The Inward Man
Day after day the outward man crumbles and breaks down, and the inward man is born and grows in wisdom and knowledge. Thomas Merton
Leaf-bare,
swaying, slave
to the storm, I wait
for the gale
to drive me down,
dismember me
scatter my shattered limbs
across winter's ground,
while deep inside
my cambrian core
life persists!
I'll survive.
Beyond my limit
I will arise!
poem by Steven Federle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Enter the Sanctuary
To find love I must enter into the sanctuary where it is hidden, which is the mystery of God.
Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation:
Deep in the tangle of branch and leaf
I move to the core, to the dark shaft
that draws life up from the muddy ground
to blooms sprung to being
by the ascendant sun,
open, imbibing morning light
like new wine, drunk with love.
Here I seek you
in your green sanctuary,
hiding, gleeful,
anxious to be found.
poem by Steven Federle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
New Potato Caboose
Last leaf fallen bare earth where green was born,
Black madonna two eagles hang against a cloud,
Sun comes up blood red wind yells among the stone,
All graceful instruments are known.
When the windows all are broken and your loves become a toothless crone,
When the voices of the storm sound like a crowd,
Winter morning breaks, youre all alone.
The eyes are blind, blue visions, all a seer can own,
And touching makes the flesh to cry out loud
This ground on which the seed of love is sown,
All graceful instruments are known.
song performed by by Grateful Dead
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Slowly Into Winter
the leaves slowly cascade down
to the ground
as winter turns slowly to winter
the wind blows them around
untill the cold freezes them to the ground
as winter turns slowly to winter
i return each year to find my leaf lying here
each spring it renews it's promise
this year i didn't wait! after the first spring storm
from its branch it was torn, it lied to me again
so this fall, before the free winds blew
i went to my tree and picked the loveliest leaf icould find
and kept it with mine
untill winter turned slowly to spring
poem by Francis E.rudy
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Like a leaf in the wind
Her soul flutters like a leaf in the wind
Clinging on to tree of life
With nothing more than hope
Devoid of pretense
Shorn of desires
Tossed about, at the whim of a gathering storm
Dark cold has slowed the sap
But deep inside, life fights to surge through
Longing for the next sunny day
When the sap will ease through fluid pathways
Until then, her soul flutters like a leaf in the wind
On a high branch she clings alone
While the other leaves huddle
Warm in their numbers
Sheltered in low branches
Wondering how she has lasted so long
While her soul flutters like a leaf in the wind
When the storm blows harder,
She sometimes feels close to giving up
And sinking quietly to the ground below
Returning to dust, from where she arose
But something in her refuses to let go
While her soul flutters like a leaf in the wind
So come wind, come storm,
Blow as you might
She will cling on to the tree of life
This lone leaf will fight.
poem by Anita Atina
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
In the last analysis, the individual person is responsible for living his own life and for ""finding himself."" If he persists in shifting his responsibility to somebody else, he fails to find out the meaning of his own existence.
quote by Thomas Merton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
For Love Alone
Occupy my whole life with the one thought and the one desire of love, that I may love not for the sake of merit, not for the sake of perfection, not for the sake of virtue, not for the sake of sanctity but for love alone. Thomas Merton, Seeds of Contemplation.
radiant vision
brilliant interlude
raging clouds sundered,
sun-split storm;
soft rain falls
through winter-bare trees,
through fields of
feral flowers,
God's world
set afire
for love alone
poem by Steven Federle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Where The Rain Grows
(m - weikath, l - deris)
I never look higher
Than I could see
Never gave less
Than you have given me
The more you have taken
You turned into fakes
I finaly know now why for heavens sake?
Dont tell me you did not see that I cryed
Dont act so deaf and blind
Dont think that if someones made dumb to the core
He would stay like before
So I take my life
Back from where the rain grows
Die to survive
Back from where the rain grows
Now you call me liar
cause you are just the
Always have right fools mojority
I think that its someones
Start at your side
Youd all turn your back
Wont give any dime
Dont tell me you did not see that I cryed
Dont act so deaf and blind
Dont think that if someones made sad to the core
He would stay like before
So I take my life
Back from where the rain grows
Die to survive
Back from where the rain grows
From where the rain grows
I know where thr rain grows
Im back from where the rain grows
song performed by by Helloween
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Aubade: Suisun Valley
'Love is not mere emotion or sentiment. It is the lucid and ardent response of the whole man.' Thomas Merton
Waves of grey light
wash over our small valley.
