En.Citatepedia^®.ro

The Canine Ham

There's a mighty storm raging overhead,
And my old dog she raises her head.
As I rush down the stairs in anticipation,
Of her fear and panic and trepidation.
I walk into the kitchen so calm and quiet,
Fully expecting her to raise a riot.
But she coolly turns and looks at me,
And I cannot believe what my own eyes see.
Instead of a dog trembling in fright,,
Against all past history she seems alright!
So I heave a sigh of quiet relief
And wend my way back upstairs to sleep.
But hark, I reach the top of the stairs,
And I hear a scrape, a moving of chairs.
Oh no! I think, she's scared after all
And I tumble downwards into the hall.
I tiptoe into the kitchen bright,
(where I'd felt compelled to leave a light.)
To find her sitting upon the side,
As if frantically seeking a place to hide.
That's strange, I thought, you were fine just now,
And I link my mind with hers to see how
She was not afraid before I came down.
Could she be acting the canine clown?
I spoke to her with a word(quite) stern
And told her I knew that she could discern,,
Whether danger was real or just in the mind.
She stared unblinking, though far from 'blind'
The meaning behind my eyes she knew,
So she walked back into her bed of blue.
And as I left for the second time,
She raised her eyes and winked into mine.
Giving me food for thought (yet again) ,
At how amusing and whimsical her powerful 'game'.
For as the famous author had been heard to say,
'Show you're amused, and the dog will play,
On the stage of life, to turn one's head.'
'How true' I smiled, as I turned for bed.

poem by Rosi Caswell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Coffee

Sometimes life is merely a matter of coffee and whatever intimacy a cup of coffee
affords. I once read something about coffee. The thing said that coffee is good for you;
it stimulates all the organs.
I thought at first this was a strange way to put it, and not altogether pleasant, but
as time goes by I have found out that it makes sense in its own limited way. I'll tell you
what I mean.
Yesterday morning I went over to see a girl. I like her. Whatever we had going for us
is gone now. She does not care for me. I blew it and wish I hadn't.
I rang the door bell and waited on the stairs. I could hear her moving around upstairs.
The way she moved I could tell that she was getting up. I had awakened her.
Then she came down the stairs. I could feel her approach in my stomach. Every step she
took stirred my feelings and lead indirectly to her opening the door. She saw me and it
did not please her.
Once upon a time it pleased her very much, last week. I wonder where it went,
pretending to be naive.
"I feel strange now," she said. "I don't want to talk."
"I want a cup of coffee," I said, because it was the last thing in the world
that I wanted. I said it in such a way that it sounded as if I were reading her a telegram
from somebody else, a person who really wanted a cup of coffee, who cared about nothing
else.
"All right," she said.
I followed her up the stairs. It was ridiculous. She had just put some clothes on. They
had not quite adjusted themselves to her body. I could tell you about her ass. We went
into the kitchen.
She took a jar of instant coffee off the shelf and put it on the table. She placed a
cup next to it, and a spoon. I looked at them. She put a pan full of water on the stove
and turned the gas on under it.
All this time she did not say a word. Her clothes adjusted themselves to her body. I
won't. She left the kitchen.
Then she went down the stairs and outside to see if she had any mail. I didn't remember
seeing any. She came back up the stairs and went into another room. She closed the door
after her. I looked at the pan full of water on the stove.
I knew that it would take a year before the water started to boil. It was now October
and there was too much water in the pan. That was the problem. I threw half of the water
into the sink.
The water would boil faster now. It would take only six months. The house was quiet.
I looked out the back porch. There were sacks of garbage there. I stared at the garbage
and tried to figure out what she had been eating lately by studying the containers and
peelings and stuff. I couldn't tell a thing.
It was now March. The water started to boil. I was pleased by this.
I looked at the table. There was the jar of instant coffee, the empty cup and the spoon
all laid out like a funeral service. These are the things that you need to make a cup of
coffee.
When I left the house ten minutes later, the cup of coffee safely inside me like a
grave, I said, "Thank you for the cup of coffee."
"You're welcome," she said. Her voice came from behind a closed door. Her
voice sounded like another telegram. It was really time for me to leave.
I spent the rest of the day not making coffee. It was a comfort. And evening came, I
had dinner in a restaurant and went to a bar. I had some drinks and talked to some people.
We were bar people and said bar things. None of them remembered, and the bar closed. It
was two o'clock in the morning. I had to go outside. It was foggy and cold in San
Francisco. I wondered about the fog and felt very human and exposed.
I decided to go visit another girl. We had not been friends for over a year. Once we
were very close. I wondered what she was thinking about now.
I went to her house. She didn't have a door bell. That was a small victory. One must
keep track of all the small victories. I do, anyway.
She answered the door. She was holding a robe in front of her. She didn't believe that
she was seeing me. "What do you want?" she said, believing now that she was
seeing me. I walked right into the house.
She turned and closed the door in such a way that I could see her profile. She had not
bothered to wrap the robe completely around herself. She was just holding the robe in
front of herself.
I could see an unbroken line of body running from her head to her feet. It looked kind
of strange. Perhaps because it was so late at night.
"What do you want?" she said.
"I want a cup of coffee," I said. What a funny thing to say, to say again for
a cup of coffee was not what I really wanted.
She looked at me and wheeled slightly on the profile. She was not pleased to see me.
Let the AMA tell us that time heals. I looked at the unbroken line of her body.
"Why don't you have a cup of coffee with me?" I said. "I feel like
talking to you. We haven't talked for a long time."
She looked at me and wheeled slightly on the profile. I stared at the unbroken line of
her body. This was not good.
"It's too late," she said. "I have to get up in the morning. If you want
a cup of coffee, there's instant in the kitchen. I have to go to bed."
The kitchen light was on. I looked down the hall into the kitchen. I didn't feel like
going into the kitchen and having another cup of coffee by myself. I didn't feel like
going to anybody else's house and asking them for a cup of coffee.
I realized that the day had been committed to a very strange pilgrimage, and I had not
planned it that way. At least the jar of instant coffee was not on the table, beside an
empty white cup and a spoon.
They say in the spring a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love. Perhaps if he has
enough time left over, his fancy can even make room for a cup of coffee.

poem by Richard Brautigan from Revenge of the Lawn (1971)
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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A Thrush In A Rush

Our house, once had a visit from a baby thrush,
Who took a wrong turning, during a mad rush.
Our back door was open: the weather was hot;
Then suddenly, over the threshold, he did pop.

