
The Secret of the Machinery
Modern Machinery
We were taken from the ore-bed and the mine,
We were melted in the furnace and the pit-
We were cast and wrought and hammered to design,
We were cut and filed and tooled and gauged to fit.
Some water, coal, and oil is all we ask,
And a thousandth of an inch to give us play:
And now, if you will set us to our task,
We will serve you four and twenty hours a day!
We can pull and haul and push and lift and drive,
We can print and plough and weave and heat and light,
We can run and race and swim and fly and dive,
We can see and hear and count and read and write!
Would you call a friend from half across the world?
If you'll let us have his name and town and state,
You shall see and hear your cracking question hurled
Across the arch of heaven while you wait.
Has he answered? Does he need you at his side-
You can start this very evening if you choose
And take the Western Ocean in the stride
O seventy thousand horses and some screws!
The boat-express is waiting your command!
You will find the Mauritania at the quay,
Till her captain turns the lever 'neath his hand,
And the monstrous nine-decked city goes to sea.
Do you wish to make the mountains bare their head
And lay their new-cut forests at your feet?
Do you want to turn a river in its bed,
Or plant a barren wilderness with wheat?
Shall we pipe aloft and bring you water down
From the never-failing cisterns of the snows,
To work the mills and tramways in your town,
And irrigate your orchards as it flows?
It is easy! Give us dynamite and drills!
Watch the iron-shouldered rocks lie down and quake,
As the thirsty desert-level floods and fills,
And the valley we have dammed becomes a lake.
But remember, please, the Law by which we live,
We are not built to comprehend a lie,
We can neither love nor pity nor forgive.
If you make a slip in handling us you die!
We are greater than the Peoples or the Kings-
Be humble, as you crawl beneath our rods!-
Our touch can alter all created things,
We are everything on earth-except The Gods!
Though our smoke may hide the Heavens from your eyes,
It will vanish and the stars will shine again,
Because, for all our power and weight and size,
We are nothing more than children of your brain!
poem by Rudyard Kipling

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Related quotes

The Secret of the Machines
Modern Machinery
We were taken from the ore-bed and the mine,
We were melted in the furnace and the pit--
We were cast and wrought and hammered to design,
We were cut and filed and tooled and gauged to fit.
Some water, coal, and oil is all we ask,
And a thousandth of an inch to give us play:
And now, if you will set us to our task,
We will serve you four and twenty hours a day!
We can pull and haul and push and lift and drive,
We can print and plough and weave and heat and light,
We can run and race and swim and fly and dive,
We can see and hear and count and read and write!
Would you call a friend from half across the world?
If you'll let us have his name and town and state,
You shall see and hear your cracking question hurled
Across the arch of heaven while you wait.
Has he answered? Does he need you at his side-
You can start this very evening if you choose
And take the Western Ocean in the stride
O seventy thousand horses and some screws!
The boat-express is waiting your command!
You will find the Mauritania at the quay,
Till her captain turns the lever 'neath his hand,
And the monstrouos nine-decked city goes to sea.
Do you wish to make the mountains bare their head
And lay their new-cut forests at your feet?
Do you want to turn a river in its bed,
Or plant a barren wilderness with wheat?
Shall we pipe aloft and bring you water down
From the never-failing cisterns of the snows,
To work the mills and tramways in your town,
And irrigate your orchards as it flows?
It is easy! Give us dynamite and drills!
Watch the iron-shouldered rocks lie down and quake,
As the thirsty desert-level floods and fills,
And the valley we have dammed becomes a lake.
But remember, please, the Law by which we live,
We are not built to comprehend a lie,
We can neither love nor pity nor forgive.
If you make a slip in handling us you die!
We are greater than the Peoples or the Kings-
Be humble, as you crawl beneath our rods!--
Our touch can alter all created things,
We are everything on earth--except The Gods!
Though our smoke may hide the Heavens from your eyes,
It will vanish and the stars will shine again,
Because, for all our power and weight and size,
We are nothing more than children of your brain!
poem by Rudyard Kipling

