The Nightjar
We loved our nightjar, but she would not stay with us.
We had found her lying as dead, but soft and warm,
Under the apple tree beside the old thatched wall.
Two days we kept her in a basket by the fire,
Fed her, and thought she well might live – till suddenly
I the very moment of most confiding hope
She arised herself all tense, qivered and drooped and died.
Tears sprang into my eyes- why not? The heart of man
Soon sets itself to love a living companion,
The more so if by chance it asks some care of him.
And this one had the kind of loveliness that goes
Far deeper than the optic nerve- full fathom five
To the soul’socean cave, where Wonder and Reason
Tell their alternate dreams of how the world was made.
So wonderful she was-her wings the wings of night
But powdered here and therewith tiny golden clouds
And wave-line markings like sea-ripples on the sand.
O how I wish I might never forget that bird-
Never!
But even now, like all beauty of earth,
She is fading from me into the dusk of Time.
poem by Sir Henry Newbolt
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Our Bird In Your Cage
we have this bird
we both own it and love it and care for it
our bird
and you have this cage
that you only own
golden, new and strong and as you say it
so reliable
that when our bird is in that cage
it will be safe
and cannot escape
we feed this bird together
and give it water and birdseeds
and a place of twigs and swing
where the bird can play
and perch upon
like it is on a tree
days and years
we keep this bird in your cage
and we see it is dying
and wanting to be free
yet you say, this sickness is just temporary
time heals what has wounded it
and shall forget the power of its wings
days and more years
we keep this bird in your cage
and i have not listened at all
to the sad song of that bird
her waning chirps
her weakened wings
her way of losing hold to the dreams of its wings
today we see this bird is dead
but you have no sadness at all
you say, you will buy another bird
again to be kept in your cage
i could have told you
i am the bird in your cage and i too have forgotten the power of
my wings
i could have told you, i have long died
and have forgotten what freedom is, what love is, what i am
in the first place. How can i ever tell you?
you are my cage.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Have Loved You
Remember that blue crystal sky
The sun reflected in your eyes
Kissed me unexpectedly
A moment I just can't forget
We filled the air with promises
Took them up so tenderly
But life never asks you what you want
It's just gonna have its way
Sometimes it doesn't give like it takes
If I never see your face
If wings take you away from me
And tomorrow never happens, baby
If the world comes tumbling down
And crumbles all around us
Fate turns cruel
You're on your knees
So desperate for one truth
Know that I have loved you
Don't think I'll write another letter
Watching there the pink sunset
Without thinking about you
I take a walk along the blue seaside
How will I sleep at night
How will I wipe the tears from your eyes
If I never see your face
If wings take you away from me
And tomorrow never happens, baby
If the world comes tumbling down
And crumbles all around us
Fate turns cruel
You're on your knees
So desperate for one truth
Know that I have loved you
Without a single hesitation
Without thought or reservation
Baby, I'll be waiting
Even if I never see your face
And wings take you away from me
And tomorrow never happens, baby
If the world comes tumbling down
And crumbles all around us
Fate turns cruel
You're on your knees
So desperate for one truth
Know that I have loved you
I have loved you
If I never see your face
If wings take you away from me
With all my heart and all my soul
The world comes tumbling
And crumbling all around
I have loved you
If I never see your face
If wings take you away from me
I have loved you
song performed by by Jessica Simpson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On Silent Wings
(t. j. white, j. ralston)
Producer: trevor horn
Album: wildest dreams (96)
Special guest: sting
There was a time when I would have followed you
To the end of the earth
I was willing to share it all with you
The love, the hurt
Ive seen you when your dreams were falling in the dust
But I never stopped believing in you
I always thought our love was strong enough
One you could hold on to
You never see it coming
You just let it fly
On silent wings, silent wings
You cant hide what you you feel inside
And the fire has left your eyes
On silent wings
I see us in our dreams and were dancing
I can almost hear the song
But the prayers, they go unanswered
But we both know, were just hanging on
I feel ashamed, but Ill never know the reason why
The rug was pulled so gently from under my feet
I only know that something good has died
Between you and me, oh its just a memory
You never see it coming
You just go separate ways
On silent wings, silent wings
Theres no more promises to break
Or our love has slipped away
On silent wings
You never see it coming
But you know it has to end
On silent wings, silent wings
I will never be the same again
I feel the whisper of the wind
On silent wings
song performed by by Tina Turner
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Angel And Beauty
An angel with butterfly wings,
gossamer touch of beautiful things.
