all gonna wash away
Well, thats all right with me
If heavens torrent can wash clean
The arrogance that lies unseen
In the damage done since we have gone
Where we ought not to be
Goodbye to a river
Goodbye to a river
So long
Lakes and levees, dams and locks
They put that river in a box
It was running wild
And men must have control
We live our lives in starts and fits
We lose our wonder bit by bit
We condescend and in the end
We lose our very souls
Goodbye to a river
Goodbye to a river
So long
The dirty water washes down
Poisoning the common ground
Taking sins of farm and town
And bearing them away
The captains of industry
And their tools on the hill
Theyre killing everything divine
What will I tell this child of mine
(solo)
I make a church out of words
As the years dull my senses
And I try to hold on to the world that I knew
I struggle to cross generational fences
And the beauty that still remains
I can touch it through you
Goodbye to a river
Goodbye to a river
So long
Goodbye to a river
Goodbye to a river
So long
Goodbye to a river
Goodbye to a river
So long
Goodbye to a river
Goodbye to a river
Roll on

song performed by by Don Henley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Song: When I Saw The River Rise

With soggy ground across the state,
The rain fell from the skies.
The storm seemed bound to seal our fate,
When I saw the river rise.

We'd built up all our levies,
Yet still we were surprised,
By the height and depth of eddies,
When I saw the river rise.

When I saw the river break it's banks.
Increase in breadth and size.
It came atop of that water-tank,
When I saw the river rise.

Together held fast, from the full weather blast;
We stayed 'cause we thought it wise.
With my partner tasked to do what I asked,
When I saw the river rise.

Just a short drive, she arrived in town,
To pick up more supplies.
A flash-flood found and drove her down,
When I saw the river rise.

The news was bad, I'd lost all that I had;
All that I valued and prized.
More than just sad, I was sure driven mad,
When I saw the river rise.

And I stood there on the paddock gate,
As the tears streamed from my eyes.
And I did not care how long the wait,
For all the help, it came too late,
In shock, in loss of my best loved mate,
When I saw the river rise.

When I saw the river rise.

poem by Dave SmithWhite
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It's a river

When the time keeps passing and the world goes round
and the sea is crashing at the cliffs and the sounds
erupting as the seabirds cry, you can watch the river
as the time goes by

And it's like it's holy and it can be hell
and you feel so lonely and you fear the smell
of the guns that fire then you see the light
of a rainbow dawning and you realise
that the river's flowing as the time goes by

And you met the people and you knew them well
and you said you loved them and you rang the bell
in the tree of life you watched them grow
and the world is turning as the river flows

The earth smells good and the sky turns gold
when the birds are singing and you bless the old
you can kiss your woman and it feels so right
as you touch the river as the time goes by

As you stand barefoot upon the morning shore
and you feel the centuries of death and war
and the wind is biting and it tears your skin
and the river's flowing where its always been

And the river washes and the river's clean
and the soul remembers where the river's been
as you watch it tumble and you watch it flow
your life's a river now you know, now you know
your life's a river now you know.

poem by Charles M. Moore
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Haunting The Chapel

The holy cross
Symbol of life
Anticipate the lives of Christians born
Speak of death
The words of hate
Anticipate the rules among the dead
Hell has seen
Priests condemned
To bring forth the lord of the cross
Strike twelve
Raise the dead
The chapel comes under attack

The ghosts of dead
Torment the priest
Their altar will soon be destroyed
Heaven's mass
Turning black
The church will belong to the dead
Blackened magic
And thus we're lost
Lucifer will supreme
The crystal ball
Children of faith
Their lasting eternal scream

Those who never make the people scream
Have no task for all of time
Satan's form of soldiers stand in lust
Destruction charged upon the cross

Attacking there's seven ways to go
Tormenting the priest

song performed by by Slayer from Haunting The Chapel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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