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The Secret of the Machinery
Modern Machinery
We were taken from the ore-bed and the mine,
We were melted in the furnace and the pit--
We were cast and wrought and hammered to design,
We were cut and filed and tooled and gauged to fit.
Some water, coal, and oil is all we ask,
And a thousandth of an inch to give us play:
And now, if you will set us to our task,
We will serve you four and twenty hours a day!
We can pull and haul and push and lift and drive,
We can print and plough and weave and heat and light,
We can run and race and swim and fly and dive,
We can see and hear and count and read and write!
Would you call a friend from half across the world?
If you'll let us have his name and town and state,
You shall see and hear your cracking question hurled
Across the arch of heaven while you wait.
Has he answered? Does he need you at his side-
You can start this very evening if you choose
And take the Western Ocean in the stride
O seventy thousand horses and some screws!
The boat-express is waiting your command!
You will find the Mauritania at the quay,
Till her captain turns the lever 'neath his hand,
And the monstrouos nine-decked city goes to sea.
Do you wish to make the mountains bare their head
And lay their new-cut forests at your feet?
Do you want to turn a river in its bed,
Or plant a barren wilderness with wheat?
Shall we pipe aloft and bring you water down
From the never-failing cisterns of the snows,
To work the mills and tramways in your town,
And irrigate your orchards as it flows?
It is easy! Give us dynamite and drills!
Watch the iron-shouldered rocks lie down and quake,
As the thirsty desert-level floods and fills,
And the valley we have dammed becomes a lake.
But remember, please, the Law by which we live,
We are not built to comprehend a lie,
We can neither love nor pity nor forgive.
If you make a slip in handling us you die!
We are greater than the Peoples or the Kings-
Be humble, as you crawl beneath our rods!--
Our touch can alter all created things,
We are everything on earth--except The Gods!
Though our smoke may hide the Heavens from your eyes,
It will vanish and the stars will shine again,
Because, for all our power and weight and size,
We are nothing more than children of your brain!
poem by Rudyard Kipling

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Wandering the Desert as a Blind Man pts 1&2
I was Blind before you found me
And I couldnt find my way
Its a wonder that i can see
Now, I only hope your hear to stay
There was Darkness all around
Every motion frightened me
What was lost has now been found
And Babe you were the Key
Babe you led me to the Well
I was parched and took a drink
Before I was Blind and couldnt tell
Now, your Light has shown me what to think
The Desert took a hold of me
I was laying down on the floor
Now the Light has set me free
Drinkin all the Water and still wantin more
I dont live where the Water flows
Rivers and Lakes move to the Salty Sea
Couldnt Drink it anymore when I found where it goes
I want to live by an Oasis, Babe can you give it to me
I Wandered Blind through the Dry Wilderness
Trying to find the Sweetest Water i could find
Babe you Stumbled upon me in that emptyness
I was close to Death and you were much to kind
Im Living in a Desert and Thirsty all the time
Dry Sand and Dunes as far as the eye can See
I want to save this Water and make it mine
Babe let me stay, come and set me free
---------------------
Suddenly the lights grew dim
All around me was cast into dark
The well is at bottom when i thought it at the brim
I can see at least, but the pain has left its mark
The water inside has all gone
And nothing for miles theres desert all around
Its getting dark ill have to wait for dawn
In dry wilderness water makes no sound
Shall I rush to where the water flows
And wade in water chest deep
This I know is where everyone goes
But last time I went I was asleep
I was blind and wandered before
Alone and thirsty in the black abyss
I was close to death and lying on the floor
In the desert I had no idea that love exists
I cannot wait for your rains to fall
For the well is there no longer
Alone in the desert i begin to crawl
In the end i hope my soul is stronger
Its not all bad, you tought me how to see
Now alone at least I can find the stream
But still you are the sweetest water, please be with me
Come and talk to me so it doesnt turn into a dream
Please come, and rescue me from my slumber
Again alone I walk in the direction of the river
Hoping im in time, for death is calling out my number
Because alone in the dark, my soul begins to shiver
poem by Jake Andrews

