Epitaph
I lived in those times. For a thousand years
I have been dead. Not fallen, but hunted;
When all human decency was imprisoned,
I was free amongst the masked slaves.
I lived in those times, yet I was free.
I watched the river, the earth, the sky,
Turning around me, keeping their balance,
The seasons provided their birds and their honey.
You who live, what have you made of your luck?
Do you regret the time when I struggled?
Have you cultivated for the common harvest?
Have you enriched the town I lived in?
Living men, think nothing of me. I am dead.
Nothing survives of my spirit or my body.
poem by Robert Desnos
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Free River
Free River flow, Free River
so cold, Free River
you’re getting old.
Free River don’t cry, Free River
you’ve run dry.
I still see you through my youth’s eyes.
Free River you told no lies, Free River
your path has been made, Free River
all things change.
Free River you made it to the sea.
The friends I swam with once
are now gone, left only me.
Free River you’re worth more than gold, Free River
I've grown old.
I’ve lived by you my whole life and
I’ve left my seed through my wife, Free River
I lie at your shore; now dry,
Free River it’s my time to die.
poem by Patrick Dumas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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If These Times Lived Did Not Exist
May these times lived,
Be those times we now live in...
With the acknowledgement,
That if these times lived did not exist...
There would be no other times like these,
Experienced to say...
They have come to us to be witnessed,
Like this.
To enjoy to disagree in argument.
Or observe the necessity of conflict.
If these times for us lived did not exist...
How many can honestly say,
They awaken each day prepared to resist...
Such a majestic blessing many do not appreciate.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Working At The Factory
All my life I've been a workin' man
When I was at school they said that's all you'll ever understand
No profession. I didn't figure in their plans
So they sent me down factory to be a workin' man
All I lived for, All I lived for
All I lived for was to get out of the factory
Now I'm here seemingly free, but working at the factory.
The music came along and gave new life to me
And gave me hope back in 1983
The music came and set me free
From working at the factory
All I lived for, All I lived for
All I lived for was to get out of the factory
All I lived for, All I lived for
All I lived for was to get out of the factory
Never wanted to be like everybody else
But now there are so many like me sitting on the shelf
They sold us a dream but in reality
It was just another factory
I made the music , thought that was mine
It made me free , but that was in another time
But then the corporations and the big combines
Turned musicians into factory workers on assembly lines.
All I lived for, All I lived for
All I lived for was to get out of the factory
We made the music to set ourselves free
From working at the factory.
All my life I've put in a working day
Now it's sign the contract. Get production on the way
Take the money, make the music pay
Working at the factory
All I lived for was to get out of the factory.
Never wanted to be like everybody else
But now there are so many like me sitting on the shelf
They sold us a dream but in reality
Was just another factory
Working at the factory.
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Clock of Life
You fought for my freedom.
I lived like a slave.
You gave your life for me.
So I could be saved.
From a life lived for myself.
More was never enough.
The things I thought made life easier.
But it just made life tough.
Keeping up with the Joneses.
Of my treasures I’d boast.
My material possessions.
Were the things I loved most.
Not the gifts that you lent me.
But the treasures I earned.
Now I see just how Satan.
Wants me to get burned.
Keep your eyes on the prizes.
Let your gifts pay the price.
For all your heart it goes into.
Holds you tight like a vice.
It will squeeze your life from you.
You’ll leave God behind.
You don’t realize that Satan.
Is robbing you blind.
Once he has taken it from you.
He will take your last breath.
And what once was a gift.
Has now become death.
He keeps you in your past.
Makes you think of tomorrow.
And this takes your today.
Time it cannot be borrowed.
For it’s all that you have.
And it is what he will take.
Til your heart is so broken.
That your spirit will break.
Life lived for your body.
Or lived for your mind.
The truths of the earth.
Keeps your spirit confined.
Your love is your time.
Your heart ticks like a clock.
And when it is over.
Your time it will stop.
When it is finished.
When you are gone.
Will your spirit die too.
Or will it live on?
Spend your time very wisely.
And in others invest.
This is what the Lord tells us.
And our Father knows best.
Live your life by your spirit.
Body and mind they will die.
One day they’ll be buried.
But your spirit will fly.
poem by Ryan Lee Morris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Happy The Times Were
Happy the times were when we were free of our troubles
Happy the times were when we rode around in the car with the wind in our hair.
Dancing in the rain in the middle of the street
Running in the sprinklers at the football field at night
We were happy knowing that we weren't going anywhere
Who knew our fun would end sooner than we thought.
Winter came and all of our fun disappeared into the snow and dead leaves.