A satin sash and golden rings,
life is a wonderful thing.
The scarlet touch as sunset dies,
behold the world is full of lies.
The angel spreads its wings and flies,
to everyone’s breathless sighs.
The shadow of reason clouds our mind.
Where are we in ageless time?
Oh, behold my wonderful find,
the reason for living given in this sign.
Step back from this perilous world,
and let the beauties at your feet unfold.
Gaze upon the wealth untold,
of arms stretched out for you to hold.
Look around at things you’ve done,
at pleasures you have found,
and seek the soft and sandy ground,
where lies the happy children sounds.
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Seven Days
She was so young and so afraid
Of a world she could not understand
For seven days I held her close
Like a child in the palm of my hand
There were
Seven tears
To wipe away
Seven fears
To keep at bay
Seven words
For me to say
In seven days
The strands of wisdom twist and curl
Soft flame in the warmth of my heart
Oh essential words that lightly fall
Like snow thru the mist of her thought
The gentle rain of innocence
That flows from her ebony eyes
Another secret moment shared
To be part of the rest of our lives
There were
Seven dreams
To live for real
Seven streams
Of hope revealed
Seven ways
Of love to feel
In seven days
We are the only ones who know
Her smile was poetry
Her soul she showed it to me
The dawning of the seventh day
Saw her shine like the radiant skies
I knew that she would leave me then
Bright hope in her ebony eyes
(and now) I watch her dance before the world
Soft flame in the movements she makes
And all those secret moments shared
Stay warm in my thoughts everyday
Remembering
Seven tears
Wiped away
Seven fears
Kept at bay
Seven words
You heard me say
Seven dreams
To live and play
Seven streams
Of hope revealed
Seven waves
Of love we feel
Seven days
Memory of seven days
song performed by by Level 42
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Like A Bird
Chorus:
I would do anything if I could fly
Escape into the sky
Im feeling like a bird
I would do anything if I could see
The world in harmony
Im feeling like a bird
Chorus b:
Im feeling like a bird
I spread my wings and fly away
Im feeling like a bird
I close my eyes my dreams come true for one day
Vers 1:
In these days,
Dont know whats right or wrong
The world has gone to far
I found a little something to hold on
And then I see a rainbow shining through the clouds
See the birds are flying, they are free no doubt
And imagine its me, imagine its me
I wish I would have wings
Vers 2:
Tell me why, this circle never ends
When will we ever learn
All the cultures in this world come to one sense
But then I see the children playing in the street
Will they have a future, and enough to eat
And I close my eyes, I close my eyes
I hope my dreams comes true
Mid-part:
Free, free like a bird
What is this world without love
Free, free like a bird
From high above
song performed by by DJ Bobo
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Haloes angels without wings
as man transform in its unique formation, the soul illuminate
his spirit creating a halo of sanctity of wings in his humanoid
form
our navel, made us to believe that man, is created out of nothing
but, a breath that ends and begins our life to see and witness, the
living God
thus making, every human being different from other, forms of
living organism, in this changing world, a purpose that ends, to
a simple dust of where it started
in every action of touch we made, gives us the credits of thanking
the source of who's the giver of everything, the sole and the
heart that exist, before the concept of existence comes to being
let not your heart and eyes see, the halo of sacredness engulf your
self, be a philanthropist of heart and soul to our brethren, for the
wings of sanctity molded you towards life everlasting
in every season of your heart, giving and sharing is the paramount
of an endless eruption of denuding yourself for the kingdom of
God is at hand
every moment is a moment of passion to live, in the heart of every
man, regardless of creed and race, it is a faith that satisfy not
only your soul, but to the whole universe
it is now the right time to hold on, and to fly on the wings of eternity,
the wings that you have made is the wings that leads you to the way
to reach your destination
let our heart, sober your achievement, let our wisdom surf with you
in your journey, for everything you do, lifted us to see, the haloes in
our hearts
'we too, are human, a great chance to be an angel without wings '
poem by Antonio Liao
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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This Love Has Drained My Strength
This love has drained my strength
It has left me among the dead
Lying like a corpse in a grave
With no one to care for me.