The next thing, of which, I was then aware,
Was the young thrush flying up our stairs.
On reaching the top, he turned left, and he zoomed,
Through an open door, in to one of our bedrooms.

In his blind panic, he flapped and flew about;
That he was full of fear, there was no doubt.
Exhausted, he settled down on the floor to rest,
And it was then, that I spotted his speckled chest.

The poor little thing – he really was very scared,
And he knew in his heart, he shouldn’t be there.
I offered words of comfort, but he didn’t understand;
All he knew was that he was in a strange looking land.

Back out on to the darkened landing, he soon took flight,
And headed back down the stairs, out towards the daylight.
Through the open door, a familiar land, he now could see:
A land where, once again, he could fly about, wild and free.

poem by Angela Wybrow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Pearls of Verna Boone

I'd been alone for a year or so
Since Norma Jean had died,
I stayed in the house I'd bought for her
At the end of River Drive,
I'd felt her death as a fatal blow,
A crippling twist of fate,
For Norma Jean was my one true love,
Though I'd met her a little late!

I was past my prime when our eyes had met,
And she'd looked so young to me,
Her eyes had sparkled like diamonds set
As scarabs in sand and sea,
She saw the desert behind my eyes,
The emptiness in my life,
I stumbled over the words, but she
Said 'Yes! ' - She would be my wife!

I didn't know that she carried then
The seeds of a painful death,
Her face was flushed at the altar stone
And she seemed so short of breath,
I thought it merely a passing faint
That excitement had brought on,
As we stood in front of the Minister,
And joined our lives as one.

But then at home, she fell apart,
Collapsed on the kitchen floor,
I saw her lying, and coughing blood
Like I'd never seen before,
The doctor called, and he shook his head
As he left her there in the bed,
'I'm very sorry, ' the doctor sighed,
'But your lovely wife is dead! '

I cried and raged, and swore at fate
I smashed each wedding gift,
I wouldn't go to the funeral
But stayed at home and wept.
I cursed the heavens and thought that hell
Could never have been as bad
As a love that I'd waited a lifetime for,
A love that I'd never had!

The house next door was a rental place,
Stood empty for months that year,
But then a couple had moved on in,
I didn't see him, just her.
I thought that he was a traveller,
Was constantly on the road,
He came at night, and he left at dawn
In a battered and ancient Ford.

I had no reason to talk to them,
I sat at home with my grief,
I wandered out in the garden then
At one with each falling leaf,
But then one day, I heard her there
The other side of the fence,
Breaking her heart, as crying there
She sobbed with vehemence.

After a week of this, I climbed
The fence, and spoke to her,
'Why do you sigh, why do you cry? '
But she cried then all the more.
I walked around and sat with her
Quite late in the afternoon,
She smiled, and dried her eyes, and said,
'My name is Verna Boone! '

She said she'd only been married
Just a year this coming Spring,
But now that she knew the man he was,
Regretted everything,
He'd lost her money, just gambled it,
Had spent it on other girls,
And now they were left with nothing, he
Just wanted her mother's pearls!

'They're all I have to remember her, '
She sobbed, like a frightened child,
'They're worth a lot, but they're more to me, '
She looked at me, and smiled.
She took me inside and pulled them out
Three strings, they were very fine,
'He said that he's going to pawn them! '
Then she put her small hand in mine.

I was sad, alone and vulnerable,
I looked at her lovely curls,
She smiled at me, and she asked me then
If I'd care for her mother's pearls?
'I'll say they're lost, misplaced, I'll say,
He'll rant and rage, and more,
But he won't be able to pawn them now...'
Then she walked me to the door.

I took her home, and I placed the pearls
With the gems my wife had once:
'They'll be all right in the downstairs safe.'
It was then that she saw the gun.
She looked afraid, but she picked it up
And weighed it there in her hand,
I took it gently and locked it up
With the rest of my contraband.

'She must have watched as I spun the dial,
I know - I was such a fool! '
The sergeant sat and he stared at me,
And his stare was distant, cool.
He didn't believe a word I said
I could see that now, I'm done!
They put me back in a cell to wait
To be charged with Murder One!

She told them I had come over when
Her husband came home one night,
Waving a gun and ranting, then
Her husband put up a fight!
I'd shot him once through the head, she said,
Then taken her on the bed,
Stolen a fine pearl necklace,
Then beaten and left her for dead!

They found the gun on the floor, they said,
I knew that the gun was mine,
They found the pearls in my safe, they said,
It was only a question of time.
She sat at the back of the court while I
Was stood in the prisoner's dock,
And I noticed she wore her mother's pearls
With a nice new evening frock.

10 August 2009

poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Cant Take My Soul

The weathers getting cold
But its ninety degrees outside
It feels like Im driving so slow
But this old ford is cruising ninety-five
I thought I could hear your cold words
After all, they were just words
I thought I could see your sad eyes
After all, eyes wont lie
I thought that I could just take this hatred in
Let it back out and see love again
But know Im giving up
But Im never giving in
So you can take my life
And you can keep this heart
But you never can take my soul
No never can take my soul
It feels so good like Im laughing
But theres these tears running down my face
I dry my eyes to see the sun rise
Only to find its set, its too late
So I sit there and listen to you scream
After all, I never would
But I cry before I go to sleep
After all, I knew I wasnt what I should be
I thought that I should just take this hatred in
Let it back out and see love again
But now Im giving up
But Im never giving in
So you can take my life
You can keep this heart
But you never can take my soul
No never can take my soul
I tried to say goodbye yesterday
But we ended up in bed instead
*(I dont understand this entire line)
But I couldnt, had to turn away, turn my head
Give me the strength to let you go
After all, I never could
*(I dont understand this entire line)
After all, I knew I wasnt what I should be
I thought that I should just take this hatred in
Let it back out and see love again
But know Im giving up
But Im never giving in
You can take my life, you can have this heart
*(dont understand this entire line)
You can have all my hands, my feet and my head
And all of those good things I did everywhere
But you never can take my soul
Youd think that you could posses
All of my looks, all of my prettiness
All of my feelings and my lovings too
But dont you know that you were the fool
But you never can take my soul
No never can take...
Cant take my soul.

