The Work of Many Years
The work of many years
Lies in piles
Hidden from my care-
Years of effort
On pages most likely
Never to be read-
I don’t have the courage
To confront it
And try to save it all-
How much hope and effort did I give to those pages
No one will ever know?
How much of my life has simply been wasted
And will be thrown out in an hour as if it never were?
For years now I have been running away
From work done years before -
This poem too is a small escape
That will not save a single page
Of all I have done before.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Jesus Christ's Policy In Poetry
we believe we know that Jesus Christ
would still come to earth lay down his life
for only one person to save just one soul
to be born to live to horrifically die
all to save just one receptive accepting soul
is an ultimate sacrifice in salvation
who would in contemporary times imitate this sacrifice
spend years sacrifice career income to achieve same goal
write an entire poem for sole need of one just one soul?
all that effort an entire poem engineered for just one soul
an entire poem signature written to be read but once for one soul
such effort to answer need of a single soul imitates Jesus Christ
poem by Terence George Craddock
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Have Lost My Way
I HAVE LOST MY WAY
I have lost my way
I cannot discipline myself
I cannot overcome myself
I do not have the will I once did
I cannot confront my own past work
And do the work involved in redeeming it-
Wastrel coward and fool
Years after years given me
And I cannot bring myself to even try
To save it.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Where Is The Poem I Could Have Written?
WHERE IS THE POEM I COULD HAVE WRITTEN
Where is the poem I could have written?
The life I could have lived?
The one in which I got it right?
Where is all the time lost
In not doing it the right way?
All the years and years of effort mistaken?
It is not good to know
That one has made a mistake of one’s life
When one could have had it right
Had one only had the wisdom, the courage, the moral strength
To ask and learn from others.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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The Barricades Of Heaven
Running down around the towns along the shore
When I was sixteen and on my own
No, I couldnt tell you what the hell those brakes were for
I was just trying to hear my song
Jimmy found his own sweet sound and won that free guitar
Wed all get in the van and play
Life became the paradox, the bear, the rouge et noir
And the stretch of road running to l.a.
Pages turning
Pages we were years from learning
Straight into the night our hearts were flung
Better bring your own redemption when you come
To the barricades of heaven where Im from
All the world was shining from those hills
The stars above and the lights below
Among those there to test their fortunes and their wills
I lost track of the score long ago
Pages turning
Pages we were years from learning
Straight into the night our hearts were flung
Better bring your own redemption when you come
To the barricades of heaven where Im from
Childhood comes for me at night
Voices of my friends
Your face bathing me in light
Hope that never ends
Pages turning
Pages torn and pages burning
Faded pages, open in the sun
Better bring your own redemption when you come
To the barricades of heaven where Im from.
Better bring your own redemption when you come
To the barricades of heaven where Im from.
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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For Years I Thought Each Word And Sentence- Sacred
For years I thought each word and sentence - sacred
If I had written it down it must be saved-
Now the piles of pages lie mostly unread
They will never be seen by anyone
Most of what I have done will be
Time passed and unremembered-
Will I be able to save some small part of this
Select the best of it?
A small part has been published
And now I post more –
Will any of it be cared for?
Is another question-
Most of what I have done
Writing that is passing time
Forever to be unknown much less remembered-
poem by Shalom Freedman
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When The World Is Running Down
Turn on my V.C.R.
Same one I've had for years
James Brown on the T. A. M. I. show
Same tape I've had for years
I sit in my old car
Same one I've had for years
Old battery's running down
It ran for years and years
Turn on the radio
The static hurts my ears
Tell me where would I go
I ain't been out in years
Turn on the stereo
It's played for years and years
An Otis Redding song
It's all I own
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
Plug in my M.C.I
To exercise my brain
Make records on my own
Can't go out in the rain
Pick up the telephone
I've listened here for years
No one to talk to me
I've listened here for years
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When I feel lonely here
Don't waste my time with tears
I run 'Deep Throat' again
It ran for years and years
Don't like the food I eat
The cans are running out
Same food for years and years
I hate the food I eat
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
song performed by by Police
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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All I Can Do Now Is Write Another Poem
All I can do now is write another poem-
The poems are small,
And do not require the long hours and long years
Of the books-
Like the world as a whole
I seem to have a shorter attention span
And less patience-
A poem can be written and given a name
In minutes not years-
Though some would say a great poem
Takes the travail of years of waiting
And years of work-
But I did not say
‘All I can do now is write another great poem'
Perhaps I have in all the years of the nights never written one-
I can write the poems I write
My kinds of poems
In a fairly short time-
All I can do now
Is write another of my kind of poems-
Whether they be worth anything,
Or not.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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The Wasted Words Of All The Years
THE WASTED WORDS OF ALL THE YEARS
The wasted words of all the years-
The time given to them-
A lifetime given to words
Never to be read.