Cool morning
sea-born breeze prevails
for now.
High-toned birds wait
for the golden sun to ignite
our swaying trees.
Only in the darker eves
do I hear the mourning dove's
steady moan.
In silver-blue tones,
he bids his love
awake!
poem by Steven Federle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Flower
She dreams of the country
Her eyes go far away.
She wishes for flowers
He says, perhaps in may.
The city always was gray
The reflections of his eyes.
And she knows he liked it that way
And that way he shall die, well...
Shes always known,
That there was something more.
Theres this hunger in her belly
Like an instinct it tells her that theres something more.
This living shouldnt be called living
cause its really only half a life.
Shes a flower that grows despite cement holes
And she will survive, she will survive.
Shes a rare breed with violet eyes
And leafy limbs.
In conversations she looks for cracks
To dig her roots deep in.
And her ways come up like daisies,
She pushes her head to the sun.
She says I am content here to grow
Despite the steel frost that consumes everyone.
Shes always known,
That there was something more.
Theres this hunger in her belly
Like an instinct it tells her that theres something more.
This living shouldnt be called living
cause its really only half a life.
Shes a flower that grows despite cement holes.
And she will survive, she will survive.
In the end these steel cages will consume us
And like coffins ignorance will take us in and
Fashion dont mean anything
cause fashion cannot be our friends.
And when all else fades away
And the city falls into its sleep.
Well still have flesh, blood, bones and
Our soul to deal with so we should
Dig our roots deep.
Always known,
That theres something more.
Theres this hunger in our bellies
Its like an instinct it tells us that theres something more.
This living shouldnt be called living
cause its really only half a life.
Shes a flower that grows despite cement holes.
And we will survive, we will survive, we will survive, we will
Survive.
song performed by by Jewel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Brand New Me
(Kris Bergsnes/Lee Thomas Miller)
That morning sun was burnin' in my eyes
I could see a brand new day
And all the hurt and anger weighin' on my heart
Had begun to drift away
I saw it written on a church marquee as I drove into town
Said today's a new beginning friend
And I had to laugh out loud, 'cause there's no doubt
I'm a brand new me
I've been shattered by the storm but I survived
I'm a brand new me
I found a revelation in the tears I cried
I opened up my eyes
Oh, what a change I see
I'm a brand new me
There's a warrior and a victim living deep
Inside all of us
We have to choose to fight or surrender
When the world beats us up
I know where my weakness lies,
but I know it's a fight that I can win
I may get broken trying to get up
But I can't wait to start again, I'm gonna start again
I'm a brand new me
I've been shattered by the storm but I survived
I'm a brand new me
I found a revelation in the tears I cried
I opened up my eyes
Oh, what a change I see
I'm a brand new me
Days come and go, yeah they come
and go like a road with no end
Hope fades but never dies
Just look at me catchin' my second wind
I'm a brand new me
I've been shattered by the storm but I survived
I'm a brand new me
I found a revelation in the tears I cried
I opened up my eyes
Oh, what a change I see
I'm a brand new me
I'm a brand new me
I'm a brand new me
I'm a brand new me
song performed by by John Michael Montgomery
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Trumpet
Rise up, rise up,
And, as the trumpet blowing
Chases the dreams of men,
As the dawn glowing
The stars that left unlit
The land and water,
Rise up and scatter
The dew that covers
The print of last night's lovers -
Scatter it, scatter it!
While you are listening
To the clear horn,
Forget, men, everything
On this earth newborn,
Except that it is lovelier
Than any mysteries.
Open your eyes to the air
That has washed the eyes of the stars
Through all the dewy night:
Up with the light,
To the old wars;
Arise, arise!
poem by Edward Thomas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Survival Shake
This is no story its the key of existence
A little thing you better not forget
I dont know nothing bout its a water-resistance
Why dont you use your head
And survive, survive, survive
You got to survive
Survive, survive, survive
You got to survive
So tell me darling what you wanna be
A welcome idiot in an appletree
I shake you up and I shake you down
Down to the ground
To survive, survive, survive
You got to survive
Survive, survive
All you got to do is to survive
You just got one life
All you got to do is to survive
You just got one life
So better be careful boy
Survive, survive, survive...
song performed by by Fury In The Slaughterhouse
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Love Grows Slowly
You of the winter eye
Hoar frost and crab tree
Eyelids of ice, you lie
Beside and beyond me.
