The Village
Scarcely a street, too few houses
To merit the title; just a way between
The one tavern and the one shop
That leads nowhere and fails at the top
Of the short hill, eaten away
By long erosion of the green tide
Of grass creeping perpetually nearer
This last outpost of time past.
So little happens; the black dog
Cracking his fleas in the hot sun
Is history. Yet the girl who crosses
From door to door moves to a scale
Beyond the bland day's two dimensions.
Stay, then, village, for round you spins
On a slow axis a world as vast
And meaningful as any posed
By great Plato's solitary mind.
Submitted by Andrew Mayers
poem by Ronald Stuart Thomas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Blackbird Singing
It seems wrong that out of this bird,
Black, bold, a suggestion of dark
Places about it, there yet should come
Such rich music, as though the notes'
Ore were changed to a rare metal
At one touch of that bright bill.
You have heard it often, alone at your desk
In a green April, your mind drawn
Away from its work by sweet disturbance
Of the mild evening outside your room.
A slow singer, but loading each phrase
With history's overtones, love, joy
And grief learned by his dark tribe
In other orchards and passed on
Instinctively as they are now,
But fresh always with new tears.
Submitted by Andrew Mayers
poem by Ronald Stuart Thomas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Evans
Evans? Yes, many a time
I came down his bare flight
Of stairs into the gaunt kitchen
With its wood fire, where crickets sang
Accompaniment to the black kettle"s
Whine, and so into the cold
Dark to smother in the thick tide
Of night that drifted about the walls
Of his stark farm on the hill ridge.
It was not the dark filling my eyes
And mouth appalled me; not even the drip
Of rain like blood from the one tree
Weather-tortured. It was the dark
Silting the veins of that sick man
I left stranded upon the vast
And lonely shore of his bleak bed.
Submitted by Andrew Mayers
poem by Ronald Stuart Thomas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Human Torch
Turned round 6 oclock and Im still sleepin
I dont have to work on saturday
But I do anyway
round the corner right on up to the shop
I come creeping, but it dont matter anyway
Chorus:
cause I know its just as well
And even so I feel like hell
You can say that its alright
But I am wrapped up tight
And I can see the forest through the trees
I am on my knees
I dont know if I am supposed to stay
Or Im supposed to leave it all behind
The door the world outside still spins
Waiting there behind the door but I wont let it in
Not today, not tomorrow, not next week
Youre just gonna have to pay five bucks to see the geek
Chorus
Please pay your attention high above the center ring
Up in the rafters, 500 feet above the crowd
My hair is soaked in kerosene
My clothes are wet with gasoline
You only get to see this once
The human torch is going down
Going down, going down, going down
song performed by by Fastball
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ninetieth Birthday
You go up the long track
That will take a car, but is best walked
On slow foot, noting the lichen
That writes history on the page
Of the grey rock. Trees are about you
At first, but yield to the green bracken,
The nightjars house: you can hear it spin
On warm evenings; it is still now
In the noonday heat, only the lesser
Voices sound, blue-fly and gnat
And the stream's whisper. As the road climbs,
You will pause for breath and the far sea's
Signal will flash, till you turn again
To the steep track, buttressed with cloud.
And there at the top that old woman,
Born almost a century back
In that stone farm, awaits your coming;
Waits for the news of the lost village
She thinks she knows, a place that exists
In her memory only.
You bring her greeting
And praise for having lasted so long
With time's knife shaving the bone.
Yet no bridge joins her own
World with yours, all you can do
Is lean kindly across the abyss
To hear words that were once wise.
Submitted by Andrew Mayers
poem by Ronald Stuart Thomas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Beautiful Girl
Nickys in the corner
With a black coat on
Running from a bad home
With some cat inside
Now where did you find her
Among the neon lights
That haunt the streets outside
Stay with me
Beautiful girl
(stay with me)
Beautiful girl
(stay with me)
She wants to go home
From door way to door way
Street corner to corner
With neon ghosts in the city
And she sings
Stay with me
Stay with me
Stay with me
Stay with me
Shes so scared
So very frightened
Anything could happen
Right here tonight
Beautiful girl
(stay with me)
Beautiful girl
(stay with me)
She wants to go home
Beautiful girl
(stay with me)
Beautiful girl
(stay with me)
Beautiful girl
(stay with me)
Beautiful girl
(stay with me)
song performed by by INXS
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What Happened To His Village
He was born just a short distance from Adelaide
And he could see the sea from his back door
And in his young days there were not many houses
But the years have brought great change to Semaphore.
His sea side Village has grown to a coastal suburb
And his old Homeplace has undergone great change
Where once were trees and paddocks now there's houses
A stranger to your old Homeplace seems strange.