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Our Atlas
Not Atlas, with his shoulders bent beneath the weighty world,
Bore such a burden as this man, on whom the Gods have hurled
The evils of old festering lands-yea, hurled them in their might
And left him standing all alone, to set the wrong things right.
It is the way the Fates have done since first Time's race began!
They open up Pandora's box before some chosen man;
And then, aloof, they wait and watch, to see if he will find
And wake the slumbering God that dwells in every mortal's mind.
Erect, our modern Atlas stands, with brave uplifted head,
And there is courage in his eyes, if in his heart be dread.
Not dread of foes, but dread of friends, who may not pull together,
To bring the lurching ship of State safe through the stormy weather.
Oh, never were there wilder waves or more stupendous seas,
Or rougher rocks or bleaker winds, or darker days than these.
Not Washington, not Lincoln knew so grave an hour of Time
As he who now stands face to face with War's world-shaking crime.
His brain is clear, his soul is brave, his heart is just and right,
He asks no honours of the earth, but favour in God's sight;
His aim is not to wear a crown or win imperial power,
But to use wisely for the race life's terrible great hour.
O Liberty, who lights the world with rays that come from God,
Shine on Columbia's troubled track, and make it bright and broad;
Shine on each heart, and give it strength to meet its pains and losses,
And give supernal strength to one who bears the whole world's crosses;
Take from his thought the fear of friends who may not pull together,
And bring the glorious ship of State safe through wild waves and weather.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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I Smoke My Pipe
I can't extend to every friend
In need a helping hand--
No matter though I wish it so,
'Tis not as Fortune planned;
But haply may I fancy they
Are men of different stripe
Than others think who hint and wink,--
And so--I smoke my pipe!
A golden coal to crown the bowl--
My pipe and I alone,--
I sit and muse with idler views
Perchance than I should own:--
It might be worse to own the purse
Whose glutted bowels gripe
In little qualms of stinted alms;
And so I smoke my pipe.
And if inclined to moor my mind
And cast the anchor Hope,
A puff of breath will put to death
The morbid misanthrope
That lurks inside--as errors hide
In standing forms of type
To mar at birth some line of worth;
And so I smoke my pipe.
The subtle stings misfortune flings
Can give me little pain
When my narcotic spell has wrought
This quiet in my brain:
When I can waste the past in taste
So luscious and so ripe
That like an elf I hug myself;
And so I smoke my pipe.
And wrapped in shrouds of drifting clouds,
I watch the phantom's flight,
Till alien eyes from Paradise
Smile on me as I write:
And I forgive the wrongs that live,
As lightly as I wipe
Away the tear that rises here;
And so I smoke my pipe.
poem by James Whitcomb Riley

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Masters Of War
Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
You that never done nothin
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like its your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly
Like judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain
You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young peoples blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud
Youve thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You aint worth the blood
That runs in your veins
How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that Im young
You might say Im unlearned
But theres one thing I know
Though Im younger than you
Even jesus would never
Forgive what you do
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul
And I hope that you die
And your deathll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And Ill watch while youre lowered
Down to your deathbed
And Ill stand oer your grave
til Im sure that youre dead
song performed by by Bob Dylan

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Badway
the pinch one inch half a head and half dead no
pain no gain there's a million voices in my brain it's
like a game of hide and seek and i play every day i
close my eyes and i count to ten one two three and
everybody runs away i'm in a bad way it's such a
bad way can't you give a damn on a better day i
can't come out to play when i'm in such a bad bad
way purple leather makes it better a purple coat or
a purple sweater clothes make the girl i know but i
can't get dressed when i'm this low i'm like a self
made hand grenade but i can't pull the pin i set the
bait and sit back and wait then i try to see if i can
reel you in little peach little blue a little water and
i'm as good as new i want to swallow all of you but
i'm biting more than i can chew
song performed by by Nina Gordon from Tonight And The Rest Of My Life

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Give Me An Inch
(robert palmer)
Give me an inch, girl
Give me an inch, girl
Give me an inch, girl
Give me an inch, girl
My eyes show me more than Ive seen
But unlike my poor heart theyre not cautious
I got to thinking love was a dream
Misunderstanding my fortunes
I should have taken more heed of my heart
Telling me how to live
But if you give me an inch, girl
Ill give you a mile
Oh, Ill make it all worth while
And Ill make you see
Just how much you mean to me
Well aint it easy to go head-over-heels
When you need the right person
You got to learn to smile about it
Nothing you do will feel certain
Here I stand with my heart in command
And its you I want to be with
Give me an inch, girl
Im in need of you
Dont leave me in the cold
When I want to trust in you
Dont turn me away
Life can be a worry
When its all work and no play
Give me an inch, girl
Ill give you a mile
Oh, Ill make it all worth while
And Ill make you see
Just how much
Just how much you mean to me
Give me an inch,
Ill give you a mile
And Ill make you see
Just how much, just how much you mean to me
Give me an inch, girl
Oh , Im in need of you
Dont leave me in the cold
When I want to trust in you
song performed by by Robert Palmer

