The White Man's Burden
Take up the White man's burden --
Send forth the best ye breed --
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild --
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.
Take up the White Man's burden --
In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times mad plain.
To seek another's profit,
And work another's gain.
Take up the White Man's burden --
The savage wars of peace --
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch Sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hope to nought.
Take up the White Man's burden --
No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper --
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go make them with your living,
And mark them with your dead!
Take up the White man's burden --
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard --
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light: --
"Why brought ye us from bondage,
"Our loved Egyptian night?"
Take up the White Man's burden --
Ye dare not stoop to less --
Nor call too loud on freedom
To cloak your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent, sullen peoples
Shall weigh your Gods and you.
Take up the White Man's burden --
Have done with childish days --
The lightly proffered laurel,
The easy, ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers!
poem by Rudyard Kipling
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Carry You
Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, my child
Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, my child, my child
If I can walk on water
And calm a restless sea
I've done a thousand things you've never done
And I'm weary watchin'
While you struggle on your own
Call my name, I'll come
Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, my child
Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, my child, my child
I give vision to the blind
And I can raise the dead
I've seen the darker side of Hell
And I returned
And I see these sleepless nights
And I count every tear you cry
I know some lessons hurt to learn
Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, my child
Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, my child, my child
I will carry you, my child
I see these sleepless nights
And I count every tear you cry
And call my name, I'll come runnin'
Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, my child
Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, my child, my child
I will carry you, my child, my child
I will carry you
Hey-Yeah-Hey-Yeah Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
Hey-Yeah-Hey-Yeah Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
Hey-Yeah-Hey-Yeah Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
Hey-Yeah-Hey-Yeah Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
song performed by by Amy Grant
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Burdens of All
We may sigh o'er the heavy burdens
Of the black, the brown and white;
But if we all clasped hands together
The burdens would be more light.
How to solve life's saddest problems,
Its weariness, want and woe,
Was answered by One who suffered
In Palestine long ago.
He gave from his heart this precept,
To ease the burdens of men,
"As ye would that others do to you
Do ye even so to them."
Life's heavy, wearisome burdens
Will change to a gracious trust
When men shall learn in the light of God
To be merciful and just.
Where war has sharpened his weapons,
And slavery masterful had,
Let white and black and brown unite
To build the kingdom of God.
And never attempt in madness
To build a kingdom or state,
Through greed of gold or lust of power,
On the crumbling stones of hate.
The burdens will always he heavy,
The sunshine fade into night,
Till mercy and justice shall cement
The black, the brown and the white.
And earth shall answer with gladness,
The herald angel's refrain,
When "Peace on earth, good will to men"
Was the burden of their strain.
poem by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
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Black and White (Stream XV)
I have black thoughts,
It is a black day,
A day when the black dog
Coal black, hovers at my shoulder.
I shoulder the burden.
Deep in the black hole.
Black as a black hearted night.
Negative.
Stark.
Black and white.
I do not call my good days white days.
Why?
Or have white thoughts
On a white day,
When the white dog
Pure white sits upon my shoulder.
Which is unburdened.
Out of the pit,
Luxuriating in the bright white light;
White as the purest snow.
Positive.
For we live in a too white world
Maybe we should have grey days,
And light days.
Why should Black be negative and White poitive?
For me then, today is a grey day.
Maybe tomorrow will be a light day.
Copyright P H Brookes 2012
poem by Paul Brookes
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A Ballad of Burdens
A Ballad of Burdens
The burden of fair women. Vain delight,
And love self-slain in some sweet shameful way,
And sorrowful old age that comes by night
As a thief comes that has no heart by day,
And change that finds fair cheeks and leaves them grey,
And weariness that keeps awake for hire,
And grief that says what pleasure used to say;
This is the end of every man's desire.
The burden of bought kisses. This is sore,
A burden without fruit in childbearing;
Between the nightfall and the dawn threescore,
Threescore between the dawn and evening.