song performed by by Jewel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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1 John 2: 8

At the back of her mind...was a man.
Somewhere in the roads she walked before.
Those dark roads of her life-
she paused and turned back.
There was no one there...
darkness covered the path.
Is his shadows hiding over the face of the night?
Or perhaps he was gone as was the light;
I wonder...how she must have felt
that the man she lived for
is now a memory she doesn't want to remember.
Had she wept? I know not.
Perhaps... or perhaps not.
For when I saw her stepping out of darkness,
I saw the smile in her eyes.
I'm certain it was joy that was written on her face
thinking she will never walk those roads again.
I looked away from her brown eyes and said to myself:
I'll never walk those roads again...
The darkness is past, the true light now shineth
and the past is gone.
At the back of my mind there is this MAN -
and I know Him.
I'll walk the roads He walked
for I know in them I'll find my way back home.

12January2011
Batac

poem by Jessel Jane Tevar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lost In Wal-Mart

So... I was in one of those Wal-mart Super Stores
Just the other day
When in the middle of the hallway
I felt someone grab my fingers tight
I looked and there she was... a little child holding
With all her might

I saw her eyes big and brown
Somehow she pulled me to the ground
Now..what was a man...big as me suppose to do
So... I said... child... Can I help you..?

As she looked at me with big brown eyes
Her beauty and sadness... almost caused a great flood
And with her voice ready to cry
She ask... If'n...I'd seen her mommy?

Now has anybody ever had their heart fallout of their soul...?
Mine did... And I couldn't help but notice
Her knees.. Shaking... Like she was at the North Pole.
Now you... and me... and everyone knows...
Children aren't to talk to strangers...
Because we've all heard... how great... and terrible those..dangers!
But she still had hold...of my fingers

Well... at that same time I felt.. heard a voice in my head
Don't move.... this is where I should.. need.. to stand
I did... But I still raised up my left hand
Because.. I didn't... know what to do?
I felt like that child... back in first grade school!

So... I spoke with my voice really loud.
I said...this child's mommy is lost... (you see)
I have always been able to see when love needed my help!
But this time... I had never known how helpless..I felt!

I said...please..someone.. call the M.O.D.
Short for Manager on Duty.
Help me... Find the mommy of this little cutie
Well in a few moments through that crowd of people
This women... M.O.D. appeared
She knelt down and said..Oh.. Oh...you're such a little dear...
Held out her hands..said sweetie come-mere

Yet.. I knew what this child was thinking... because
She now clung to me
Her arm went tight.. around my knee
And in her fist part of my jean's

I felt heard again that gentlest of a voice
I know you can you feel... her fear.....
So I want you... to just stand here....
Well I let my left hand rest gently...on her little head
I felt the trembling...and some how it cut my soul....
(because I felt those greatest of dreads)

So there we were twenty... thirty minutes... maybe a little more..
Then that voice ok look to the left
And from a hundred yards I saw her and the plant nursey room door
and heard that one's the mom....!
And even from that distance
I knew my thoughts were right
She looked like she'd seen a ghost
Face Pale.... I reconized her... pure.. It was Snow..White..
So I raised that child up to my shoulder
That had clung so tight to my knee...Shouted... Hey Lady... Over here..

I can't describe her relief... nor her tears...
But..I'll never forget them...or her...for the rest of my years...
Because as she came close... I cleary heard...Thank..You..God...!
As she fell with that child in her arms...knee's hitting the floor..
She begged for mercy... forgivness...
From the child, from God... I was'nt quite shore?

Well Ok.. I finally decided it was safe for me.. I turned to leave
And there again.. she was wrapped around my knee
This time love forced me to the ground
All the while that mommy's great tears.. rained down
I glanced briefly at the face.. of that girl women that still cried
And then I said Child... Is this your mom?
With a smile and nod... said my name is Dawnn..
She showed me a bruise on her elbow
That had been caused by her cat... his name was Heck
Then she smiled and embaced my neck

Suddenly I was there outside my heart
My own tears began to start............... well
When I was able I a-rose.. that mom started to explain
Mention husband...Iraq... two years... and a plane
In her haste had thought Grandma had
Her in her car
That she had to go... airport...late and so far
Tell her don't speed the plane will be late

I did what I was told... and ask if'n.. I... could hold Dawnn
Because she needed to call her own mom...
On the phone... Yes.. Yes... Mom I have her.. she's safe...
What..what.. The plane is late... How do you know that?
She then said mom... I need to call you back
Putting her cell phone down

She stared at me with eyes big and round
Then I smiled at Dawnn.. and put my head down
She said it's been so hard.. these last two years
And again she said, Thank You God....through some more tears
She stepped closer... and almost whisperd.. so I could barley hear
She said...I ask God to have someone he trusted
Guard my daughter until I got there
She cried and still stared

I put love and little Dawnn back on the ground
I tired to mumble something... but couldn't hardly make a sound
So I said good by to Dawn and take good care of Heck
Then that women child said thank you Clyde
And... with her free arm pert near broke my neck
She stilled cried a little... guess.. I did the same
Surprised that she knew my name
She said God Loves you u-know
And I have to go
As she backed up... she added
I'll name my first son....
After the man that can see far....
May God bless you where-ere you go... or are....