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Drive (For Daddy Gene)
It was painted red
The stripe was white
It was 18 feet from bow to stern light
It was 2nd hand, from a dealer in Atlanta
I rode up with daddy when he went there to get her
We put on a shine, put on a border
Built out of love, but made for the water
We ran her for years, til' the transim got rotten
A piece of my child hood will never be forgoten
It was just an old plywood boat
A 75 Johnson, an electric choke
A young boy two hands on the wheel
I can't replace the way it made me feel
I would turn her sharp, I would make it wide
He said you can't be the way a old wood boat rides
Just a little lake across the Alabama line
But I was king of the ocean
When Daddy let me drive
Just an old half ton short bed ford
My Uncle bought new in 64
Daddy got it ridin cause the engine was smoking
A couple of burnt valves and he had it going
He'd let me drive her when we haul off a load
Off a dirt strip where we'd dump trash
Off of thickpin road
I'd sit up in the seat and stretch my feet to the pedals
Smiling like a hero
Who just receivied his medal
It was just an old hand me down ford
With 3 speed on the column and a dent in the door
A young boy two hands on the wheel
I can't replace the way it made me feel
I would press that clutch, and I would keep it right
He would say just a little slower son
Your doing just fine
Just a little dirt road with trash on each side
But I was Mario Andretti
When Daddy let me drive
Im all grown up now
3 daughters of my own
I let them drive my old jeep
Across the pasture at our home
Maybe one day they'll reach back in their file
And pull out that old memory
And think of me and smile
And say
It was just an old worn out jeep
Rusty old four doors
Hot on my feet
A young girl two hands on the wheel
I can't replace the way it made me feel
and he'd say Turn it left, and steer it right
Straighten up girl,now your doing just fine
Just a little valley by the river where we'd ride
But I was high on a mountain
When Daddy let me drive
Daddy let me drive
Oh he let me drive
She's just old plywood boat
With a 75 johnson
And electric choke
song performed by by Alan Jackson

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Moonlight Drive
Let's swim to the moon, ah ha
Let's climb through the tide
Penetrate the evenin' that the
City sleeps to hide
Let's swim out tonight, love
It's our turn to try
Parked beside the ocean
On our moonlight drive
Let's swim to the moon, ah ha
Let's climb through the tide
Penetrate the evenin' that the
City sleeps to hide
Let's swim out tonight, love
It's our turn to try
Parked beside the ocean
On our moonlight drive
Let's swim to the moon
Let's climb through the tide
You reach your hand to hold me
But i can't be your guide
Easy, i to love you
As i watch you glide
Falling through wet forests
On our moonlight drive
Moonlight drive
Moonlight drive
Come on, baby, gonna take a little ride
Goin' down by the ocean side
Get real close
Get real tight
Baby gonna drown tonight
Goin' down, down, down, down
Goin' down
Goin' down, way down
Down, down, down, down, down
Down, baby low
Children of the caves will let the
Secret fires glow
When the still sea conspires an armor
And her sullen and aborted
Currents breed tiny monsters,
True sailing is dead.
Awkward instant
And the first animal is jettisoned,
Legs furiously pumping
Their stiff green gallop,
And head bob up
Poise
Delicate
Pause
Consent
In mute nostril agony
Carefully refined
And sealed over.
Easy, to love you
As i watch you glide
Yeah, we're falling through wet forests
On our moonlight drive
Moonlight drive
Moonlight drive
Moonlight drive
Thank you, thank you!
song performed by by Doors

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Masters Of War
Bob Dylan - "30th Anniversary Tribute")
Come you masters of war, you that build all the guns
You that build the death place, you that build all the guns
You that hide behind walls, you that hide behind desks
I just want you to know, I can see through your masks
You that never done nothing, but to build and destroy
You play with my world, like its your little toy
You put a drug in my head, then you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run following the fast foolish lie
Like Judas of old, you lie and deceive
A world war can be won, and you want me to believe
But I see through your eyes, and I see through your brain
Like I see through the water that runs down my drain
You that fasten all the triggers, for the others to fire
Then you sit back and watch, while the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion, while young people's blood
Flows out their bodies and is buried in the mud
You've thrown the worst fear, that could ever be hurled
The fear to bring children, into this world
For threatenin' my baby, unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood that runs in your veins
How much do I know, to talk out of turn?
You might say that I'm young, you might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know, though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never forgive what you do
Let me ask you one question, is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness? Do you think that it could?
Oh, I think you will find, when your death takes its toll
All the money you made will never buy back your soul
And I hope that you die, and your death will come soon
I'll follow your casket, in the pale afternoon
And I'll watch as your lowered, into your deathbed
And I'll stand on your grave till I'm sure that your dead
song performed by by Pearl Jam