Happy the times were when everything was in our hands
But now things hang by a loose thread, not making any sense at all
Looking back at the small town with a couple of thousand to keep us company
Looking back as we drive away to the 'supposed' new great life
Happy the times were when we lived in the small town we loved so dear
Happy the times were when we had Sonora.
poem by Kamilla Davila
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Perfect Harmony
In a world so far away
At the end of a closing day
A little child was born and raised
Deep in the forest on a hidden place
Mother never saw his face
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
The woods protected, fulfillled his needs
Fruit by birds, honey by bees
He found shelter under trees
He grew up in their company
They became his family
A thousand seasons
They passed him by
So many times, have said goodbye
And when the spirits called out his name
To join forever, forever to stay
A forest spirit he became
song performed by by Within Temptation
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Perfect Harmony
In a world so far away
At the end of a closing day
A little child was born and raised
Deep in the forest on a hidden place
Mother never saw his face
Ancient spirits of the forest
Made him king of elves and trees
He was the only human being
Who lived in harmony
In perfect harmony
The woods protected, fulfillled his needs
Fruit by birds, honey by bees
He found shelter under trees
He grew up in their company
They became his family
A thousand seasons
They passed him by
So many times, have said goodbye
And when the spirits called out his name
To join forever, forever to stay
A forest spirit he became
song performed by by Within Temptation
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Life Is Lived The Way It Is Lived
A LIFE IS LIVED THE WAY IT IS LIVED
A life is lived the way it is lived
I did what I did
And made mistakes
Maybe most of it was a mistake
I don’t know.
I told myself always
The one thing I would never do
Is regret.
Regrets I don’t have
But the tone of regret now touches all I do
And some deep sadness says
‘I should not have failed so much.’
G-d who gave me this one life
And so much time
And so much opportunity
G-d who gave me my chance truly.
Can I blame You,
If I did not make it?
poem by Shalom Freedman
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When Earth Quaked
Earth uncovered
Two hundred thousand dead
A woman groaned
Stone slabs crushed her head
These are the times
When God weeps
When the earth quaked
I heard His steps
In my pain
I am filled with anger
My blood curls
As I ponder
How many lives slip
In this quake's blunder
This is how earth rage
I am thankful
For the hands He sent
The press
People from every corner
Friends I never knew
This is how you know
He never sleeps
Many dead
But many spared
So I am not mad
New lives conceived
Still lives to be lived
Two hundred thousand dead
But millions breathe
poem by Buxton Shippy
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A Thousand Years
Words by sting, music by sting and kipper
A thousand years, a thousand more,
A thousand times a million doors to eternity
I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times
An endless turning stairway climbs
To a tower of souls
If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars,
The towers rise to numberless floors in space
I could shed another million tears, a million breaths,
A million names but only one truth to face
A million roads, a million fears
A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty
I could speak a million lies, a million songs,
A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time
But if there was a single truth, a single light
A single thought, a singular touch of grace
Then following this single point , this single flame,
The single haunted memory of your face
I still love you
I still want you
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves
Like galaxies in my head
I may be numberless, I may be innocent
I may know many things, I may be ignorant
Or I could ride with kings and conquer many lands
Or win this world at cards and let it slip my hands
I could be cannon food, destroyed a thousand times
Reborn as fortunes child to judge anothers crimes
Or wear this pilgrims cloak, or be a common thief
Ive kept this single faith, I have but one belief
I still love you
I still want you
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves
Like galaxies in my head
On and on the mysteries unwind themselves
Eternities still unsaid
til you love me
song performed by by Sting
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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call-Encounter - walking with
The light
Came closer
Lived right
Next to me
I walked with it
Sometimes,
Sometimes it
Walked with me
When I walked not
With it
And made me be
When I was not.
Living In
The light it entered in
And lived inside of me
I lived in it,
Sometimes,
Sometimes it lived in me
When I lived not in it
And made me be
When I was not
Abiding In
I hold the light sometimes,
Sometimes the light holds me.
Until I reach the light
I live in mystery
poem by Mary Mc Creath
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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For Mel (villanelle)
The one who should have lived has gone so fast.
The old ones, in their dotage, linger on –
they, with no future, live only in the past.
And we who can but sit, dumb and aghast,
scarcely believe that while the sun still shone
the one who should have lived has gone so fast.
Six decades older, surviving to their last
few days or years, together but alone,
they, with no future, live only in the past.
At least she kept on living to the last,
but should have had a future. She has none.
The one who should have lived has gone so fast,
and they, for whom so many years have passed,
are unaware that one they loved is gone.
They, with no future, live only in the past,
mark time until the final trumpet blast,
and never know the respite they have won.
The one who should have lived has gone so fast.
They, with no future, live only in the past.
poem by Paul Hansford
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I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
quote by Barack Obama
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The King [ I ]
AMONG the sons of Englishmen
Full many feel like real tears,
For, though he reigned but scarcely ten,
He bore the burden many years.
He lived the dead past doubly down,
He shamed, by manliness and truth,
The lies that beat about a crown,
And round a known man in his youth.
For he had lived as men have done
Since Adam’s time, to prove them true.
He proved it in his manhood’s prime,
And to the end, as strong men do.
And so he died, and, ever since,
And on through years the words shall ring:
“He lived a man, he lived a prince,
And died a gentleman and King.”
Unto the friends of his hot youth,
In his wise age, he still was true.