What happened to the Village of his childhood
The paddock where he played in years ago
He only can refer now to his memories
Of peaceful place the Homeplace he once did know.
The cottage of his childhood gone forever
A doctor's surgery where once it stood
And not one know him he is now a stranger
In Semaphore the place of his boyhood.
But of the past he still has good old memories
Of his old Village how it used to be
And from the cottage by the wide brown paddock
Six hundred yards off he could see the sea.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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a village in Iberia
A Village in Iberia
Drove to the village where I was born, hadn’t been there
for forty years, the lane was muddy and houses deserted;
this village had been abandoned long time ago; what was
I thinking of coming here? A tree had grown right through
our cottage, roof smashed now walls were tumbling down.
Puny human dwellings, here today and gone in less than
Ten decades, the tree seemed to say. What a nostalgic fool
I’m, this idea of returning, rebuild the old house and live
here in happy retirement.
This was no longer a village but a graveyard, houses were
tombstones of a past that had nothing to offer but poverty,
glassless window resembled crosses of a defunct faith.
I sat on a stone smoking a cigarette the aroma of wafted
through the drab silence, from behind a broken wall a dog
came, young, and it looked eerily like Stella the dog I loved
all those years ago, don’t tell me she has waited for five
dog generations, to return from the wasteland of eternity
just for me?
“I’ll call you Stella”, I said and stroked the dog’s head.
She knitted her brows together as to say, “What else? ”
I opened the right hand car door, Stella jumped in like she
had done this a thousand time before, drove off and didn’t
look back once, the only memory I need of my childhood,
was alive and snoozing in the seat beside me.
poem by Oskar Hansen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Solitary Man
Melinda was mine
til the time
That I found her
Holding jim
Loving him
Then sue came along
Loved me strong
Thats what I thought
Me and sue
But that died too
Dont know that I will
But until I can find me
A girl wholl stay
And wont play games behind me
Ill be what I am
A solitary man
Solitary man
Ive had it to here
Bein where
Loves a small world
Part-time thing
Paper ring
I know its been done
Having one
Girl who loves you
Right or wrong
Weak or strong
Dont know that I will
But until I can find me
The girl wholl stay
And wont play games behind me
Ill be what I am
A solitary man
Solitary man
solitary man
solitary man
solitary man
solitary man
solitary man
solitary
man
song performed by by H.I.M.
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Village Green
Out in the country,
Far from all the soot and noise of the city,
Theres a village green.
Its been a long time
Since I last set eyes on the church with the steeple
Down by the village green.
twas there I met a girl called daisy
And kissed her by the old oak tree.
Although I loved my daisy, I saw fame,
And so I left the village green.
I miss the village green,
And all the simple people.
I miss the village green,
The church, the clock, the steeple.
I miss the morning dew, fresh air and sunday school.
And now all the houses
Are rare antiquities.
American tourists flock to see the village green.
They snap their photographs and say gawd darn it,
Isnt it a pretty scene?
And daisys married tom the grocer boy,
And now he owns a grocery.
I miss the village green,
And all the simple people.
I miss the village green,
The church, the clock, the steeple.
I miss the morning dew, fresh air and sunday school.
And I will return there,
And Ill and daisy,
And well sip tea, laugh,
And talk about the village green.
We will laugh and talk about the village green.
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Village
A Village in Iberia
Drove to the village where I was born, hadn’t been there
for forty years, the lane was muddy and houses deserted;
this village had been abandoned long time ago; what was
I thinking of coming here? A tree had grown right through
our cottage, roof smashed now walls were tumbling down.
Puny human dwellings, here today and gone in less than
Ten decades, the tree seemed to say. What a nostalgic fool
I’m, this idea of returning, rebuild the old house and live
here in happy retirement.
This was no longer a village but a graveyard, houses were
tombstones of a past that had nothing to offer but poverty,
glassless window resembled crosses of a defunct faith.
I sat on a stone smoking a cigarette the aroma of wafted
through the drab silence, from behind a broken wall a dog
came, young, and it looked eerily like Stella the dog I loved
all those years ago, don’t tell me she has waited for five
dog generations, to return from the wasteland of eternity
just for me?
“I’ll call you Stella”, I said and stroked the dog’s head.
She knitted her brows together as to say, “What else? ”
I opened the right hand car door, Stella jumped in like she
had done this a thousand time before, drove off and didn’t
look back once, the only memory I needed of my childhood,
was alive and snoozing in the seat beside me.
poem by Oskar Hansen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A pure white poem and empty shops
I asked a dog-walker for the short cut
to the local centre shop.
She told me 'Walk to the village green
then turn right. A skip and a hop.'
'Thank you' I said, unknowingly
that the village green WASN'T green..
Everything was blanketed in a coat of snow,
it was WHITE where the green had been!
