To know the past
You must know all about the people around,
Of the days gone by- who have traversed,
Of the paths you tread- who have erected,
The temples and the public places you use,
Whose hands were the cause for the fruits you eat,
And what bygone scenes of love, jealousy,
Revenge, treachery have been enacted
In the huts, the forts, the streets and the fields.
You must know the past and the people
As you expect to be known by days to come.
Inspired by Thomas Hardy- The Woodlanders
11.03.2008
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
The American people expect more from Congress. They expect fiscal responsibility and common sense. They expect us to return to the pay-as-you-go budget rules that we had enacted in the past that helped us establish a surplus, however briefly.
quote by Melissa Bean
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Corner People Thing
On the streets in our hometowns
They stand together...
Men throw cans in carts together
Learning to live and eat whatever.
All...
In the name of love!
They play together
Grow gray together
Walk, talk and think together.
All...
In the name of love!
These are the people cornered
On the corners
Begging for change and miracles
On the streets of our hometowns.
Together they expect a 'ship' or something better
Coming while they doze from a 'high' together.
Some would call bums of these lifeless 'go-getters'
All...
In the name of love!
These are the people cornered
On the corners
Begging for change and miracles
On the streets of our hometowns.
Warriors wasting their points of views,
On streets where all claim paid their dues.
Rubbing their hands to get warm in Winter's cold!
A corner people thing showing numbers...uncounted
Untold!
On the streets of our hometowns.
Note: 'A Corner People Thing' was composed
many years ago as part of my 'MindPrints from
Untouched Places' presentation. This was back in the 80's.
And I think it is even more relevant today.
This poem also appears in the collection,
MindPrints from Untouched Places, Vol I (the book)
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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People Expect Too Much From Me
aug,11,2010
people expect me to be perfect,
because i'm smart,
people expect me to get good grades,
because of all the hard work i put in,
people expect me to have my own business,
because i can be talented and creative,
people expect me to be a push over,
rather than a girl who speaks her mind,
people expect me to be something i'm not,
but all i can be is only myself,
people expect me to deal with life,
i can only deal with it the best i can,
people expect me to handle more than i can,
but who is it really for or what do i have to prove?
people expect me to be who they want,
but did they ever stop to think of what i wanted?
poem by Mona Martinez
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Summertime
I recall the summers of yesterday
The thought of them somehow won't go away
The laughter, the play, and the sunny days
The people, the places, all the joy too
I recall the moments and I remember you
Better days, I pray should come
Yet the days before was a lot of fun
I still smile about summers of yesterday
May those fond memories linger forever
In a variety of ways
I love those summer days
poem by Angel A. Lockwood
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Volunteering
I remember those days,
When people volunteered their services...
Without getting paid. This was a civil duty,
Just to keep their neighborhoods...
Looking and appearing to be clean,
And trash free as something understood.
But those days are gone.
And behind us now!
Today?
People expect payment as if entitled,
For their agitation that irritates others.
And with a volunteering of it that is devoted.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Sonnet: What Do We Do?
Oh, should I take such risks or play it safe?
I wonder whether things are worth their risk!
There is both love and murder in a cafe;
Even the Chief-guest, you may need to frisk!
Alas! nothing is guaranteed these days;
There is much wealth in rubbish/garbage too;
To become wealthy, people devise ways;
Conscientious duty, most men fail to do.
Nevertheless, people go for short-cuts;
Most men are impatient in things they do;
There are skyscrapers, in the midst of huts!
Life's problems come to rich and poor men too.
A balanced mind is what we need these days;
To keep soul pure, we don't have umptine ways.
poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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What do we do?
Oh, should I take such risks or play it safe?
I wonder whether things are worth their risk!
There is both love and murder in a cafe;
Even the Chief-guest, you may need to frisk!
Alas! nothing is guaranteed these days;
There is much wealth in rubbish/garbage too;
To become wealthy, people devise ways;
Conscientious duty, most men fail to do.
Nevertheless, people go for short-cuts;
Most men are impatient in things they do;
There are skyscrapers, in the midst of huts!
