Red Nails
She paints her nails red
slowly, methodically, with purpose.
I pretend to read my newspaper
watching her closely over the top of the pages.
Her features are refined;
no lines and big azure blue eyes.
Traffic rolls by outside and children play
relishing the sun in the middle of the day.
I pretend today is just an ordinary day
but in an hour or two I'll be on my way
and she, with painted nails
will walk the streets from whence she came.
poem by Ruth Walters
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Grumpy Grandpa
Grand-daughter of the Painted Nails,
As if they had been dipped in gore,
I'd like to set you lugging pails
And make you scrub the kitchen floor.
I'm old and crotchety of course,
And on this point my patience fails;
I'd sue my old girl for divorce
If she showed up with painted nails.
Grand-daughter of the Painted Nails,
Like to a Jezebel are you;
Do you expect to snare the males
With talons of such bloody hue?
I could forgive your smudging lips,
Your scarlet cheek that powder veils,
But not your sanguine finger-tips . . .
Don't paw me with your painted nails.
Grand-daughter of the Painted Nails,
Were I the sire of maidens ten,
I'd curse them over hills and dales,
And hold them to the scorn of men
If they had claws of crimson dye;
Aye, though they sang like nightingales,
Unto the welkin I would cry:
"Avaunt, ye hags with Painted Nails!"
poem by Robert William Service
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My Nails Match My Heart
my nails match my heart
'Lost Love' that's what its called
as pal as my nails my heart is
if only i could paint my heart
as easily as i paint my nails
red would be a nice color for the heart
does red match with how it feel
No! 'Lost Love' does
have i ever found love that paints my heart red
will i ever find that love that will slowly paint it
with tender strokes
so perfectly that nothing will ever ruin it
for now 'Lost Love' is the color it will stay
and tomorrow will hopefully be a new day
my nails match my heart
poem by Pilar Guethon
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Three Lowly Nails
Three lowly nails,
Changed the world for you and me
Three lowly nails,
Were used to attach Jesus to a tree
Three lowly nails,
In each hand and through His feet
Three lowly nails,
Set His people free
Three lowly nails,
Gave us a King for eternity
poem by David Kush
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Opening Up To You
Opening up to you,
The night before,
red finger nails!
Dark finger nails!
White finger nails!
Blue finger nails!
To utter it out;
The thoughts of man,
The thoughts of woman,
The thoughts of a child! !
But, holding the torch and to touch you.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Dublin
The children play in the streets, they say
The children play in the streets
While the ships dock fast in Dublin Bay,
The children play in the streets.
Och aye, the blarney blunderbuss,
He's corked, and who's to blame?
'Tain't that his wee son with a pint,
Too soon to walk the same?
Across Ha'penny Bridge his Molly
Bends to scratch for coal,
And one last fire to celebrate:
Today she quits the dole.
But what of Barry? What of Shane?
Who'll give the tykes their bread,
With Pap in one dyke stone-cold drunk,
In the other Mam stone-cold dead?
The children play in the streets, they say
The children play in the streets
While the ships dock fast in Dublin Bay,
The children play in the streets.
It's A Fact
that those who pretend
to be asleep
are the hardest people to wake
and so i pretend too that i do not know that you are pretending.
in this way
we are even.
i pretend that i am wide awake
in the middle of my
resentful sleep.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Red Ambulance
so that ambulance just went by
and if you were high
the flashing lights would be a show
red as the blood she spilled
red enough to let her go
she filled in the outlines with her nails
just as red as she
then there was a red circus, for sale
as she red as she would be
and the fire was just so
that the red blazes burned her eyes
i think it was the red that let her go
like the red from her eyes after a person cries
so red, so real, from wrist to lights
so red, everytime, even in the night
shes like the savior
or the sacrafice
her nails, or the nails of the cross?
was it it the cross on the red ambulance
with the red lights?
or was it the cross of the savior, the sacrifice
was it all red every night?
is this a remake or the living
from the wrists
on the nails
where the lights
on the ambulance
with the cross
of the savior
with the nails
on the wrists
in the ambulance
with the cross
of the savior
red from the nails
on the wrists
that lay in the ambulance
the flashing red lights
near the cross
of the savior?
the sacrifice?
in the wrists
red with nails
on the cross
of savior or the saved?
ambulance
or cross
the wrists
the nails
the lights
the ambulance
the cross
the savior
with all the red
poem by Kathryn Garner
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We Pretend We Play With Words
to soothe the choking effects of the day,
and those days that come to us like two walls
while we lay helpless in between, we pretend
we pretend to play with words, like we are simply
children scribbling words on the floor beyond
the ambit of paper
we pretend that this writing is nothing but little games.
we like to be just light feathers floating in the wind
looking at the petal of the flower
trying to choose which patch of grass to land,
we pretend this is just that
doodles, noodles, needles, neddles, doddles,
we pretend that this writing poetry has nothing to do
with what we are: feelings like words in a crossword puzzle
we tinker with meanings, we like to experiment with moods,
like handpainting on the walls and spraying paint
at the fences of our bad neighbors
trying to evade laws, of falling and flying and rising and dropping,
this is just a play of words, do not ask me again if i am in between the
lines if there are tears there, or that laughter and mockery is hidden
underneath the cover of heavy sheets of sentences
we pretend there is nothing to all these.
when we stop, when that right time comes
it will be dark, and we like children all stop playing and shouting
and running and kidding and calling each other names
when we stop it is always dark. The fear is lost. It is time to go.