Yet how I lived in those years.
And what hope I had in those words
And how I told my dreams in them
And how I tried to help those I loved.
No one needs the words
And no one wants them
But perhaps the life itself
In writing them
That too counts.
All the years of the words and the dreams and the hopes and the love of those I loved and the striving for greatness not to be.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Always And Forever
hoo.com
I CANT REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERENT THERE
WHEN I DIDNT CARE FOR ANYONE BUT YOU.
AND I SWEAR WEVE BEEN THROUGH EVERY THING THERE IS
CANT IMAGINE ANYTHING WE MISSED
CANT IMAGINE ANYTHING THE TWO OF US CANT DO.
THROUGH THE YEARS
YOUVE NEVER LET ME DOWN
YOUVE TURNED MY LIFE AROUND
THE SWEETEST DAYS IVE FOUND
I FOUND WITH YOU
THROUGH THE YEARS.
IVE NEVER BEEN AFRAID
I LOVE THE LIFE WEVE MADE,
AND IM SO GLAD I STAYED, RIGHT HERE WITH YOU,
THROUGH THE YEARS.
I CANT REMEMBER, WHAT I USED TO DO
WHO I TRUSTED WHOM ID LISTEN TO BEFORE
I SWEAR, YOU TAUGHT ME EVERYTHING I KNOW
CANT IMAGINE NEEDING SOMEONE SO
THROUGH THE YEARS, IT SEEMS TO ME
I NEED YOU MORE AND MORE,
THROUGH THE YEARS,
THROUGH ALL THE GOOD AND BAD,
I KNOW HOW MUCH WE HAD.
IVE ALWAYS BEEN SO GLAD, TO BE WITH YOU
THROUGH THE YEARS, ITS BETTER EVERYDAY YOUVE KISSED MY TEARS AWAY,
AS LONG AS ITS OK, ILL STAY WITH YOU THROUGH THE YEARS
THROUGH THE YEARS, WHEN EVERYTHING WENT WRONG,
TOGETHER WE WERE STRONG
I KNOW THAT I BELONG RIGHT HERE WITH YOU THROUGH THE YEARS,
I NEVER HAD A DOUBT,
WED ALWAYS WORK THINGS OUT.
IVE LEARNED WHAT LIFES ABOUT,
BY LOVING YOU,
THROUGH THE YEARS
song performed by by Kenny Rogers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It has taken me years of struggle, hard work and research to learn to make one simple gesture, and I know enough about the art of writing to realize that it would take as many years of concentrated effort to write one simple, beautiful sentence.
quote by Isadora Duncan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ell Briddley
Ell Briddley she knows of the hard side of life
For many years she has been a battered wife
Her late husband Jake often bashed her and their only child Joe
He succumbed to cancer some five years ago.
Her twenty years of marriage one might say tough
And of marriage she feels she's had more than enough
The reason is not hard to understand why
That she will not give marriage another try.
At her husband's passing she did not shed tears
She feels her life with him were sad wasted years
Her son Joe is married in a distant town with a one year old son
And she feels quite proud of how well he has done.
Ell Briddley she is fifty seven years old
And for her years she is attractive to behold
To a few proposals of marriage she has said no
She is one who will not give marriage another go.
Ell Briddley is a happy woman today
And the single life seems to suit her okay
For falling for Jake she paid the bitter price
And now she will remain as single by choice.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In The Middle Of The Journey
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE JOURNEY
In the middle of the journey
Though closer to the end
With still perhaps some years to go
Old and yet not the oldest of the old
I try to begin again.
I know
If I have not done it yet
I probably never will.
I know all the years
I did not make effort enough
Are not mine
To make effort in
In the future.
I know I probably will never get there.
I know it is not ‘beginning’
I should be doing now.
I do not then ‘begin again’
I continue from where I am
Which is not very far
On the road
Which is longer than I can see.
Will I get there?
All the evidence says ‘no’.