I followed the tracks and got to the shop
where crowds were milling about lost.
The bread and eggs they were looking for
could not be bought at any cost.
The shelves were bare, reminded me
of reports I'd seen on the telly.
Thirds World countries, very little food,
youngsters with hunger-swollen bellies.
Ah well, it's pasta for me tonight
and tomorrow again, no doubt.
Those tomatoes in cans will be useful and, I expect,
the tin of beans will eke it out.
poem by Francesca Johnson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sketches For A Fine Day
actually i like the sound of
brooms sweeping the street today
a young girl
short for her age
and brown and
bow legged
does her assigned task in the street
gathering dead leaves
as i watch
it is a bright day
the street light is turned off
a young boy's hand is held by her mother
crossing the street
waiting for the school bus
a white dog pisses
on the side of the trunk of the
mahogany tree
a black car from the right side of the village
wheels its way towards the boulevard
a young woman with short blue jeans
jogs along the green valley
the sea is sky
blue and the sun slowly rises from the horizon
like a man's face peeping upon a table's edge
the long line of trees along the faded street
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sorry
Dear parents,
I forgive you my life,
Begotten in a drab town,
The intention was good;
Passing the street now,
I see still the remains of sunlight.
It was not the bone buckled;
You gave me enough food
To renew myself.
It was the mind's weight
Kept me bent, as I grew tall.
It was not your fault.
What should have gone on,
Arrow aimed from a tried bow
At a tried target, has turned back,
Wounding itself
With questions you had not asked.
Submitted by Andrew Mayers
poem by Ronald Stuart Thomas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Canal Bank Walk
Leafy-with-love banks and the green waters of the canal
Pouring redemption for me, that I do
The will of God, wallow in the habitual, the banal,
Grow with nature again as before I grew.
The bright stick trapped, the breeze adding a third
Party to the couple kissing on an old seat,
And a bird gathering materials for the nest for the Word
Eloquently new and abandoned to its delirious beat.
O unworn world enrapture me, encapture me in a web
Of fabulous grass and eternal voices by a beech,
Feed the gaping need of my senses, give me ad lib
To pray unselfconsciously with overflowing speech
For this soul needs to be honoured with a new dress woven
From green and blue things and arguments that cannot be proven.
Submitted by Andrew Mayers
poem by Patrick Kavanagh
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Spellbound
Boy got paparazi, rich lead to slum
Let him think the grass is greener, it always is for someone
Pilgrims and penitents, saying its the end of the world
Let them wallow in their sorrow
I want to live like theres no tomorrow, with you girl
World turns (world turns)
Spins round (spins round)
Goes round and around and around and around
Im spellbound
All day (all day)
All night (all night)
Shake it down, shake it down, shake it down, shake it down
Im spellbound
Sun probes and moon shots explore the universe
Outer space must be a great place
Yet were stranded here on earth
With tit for tat killers, junkie gurus
Let them wallow in their sorrow
I want to live like theres no tomorrow, just with you
(I want to live, just with you)
World turns (world turns)
Spins round (spins round)
Goes round and around and around and around
Im spellbound
All day (all day)
All night (all night)
Shake it down, shake it down, shake it down, shake it down
Im spellbound (Im spellbound)
Spellbound
World turns (world turns)
Spins round (spins round)
Goes round and around and around and around
Im spellbound
All day (all day)
All night (all night)
Shake it down, shake it down, shake it down, shake it down
Im spellbound
When we gonna learn, when we gonna learn to turn
When we gonna learn to turn this world around
When we gonna learn, when we gonna learn to turn
When we gonna learn to turn this world around
(when we, when we gonna learn, show me, show me when)
When we gonna learn, when we gonna learn to turn
When we gonna learn to turn this world around
song performed by by Abc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Never Been Here Before
Never been here before,
I'm on top of the world.
Never been here before,
but I still i walk through door.
Venture into to the unknown.
I'm no longer alone.
You brought me to my knees.
God how I want to please.
I want to cure every disease.
One at a time that's fine.
Never been here before,
I'm on the top of the world.
Never been here before,
but still I walk through the door.
A uncertainty for eternity I thought.
But its not. Look at this shiny rock.
Look at what I got.
Its a miracle with a wave of the hand.
The rain stops, the flood halts before my feet.
The feeling is so sweet.
Some days you look good enough to eat.
Never been here before,
I'm on top of the world.
Never been here before,
but still I will walk through that door.
Moving mountains.
Making thunder without a single blunder.
Such great chemistry, it has infected me.
With a great sense of irony
Defying the order of chaos.
Creating something from a loss.
When I can't afford the cost. still I do it,
still I fight right through it.
Feet burning, soul urning, mind churning.
Life so surprising. So many secrets.
Divulge some please.
Never been here before,
I'm on top of the world.