This love has drained my strength
My heart is full of pain
There is no hope of saving it
And I am fading like a shadow at dusk.
This love has drained my strength
I am surrounded by accusing people
They swarm me like bees
They blaze against me like a crackling fire.
This love has drained my strength
Tears blur my eyes
My body and soul are withering away
This wound is too deep to heal
This love has drained my strength...
poem by Raquel Rebecca
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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When We Dance
If he loved you
Like I love you
I would walk away in shame
I'd move town
I'd change my name
When he watches you
When he counts to buy your soul
On your hand his golden rings
Like he owns a bird that sings
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings
The priest has said my soul's salvation
Is in the balance of the angels
And underneath the wheels of passion
I keep the faith in my fashion
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings
I'm still in love with you
[I'm gonna find a place to live
Give you all I've got to give]
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings
If I could break down these walls
And shout my name at heaven's gate
I'd take these hands
And I'd destroy the dark machineries of fate
Cathedrals are broken
Heaven's no longer above
And hellfire's a promise away
I'd still be saying
I'm still in love
He won't love you
Like I love you
He won't care for you this way
He'll mistreat you if you stay
Come and live with me
We'll have children of our own
I would love you more than life
If you'll come and be my wife
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings
I'm gonna love you more than life
If you will only be my wife
I'm gonna love you more than life
If you will only be my wife
I'm gonna love you night and day
I'm gonna try in every way
[I had a dream last night
I dreamt you were by my side
Walking with me baby
My heart was filled with pride
I had a dream last night]
song performed by by Sting
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In The Beginning
WHEN sunshine met the wave,
Then love was born;
Then Venus rose to save
A world forlorn.
For light a thousand wings
Of joy unfurled,
And bound with golden rings
The icy world.
And color flamed the earth
With glad desire,
Till life sprang to the birth,
Fire answering fire,
And so the world awoke,
And all was done,
When first the ocean spoke
Unto the sun.
poem by Harriet Monroe
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Soul
the beauty of the day
washes my troubles away
seeing the sun up above
and the sky clear blue
always' reminds me of you'
the smile on your face
radiating the beauty within
and the depth in your eyes
just pulling me, like a rip current..
deeper and deeper i go
until i reach your very soul.
then your soul absorbs my entireity
shoots me out and sets me free.
sets me free to see all the
beauty that you have inside
a beauty which i can't deny.
there is nothing in this world
with which your beauty to compare
now that i found you i will not share.
you have taught my soul to fly
of that there is no lie.
now i am high above the ground
my heart hears all the sounds.
the sound of broken hearts, and lost souls
and tears that fall to the floor.
never to be heard evermore.
for teardrops dry up like the rain
and you lose all your pain.
because of you i have found
the beauty of a soul.
and in love you lose control.
poem by Louis Rams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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To Love Is To Be Home!
How hard is to know
When we are in love
From soul to soul
Through vein to vein
Our love strays
Till blood cells
melts there
There where you and I first met
While we are in love
Yet we know they can't chain
Our love and pain,
For me the both are the same
The love and the pain
Tell me my beloved
That you will stay the same,
Near me or alone
Stay in my home,
For me to love is to have a safety home
Love me more and more
Till the end of the world,
Love me as I am,
Because I know that I do
I do love every single thing in you,
With you I breath,
I know how your heart beat,
When the spirits meet
The breath melts the breath,
Glances begin to speak..
For a while and while
just you and I
We Forget who or what.
We lose ourselves
Among the
distance Of time
We begin to swing
In the air we both get golden wings
When no one else is there
We forget to think
Just the moment we live
What is happening around
No one of us ever feel
Just when we are in love.
There we don't fear
Because we both do believe
What to love is? (To be home)
poem by Sossi Khachadourian
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Flightless Bird
My world is caged in,
I can not fly away,
I can not soar in the clouds,
With the wind and the angels.