So I wrote this poem about a little girl and her mom Lost in Wal-mart.
I admit I was confussed as to why this little girl came to me and ask me to help her find her mom.But what was I to do, I could only stand there
and try to do what I felt was the correct thing.
It was easy to see that young women that came running into that
store was lost and scared. I don't claim anything but it was strange to have this little girl refuse help from so many of the other's that were there. Yet I obeyed the thoughts that kept coming into my soul. I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do. I just did what I thought came into my mind. It was like I was thinking with and unused portion of my heart, if that was possible.. the end

poem by Clyde Bryson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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How The Eye Deceives!

I walked to the back verandah
And stared at the midnight sky,
The moon, long gone, lay hidden
By the rainclouds, up on high,
The wind howled out in the treetops
Then grunted back through the eaves,
My mood was black as the midden,
I thought – “How the eye deceives.”

You lay with your back towards me
As you’d often lain in the past
When the gods of war were stalking
And your eyes turned red, and flashed.
My life, like the earth, was turning
While all you could do was weep,
And the pit of misunderstanding
Lay there, where you fell asleep.

I’d read in your daily journal
Some thoughts of yours that bled,
And knew that my life was over
From the words I’d found in your head.
We flared, dashed flints at each other
That sparked, lit fear and doubt,
While the storm outside kept building
And the fire in the hearth went out.

At two, or three in the morning
I rose with a fevered moan,
I thought that the air might soothe me
So staggered outside, alone;
But there by the back verandah
The earth had split like a pea,
Our path tailed off to nothing
While a planet lay in our tree.

And there lay a pit of darkness
Like no-one had ever seen,
A silence deep and deadly
So quiet, it drew me in;
I almost lost my balance
To fall in the deadly pit
Where not a star had glimmered,
No God had ever lit.

You lay with your back towards me
In peace, asleep, in bliss,
While I crawled round on the carpet
And punched at the mantlepiece,
Then madly I raised the covers
And dropped them again, in dread,
I sat on the floor ‘til morning…
The stars shone under our bed!

You woke with a gentle shudder
And rolled to face me then,
Reached out, and smiled at the morning
And said – “I love you, ” then;
I felt the world come together,
A gentle breath at the eaves,
The stars were back in the heavens;
I thought – ‘How the eye deceives.’

15 July 1997

poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Mind Travel

Has anyone ever thought of life after death?
I don’t think so
But I thought so
When the supernatural life and I met
I was away from my foe;
In a world to bring up a new foe
I might have made friends before
But it was impossible here, from what I saw
I was in white
A garment as bright as light
Resemblance of earth wares to it might
I was upheld in through the clouds at height
To gaze down or up, I was in fright
On earth, my heart was heavy
Not because I was a needy
But fights sprung up consequently,
Requiring me to act immediately
But here, it was heavenly
I moved not in my own velocity
I finally arrived at an area more brightly lit
And then, by my will I started moving
I was on land red like crimson
Had I known where I had been?
Would I be so scared for another fitting?
I traveled at a high acceleration like I was flying
And yonder places to see, will be desiring
But here I knew things were not gotten by caring
On mediums, I saw still creatures I could not imagine
On surfaces, I saw symbols of which I had no meaning
And then I knew there was another world in which I was traveling
Hell and heaven were choices of dwelling
Heaven chosen were by calling
I understood this from the book before which I was reading
Also that hell to no one of you had caring
Of the days past, I did not know then
Nor time did I know when
Right in front of me, I was confused to decide
Was I moving towards heaven or hell?
There were sand dunes and sand haze
Everywhere foggy and frightening, I saw I was in another phase
Fear or fright was my problem base
And the burning heat of the sun was another case
Even with a map, finding my location will be solving a maze
I had no time even to daze
Until I saw my relation by name Maurice
I don’t know if to get closer or away
Because Maurice died just yesterday
But I didn’t have a place to stay
And he could provide me shelter for my head to lie
I got to him but he stood still
I touched him and everything was still
It was hot; I wasn’t sure what I will feel
And better and better were my feelings still
I appeared in a place I knew not
My friend behind me took me by my hand
It was the mot beautiful place, no one could find
Or could its treasures and jewelries be sought
I walked on streets of gold
Expensive chandeliers and bulbs, I can’t imagine how much they were sold;
I no longer was catching cold
And far off, I knew I saw something I was once told
Farther and farther we travelled
The more people I saw, I marveled
Up in the sky and even close were the stars that dazzled
And my wishes for better things I leveled
We approached a huge building
On it were beautiful structures and creatures
Mighty swords were they holding
And powerful wings they had
But they never looked sad
We went in crossing a palace of inner beauty
And in it was the greatest being I have seen, huge and relaxed
And mighty servants worshiped Him
I knew the being
I wanted to look closer
I was curious to see the being better
But yet never
My eyes was open and on earth was I
Then I heard a voice whisper to my ear and say
“Not yet” He said, “I took you for a little mind travel to the end of the worlds”

poem by Ivan Chizurum Ezeigbo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lazarus

“No, Mary, there was nothing—not a word.
Nothing, and always nothing. Go again
Yourself, and he may listen—or at least
Look up at you, and let you see his eyes.
I might as well have been the sound of rain,
A wind among the cedars, or a bird;
Or nothing. Mary, make him look at you;
And even if he should say that we are nothing,
To know that you have heard him will be something.
And yet he loved us, and it was for love
The Master gave him back. Why did he wait
So long before he came? Why did he weep?
I thought he would be glad—and Lazarus—
To see us all again as he had left us—
All as it was, all as it was before.”