He showed, by steadfastness and truth,
What kings as well as men can do;
Till all was manlike or forgot,
Long years ere he found his release;
He made them loyal who were not,
He won respect, and kept the peace.
poem by Henry Lawson
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Wherever your life ends, it is all there. The advantage of living is not measured by length, but by use; some men have lived long, and lived little; attend to it while you are in it. It lies in your will, not in the number of years, for you to have lived enough.
quote by Michel de Montaigne
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Can You Hear Them?
So sick and tired of living
And so afraid to die
I've lived so many lives
And still I wonder why
The way the world perceives me
Is not the way I am
The one half thinks I'm crazy
The other thinks I'm mad
I spent a long long time alone in my room
I need your help to get me out of this gloom
Can you hear them
All the voices in my head
They freak me out
Can you hear them
They won't be happy 'till I'm dead
They freak me out
Ten thousand million nightmares
Temptation by the score
I used to get so high
And still I wanted more
You think my time is wasted
In search of who I am
I tried to so hard to kill
The boy inside the man
I spent a thousand years one night in my room
I've lived so many lives and that is my doom
Can you hear them
All the voices in my head
They freak me out
Can you hear them
They won't be happy 'till I'm dead
They freak me out
Can you hear them
All the voices in my head
They freak me out
Can you hear them
They won't be happy 'till I'm dead
They freak me out
I never thought I'd smile again
Always thought I'd be here on my own
Sometimes when I'm down
You come and save me again
And again
And again
And again
I'll never understand it
It makes no sense at all
Just look at what I've done
It's time to count the score
I've spent a long long time alone in my room
I need your help to get me out of this gloom
Can you hear them
All the voices in my head
They freak me out
Can you hear them
They won't be happy 'till I'm dead
They freak me out
Can you hear them
All the voices in my head
They freak me out
Can you hear them
They won't be happy 'till I'm dead
They freak me out
song performed by by Ozzy Osbourne from Down To Earth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Strange Times
Long time ago, back in the mist of time
Back when the crystal waters flowed
There was a world
So strange and so beautiful
All life would flourish and would grow
Years went by, time just fell away
Love was worshiped like the sun
But as we arrive at the house of the water sign
Were living in strange times
Strange times
Strange times
What do we need
What do we hunger for
Who holds the secrets, who will know
Temples of greed
In ruins on the river bed
Wastelands that lived before the snow
Time stands still
As we race through the universe
On our way to the sun
And as we arrive at the house of the water sign
Were living in strange times
Strange times,
Strange times
Its you and I forever
We wont be afraid
Even if the stars are falling down, down, down, down, down
Falling down
Time stands still as we race through the universe
On our way to the sun
And as we arrive at the house of the water sign
Were living in strange times
Strange times,
Strange times
(repeat)
song performed by by Moody Blues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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0041 Unaraluk the Shaman
In the very earliest time,
when knowledge was love
and truth was goodness
and words had power,
people and animals
lived as brother and sister,
parent and child.
Sometimes they were one,
sometimes they were the other
and it mattered not,
for all spoke the same language
and words were magic
and made things happen.
In later times,
only the shamans remembered
and even they needed
the help of spirits.
Unaraluk the shaman
was helped by his dead father
and his dead mother, and
the sun, a dog, and a sea scorpion
and these enabled Unaraluk
to know everything about
what was on the earth
and under the earth,
in the sea
and in the sky.
Nobody could explain this:
that’s the way it was.
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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And I Love You
And I love you so
People ask me how
How I've lived til' now..
I tell them I don't know
I guess they understand
How lonely life has been
Life began again
The day you took my hand
And yes I know...
How lonely life can be
The shadows follow me
And the night won't set me free
But I don't let
The evening get me down..
Now that you're around with me
And you love me too
Your thoughts are just for me
You set my spirit free
I'm happy that you do
The book of life is green ..
Once the page is read
All but love is dead
That is my belief
And yes I know
How loveless life can be
The shadows follow me
And the night won't set me free..
but I don't let the evening get me down
Now that you're around with me...
And I love you so...
People ask me how
How I've lived till now
I tell them I don't kow
song performed by by Don McLean
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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An Uncommon Reality
I never lived in your world.
I never knew what it was like.
I have no real conception, of what normality is?
I never had to take drugs to escape.
I already lived in a world of my own.
I never aimed for or earnestly sort the high life.
I lived an artistic life, of the mind of the soul,
forever separating my life, from the common life.
From the common man and the common clay.
Everything was so sharp and clearly in focus.
Everywhere I saw and heard and knew too much.
I lived upon a heightened vibration rate
an awareness; as incredibly focused intensity.
I lived with such dynamic, personal passion,
I did not know; what it was like; to be passionless.
I knew that some people lived husks of life
but I; did not fully know; what it was to be a husk.
I always had somewhere beneath adversity
which afflicted me; the redemption; of artistic insight.
I guess this explains why husks gather,
so many possessions, to prop up their lives.
Husks are so empty, they often get blown away,
by the soulless wind, generating materialistic values.
I bequeath
a sacred gift
to enhance
enrich such lives.
Come live within
spirit of creativity
one spirit almighty
our divine creator.
Copyright © Terence George Craddock
poem by Terence George Craddock
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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