The shuddering in thy lips, the shuddering
In thy sad eyelids tremulous like fire,
Makes love seem shameful and a wretched thing.
This is the end of every man's desire.
The burden of sweet speeches. Nay, kneel down,
Cover thy head, and weep; for verily
These market-men that buy thy white and brown
In the last days shall take no thought for thee.
In the last days like earth thy face shall be,
Yea, like sea-marsh made thick with brine and mire,
Sad with sick leavings of the sterile sea.
This is the end of every man's desire.
The burden of long living. Thou shalt fear
Waking, and sleeping mourn upon thy bed;
And say at night "Would God the day were here,"
And say at dawn "Would God the day were dead."
With weary days thou shalt be clothed and fed,
And wear remorse of heart for thine attire,
Pain for thy girdle and sorrow upon thine head;
This is the end of every man's desire.
The burden of bright colours. Thou shalt see
Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green;
And as the thing thou seest thy face shall be,
And no more as the thing beforetime seen.
And thou shalt say of mercy "It hath been,"
And living, watch the old lips and loves expire,
And talking, tears shall take thy breath between;
This is the end of every man's desire.
The burden of sad sayings. In that day
Thou shalt tell all thy days and hours, and tell
Thy times and ways and words of love, and say
How one was dear and one desirable,
And sweet was life to hear and sweet to smell,
But now with lights reverse the old hours retire
And the last hour is shod with fire from hell;
This is the end of every man's desire.
The burden of four seasons. Rain in spring,
White rain and wind among the tender trees;
A summer of green sorrows gathering,
Rank autumn in a mist of miseries,
With sad face set towards the year, that sees
The charred ash drop out of the dropping pyre,
And winter wan with many maladies;
This is the end of every man's desire.
The burden of dead faces. Out of sight
And out of love, beyond the reach of hands,
Changed in the changing of the dark and light,
They walk and weep about the barren lands
Where no seed is nor any garner stands,
Where in short breaths the doubtful days respire,
And time's turned glass lets through the sighing sands;
This is the end of every man's desire.
The burden of much gladness. Life and lust
Forsake thee, and the face of thy delight;
And underfoot the heavy hour strews dust,
And overhead strange weathers burn and bite;
And where the red was, lo the bloodless white,
And where the truth was, the likeness of a liar,
And where the day was, the likeness of the night;
This is the end of every man's desire.
L'ENVOY
Princes, and ye whom pleasure quickeneth,
Heed well this rhyme before your pleasure tire;
For life is sweet, but after life is death.
This is the end of every man's desire.
poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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See and Understand
I want you to see and understand
The burden on my heart and brain
The burden which weigh more than my body
The burden which weigh more than the mountains
The burden that no one else can feel, except me
The burden which vague everything, even me
But
Everything is invisible and hidden behind so many curtains
Whenever I try, something stops me to be open in front of this world
May be this world don't care and don't want to see, what's inside
Thoughts and tears are my biggest treasure
The treasure no one can steal
Because no one wants to be under that burden
I want you to see and understand my silence as well
Because this silence wants to reveal a lot of things
This silence wants to be heard and fell
It is killing me, it's want to be free and this silence wants to fly in the sky
This silence which is getting rebellious now
This silence don't want to be controlled
It's making me helpless and weak
It wants to be broken now, like a mirror
And every shattered piece of that mirror will be unique
Understand my silence
poem by Talat Jehan
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Burden To Carry
Every man has a burden to carry
And some seem to carry it very well
While others complain, about the burden and strain
And as their fall from grace to all they must tell.
They will blame all others for the life they live
And then brag and lie for pity and shame
They will tell themselves to halt, that it was never their fault
So they figure their loss will also be their gain.
Every man has a burden to carry
And some need to carry that burden alone
As they don't seek help, from no one but themselves
And only GOD will feel their pain or hear them moan.
The burden they have is their right of passage
As they walk through life to become a man
Every step that they take, another worry they will forsake
And truly that a vigilante only he should understand.