Nonetheless
I write this
As another small step on the way
To where I probably will not go.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of Whats Still Around
Turn on my v.c.r., same one Ive had for years
James brown on the tammy show,
Same tape Ive had for years
I sit in my old car, same one Ive had for years
Old batterys running down, it ran for years and years
Turn on the radio, the static hurts my ears
Tell me, where would I go? I aint been out in years
Turn on the stereo, its played for years and years
An otis redding song, its all I own
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
Plug in my m.c.i, to excercise my brain
Make records on my own, cant go out in the rain
Pick up the telephone, Ive listened here for years
No one to talk to me, Ive listened here for years
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When I feel lonely here, dont waste my time with tears
I run deep throat again, it ran for years and years
Dont like the food I eat, the cans are running out
Same food for years and years, I hate the food I eat
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
song performed by by Sting
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of Whats Still Around
Turn on my vcr
Same one Ive had for years
James brown on the tammy show
Same tape Ive had for years
I sit in my old car
Same one Ive had for years
Old batterys running down
It ran for years and years
Turn on the radio
The static hurts my ears
Tell me where would I go
I aint been out in years
Turn on the stereo
Its played for years and years
An otis redding song
Its all I own
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
Plug in my mci
To excercise my brain
Make records on my own
Cant go out in the rain
Pick up the telephone
Ive listened here for years
No-one to talk to me
Ive listened here for years
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When I feel lonely here
Dont waste my time with tears
I run deep throat again
It ran for years and years
Dont like the food I eat
The cans are running out
Same food for years and years
I hate the food I eat
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
song performed by by Police
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Morning Will Be Gone Soon
THE MORNING WILL BE GONE SOON
The morning will be gone soon
With little done
And certainly what I should have done
Not done.
Life will be gone soon
And so much left behind
Unfinished disordered
Years of effort
Years of waste.
But who am I?
And why does it matter?
One more among the billions
Who has been here
And will not be here
Ever again.
The days are passing
The years have passed
My life is almost done
And what have I done?
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Book, Trees and Leaves
The book
at the used book store
had a leaf pressed between its pages,
its veins showing;
pressed flat
and brown;
an unwilling bookmark-
the pages of the ages.
The tree
its mother,
died for those pages
her offspring
flattened out
upon mother's page breast
tiny lines and squiggles
between the veins;
no tree can read
no leaf can comprehend.
I take the leaf to give it a proper burial
in the compost heap
so that its remains
have a small chance
of one day
becoming part of a tree.
I lay its leafy body down
thinking;
'I think I shall never see
anything a lovely as a tree.'
In years
a bookmark it will make
upon my backyard landscape
marking Nature's Chapter entitled
'Ironies.'
.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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Fool (If You Think It's Over)
A dying flame, you''re free again
Who could love and do that to you
All dressed in black, he won't be coming back
Save your tears, you've got years and years
The pains of seventeens
Unreal, they're only dreams
Save your crying for the day
Fool if you think it's over
Because you said goodbye
Fool if you think it's over - I'll tell you why
New born eyes always cry with pain
At the first look of the morning sun
You're a fool if you think it's over
It's just begun
Miss teenage dream, sucg a tragic scene
He's knocked your crown and ran away
First wound of pride and how
you've cried and cried
But save your tears you've years and years
Fool if you think it's over
I'll buy your first good wine
We'll have a real good time
And save your crying for the day
That may not come but anyone
Fool if you think it's over....
song performed by by Chris Rea
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Poem -Written On The Small Pad
THE POEM / WRITTEN ON THE SMALL PAD
The poem/
Written on the small pad
In the almond tree park
Intersection Disraeli- Alkalai
The poem of the past days
The poem of the light – rain beginning,
Another Jerusalem poem-
Four- thousand years of Jerusalem poems
I from Troy, New York
Thirty- five years in Israel
Nearly sixty- eight years of age
Write.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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A Poem Can Be Written Anywhere, Anytime
A poem can be written anywhere, anytime-
A poem can be written too early in the morning
While waiting in Talpiot for ‘Rami Levi Supermarket’ to open-
It can be written in one’s head in a frozen Army barracks in Beit El
Or in a small room on Rav Berlin St on an old Smith- Corona
In the first happy years of one’s marriage-
It can be written for years from Haganah St. in French Hill
In the family years and the lonely ones
It can be written walking by the sea in Tel Aviv
With small children in hand-
It can be written on the same shore years later when one’s life has been broken
By Love’s desertion-
It can be written in old age on Rehov Shahal in Givat Mordechai
As one takes joy from the birth of one’s first grandchild-
A poem can be written anywhere anytime-
I have been writing my poems in Israel
For more than half a lifetime-
May those too
Who come after me
Read and Write Poetry here.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Years of Tears
Years of tears for no ears to hear, lonely for years am I
Years of tears for no ears to hear in silence they dropp and die
Years of tears, hidden deep, I cannot weep, nor cry.
Years of tears, for many fears of dying alone, I sigh.
Years of tears which no one hears as many years go by.
Years of tears in the lonely sky, my tears grow wings and fly.
Years of tears, my smile shines, through its little lines, I lie.
Years of tears, my somber peers through my melancholy eye
Tears of tears, Years of Years, in my soul, I tie.
Years of tears for no ears to hear my tears weep goodbye….
poem by Kevin Michael Murphy
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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