Mary, who felt her sister’s frightened arms
Like those of someone drowning who had seized her,
Fearing at last they were to fail and sink
Together in this fog-stricken sea of strangeness,
Fought sadly, with bereaved indignant eyes,
To find again the fading shores of home
That she had seen but now could see no longer
Now she could only gaze into the twilight,
And in the dimness know that he was there,
Like someone that was not. He who had been
Their brother, and was dead, now seemed alive
Only in death again—or worse than death;
For tombs at least, always until today,
Though sad were certain. There was nothing certain
For man or God in such a day as this;
For there they were alone, and there was he—
Alone; and somewhere out of Bethany,
The Master—who had come to them so late,
Only for love of them and then so slowly,
And was for their sake hunted now by men
Who feared Him as they feared no other prey—
For the world’s sake was hidden. “Better the tomb
For Lazarus than life, if this be life,”
She thought; and then to Martha, “No, my dear,”
She said aloud; “not as it was before.
Nothing is ever as it was before,
Where Time has been. Here there is more than Time;
And we that are so lonely and so far
From home, since he is with us here again,
Are farther now from him and from ourselves
Than we are from the stars. He will not speak
Until the spirit that is in him speaks;
And we must wait for all we are to know,
Or even to learn that we are not to know.
Martha, we are too near to this for knowledge,
And that is why it is that we must wait.
Our friends are coming if we call for them,
And there are covers we’ll put over him
To make him warmer. We are too young, perhaps,
To say that we know better what is best
Than he. We do not know how old he is.
If you remember what the Master said,
Try to believe that we need have no fear.
Let me, the selfish and the careless one,
Be housewife and a mother for tonight;
For I am not so fearful as you are,
And I was not so eager.”

Martha sank
Down at her sister’s feet and there sat watching
A flower that had a small familiar name
That was as old as memory, but was not
The name of what she saw now in its brief
And infinite mystery that so frightened her
That life became a terror. Tears again
Flooded her eyes and overflowed. “No, Mary,”
She murmured slowly, hating her own words
Before she heard them, “you are not so eager
To see our brother as we see him now;
Neither is he who gave him back to us.
I was to be the simple one, as always,
And this was all for me.” She stared again
Over among the trees where Lazarus,
Who seemed to be a man who was not there,
Might have been one more shadow among shadows,
If she had not remembered. Then she felt
The cool calm hands of Mary on her face,
And shivered, wondering if such hands were real.

“The Master loved you as he loved us all,
Martha; and you are saying only things
That children say when they have had no sleep.
Try somehow now to rest a little while;
You know that I am here, and that our friends
Are coming if I call.”

Martha at last
Arose, and went with Mary to the door,
Where they stood looking off at the same place,
And at the same shape that was always there
As if it would not ever move or speak,
And always would be there. “Mary, go now,
Before the dark that will be coming hides him.
I am afraid of him out there alone,
Unless I see him; and I have forgotten
What sleep is. Go now—make him look at you—
And I shall hear him if he stirs or whispers.
Go!—or I’ll scream and bring all Bethany
To come and make him speak. Make him say once
That he is glad, and God may say the rest.
Though He say I shall sleep, and sleep for ever,
I shall not care for that… Go!”

Mary, moving
Almost as if an angry child had pushed her,
Went forward a few steps; and having waited
As long as Martha’s eyes would look at hers,
Went forward a few more, and a few more;
And so, until she came to Lazarus,
Who crouched with his face hidden in his hands,
Like one that had no face. Before she spoke,
Feeling her sister’s eyes that were behind her
As if the door where Martha stood were now
As far from her as Egypt, Mary turned
Once more to see that she was there. Then, softly,
Fearing him not so much as wondering
What his first word might be, said, “Lazarus,
Forgive us if we seemed afraid of you;”
And having spoken, pitied her poor speech
That had so little seeming gladness in it,
So little comfort, and so little love.

There was no sign from him that he had heard,
Or that he knew that she was there, or cared
Whether she spoke to him again or died
There at his feet. “We love you, Lazarus,
And we are not afraid. The Master said
We need not be afraid. Will you not say
To me that you are glad? Look, Lazarus!
Look at my face, and see me. This is Mary.”
She found his hands and held them. They were cool,
Like hers, but they were not so calm as hers.
Through the white robes in which his friends had wrapped him
When he had groped out of that awful sleep,
She felt him trembling and she was afraid.
At last he sighed; and she prayed hungrily
To God that she might hear again the voice
Of Lazarus, whose hands were giving her now
The recognition of a living pressure
That was almost a language. When he spoke,
Only one word that she had waited for
Came from his lips, and that word was her name.

“I heard them saying, Mary, that he wept
Before I woke.” The words were low and shaken,
Yet Mary knew that he who uttered them
Was Lazarus; and that would be enough
Until there should be more… “Who made him come,
That he should weep for me?… Was it you, Mary?”
The questions held in his incredulous eyes
Were more than she would see. She looked away;
But she had felt them and should feel for ever,
She thought, their cold and lonely desperation
That had the bitterness of all cold things
That were not cruel. “I should have wept,” he said,
“If I had been the Master….”

Now she could feel
His hands above her hair—the same black hair
That once he made a jest of, praising it,
While Martha’s busy eyes had left their work
To flash with laughing envy. Nothing of that
Was to be theirs again; and such a thought
Was like the flying by of a quick bird
Seen through a shadowy doorway in the twilight.
For now she felt his hands upon her head,
Like weights of kindness: “I forgive you, Mary….
You did not know—Martha could not have known—
Only the Master knew…. Where is he now?
Yes, I remember. They came after him.
May the good God forgive him…. I forgive him.
I must; and I may know only from him
The burden of all this… Martha was here—
But I was not yet here. She was afraid….
Why did he do it, Mary? Was it—you?
Was it for you?… Where are the friends I saw?
Yes, I remember. They all went away.
I made them go away…. Where is he now?…
What do I see down there? Do I see Martha—
Down by the door?… I must have time for this.”

Lazarus looked about him fearfully,
And then again at Mary, who discovered
Awakening apprehension in his eyes,
And shivered at his feet. All she had feared
Was here; and only in the slow reproach
Of his forgiveness lived his gratitude.
Why had he asked if it was all for her
That he was here? And what had Martha meant?
Why had the Master waited? What was coming
To Lazarus, and to them, that had not come?
What had the Master seen before he came,
That he had come so late?

“Where is he, Mary?”
Lazarus asked again. “Where did he go?”
Once more he gazed about him, and once more
At Mary for an answer. “Have they found him?
Or did he go away because he wished
Never to look into my eyes again?…
That, I could understand…. Where is he, Mary?”