Home. Where we are united with our loved ones. Where we begin to
speak the truth about us. Where we sleep. Where all the lights are
turned off.
We give way for the moon to shine above our silent roofs.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Her
Baby, Ive been watching from a distance
And everything it rings familiarly, mmmm
But I cant imagine what you must be thinkin
Cuz she could never be what I can be
Oh, loneliness has really got you twisted
And theres so much your eyes dont even see, yeah
And then I laid my eyes upon your woman
And to my surprise I saw me lookin at me
But how could you be with her?
Her
You dont really love her, no
She
Cuz shes not me and i
I
I wont stand by and watch you pretend
So baby how could you?
Her
You dont really love her, no
She
Cuz shes not me and i
I
I cant stand by and watch you pretend
We parted so that we could make it better
Cuz boy, you said we needed time and space, mmm
We vowed that it was only temporary
But I never thought that I would be replaced
Now youre living all our dreams with another
And youre giving everything you promised me
Youre pretending were together when were nothing
But shes not me, she cant be, no
How could you be with her, oh baby
Her
You dont really love her, no, no
She
Cuz shes not me and i
I
I cant stand by and watch you pretend
So how could you play me?
Her
Cuz dont really love her, no
She
Cuz shes not me and i
I
I cant stand by and watch you pretend
I never thought that you would be hurting this way
And I never thought Id be without you, without you
You didnt have to run away to find me again
Cuz Ive always been here I am the real thing
So dont you pretend, oh
Her
You dont really love her
She
Cuz shes not me and i
I
I cant stand by and watch you pretend
Oh
Her
You dont really love her, no
She
Cuz you really love and and i
I
I cant stand by and let you pretend
We could start again
Her
Ya gotta let her go baby
She
And bring your love to me
I
I want your love, I need your love
Fade
song performed by by Kelly Price
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I sit in the shade under the chestnut-tree
I sit in the shade
under the chestnut-tree
with the golden ginger cat on my lap
who pushes his front paws
around my hands
bending them to hold on to me
with nails just touching me
and his golden eyes
looks lovingly up into mine
while he licks me
with a pink grating tongue
and I am again without you.
I read a poem in Ted Hughes’s
“Birthday Letters”
telling about how
he met his wife
and the hours of my birthday
now passes very slowly
after I had to say goodbye
to you again
and the sky is blue
and now cloudless
as if the sun
is specially shining for me today
and I do not know
what to do
to get you back again
and my spirit is tired
and it’s a hell of a thing
to be alone once more.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Traffic Jam
Carbon monoxide
Making me choke
No a.c.
And the radios broke
Cars backed up
Far as you can see
Seems like Ive been waiting here for all eternity
Oh, and just in case youre wondering
Ill tell you where I am
Im right here (right here) right here (right here)
Stuck right here in the middle of this...
Traffic jam
I havent moved one inch from this here spot
Traffic jam
The freeways one big parking lot
Traffic jam
My radiators boiling hot
And Im stuck right here in the middle (right here in the middle)
Right here in the middle of a traffic jam
Trapped inside
My automobile
Cobwebs gowin
On the steerin wheel
Now, Im no genius
But one thing I know
I shouldnt have had that bag of bran muffins
An hour and a half ago
Yeah, and if you need to find me
Ill tell you where I am
Im right here (right here) right here (right here)
Stuck smack dab in the middle of this...
Traffic jam
I havent moved one inch from this here spot
Traffic jam
The freeways one big parking lot
Traffic jam
Well, I thought we were movin but I guess were not
cause Im stuck right here in the middle (right here in the middle)
Right here in the middle of a traffic jam
Stuck in the middle of a traffic jam
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper to
Bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper to
Bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper...
Yay-hey!
Theres a yuppie on a cellular phone
Im gonna puke if I here any more
Theres a motorcycle zoomin by me
Watch what happens when I open my door
Now were all goin nowhere fast
Well, I guess thats perfectly clear
I left home five hours ago
And I can still see my house from here
So if anybodys tryin to find me
Well, Ill tell you where I am
Right here (right here) right here (right here)
Stuck right here in the middle of this...