Never been here before,
but still I walk through the door.
Walk through this door, this door.
poem by Ace Of Black Hearts
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Uncle Arthur
Strikes the bell for 5 oclock, uncle arthur closes shop
Screws the tops on all the bottles, turns the lights out, locks it up
Climbs across his bike and hes away
Cycles past the gasworks, past the river, down the high street
Back to mother, its another empty day
Uncle arthur likes his mommy
Uncle arthur still reads comics
Uncle arthur follows batman
Round and round the rumours fly, how he ran away from mum
On his 32nd birthday, told her that hed found a chum
Mother cried and raved and yelled and fussed
Arthur left her no illusion, brought the girl round, save confusion
Sally was the real thing, not just lust
Uncle arthur vanished quickly
Uncle arthur and his new bride
Uncle arthur follows sally
Round and round goes arthurs head, hasnt eaten well for days
Little sally may be lovely, but cooking leaves her in a maze
Uncle arthur packed his bags and fled
Back to mother, alls forgiven, serving in the family shop
He gets his pocket money, hes well fed
Uncle arthur past the gasworks
Uncle arthur past the river
Uncle arthur down the high street
Uncle arthur follows mother
song performed by by David Bowie
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Mary Street
(s. hoffs/v. peterson)
Susanna & vicki
Times up girl now
No more excusing you
And those books you read
Oh girl, you better review
Oh oh oh, mary street
Looking out your door
Oh oh oh, mary street
Now what are you waiting for (what are you waiting for)
You thought that cool
Was in someone elses shoes and makeup
Sitting in your room
Waiting for the moment to come
Oh oh oh, mary street
Looking out your door
Oh oh oh, mary street
Now what are you waiting for (what are you waiting for)
You got no tears for
All the guys who passed you by
All the girls who shut you out
They wont recognize you now
Youre a good girl now
No more excusing you
And those books you read
Oh girl, you better review
Oh oh oh, mary street
Looking out your door
Oh oh oh, mary street
Now what are you waiting for (what are you waiting for)
Oh oh oh, mary street
Looking out your door
Oh oh oh, mary street
Oh yeah, oh yeah
song performed by by Bangles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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An Echo from Africa
Da ruction happen by Nicko's place
Las' week, in da deada da night.
Da copper he very near cop da case
Accounta da fish-shop fight
In da great beeg international way
Dat wrecka da oyster bar.
Now Nicko he grinda da tooth an' say,
'Da white-a man rule, by gar!'
Sammo, da slush, wit' da dark-tan face,
Scale an' clean-a fish
Long time he toila by Nicko's place,
Washa da dirty dish.
But Nicko he say, 'Da t'ings get slow;
Dis war make da beezness slack.
Dat Sammo, da slush, he have to go.'
So Nicko he sacka da black.
Las-a night, when Sammo he come for da mon',
His eye got da look like-a dirt.
But, Nicko, he say to heem, like in fun,
'Take-a dat, black scuma da eart'.'
Den Sammo he scowl aroun' da shop
An' he grabba da long, fat eel,
An' he smacka poor Nicko right in da chop
So he fall head over heel!
But Nicko come up wi' da Musso glare,
An' he seize-a da ten-poun' schnap.
Ah, I only wisha dat you been dere;
You see-a da bonza scrap!!
Dey smash-a da souce-bot, smash-a da chair,
Dey smash-a da glass partish,
Dey smash-a da pot-plant topa da stair;
An' da place all cover wit' fish!
Den Sammo he tread on da gar-fish head,
An' da foot fly up in da air,
An' he come-a down flop an' lie like dead
When he banga da head on da chair.
An' Nicko he grab heem quick by da feet
An' drag heem outa da door,
An' he say, as he fling heem into da street,
'Dat feenish my Afric war.'
But Nicko he same like a change man now;
All over da shop he fuss;
He flash-a da eye an' he knit-a da brow,
An' he stick out da jaw like-a Muss.
An' he look each customer close by da face
For da sign of da bad, black drop.
Den he grind-a da tooth if he twig da trace:
'Abyssin! Get outta my shop!'
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Silver Girl
Silver girl, stay until tomorrow
Take my heart away with just a single kiss,
Silver girl, the world out side our window,
Somehow fades away at moments like this,
While tonight in the city street the people rush by,
You and I are taking our time, precious time,
*wont you lay with me (stay with me) one moment more,
I couldnt bear to see you walk out that door,
Stay with me, by my one in the world,
For just one golden moment, my silver girl.*
The silver moon holds us in its power,
With a magic that Im not prepared to fight,
With all my strength Ive been holding back the hour,
Lie beside me now if just for one night,
Far below, in the city street the people rush by,
You and I are taking our time, precious time.
song performed by by Survivor
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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