Life's problems come to rich and poor men too.
A balanced mind is what we need these days;
To keep soul pure, we don't have umptine ways.
poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sonnet: Let People Have Their Evil Ways, Not I
Let people say whatever they may say;
Let people spread rumors, white lies of me;
Let people sin whether by night or day;
I want to tread God’s way most righteously!
Let people laugh a hearty laugh of scorn;
Let people mock and ridicule my ways;
Let people live by stealing others’ corn;
I want to spend most truthfully my days.
Let people live in vices if they wish;
Let people commit mortal sin each time;
Let people hate others and them ravish;
I want to make my life always sublime.
Let people lose their chance of seeing God;
By accident too, I shan’t Him defraud.
poem by John Celes
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When Will Africa Unite
Down below the ground come the voices of the great heroes
The pillars of Africa in those days........
From the west come the cries of grief
From the horizon flows the blood of Africa
Children with tattered clothes roam about the the streets
Innocent people are neglected at the mercy of death
Under the African sun, nations are fighting nations
While tribes are also fighting each other for leadership
Seemingly superior and mighty ones look down on the
seemingly inferior
Brothers bury their own relatives out of hatred and jealousy,
not to talk about chieftainship
Favoritism and nepotism is the order of the day.......
Gone are the days when the forefathers were around
Those days when they were the pillars of Africa
Theirs was a plethora of sacrifice, the kind Africa is lacking now
Africa whose hope and glory is vanishing into thin air
Africa whose own people are against each other
When will Africa unite to fulfill the promise of long ago?
When will Africa learn to love and desist from hatred?
When will Africa stop and repair the destruction caused by the ignorance of her own people
Be united and defend yourself
And know that 'Together we stand; Divided we fall'.
poem by Bartholomew Arkoh Boamah Sarbah
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Everybodys On The Run
Everybodys on the run
By: jimmy buffett, marshall chapman, will jennings, michael utley
1985
I talk to more answering machines in a day, than I do to
People. nobodys home.
First time I ran was to the end of the block
But I didnt know then that it never would stop
Now I look around and what do I see
More and more people runnin faster than me
These days
Everybodys on the run
These days
Everybodys on the run
Well I fell in love for the very first time
But I couldnt keep up with that girl of mine
Night after night on a mighty fast track
She ran like the wind and she never looked back
These days
Everybodys on the run
These days
Everybodys on the run
-- spoken: lets run
These days
Everybodys on the run
These days
Everybodys on the run
Now Ive been to england and Ive been to france
I learned to love oysters and I know how to dance
Someday Ill die and come back again
As some little boy just-a runnin to win
These days
Everybodys on the run
These days
Everybodys on the run
Look in the mirror and what do I see
The gypsy and fool that I always will be
These days
Everybodys on the run
These days
Everybodys on the run
These days
Everybodys on the run
These days
Everybodys on the run
- notes:
Background vocals: timothy b. schmit, harry stinson
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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These Are The Days
Ah ah
Heres a song
About living in the past
If it was so good then
How come it didnt last?
If it helps you
Ill put it in a phrase
Those were the times
But these are the days
These are the days
These are the days
These are the days
These are the days
These are the days
The times youre smiling back on
Had that great sitcom
It hardly compensated
For the terror of the bomb
Let me help
cause youre looking through a haze
Those were the times
These are the days
These are the days
Hey hey hey
These are the days
Can you hear me now?
These are the days
Look around look around look around
These are the days
These are the days
Hey hey live today
These are the days
Its time to put the past away
These are the days
The more you do the more you say
These are the days
The more I need to get away
Youre longing for a time
There never was
Now tell me the truth
Youre looking for the reason
Its because
Youre fighting for youth
But if I have to listen any more
To fantasy talk
Or any other bug you have
Im leaving
Now Im not saying
Everything is really great
Hey hey hey
After sixteen years
Of legalised class hate
Why waste time
Looking back for things to praise?