Traffic jam
I havent moved one inch from this here spot
Traffic jam
The freeways one big parking lot
Traffic jam
Now my back teeth are floatin and my nerves are shot
And Im stuck right here in the middle (right here in the middle)
Stuck right here in the middle of a traffic jam
Traffic jam... traffic jam... traffic jam... woo!
song performed by by Weird Al Yankovic
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I trained as a theater actor and you had a bare stage and you had to pretend, one prop and you are in the middle of 8th Ave. and traffic is just going by.
quote by Benicio del Toro
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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I Cant Pretend
Charles tobias / paul rusincky (w. edward breuder? )
I cant pretend
Im sorry were apart
I cant pretend
I just cant fool my heart
Though I make mine
My friends all seem to realize
Their smiles, that look in my eye
I cant pretend
I simply cant be gayer
For in the end
My tears give me away
Without you dear
I live a lie
I cant defend
I love you
And I cant pretend
song performed by by Billie Holiday
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Can Read Between The Lines
Roy orbison/joe melson
Girl I got your letter telling me youre coming home tonight
The lines were sweet and tender signed with all your love
Pretty words to make me feel alright
Then I read it over I got the feeling youre not completely mine
I held it to my chest, where you always rest
And I cried cos I can read between the lines
Between the lines I see youre making believe
But I cant help it, I still want you
Between the lines its plain youre playing that old game
But I still love you, and I cant change
Baby Ill be waiting at the downtown station right on time
Reaching out to hold you, the way I always do
Ill pretend that you are only mine
And while Im loving you I cant read between the lines
While Im loving you I cant read between the lines
Transcribed by the teenking
song performed by by Roy Orbison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Solidarity In Lines
unemployment lines
lines of books
Lines of cocaine
Food stamp lines
Theater lines
Grocery store
car wash
school children
Soup kitchen
club
abortion clinic
Delicatessen
traffic lines
crosswalks
Traffic Jam
Lines on a map
Jules gets home and un-loads his rucksack
Gods laziness
Because of the machines and computers we will all end up lonely human beings
poem by Jerome Moore
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Ben Boyd's Tower
Ben Boyd's Tower is watching—
Watching o’er the sea;
Ben Boyd’s Tower is waiting
For her and me.
We do not know the day,
We do not know the hour,
But we know that we shall meet
By Ben Boyd’s Tower.
Moonlight peoples Boyd Tower,
Mystic are its walls;
Lightly dance the lovers
In its haunted halls.
Ben Boyd’s Tower is watching—
Watching o’er the foam;
Ben Boyd’s Tower is waiting
Till the “Wanderer” comes home.
O! he lay above us—
High above the surf—
Finger-nails and toe-caps
Digging in the turf.
We do not know the day,
We do not know the hour,
But Two and Two shall meet again
By Ben Boyd’s Tower.
There’s an ancient dame in Eden—
Basket on her arm—
And she goes down the Main Street
From the old, old farm.
Hood drawn on her forehead—
Withered dame and grey—
She never looks on Boyd Tower
Out across the Bay.
Bright eyes in the ballroom,
Coquetting with two,
Just for love of mischief,
As a girl will do.
A quarrel in the bar-room—
All within the hour—
And four men rode from Boyd Town
To Ben Boyd’s Tower.
poem by Henry Lawson
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That's How The Story Told, Goes
Why can't we continue to pretend,
None of us have been troubled...
By the existing of the current events?
We had no problem with the knowing,
There were debts to pay.
It seemed yesterday to have been okay!
And ignoring those homeless and hungry,
Being left alone pushing their belongings...
In shopping carts obvious to all on city streets.
Didn't they choose for themselves...
To trade in their dignities,
With a choice to live like they do...
With little to nothing to eat.
That's how the story told, goes.
Why is it 'today'...
Those same delusions we then embraced,
Are from us being chased away?
Is there another chapter in this story,
Unknown yet to be told to unfold?
Something in the midst,
Is not being fair or realistic about this.
Why can't we continue to pretend?
And why is it from those dead,
We seem to learn our lessons?
After the passing of chapters,
Have to us been read?
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Premadarshana, or, A short course in Love
To be is to love.
To love is to be.
Roll these life sentences
around the space
where your thoughts were
now pretend you never read this.
just be;
pretend you never read this.
*
[from a thought by Mira]
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Lines and Squares
Whenever I walk in a London street,
I'm ever so careful to watch my feet;
And I keep in the squares,
And the masses of bears,
Who wait at the corners all ready to eat
The sillies who tread on the lines of the street
Go back to their lairs,
And I say to them, "Bears,
Just look how I'm walking in all the squares!"
And the little bears growl to each other, "He's mine,
As soon as he's silly and steps on a line."
And some of the bigger bears try to pretend
That they came round the corner to look for a friend;
And they try to pretend that nobody cares
Whether you walk on the lines or squares.
But only the sillies believe their talk;
It's ever so portant how you walk.
And it's ever so jolly to call out, "Bears,
Just watch me walking in all the squares!"
poem by Alan Alexander Milne
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Between The Two
Oh my love you say this is the end
Ill tell you its the hardest thing
Ive ever had to do my friend
But Ill go
Ill do what you say
But when I walk
I will walk away from you
And the dark place you come from
The hurt you share between the two
Run now, hide what you know to be the truth
But you know
I will walk away
Ill pretend
I dont feel something breaking
Look at yourself
It does no good to cry
Its not forever
But hey, you think that Im so strong
You think Ive got it all
Maybe youre wrong
So go
Ill do what you say
But when I walk I will walk away
Hey hey
Ill do what you say
Ill pretend
I dont feel something breaking...
song performed by by Bangles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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