I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
I sit here day in and day out,
I watch so many people coming in and going out,
They stay here so happy so proud,
And they leave again without any care in the world.
I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
I remember each face,
I remember them all saying hi waiting for a reply of hello,
They don’t understand how it feels,
They don’t understand what it’s like.
To be a flightless bird with clipped wings.
Wings tucked and head held high I sit here,
I wear a smile on my face and I keep myself beautiful and happy,
But inside all I can see are the bars that surround me,
I can’t get past them I can only sit.
I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
My world is a room full of people myself the center of attention,
Although I should not complain for this is my life,
And I make them smile I make the children laugh and look in my eyes,
And sometimes they look into my eyes and see my world through my eyes.
They know I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
They’ll stand and watch me as I walk around in my cage,
They’ll be there with me and try to understand.
Then they’ll have to leave and they’ll look over their shoulders.,
And they look into my eyes one last time,
Before they fly away into the world to bring back stories for the flightless bird with clipped wings,
They are my connection to the world,
They show me what they see through their eyes,
They show me wonders and beauties of a world I’ve never seen,
They are my window to the outside,
In their mind I can be a flightless bird in a world of wonder and of flight.
I am only a small bird in a cage that sits in a hotel,
Sits and watches as the world around me fly’s by,
I wait for the occasional stranger who looks into my eyes with knowing,
Maybe a person who is like me like a flightless bird in a cage,
They are my wings, the wings of a flightless bird who’s wings are clipped.
I sit in my own world and watch as it all moves by,
Day after day I watch and I say what is expected of me,
I sit in my world and I go on my own steady journey,
A journey in which I am a silent observer,
A flightless bird with clipped wings in a world of ever changing skies.
By: Bethany Maxwell
poem by Bethany Maxwell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Epilogue
UNDER THE BLESSING OF YOUR PSYCHE WINGS
Though I have found you llke a snow-drop pale,
On sunny days have found you weak and still,
Though I have often held your girlish head
Drooped on my shoulder, faint from little ill:—
Under the blessing of your Psyche-wings
I hide to-night like one small broken bird,
So soothed. I half-forget the world gone mad:—
And all the winds of war are now unheard.
My heaven-doubting pennons feel your hands
With touch most delicate so circling round,
That for an hour I dream that God is good.
And in your shadow, Mercy's ways abound.
I thought myself the guard of your frail state,
And yet I come to-night a helpless guest,
Hiding beneath your giant Psyche-wings,
Against the pallor of your wondrous breast.
poem by Vachel Lindsay
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Grief Of Love
Love, I am sick for thee, sick with an absolute grief,
Sick with the thought of thy eyes and lips and bosom.
All the beauty I saw, I see to my hurt revealed.
All that I felt I feel to--day for my pain and sorrow.
Love, I would fain forget thee, hide thee in deeper night,
Shut thee where no thought is, in the grave with tears.
Love, I would turn my face to the wall and, if needs be, die;
Death less cruel were than thy eyes which have blinded me.
Since thou art gone from me, glory is gone from my life;
Dumb are the woods and streams, and dumb the voice of my soul;
Dead are the flowers we loved, blackened and sere with blight;
Earth is frost--bound under my foot where our footsteps trod.
Give me back for my sorrow the days of senseless peace,
Days when I thought not of thee, or thought in wisdom;
Let me see thee once more as thou to my folly wert,
A woman senseless as sounding brass or as tinkling cymbal.
Why didst thou show me thy heart, which I thought not of?
Why didst thou bare me thy soul, who to me wert soulless?
Why didst thou kiss my mouth, when my mouth did mock?
Why didst thou speak to my lips of love, ere my lips had spoken?
Love, thou hast made me thine, thine, and in my despite,
Laying thy hand on my heart in the soft Spring weather;
Love, thou hast bought my soul at a price, the price of thine,
Never again to mock at love, ah, never, never!
poem by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Fantasy
Look into the mirror,
What can you truly see,
Is it a reflection of yourself,
Or is it reality?