Those were the times huh
But these are the days
These are the days
Looking back in history
These are the days
Time to get contempory
These are the days
The past is not the place to be
song performed by by Human League
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Past and Present
Bygone days silently curl
Fold in airy yesteryears
They retreat to hide
Behind the elliptic orbits
Of the revolving planets
The days become nights
And they change
Like caterpillars
Or like gelatinous eggs
Of some toads
That detect vibrations
And then they quietly sail
With the solar wind
To distant places in space
To remote galaxies
Filled with shimmering stars.
But in the uncurved spheres
Of the pulsating heart
Amid the fugitive joys
And haunting sorrows of life
The magic lanterns
Of bygone days glow
Under the rainbow clocks
Of ageless hours
And while history
Restlessly meanders
On the foamy stream
Of its inflammable river
Flows the Eternal Now
Of untamed remembrance
poem by Paul Hartal
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Food Handouts To Vagrants
There were food handouts
for vagrants in those days
when people travelled to places by walk.
If tired strangers sat at the steps
of choultries in villages,
people would give them food to eat.
And in the early morning,
they would resume their journey.
Now we see hotels all along the road
but the rate of each item is doubled.
Some tramps beg for food and shelter
and in the dawn they'd be out with
some valuables missing. In some places,
the derelicts are given shelter
but their meagre gold is looted.
The governments give freebies to people
in exchange of their votes in ensuing polls.
Yet some odd persons are out to beg and eat.
In a few days the cops find them as terror-outfits.
Some with beards come like sages
and in the morning, some nearby cages are empty,
from which a few women elope with them.
Beware of the vagrants these days!
poem by Rajendran Muthiah
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The Bihar Floods 2008
Fed by the melting snows from Himalayas,
And seven tributaries through the year,
The river Kosi still remains untamed!
A giant ‘water-snake’ that moves side-wards,
Flooding the fields and washing off all huts –
A river that is annually ‘in spate’!
The ‘Kosi’ is the ‘sorrow of Bihar’!
A million people have lost huts and homes;
Many are stranded without shelter, food.
The plight of people is so pathetic;
The helicopters can rescue but few;
The food-packets don’t reach the hungry souls!
They blame a broken barrage near Nepal;
But embankments can’t stop the annual floods;
The river changed its course so many times!
O Indian, wake up to the neighbor’s call!
Share your mite to help the marooned people;
Your love of brethren should engulf your hearts!
O God, have mercy on the flood-hit state!
Recede the waters of Kosi in spate;
Rescue the victims and improve their fate!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 08-31-2008
poem by John Celes
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Street Dwellers
With their faces all lined and weather beaten,
It could be days since these folk have last eaten.
These city dwellers; these rough sleeping rovers,
Have resorted to searching rubbish bins for leftovers.
Through the city streets, they aimlessly roam;
Sometimes asking people for the bus fare home.
Refused money, some will swear in your face;
The streets can seem such a threatening place.
Some of them don’t exactly turn on the charm,
When they ask for money, and grab your arm.
Some smile, courteously, bidding you a good day,
Despite things not having quite gone their way.
Some attempt to stop people passing them by,
But most people still do, however hard they try.
Asking for spare change, they repeat their plea;
Some, passers-by, purposely, choose not to see.
They may sleep in a shop doorway, or under a bridge,
Where the temperature is often as cold as a fridge.
The days and nights seem to go on for almost ever,
Especially during the cold and wet, wintry weather.
These people are all different; they are not all the same.
Some are uneducated; some have letters after their name.
Some of them are outgoing, while others are very shy;
Some of them are trustworthy, while others are very sly.
We know very little about these people’s past lives;
They may have left behind children, husbands or wives.
This group of individuals are so unique and so diverse,
But, for them, their living conditions could not be worse.
All they need is someone to give them a second chance;
Someone who gives them more than just a second glance.
Nobody lives their life on the streets, purely by choice.