Every man has a burden to carry
And so many carry it with a vigor and pride
As they head down the road, with their own life's load
While keeping a happiness and love and joy deep inside.
They live the life that was presented to them
And never once do they complain or quit
They take life in it's stride, they throw their chest forward in pride
And what they lost or will loose, they will never miss.
Every man has a burden to carry
And to see it just look upon a mans face
He will either be wearing a smile, like holding a child
Or else you'll see pain and sorrow and even disgrace.
Just walk in his footsteps at least one time
Take his journey as he run's or walks or even tarries
Then you will feel the weight, that man can't escape
As every man has a burden, that he must carry.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
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We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.
quote by John Newton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Ballad of Baseball Burdens
The burden of hard hitting. Slug away
Like Honus Wagner or like Tyrus Cobb.
Else fandom shouteth: "Who said you could play?
Back to the jasper league, you minor slob!"
Swat, hit, connect, line out, goet on the job.
Else you shall feel the brunt of fandom's ire
Biff, bang it, clout it, hit it on the knob -
This is the end of every fan's desire.
The burden of good pitching. Curved or straight.
Or in or out, or haply up or down,
To puzzle him that standeth by the plate,
To lessen, so to speak, his bat-renown:
Like Christy Mathewson or Miner Brown,
So pitch that every man can but admire
And offer you the freedom of the town -
This is the end of every fan's desire.
The burden of loud cheering. O the sounds!
The tumult and the shouting from the throats
Of forty thousand at the Polo Grounds
Sitting, ay, standing sans their hats and coats.
A mighty cheer that possibly denotes
That Cub or Pirate fat is in the fire;
Or, as H. James would say, We've got their goats -
This is the end of every fan's desire.
The burden of a pennant. O the hope,
The tenuous hope, the hope that's half a fear,
The lengthy season and the boundless dope,
And the bromidic, "Wait until next year."
O dread disgrace of trailing in the rear,
O Piece of Bunting, flying high and higher
That next October it shall flutter here:
This is the end of every fan's desire.
ENVOY
Ah, Fans, let not the Quarry but the Chase
Be that to which most fondly we aspire!
For us not Stake, but Game; not Goal, but Race -
THIS is the end of every fan's desire.
poem by Franklin P. Adams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A river bears a burden
A river bears a burden
It carries far downstream,
And no man's eyes will see it
Or fathom what it means.
A river bears a burden
Beneath it's swirling toil.
It's rippling edges teasing
The sodden, silent soil.
A river bears a burden
Beneath our nightly dreams,
Our temporal excursions
Along it's watered seams.
A river bears a burden
Of many dreaming feet,
Searching all it's alleys
To a dreamer's slow heartbeat.
A river bears a burden;
It will not wake our sleep,
But carries us forever
Our roaming souls, to meet.
poem by Patti Masterman
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Lay It All Down
Written by bob welch.
Let me retell
A story of old
About a man named moses
Who lived long ago
He prophicied good
He prophicied bad
And now that prophecys
Coming to pass
Let all your sons, and your daughters
Of the golden calf
Lay down your burden of sorrow
Lay down your burden of hurt
Lay it all down, for paradise here on earth
A whole lot of people, including myself
Thought the story of moses was just a tall tale
But all of the things that we see going on
Are just what moses set down
Let all your sons, and your daughters
Of the golden-yeah
Lay down your burden of sorrow
Lay down your burden of hurt
Lay it all down, for paradise here on earth
Let me retell
A story I know
About a man named moses
Who lived long ago
He prophicied good
He prophicied bad
And now that prophecys
Coming to pass
Let all your sons, and your daughters
Of the golden-yeah
Lay down your burden of sorrow
Lay down your burden of hurt
Lay down your burden of sorrow
Lay down your burden of hurt
Lay down your burden of sorrow
Lay down your burden of hurt
I just cant imagine a reason for sorrow
Just cant imagine the hurt
Youve got to lay it down
Youve got to lay it down
Youve got to lay it down
Youve got to lay it down
I said lay down your burden of sorrow
Lay down your burden of hurt
Lay down your burden of sorrow
Theres just no reason to hurt
Youve got to lay down your burden of sorrow
Lay down your burden of hurt
I said
Lay it all down, for paradise here on earth
song performed by by Fleetwood Mac
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lean On Me
Heavy burden on your shoulder
Lean on me
Heavy burden on your shoulder
Lean on me
Heavy burden on your shoulder
Everyday just a little bit harder
Heavy burden on your shoulder
Lean on me
Down and out without hope
Lean on me
Down and out without hope
Lean on me
Down and out without hope
Im right here, Ill help you cope
Down and out without hope
Lean on me
Grab a rope and pull me in
But lean on me
Everyday, youll have a friend
But lean on me
Grab a rope, pull me in
Everyday youll have a friend
Grab a rope
In the world, ? ?