“I do not know,” she said. “Yet in my heart
I know that he is living, as you are living—
Living, and here. He is not far from us.
He will come back to us and find us all—
Lazarus, Martha, Mary—everything—
All as it was before. Martha said that.
And he said we were not to be afraid.”
Lazarus closed his eyes while on his face
A tortured adumbration of a smile
Flickered an instant. “All as it was before,”
He murmured wearily. “Martha said that;
And he said you were not to be afraid …
Not you… Not you… Why should you be afraid?
Give all your little fears, and Martha’s with them,
To me; and I will add them unto mine,
Like a few rain-drops to Gennesaret.”

“If you had frightened me in other ways,
Not willing it,” Mary said, “I should have known
You still for Lazarus. But who is this?
Tell me again that you are Lazarus;
And tell me if the Master gave to you
No sign of a new joy that shall be coming
To this house that he loved. Are you afraid?
Are you afraid, who have felt everything—
And seen…?”

But Lazarus only shook his head,
Staring with his bewildered shining eyes
Hard into Mary’s face. “I do not know,
Mary,” he said, after a long time.
“When I came back, I knew the Master’s eyes
Were looking into mine. I looked at his,
And there was more in them than I could see.
At first I could see nothing but his eyes;
Nothing else anywhere was to be seen—
Only his eyes. And they looked into mine—
Long into mine, Mary, as if he knew.”

Mary began to be afraid of words
As she had never been afraid before
Of loneliness or darkness, or of death,
But now she must have more of them or die:
“He cannot know that there is worse than death,”
She said. “And you…”

“Yes, there is worse than death.”
Said Lazarus; “and that was what he knew;
And that is what it was that I could see
This morning in his eyes. I was afraid,
But not as you are. There is worse than death,
Mary; and there is nothing that is good
For you in dying while you are still here.
Mary, never go back to that again.
You would not hear me if I told you more,
For I should say it only in a language
That you are not to learn by going back.
To be a child again is to go forward—
And that is much to know. Many grow old,
And fade, and go away, not knowing how much
That is to know. Mary, the night is coming,
And there will soon be darkness all around you.
Let us go down where Martha waits for us,
And let there be light shining in this house.”

He rose, but Mary would not let him go:
“Martha, when she came back from here, said only
That she heard nothing. And have you no more
For Mary now than you had then for Martha?
Is Nothing, Lazarus, all you have for me?
Was Nothing all you found where you have been?
If that be so, what is there worse than that—
Or better—if that be so? And why should you,
With even our love, go the same dark road over?”

“I could not answer that, if that were so,”
Said Lazarus,—“not even if I were God.
Why should He care whether I came or stayed,
If that were so? Why should the Master weep—
For me, or for the world,—or save himself
Longer for nothing? And if that were so,
Why should a few years’ more mortality
Make him a fugitive where flight were needless,
Had he but held his peace and given his nod
To an old Law that would be new as any?
I cannot say the answer to all that;
Though I may say that he is not afraid,
And that it is not for the joy there is
In serving an eternal Ignorance
Of our futility that he is here.
Is that what you and Martha mean by Nothing?
Is that what you are fearing? If that be so,
There are more weeds than lentils in your garden.
And one whose weeds are laughing at his harvest
May as well have no garden; for not there
Shall he be gleaning the few bits and orts
Of life that are to save him. For my part,
I am again with you, here among shadows
That will not always be so dark as this;
Though now I see there’s yet an evil in me
That made me let you be afraid of me.
No, I was not afraid—not even of life.
I thought I was…I must have time for this;
And all the time there is will not be long.
I cannot tell you what the Master saw
This morning in my eyes. I do not know.
I cannot yet say how far I have gone,
Or why it is that I am here again,
Or where the old road leads. I do not know.
I know that when I did come back, I saw
His eyes again among the trees and faces—
Only his eyes; and they looked into mine—
Long into mine—long, long, as if he knew.”

poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Dreamed About Mama Last Night

I've just been to heaven with someone so true I dreamed about mama last night
She read me the Bible like she used to do I dreamed about mama last night
She never close her eyes to sleep till we were all in bed
And on party nights when we come home she often sat and read
We little thought about it then for we were young and gay
Just how much mama worried when we children were away
We only knew she never slept when we were out at night
That she waited just to know that we'd all come home alright
Why sometimes when we'd stay away till one or two or three
It seemed to us that mama heard the turnin' of the key
For always when we'd step aside she'd call and we'd reply
But we were all too young back then to understand the reason why
Until the last one had returned she'd always keep a light
For mama couldn't sleep until she kissed us all goodnight
She had to know that we were safe before she went to rest
She seemed to fear that the world might harm the ones that she loved the best
And once she told me when you're grown to women and to men
Perhaps I'll sleep the whole night through I may be different then
And so it seemed that night and day we knew a mother's care
That always when we got back home we'd find her waitin' there
Then came the night that we were called together round her bed
The children're all with you now the kindly doctor said
And in her eyes the gleam again that old time tender light
That told that she's just been waitin' to know that we were alright
She smiled that old familiar smile and prayed to God to keep
Her children safe from harm throughout the years tand then she went to sleep
My dream is a treasure that I'll always keep I dreamed about mama last night

song performed by by Hank Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ask 2: Take your place in the tapestry of life.

It only happens once, play your part, as best you can
Who can ask anymore of you than that you tried, failed still
its no surprise to me that they would always hold us down.

Get your head out of the clouds, you’d hear them say,
Then running circles shadow play.

A return to the elemental, a state of calm,
Slip in lucid tides, hide away behind a wave of passion,
Ride the wheel, turn back the tides,
Tell me how you feel is this reality for you,
I don’t know what it is no more.

Open up the doors of perception, clear the mind of impurities,
Drift away in placid calms, I wont do you know harm babe,
It’s beyond me to do so to think like a genius, to act like a fool.

Turn it all in, back again, another point of view
Another face you thought you knew.
Tell me, tell me true, is it me you love babe or is it you.