I once dreamed I could fly away,
I had wings of my own,
This dream so precious, so real to me,
Encouraged me to stay,
What a deception it was when I woke at home,
My wings were clipped,
My dreams were shattered,
I had been cast off my throne.
The tears of pain that I shed,
Reminded me of what a wise man once said.
'When life is hard and your heart is dead,
Sanctuary can always be found,
In us is the way to be silently lead,
To a place where treasure is found'
So when you close your eyes at night,
I hope you will think of me.
And maybe despite the misery,
You and I, Princess and knight,
Will meet each other as we sleep,
To live an adventure, just us together,
Our perfect fantasy.
poem by Jeremy Cahoon
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Complaint of Lisa
There is no woman living who draws breath
So sad as I, though all things sadden her.
There is not one upon life's weariest way
Who is weary as I am weary of all but death.
Toward whom I look as looks the sunflower
All day with all his whole soul toward the sun;
While in the sun's sight I make moan all day,
And all night on my sleepless maiden bed.
Weep and call out on death, O Love, and thee,
That thou or he would take me to the dead.
And know not what thing evil I have done
That life should lay such heavy hand on me.
Alas! Love, what is this thou wouldst with me?
What honor shalt thou have to quench my breath,
Or what shall my heart broken profit thee?
O Love, O great god Love, what have I done,
That thou shouldst hunger so after my death?
My heart is harmless as my life's first day:
Seek out some false fair woman, and plague her
Till her tears even as my tears fill her bed:
I am the least flower in thy flowery way,
But till my time be come that I be dead,
Let me live out my flower-time in the sun,
Though my leaves shut before the sunflower.
O Love, Love, Love, the kingly sunflower!
Shall he the sun hath looked on look on me,
That live down here in shade, out of the sun,
Here living in the sorrow and shadow of death?
Shall he that feeds his heart full of the day
Care to give mine eyes light, or my lips breath?
Because she loves him, shall my lord love her
Who is as a worm in my lord's kingly way?
I shall not see him or know him alive or dead;
But thou, I know thee, O Love, and pray to thee
That in brief while my brief life-days be done,
And the worm quickly make my marriage-bed.
For underground there is no sleepless bed.
But here since I beheld my sunflower
These eyes have slept not, seeing all night and day
His sunlike eyes, and face fronting the sun.
Wherefore, if anywhere be any death,
I fain would find and fold him fast to me,
That I may sleep with the world's eldest dead,
With her that died seven centuries since, and her
That went last night down the night-wandering way.
For this is sleep indeed, when labor is done,
Without love, without dreams, and without breath,
And without thought, O name unnamed! of thee.
Ah! but, forgetting all things, shall I thee?
Wilt thou not be as now about my bed
There underground as here before the sun?
Shall not thy vision vex me alive and dead,
Thy moving vision without form or breath?
I read long since the bitter tale of her
Who read the tale of Launcelot on a day,
And died, and had no quiet after death,
But was moved ever along a weary way,
Lost with her love in the underworld; ah me,
O my king, O my lordly sunflower,
Would God to me, too, such a thing were done!
But if such sweet and bitter things be done,
Then, flying from life, I shall not fly from thee.
For in that living world without a sun
Thy vision will lay hold upon me dead,
And meet and mock me, and mar my peace in death.
Yet if being wroth, God had such pity on her,
Who was a sinner and foolish in her day,
That even in hell they twain should breathe one breath,
Why should he not in some wise pity me?
So if I sleep not in my soft strait bed,
I may look up and see my sunflower
As he the sun, in some divine strange way.
O poor my heart, well knowest thou in what way
This sore sweet evil unto us was done.
For on a holy and a heavy day
I was arisen out of my still small bed
To see the knights tilt, and one said to me
"The king;" and seeing him, somewhat stopped my breath;
And if the girl spake more, I heard her not,
For only I saw what I shall see when dead,
A kingly flower of knights, a sunflower,
That shone against the sunlight like the sun,
And like a fire, O heart, consuming thee,
The fire of love that lights the pyre of death.
Howbeit I shall not die an evil death
Who have loved in such a sad and sinless way,
That this my love, lord, was no shame to thee.
So when mine eyes are shut against the sun,
O my soul's sun, O the world's sunflower,
Thou nor no man will quite despise me dead.