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Drive
It was painted red the stripe was white
It was eighteen feet from the bow to the stern light
Secondhand from a dealer in Atlanta
I rode up with daddy when he went there to get her
We put on a shine; put on a motor
Built out of love, made for the water
Ran her for years, 'til the transom got rotten
A piece of my childhood that will never be forgotten
It was just on old plywood boat
With a '75 Johnson with electric choke
A young boy two hands on the wheel
I can't replace the way it made me feel
And I would turn her sharp
And I would make her whine
He'd say, "you can't beat the way an old wood boat rides"
Just a little lake across the Alabama line
But I was king of the ocean
When daddy let me drive
Just an old half ton shortbed ford
My uncle bought new in '64
Daddy got it right 'cause the engine was smoking
A couple of burnt valves and he had it going
He let me drive her when we'd haul off a load
Down a dirt strip where we'd dump trash off of Thigpen Road
I'd sit up in the seat and stretch my feet out to the pedals
Smiling like a hero that just received his medal
It was just an old hand-me-down Ford
With a three-speed on the column and a dent in the door
A young boy two hands on the wheel
I can't replace the way it mode me feel
And I would press that clutch
And I would keep it right
And he'd say, "a little slower son you're doing just fine"
Just a dirt rood with trash on each side
But I was Mario Andretti
When daddy let me drive
I'm grown up now three daughters of my own
I let them drive my old Jeep across the pasture at our home
Maybe one day they'll reach back in their file
And pull out that old memory
And think of me and smile and say
It was just an old worn out Jeep
Rusty old floorboard, hot on my feet
A young girl two hands on the wheel
I can't replace the way it made me feel
And he'd say, "turn it left and steer it right,
Straighten up girl, you're doing just fine"
Just a little valley by the river where we'd ride
But I was high on a mountain
When daddy let me drive
When daddy let me drive
Oh he let me drive
Daddy let me drive
It's just an old plywood boat
With a '75 Johnson with electric choke
song performed by by Alan Jackson

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Things We Said
By the town where you said you'd still love me
By an ocean just seven miles wide
We could walk across that bridge
Watch the water flow under
Leave all our troubles behind
Well maybe you don't quite remember
Lying there on your living room floor
With your parents over head we went to sneak up into your bed
In the mornings I'd be sneaking out your door
I'd do anything at all to make you happy
Anything at all to see you smile
Well lord knows I tried
But didn't always do right
Take back every tear I made you cry
By the town where you said you'd still love me
By an ocean just seven miles wide
We could walk across that bridge
Watch the water flow under
Leave all our troubles behind
Ah yeah
Five years ago I was much older
Time comes and takes it all away
To have and to hold to death do us part
Leaves me with a thousand things to say
I said sometimes I don't quite remember
What I did to make you leave
With the moon up over head
I lie awake alone in my bed
Without you it's so hard to be me
By the town where you said you'd still love me
By an ocean just seven miles wide
We could walk across that bridge
Watch the water flow under
Leave all our troubles behind
By the town where you said you'd still love me
By an ocean just seven miles wide
We could walk across that bridge
Watch the water flow under
Leave all our troubles behind
song performed by by Nine Days

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Painter’s Agony
I want to paint that river
And the scene behind it
The boat and the boatmen
I know everything about
That river
My association with the river
Many a hundred memories
Evenings and sunshines
Floods and slow water
I have lived my life
On the bank of that river
I want to paint
Paint it with the most beautiful colors
I want to borrow some colors
From the colors of paradise
And I love the town
That lives beside the river
Old and dusty
Where shall I take you
In that small town
Every nook and corner
Shall tell you that it knows me
I want to paint that town
In colors of heaven
I want to carry a few children
And take them on a tour
I want to see the town with their eyes
And then go to the riverbank
And meditate for a while
Drink the wine of nature
And get lost into the world of beauty
And flow with the river
Enter every house
My heart throbs in harmony
With every heart in the town
Give me colors divine
Colors from the other world
For I want to paint
That river and that town
(This poem is about a small town on the bank of river Indus)
poem by Sadiqullah Khan