Sometimes when I look at you, I feel your holding back a flood of tears.
Building me up to break me down after all these years.
Leaving me wondering, how could they do it to me?
Why would they do it to me?

Take your place in the tapestry of life.
Within you lies eternal youth,
What more proof could you need
Than the hedonism, that you feed
Close your eyes, just slip outside the box.

Take a walk, we’ll talk a while
Sit, lay back with a smile.

It wasn’t much man, but it came on strong.

Tranquil skies, calmer tides
Nothing left to hide.

One more chance to re arrange, to once more dance the night a flame.

poem by David Lacey
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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He Took Away My Only Angel

He took away my only angel
He took away my only survival
I was perfectly fine in the life I stood
It was nowhere close to perfect
But I wouldn't call it miserable
I was fine the way I was

I was used to hiding in myself
I was used to living and talking to myself
I didn't like sitting in the corner by myself
But I hated talking to new people more
I didn't even mind being alone

Then you came along
Bringing something I never knew
Something I strongly desired
But more deeply feared

You came like the wind
I never knew existed
Picked me up from the ground
Showed me a world
I never thought I'd be a part of

You sensed every fear and scar I've had
Told me there's nothing in this world sane

Held me in your arms
And told me to scream
Scream as if he'll hear it
The lord you believed and trusted
You told me he'll listen
Told me he'll respond
He can never ignore a scream of pain so loud
He'll hear it and won't do wrong
You brought me brightness
I feared to loose
Looking into your eyes
Made all my worry disappear
You promised me you'll never go
And that I'll never have to let go
But you lied
You left
Left me in the middle of the meadow
Where we first met
Unable to cry
Unable to tear
It was last promise to you
To never cry

But sometime I still lose control at night
I scream and shudder at the pain
It's the time my heart pricks with thorns the most
But in a way I'm glad
The pain is my only reminder
You were real
And there's nothing in this world sane

But now here I am
Ignored like the wall again
Fearing if I even exist, cause...
He took away my only angel
He took away my only survival

So I went back
Back to the meadow you left me in
Thought about what you said
You told me he'd listen
He can never ignore a scream of pain so loud
So screamed once again
As loud as I can
First time in life I was jealous
Jealous of the god you believed and trusted
Jealous he had you with him
Right by his side
He stole you from me
In one split second

You trusted him and
He adored you back
So he took you like the greedy one he is
He had so many angels
Yet he took you too
As an addition to his collection
He took away my only angel
He took away my only survival

Now I'm unable to dream
Or forget anything you've ever given me
I can't even go back to who I was before

But there's still one think
I can still professionally do
Hide everything I'm feeling right now
Hide everything I've felt for you
It's something I do best
It's something I do most

But I know you're something
I'll never forget
And I'll take you back
Whenever your back!
I PROMISE!
But that's impossible, of course, cause...
He took away my only angel
He took away my only survival
YOU! ! !

poem by Kiara Davar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Forgetting About You

I always thought I could do anything I put my mind to, but back then it didn't seem to be true, because the one thing I could never do was truly forget about you

I knew nothing could happen, I knew our love was forbidden but back then I was so young and naive I couldn't help but be smitten

Now a days I think about what could've been and what I sometimes still want to be, but I know I'm not fooling anyone not even myself you see, because there never really was a YOU AND ME

There were days when my heart ached for you and days where my head told me to wait for you

But those days are over and I've got things to do, I've got goals to reach, that I won't reach if I'm still sitting around crying broken hearted over you

I haven't thought about your smile in a long, long while or reminisced about the moments we shared, or spent all night worrying about if you ever really cared

I always thought I could do anything I put my mind to, and that to this day holds true, because I did the thing I never thought I could do

I Finally Forgot About You

poem by Tiger Lily Love
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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This Side

One day youll see her and youll know what I mean.
Take her of leave her she will still be the same.
Shell not try to buy you with her time.
But nothings the same, as you will see when shes gone.
Its foreign on this side,
And Ill not leave my home again.
Theres no place to hide
And Im nothing but scared.
You dream of colors that have never been made,
You imagine songs that have never been played.
They will try to buy you and your mind.
Only the curious have something to find.
Its foreign on this side,
And the truth is a bitter friend.
But reasons few have I to go back again.
Your first dawn blinded you, left you cursing the day.
Entrance is crucial and its not without pain.
Theres no path to follow, once youre here.
Youll climb up the slide and then youll slide down the stairs.
Its foreign on this side,
But it feels like Im home again.
Theres no place to hide
But I dont think Im scared.
(theres no place to hide)
(theres no place to hide)
But I dont think Im scared.
(theres no place to hide)
But I dont think Im scared...

song performed by by Nickel Creek
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In The Back Of My Mind

Written by billy burnette and david malloy.
Well I try and I try
You cant forget her
Cant run, cant hide
When you remember
Nights that wont fade away
Yea fade away
Well I still go crazy
When you hear her name
Feels like you just left today
And it drives you insane
But you keep holding on
Yea holding on
In the back of my mind
You live all the time
In the back of my mind
In the back of my mind
Every night, every day
Thats where you still play
In the back of my mind
When I close my eyes
You can still touch her
And I fantasize
Shes still your lover
When I wake up I see
The only place youll be
I know where youll be
In the back of my mind
You live all the time
In the back of my mind
In the back of my mind
Every night, every day
Thats where you still play
In the back of my mind
I remember your eyes burning bright
Like we touched the summer sun
I can see your shadow standing there
On the streets where we used to run
Remember
In the back of my mind
You live all the time
In the back of my mind
In the back of my mind
Every night, every day
Thats where you still play
In the back of my mind
In the back of my mind
You live all the time
In the back of my mind
In the back of my mind

song performed by by Fleetwood Mac
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Eyes Of A Stranger