And dying I pray with all my low last breath
That thy whole life may be as was that day,
That feast-day that made trothplight death and me,
Giving the world light of thy great deeds done;
And that fair face brightening thy bridal bed,
That God be good as God hath been to her.
That all things goodly and glad remain with her,
All things that make glad life and goodly death;
That as a bee sucks from a sunflower
Honey, when summer draws delighted breath,
Her soul may drink of thy soul in like way,
And love make life a fruitful marriage-bed
Where day may bring forth fruits of joy to day
And night to night till days and nights be dead.
And as she gives light of her love to thee,
Give thou to her the old glory of days long done;
And either give some heat of light to me,
To warm me where I sleep without the sun.
O sunflower make drunken with the sun,
O knight whose lady's heart draws thine to her,
Great king, glad lover, I have a word to thee.
There is a weed lives out of the sun's way,
Hid from the heat deep in the meadow's bed,
That swoons and whitens at the wind's least breath,
A flower star-shaped, that all a summer day
Will gaze her soul out on the sunflower
For very love till twilight finds her dead.
But the great sunflower heeds not her poor death,
Knows not when all her loving life is done;
And so much knows my lord the king of me.
Ay, all day long he has no eye for me;
With golden eye following the golden sun
From rose-colored to purple-pillowed bed,
From birthplace to the flame-lit place of death,
From eastern end to western of his way,
So mine eye follows thee, my sunflower,
So the white star-flower turns and yearns to thee,
The sick weak weed, not well alive or dead,
Trod under foot if any pass by her,
Pale, without color of summer or summer breath
In the shrunk shuddering petals, that have done
No work but love, and die before the day.
But thou, to-day, to-morrow, and every day,
Be glad and great, O love whose love slays me.
Thy fervent flower made fruitful from the sun
Shall drop its golden seed in the world's way,
That all men thereof nourished shall praise thee
For grain and flower and fruit of works well done;
Till thy shed seed, O shining sunflower,
Bring forth such growth of the world's garden-bed
As like the sun shall outlive age and death.
And yet I would thine heart had heed of her
Who loves thee alive; but not till she be dead.
Come, Love, then, quickly, and take her utmost breath.
Song, speak for me who am dumb as are the dead;
From my sad bed of tears I send forth thee,
To fly all day from sun's birth to sun's death
Down the sun's way after the flying sun,
For love of her that gave thee wings and breath
Ere day be done, to seek the sunflower.
poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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At Dawn and Dusk
At Dawn and Dusk
Love-Laurel
IN MEMORY OF HENRY KENDALL
AH! that God once would touch my lips with song
To pierce, as prayer doth heaven, earth’s breast of iron,
So that with sweet mouth I might sing to thee,
O sweet dead singer buried by the sea,
A song, to woo thee, as a wooing siren,
Out of that silent sleep which seals too long
Thy mouth of melody.
For, if live lips might speak awhile to dead,
Or any speech could reach the sad world under
This world of ours, song surely should awake
Thee who didst dwell in shadow for song’s sake!
Alas! thou canst not hear the voice of thunder,
Nor low dirge over thy low-lying head
The winds of morning make.
Down through the clay there comes no sound of these;
Down in the grave there is no sign of Summer,
Nor any knowledge of the soft-eyed Spring;
But Death sits there, with outspread ebon wing,
Closing with dust the mouth of each new-comer
To that mute land, where never sound of seas
Is heard, and no birds sing.
Now thou hast found the end of all thy days
Hast thou found any heart a vigil keeping
For thee among the dead—some heart that heard
Thy singing when thou wert a brown, sweet bird
Gray Æons gone, in some old forest sleeping
Beneath the seas long since? in Death’s dim ways
Has thy heart any word?
For surely those in whom the deathless spark
Of song is kindled, sang from the beginning
If life were always? But the old desires—
Do they exist when sad-eyed Hope expires?
How live the dead? what crowns have they for winning?
Have they, to warm them in the dreamless dark,
For sun earth’s central fires?
Are the dead dead indeed whom we call dead?