It is time that they were listened to, and given a voice.
poem by Angela Wybrow
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One Of These Days
Wish someone would tell me when
I wont think of you again
Ill get past the emptiness and
Let a little happiness back in
Pretending that you came
Leaves me half way there
One of these one of these days
Ill be completely over you
Heaven knows how long it will take
And one of these one of these days
Ill find somebody wholl love your memories away
One of these days
One of these days
Some how some way
Ever since youve been gone
Time has a way of dragging on and on
Friends drive by for company
But Im not much company for long
Oh ill get past the what was
If I live long enough
One of these one of these days
Ill be completely over you
Heaven knows how long it will take
And one of these one of these days
Ill find somebody wholl love your memories away some way
One of these days
One of these days
Some how some way
One of these one of these days
Ill be completely over you
Heaven knows how long it will take
And one of these one of these days
Ill find somebody wholl love your memories away some way
One of these days
One of these days one of these days
One of these days some how some way
One of these days one of these days
song performed by by LeAnn Rimes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Under Pressure
Bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah
Bah bah bah bah bah bah
Pressure pressing down on me
Under pressure
That burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
Bah bah bah bah bah bah
Bah bah bah bah bah bah
Thats o-kay!
Its the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow takes me higher
Pressure on people
Do do do bah bah bah bah
O-kay
Chippin around
Kick my brains around the floor
These are the days
It never rains it pours
People on streets
People on streets
Its the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow takes me higher
People people on streets
Turned away from it all
Like a blind man
Sat on fence but it dont work
Keep coming up with love
But its so slashed and torn
Why why why?
Love love love love
Insanity laughs under pressure were cracking
Cant we give ourselves one more chance?
Why cant we give love one more chance?
Why cant we give love give love give love?
Give love give love give love give love give love
Cause loves such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care
For people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way
Of caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves under pressure
Under pressure pressure
song performed by by David Bowie
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Thought, I Think, I Know
Gone are the days,
When i thought love was a myth,
Gone are the days,
When i thought women are the same,
Gone are the days,
When i thought i wont find love again
Gone are the days, so so gone
Here are the days,
When i think love is a gift,
Here are the days
When i think you a blessing,
Here are the days,
When i think these are the days,
The days to love you more
Yet are the days,
To know i will love with doubt,
Yet are the days,
To know you are my wife,
Yet are the days, the days to love,
To care and protect
poem by Gaylord Munemo
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Those Were The Times
those were the busy bustling days
of the cities
where people have no places
to go home
and laundry themselves in parties
of friends
and friends of their friends
till the wee hours
got fed up of those days
of smoke and beer
and now i am back to the silence of
this little town of
my birth
the trees are shedding off their leaves
the cows are giving birth
the birds black and white fly on the skies
and perch on a tree
enjoying the ripe fruits
today i am going fishing in the river
my sail boat is waiting
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Down All The Days
Down all the days
Though the past is just a blink away,
The future waits for me and you,
Down all the days to 1992
Here is hope for all the people
And generations yet to come,
An the future's bright tomorrow,
Illuminated by the morning sun.
Here's for all the working people
And me the ordinary man
For assembly workers in the factory
For farmers toiling on the land
Down all the days
All nations will unite as one
A new horizon clear to view
Down all the days to 1992
So lonely on this island ever since she set me free.
Breaking out of my isolation
Reaching out with hands across the sea
Down all the days, down all the days
Hello my celt and gaelic ladies.
Bonsoir my green colleen from ireland
Wilkommen deutch and dutch and dansk
Gutten tag amour prego ola combien
I'm losing all my bitterness
It's time to find some happiness
Around the earth, the sky, the sea
Down all the days
Bon soir, my little senorita, c'est magnifique
Au revoir, my little fraulfin baby, it's so tragique
Achtung parlez vous englese, bon appetit
Jawohl, mambo italiano, ca va, o.k. i'm on my way
Down all the days.
Can we heal the wounds of many wars?
And the battle scars that went before
Down all the days to 1992
There's gonna be a celebration in 1992
Somehow we lost communication
But i'll find you girl and come back home to you
Down all the days
There's gonna be a celebration in 1992
Somehow we lost communication
I'll find you girl and come back home to you
Down all the days.
Around the earth, the sky, the sea, down all the days
Around the earth, the sky, the sea, down all the days
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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