[ page ]: dr. david, telephone please. dr. david
Dr. blair, dr. blair, dr. j. hamilton, dr. j hamilton
All alone now
Except for the memories
Of what we had and what we knew
Everytime I try to leave it behind me
I see something that reminds me of you
Every night the dreams return to haunt me
Your rosary wrapped around your throat
I lie awake and sweat, afraid to fall asleep
I see your face looking back at me
And I raise my head and stare
Into the eyes of a stranger
Ive always known that the mirror never lies
People always turn away
From the eyes of a stranger
Afraid to know what
Lies behind the stare
Is this all thats left
Of my life before me
Straight jacket memories, sedative highs
No happy ending like theyve always promised
Theres got to be something left for me
And I raise my head and stare
Into the eyes of a stranger
Ive always known that the mirror never lies
People always turn away
From the eyes of a stranger
Afraid to know what
Lies behind the stare [lies behind my stare]
How many times must I live this tragedy
How many more lies will they tell me
All I want is the same as everyone
Why am I here, and for how long
And I raise my head and stare
Into the eyes of a stranger
Ive always known that the mirror never lies
People always turn away
From the eyes of a stranger
Afraid to know what
Lies behind the stare

song performed by by Queensryche
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You Told Me

I remember you reading me about
Places beyond the mountains,
Above the trees and behind rainbows-
You told me that skies turned gray here sometimes
And the sound of thunder would
Resonate throughout -
The places I used to run and hide from and
Those places where the skies would at times turn red in hue
Where the light of the sun would bear down
Upon that paranormal pond I so often spoke of-
I had told you about the world I lived in where
Few people lived and cats ran wild while
Trees grew tall to scrape the clouds as
Pink and silver as they reflected in
The course of a running stream that lead
Towards a safe place where I could hide from
That world I so feared where cars ran vicariously-
Clocks ran from nine to five in that world where
Three billion people were known to live-
That world where I had never felt safe at home.
To retreat to the land beyond the mountains and
Behind rainbows-
I told you in those rare moments when I was afraid to speak and
Fearful of everything you deemed as “real”-
I know the world in which you live is real to you and
Although this land of purity, and through my eyes
I saw as safe and majestic-
You told me this was none but a delusion-
I remember living for a short while
In your world, where guns fired, thunder clapped, cars would rush
Carelessly down boulevards and skyscrapers were built
To barely withstand rain, sleet and snow-
In desperation I spread the wings you told me did not exist-
Lifted my body and flew beyond the mountains and the rainbows and far away from
This world so overwhelming and so threatening-
You were the one who read me tales about lands beyond the mountains
And in my mind I found a place behind a rainbow-
And it didn’t matter if it was none but a delusion because-
Through my own eyes, what feels like home,
No matter where the place may be-
Is truly home to me- no matter where its destiny-
You told me the thunder would sound soon and the lightening would strike-
I told you “Never in my world” and if some day I also saw it as a “delusion”
It would not matter because I have found my safe haven here-
Alive and content in this place where I can call myself
Settled and secure,
I would never turn my head to see the rain falling upon
Skyscrapers and cars breaking down on the highway
Early in the morning-
Whether my dream world is real to you or
Just a figment of my imagination in your mind,
It is true to life to me-
That is what matters and
If some day you wish to see what living blissfully encounters-
Climb over that mountain and beyond a rainbow
After a storm-
You shall find me there to
Welcome you and perhaps you also-
Shall never see any turning back, as
What is veracity and what is phantasmal-
Is as has been said-
Is in the eyes of the beholder-

poem by Claudia Krizay
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Thats The Way Love Turned Out To Be

(quinton claunch, dave hall & ry cooder)
Brand new day, brave new man
Its a miracle what love can do
All the joys romance can bring
Come smiling down on a heart thats true
When love is real, you cant turn it around
Its like a river running down to the sea
This old world turns around for lovers like you
Its not the way love turned out for me
People in love build a house they can share
Takes a long time to get it just right
But a fire can start in the kitchen somewhere
And burn that little house down over night
That flame burning bright in your heart, I believed that
You turned it on just for me
Another man held that fire, burned our house to the ground
Thats the way love turned out for me
People turn out for the big show
Pretty flowers turn out in the spring
And the light turns out in the kitchen
When somebody pulls on the string
But theres no light burning in my kitchen
And no doors open up with my key
And I aint got no one to turn to
Thats the way love turned out for me

song performed by by Ry Cooder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Empty Chairs

I feel the trembling tingle of a sleepless night
Creep through my fingers and the moon is bright
Beams of blue come flickering through my window pane
Like gypsy moths that dance around a candle flame
And I wonder if you know
That I never understood
That although you said you'd go
Until you did I never thought you would
Moonlight used to bathe the contours of your face
While chestnut hair fell all around the pillow case
And the fragrance of your flowers rest beneath my head
A sympathy bouquet left with the love that's dead
And I wonder if you know
That I never understood
That although you said you'd go
Until you did I never thought you would
Never thought the words you said were true
Never thought you said just what you meant
Never knew how much I needed you
Never thought you'd leave, until you went
Morning comes and morning goes with no regret
And evening brings the memories I can't forget
Empty rooms that echo as I climb the stairs
And empty clothes that drape and fall on empty chairs
And I wonder if you know
That I never understood
That although you said you'd go
Until you did I never thought you would

song performed by by Don McLean
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Strange

strange
thought i knew you well
thought i had read the sky
thought i had read a change
in your eyes to strange
woke up to a world
that i am not a part
except when i can play
it's stranger
after all what were you really looking for
and i wonder when will i learn
blue isn't red everybody knows this

and i wonder when will i learn
when will i learn
guess i was in
deeper than i thought i was
if i have enough love
for the both of us

"just stay"
you said "we'll build a nest"
so i left my life
tried on your friends
tried on your opinions.
so when the bridges froze
and you did not come home
i put our snowflake
under a microscope
after all what was i really looking for
and i wonder when will i learn
maybe my wish knew better than i did
and i wonder so strange now
i'm finally in
the party has begun
it's not like i can't feel you still
but strange what i will leave behind
you call me one more time
but now i must be leaving

song performed by by Tori Amos from Scarlet's Walk
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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