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Make It Shine
written by Marv Ross
There's a miracle waiting, there's a ticket worth taking
There's a reason to believe your eyes
An ounce of conviction is the only admission
Yeah, it's risky, but it's worth the ride
And all the dreams that you've held inside
Yes, they're waiting to break out, you just have to try
Make it shine, let your heart beat right in time
Make it shine, lay your whole world on the line
Find a clue and unfold it, shake the dust off and hold it
If it tells you something let me know
So much is forgotten, so much worth unlocking
Won't you tell me how to break the code
And never worry 'bout the things you read
It's so easy to tear down, so hard to believe
Too may dreamers are fading, shine on, shine on, shine
Live -there's a life to live
Give -there's a gift to give
Yes -there's a reason to make it
Shine on and make it true,
Work -make it work for you
Yes -there's a reason to make it shine
Find a secret and learn it, find a key there and turn it
Do whatever you do through the night
A skill in your fingers like a memory lingers
You gotta do it till it comes out right
You never know till you take a chance
If you're out on that wire you might as well dance
song performed by by Quarterflash

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Load-out
Now the seats are all empty
Let the roadies take the stage
Pack it up and tear it down
Theyre the first to come and last to leave
Working for that minimum wage
Theyll set it up in another town
Tonight the people were so fine
They waited there in line
And when they got up on their feet they made the show
And that was sweet--
But I can hear the sound
Of slamming doors and folding chairs
And thats a sound theyll never know
Now roll them cases out and lift them amps
Haul them trusses down and getem up them ramps
cause when it comes to moving me
You guys are the champs
But when that last guitars been packed away
You know that I still want to play
So just make sure you got it all set to go
Before you come for my piano
But the bands on the bus
And theyre waiting to go
Weve got to drive all night and do a show in chicago
Or detroit, I dont know
We do so many shows in a row
And these towns all look the same
We just pass the time in our hotel rooms
And wander round backstage
Till those lights come up and we hear that crowd
And we remember why we came
Now we got country and western on the bus
R and b, we got disco in eight tracks and cassettes in stereo
Weve got rural scenes & magazines
Weve got truckers on the cb
Weve got richard pryor on the video
We got time to think of the ones we love
While the miles roll away
But the only time that seems too short
Is the time that we get to play
People youve got the power over what we do
You can sit there and wait
Or you can pull us through
Come along, sing the song
You know you cant go wrong
cause when that morning sun comes beating down
Youre going to wake up in your town
But well be scheduled to appear
A thousand miles away from here
song performed by by Jackson Browne

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Today
Yesterday, just a dream i don't remember
Tomorrow, still a hope i've yet to endure
I'm out of time
I'm out of rhyme
I'm out of reason
Season's change and leave me out in the cold
The story's old
The tale been told by many scholars
Got a fistful of dollar
And a pocketful of love
God above if you hear me cryin'
I've tried to sell my soul
But no one's buyin'
Lord, strike me down now if i'm lyin'
It's gettin' cold
It's time for dyin.
Chorus
Come on and watch me shine
Like the world is mine (check it out) today
Come on and watch me shine (check it out)
Like the world is mine today
Watch me shine (check it out)
Let the man who's free from sin
Cast the first stone and begin the violence
Let the man whose words ring true
Speak on up till his voice breaks through the silence
Let the ones who lose their way
Live to see just one more day in the sunshine
Let the ones who choose to stray
Recognize the price they'll pay
In their lifetime
Chorus
Come on and watch me shine
Like the world is mine (check it out) today
Come on and watch me shine (check it out)
Like the world is mine today
Watch me shine (check it out)
Sittin here waitin' for my roads to cross
You nail me down and you watch me bleed
So lay my head against the earth
Plant my body like a seed
You can't always get the things you want, love (check it out)
You get what you deserve
Or maybe what you need
So fill my hole with precious dirt, love
Till the soil and plant the weed
Chorus
Come on and watch me shine
Like the world is mine (check it out) today
Come on and watch me shine (check it out)
Like the world is mine today
Watch me shine (check it out)
song performed by by Everlast