And if youre looking for a rainy day friend
Well grab a rope, pull me in
Lean on me
Heavy burden cloudy skies
Lean on me
Ill be the ? ? of weeping eyes
But lean on me
If you always feels like rain
All youve got in life is pain
Heavy burden, go away
Oh... , goodbye
Heavy burden, on you shoulder
Lean on me
song performed by by Housemartins
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Burden
Always a do or die situation
You can only see in black and white
But you never thought, never thought that I'd be
A little different this time, and
Not every color that you will see
Is the real one every time
Let me clue you in on complexity
And everybody is so very fine
And I didn't mean to be a burden
Just thought I'd share a little light
But I thought you needed to know something
Something that comes from the inside
Something that comes from the inside
And as you wasted time playing detective
Is it to figure out my mystery?
Well let me tell you now that I'm no secret
'Cause I can sin before you righteously
And I didn't mean to be a burden
Just thought I'd share a little light
But I thought you needed to know something
Something that comes from the inside
Something that comes from the inside
Something that comes from the inside
Don't grow bored too quickly
I haven't finished yet
I know it must be painful
To hear what's left unsaid
Don't refuse
It's no use
You can not run from this
Just sit still
And listen
Listen to all you missed
But it's always a do or die situation
You can only see in black and white
But you never thought, never thought that I'd be
A little different this time
And I didn't mean to be a burden
Just thought I'd share a little light
But I thought you needed to know something
Something that comes from the inside
Something that comes from the inside
Something that comes from the inside
song performed by by Vanessa Carlton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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White Comedy
I waz whitemailed
By a white witch,
Wid white magic
An white lies,
Branded by a white sheep
I slaved as a whitesmith
Near a white spot
Where I suffered whitewater fever.
Whitelisted as a whiteleg
I waz in de white book
As a master of white art,
It waz like white death.
People called me white jack
Some hailed me as a white wog,
So I joined de white watch
Trained as a white guard
Lived off the white economy.
Caught and beaten by de whiteshirts
I waz condemned to a white mass,
Don't worry,
I shall be writing to de Black House.
poem by Benjamin Zephaniah
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Lay Down (The Burden Of Your Heart)
Lay Down By Amy Grant
It's a cold, cold world
That we walk in through.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
But it's warm as toast
Walking two by two,
Lay down the burden of your heart.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
I know you'll never miss it.
Show your Daddy where it hurts,
And let your Daddy lift it.
It's a fine, fine line
Betwixt love and hate.
Why, it's tough to tell the two apart.
But you know it's love
That He offers you.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
I know you'll never miss it.
Ohh-ohh, show your Daddy where it hurts,
And let your Daddy lift it.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
I know you'll never miss it.
Ohh-ohh, show your Daddy where it hurts,
And let your Daddy lift it.