Has God no life but this of ours for giving?—
When that they took thee by each well-known place,
Stark in thy coffin with a cold white face,
What thought, O Brother, hadst thou of the living?
What of the sun that round thee glory shed?
What of the fair day’s grace?
Is thy new life made up of memories
Or dreams that lull the dead, bright visions bringing
Of Spring above! Are thy days short or long?
Thou who wert master of our singing throng
Mayhap in death thou hast not lost thy singing,
But chauntst unheard, beside the moaning sea,
A solitary song.
The chance spade turns up skulls. God help the dead
And thee whose singing days have all passed over—
Thee, whom the gold-haired Spring shall seek in vain
When at the glad year’s doors she stands again,
Remembering the song-garlands thou hast wove her
In years gone by: but all these years have fled
With all their joy and pain.
. . . . .
My soul laughed out to hear my heart speak so,
And sprang forth skyward, as an eagle, hoping
To look upon thy soul with living eyes,
Until it came to where our dim life dies,
And dead suns darkly for a grave are groping
Through cycles of immeasurable woe,
Stone-blind in the blind skies.
The stars walk shuddering on that awful verge
From which my soul, with swift and fearless motion,
Clove the black depths, and sought for God and thee;
But God dwells where nor stars nor suns there be—
No shore there is to His Eternal Ocean;
A thousand systems are a fringe of surge
On that great starless sea.
And thou wert not. So that, with weary plumes,
My soul through the great void its way came winging
To earth again. “What hope for him who sings
Is there?” it sighed. “Death ends all sweetest things.”
When lo! there came a swell of mighty singing,
Flooding all space, and swift athwart the glooms
A flash of sudden wings.
. . . . .
Dreamer of dreams, thy songs and dreams are done.
Down where thou sleepest in earth’s secret bosom
There is no sorrow and no joy for thee,
Who canst not see what stars at eve there be,
Nor evermore at morn the green dawn blossom
Into the golden king-flower of the sun
Across the golden sea.
But haply there shall come in days to be
One who shall hear his own heart beating faster,
Plucking a rose sprung from thy heart beneath,
And from his soul, as sword from out its sheath,
Song shall leap forth where now, O silent master,
On thy lone grave beside the sounding sea,
I lay this laurel-wreath.
poem by Victor James Daley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sweet Bird
Out on some borderline
Some mark of inbetween
I lay down golden-in time
And woke up vanishing
Sweet bird you are
Briefer than a falling star
All these vain promises on beauty jars
Somewhere with your wings on time
You must be laughing
Behind our eyes
Calendars of our lives
Circled with compromise
Sweet bird of time and change
You must be laughing
Up on your feathers laughing
Golden in time
Cities under the sand
Power, ideals and beauty
Fading in everyones hand
Give me some time
I feel like Im losing mine
Out here on this horizon line
With the earth spinning
And the sky forever rushing
No one knows
They can never get that close
Guesses at most
Guesses based on what each set of time and change is touching
Guesses based on what each set of time and change is touching
Guesses based on what each set of time and change is touching
song performed by by Joni Mitchell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Everything Is Different Now
(don henley/scott f. crago/timothy drury)
I hate to tell you this, but Im very, very happy
And I know thats not what youd expect from me at all
Im not the kind to smile and bow out gracefully
I always wanted to take it to the wall
But I found somebody with a heart as big as texas
I found an angel with the golden wings
She saw me down here in the dark somehow
And everything is different now
Yeah, I miss the old crowd sometimes
And the wild, wild nights of running
You know, a starving soul cant live like that for long
You go around in circles that just keep getting smaller
You wake up one morning and half your life is gone
I got so tired of that; I got so lonely
I dropped down and I called out to heaven
send me someone to love.
And heaven shot back, you get the love that you allow.
And everything is different now
Oh, and its sweet to know
The wisdom that living brings
Since I got a telegram from the God of simple things
She said, i dont care what you do for a living.
She said, i dont care what kind of car you drive.
all I want to know right now is what do you believe in
And what it means to you to be alive
Will you stand here in this fire with me?
Are you ready for another life?
So I bit that bullet and I took that vow
And everything is different now
Everything is different now
song performed by by Don Henley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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