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Poet’s Love
My heart is one and only one:
A furnace full of love, my own;
Despite my giving it wholesome,
It grows and tries to more blossom!
My heart has grown in size some way;
O’er-filled with love, begins to sway;
My Maker kind did full it fill,
So that I could give love at will.
A poet loves Nature so well,
In which God does always much dwell;
Almighty God, He is my Friend;
I shall love Him until my end.
My heart is one- belongs to God;
I long to live in good accord;
As men are selfish to the core,
My heart to God, I owe much more.
The things all that we do on earth
Are mainly ones which give less mirth;
It seems that good men are a dearth;
I pray that heaven stays on earth!
Our life on earth is just a phase,
To keep our soul and save our face;
If you could lift your heart beyond,
You will hear well God’s call- command!
Our earthly feat is important;
With sins, our soul turns impotent;
My talent is God-giv’n a gift;
Nurture I must or go adrift.
A man cannot serve two masters;
And if he tries, he just falters;
Love God alone and love Him well,
And earthly life will turn out swell!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 12-26-1999
poem by John Celes

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In the spirit of Rumi - 27
‘O My Beloved –
I lose myself in the world’s distracting multiplicity,
yet cannot find the One in my restless mind –
I am in a desert place, a place of desolation… ’
My Beloved said
see the reeds, gently swaying like swooning dervishes
on the river bank, their feet in the water –
a man could sit for hours and watch them –
are they not beautiful?
See now the reed-flute, so carefully crafted,
waiting there to sound out sadness, love and joy –
is it not beautiful?
See the musician – how his eyes shine
with the music in his soul!
Is he not beautiful?
Hear the music that he plays –
telling its stories of life and death, of heaven and earth –
is it not beautiful?
Now watch him as he plays
the music which is himself
on the flute made from the willing reed –
am I not the One you hear in this?
I am beautiful in My Oneness;
I am beautiful in My multiplicity;
Is there a greater miracle than this?
And you, the witness of all this in Me –
is there a greater miracle than yourself?
poem by Michael Shepherd

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Song of the Artesian Water
Now the stock have started dying, for the Lord has sent a drought;
But we're sick of prayers and Providence -- we're going to do without;
With the derricks up above us and the solid earth below,
We are waiting at the lever for the word to let her go.
Sinking down, deeper down,
Oh, we'll sink it deeper down:
As the drill is plugging downward at a thousand feet of level,
If the Lord won't send us water, oh, we'll get it from the devil;
Yes, we'll get it from the devil deeper down.
Now, our engine's built in Glasgow by a very canny Scot,
And he marked it twenty horse-power, but he don't know what is what:
When Canadian Bill is firing with the sun-dried gidgee logs,
She can equal thirty horses and a score or so of dogs.
Sinking down, deeper down,
Oh, we're going deeper down:
If we fail to get the water, then it's ruin to the squatter,
For the drought is on the station and the weather's growing hotter,
But we're bound to get the water deeper down.
But the shaft has started caving and the sinking's very slow,
And the yellow rods are bending in the water down below,
And the tubes are always jamming, and they can't be made to shift
Till we nearly burst the engine with a forty horse-power lift.
Sinking down, deeper down,
Oh, we're going deeper down:
Though the shaft is always caving, and the tubes are always jamming,
Yet we'll fight our way to water while the stubborn drill is ramming --
While the stubborn drill is ramming deeper down.
But there's no artesian water, though we've passed three thousand feet,
And the contract price is growing, and the boss is nearly beat.
But it must be down beneath us, and it's down we've got to go,
Though she's bumping on the solid rock four thousand feet below.
Sinking down, deeper down,
Oh, we're going deeper down:
And it's time they heard us knocking on the roof of Satan's dwellin';
But we'll get artesian water if we cave the roof of hell in --
Oh! we'll get artesian water deeper down.
But it's hark! the whistle's blowing with a wild, exultant blast,
And the boys are madly cheering, for they've struck the flow at last;
And it's rushing up the tubing from four thousand feet below,
Till it spouts above the casing in a million-gallon flow.
And it's down, deeper down --
Oh, it comes from deeper down;
It is flowing, ever flowing, in a free, unstinted measure
From the silent hidden places where the old earth hides her treasure --
Where the old earth hides her treasures deeper down.
And it's clear away the timber, and it's let the water run:
How it glimmers in the shadow, how it flashes in the sun!
By the silent bells of timber, by the miles of blazing plain
It is bringing hope and comfort to the thirsty land again.
Flowing down, further down;
It is flowing deeper down
To the tortured thirsty cattle, bringing gladness in its going;
Through the droughty days of summer it is flowing, ever flowing --
It is flowing, ever flowing, further down.
poem by Andrew Barton Paterson

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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