Ohh-ohh, show your Daddy where it hurts,
And let your Daddy lift it.
song performed by by Amy Grant
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Burden
A burden for my family
A burden for my society
Till now I am a burden
One of the unwanted men
I am in wrong time and wrong place
So blush is all over my face!
poem by Asif Andalib
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Sands Of The Times
i watch you
with a burden,
a big stone and a rope
your neck is thin,
the skin is white and smooth
over there is another
pitiful creature
with another burden
a sword hangs over his head
dwindling
we are watching one another
on a Thursday noon
we are all three
Sufferers
our mouths are gagged
we cannot speak
if only our eyes can speak
the language of the
helpless and the
maimed
the world's ears could have
cracked its
drums
the world's indifference
conceals us
and when we die
we are erased like bad marks
on the sand
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lay Down
Its a cold, cold world
That we walk in through.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
But its warm as toast
Walking two by two,
Lay down the burden of your heart.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
I know youll never miss it.
Show your daddy where it hurts,
And let your daddy lift it.
Its a fine, fine line
Betwixt love and hate.
Why, its tough to tell the two apart.
But you know its love
That he offers you.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
I know youll never miss it.
Ohh-ohh, show your daddy where it hurts,
And let your daddy lift it.
Lay down the burden of your heart.
I know youll never miss it.
Ohh-ohh, show your daddy where it hurts,
And let your daddy lift it.
Ohh-ohh, show your daddy where it hurts,
And let your daddy lift it.
song performed by by Amy Grant
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Mother and sphinx
(EGYPTIAN FOLK-SONG)
Grim is the face that looks into the night
Over the stretch of sands;
A sullen rock in a sea of white--
A ghostly shadow in ghostly light,
Peering and moaning it stands.
"Oh, is it the king that rides this way--
Oh, is it the king that rides so free?
I have looked for the king this many a day,
But the years that mock me will not say
Why tarrieth he!"
'T is not your king that shall ride to-night,
But a child that is fast asleep;
And the horse he shall ride is the Dream-horse white--
Aha, he shall speed through the ghostly light
Where the ghostly shadows creep!
"My eyes are dull and my face is sere,
Yet unto the word he gave I cling,
For he was a Pharaoh that set me here--
And, lo! I have waited this many a year
For him--my king!"
Oh, past thy face my darling shall ride
Swift as the burning winds that bear
The sand clouds over the desert wide--
Swift to the verdure and palms beside
The wells off there!
"And is it the mighty king I shall see
Come riding into the night?
Oh, is it the king come back to me--
Proudly and fiercely rideth he,
With centuries dight!"
I know no king but my dark-eyed dear
That shall ride the Dream-Horse white;
But see! he wakes at my bosom here,
While the Dream-Horse frettingly lingers near
To speed with my babe to-night!
And out of the desert darkness peers
A ghostly, ghastly, shadowy thing
Like a spirit come out of the mouldering years,
And ever that waiting spectre hears
The coming king!
poem by Eugene Field
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On Earth My Nina
Her burden of things walking out
Her burden of things walking out
On Earth my Nina
On Earth my Nina
God forbid a vaguer feat
National hell mock me
Say the sparrow wants a morbid arrow
Here's a quarter; that's the one I want
Maybe I'll buy the whirlwind
That always keeps me yearning
Her sitter's down there mourning
Her burden of things walking out
Her burden of things walking out
On Earth my Nina
On Earth my Nina
song performed by by They Might Be Giants
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sonnet LIX: As Love and I
As Love and I, late harbor'd in one inn,
With proverbs thus each other entertain:
"In Love there is no lack," thus I begin;
"Fair words make fools," replieth he again;
"Who spares to speak doth spare to speed," quoth I;
"As well," saith he, "too forward as too slow";
"Fortune assists the boldest," I reply;
"A hasty man," quoth he, "ne'er wanted woe";
"Labor is light where Love," quoth I, "doth pay";
Saith he, "Light burden's heavy, if far borne";
Quoth I, "The main lost, cast the bye away";
"You have spun a fair thread," he replies in scorn.
And having thus awhile each other thwarted,
Fools as we met, so fools again we parted.
poem by Michael Drayton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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