Cold are the storms of you
That scatter your needings,
Deep are the wells you fill
With other men's readings.
Leaving me wait for grace
And the autumn, its crowning,
Deep in the golden leaves
Here am I, drowning.
Playing that patience, time...
That measures us only,
Whisper the one true line -
Love grows slowly.
3 June 1985
poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sonnet: On Knowledge
Knowledge is one thing priceless, people want;
Knowledge is something gained by labor long;
Knowledge is infinite; master, you-can't;
Knowledge is changeable, much like a song.
Knowledge is deeper than the oceans deep;
Knowledge is larger than the Universe;
Knowledge is barely in life, just a peep;
Knowledge if badly used becomes God's curse.
Knowledge remains undiminished, tho' you- share;
Knowledge gives man, a civilised outlook;
Knowledge if improper, you ought to pare;
Knowledge is gained from Nature and by book.
Knowledge can make a man a wiser one;
Knowledge gives Wisdom in the longer run.
poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Kick Inside Of Me
You put the storm out, thats up in my head
You put the call out
Beside of me, kick up inside of me
And you steal the world and live to survive
And shake out the ghosts and then you turn around
In spite of me, kick up inside of me
One for the first time
Two for the last time
Three for the thrill and
Four for the last time
As far as I can see, youre gonna
Move deep deeper deep inside of me
Kick away my life kick away
You put the fear in me, kick away, kick away
As far as I can see you move deep deep inside of me
Take me away, take me away, up to another day
Open up the way, lead me away in the pouring rain
In the pouring rain
You put the storm out, thats up in my head
You put the call out
Beside of me, kick up inside of me
And we steal the world and live to survive
Shake out the ghosts and turn around
In spite of me, shake up the ghosts inside of me
One for the first time, two for the last time
Three for the thrill, and four for the last time
As far as I can see, youre gonna
Move deep deeper deep inside of me
Take me away, ah ah ah until another day
Take me away, kick away
As far as I can see you put the fear inside of me
Kick away
Words & music : james kerr, charlie burchill, mel gaynor, derek forbes, michael macneil (c) emi publishing ltd reproduced without permission
song performed by by Simple Minds
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Ignorance Be Bliss
If Ignorance be Bliss
One may not seek for this
But if Intelligence is Unwise
One might not choose such prize
Without Wisdom Mercy is naught
Leaving Conscience as peril fraught
For Wisdom grows best by Mercy fed
These two in turn by Conscience are lead
When Intelligence and Wisdom don’t marry
Empathy and Love shall never nearby tarry
One schooled, in the college of living, knows
The ready distance Kindly Compassion goes
Though, by Knowledge, one may find Light
Learning does not instill an unlimited Right
To deny other humans their separate choice
If opposing ideas they do sometimes voice
For Learning would be but a hollow start
If Knowledge be lacking in having Heart
When Heart has defined its own Bliss
Intellect would ere to challenge this
Prudence, therefor, persists
That Ignorance be Bliss
poem by Mary Havran
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Winter Breeze
The winter breeze
Seems frigid to me.
As I sit in the park
All alone.
The limbs of the trees,
Don't sway or move
Along with the winter breeze...
The tire swing moves,
Occupant free...
While the leaf barren trees
Shiver in the winter breeze.
Even the most playful and darring children,
Wont be caught in the cold.
This winter breeze
Seems frigid to me....
I cant wait for spring....
poem by Ashley Wade
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Flask of Time
There is a single leaf flying
in this my autumn gloaming,
a leaf fluttering light
as if being orchestrated
by your words in flight
rushing to my inner ear;
'I have fallen in love
with another you said.'
My leaf stammered,
swaying in its downward flight
unable to remount the tree,
terrified to crash the ground
suspended forever there
as was also true of your words;
better to not reach my inner ear
better to not have my leaf touch down dead.
Between us all these years
neither war, nor peace;
we existed in the troubled middle ground
purgatoried, unsensed, fluttering, leaf bound
frozen between tree and ground.
Now you have burned our tree down-
lit the leaf and made it flame-
and pulled from under us the very ground.
No matter the dead leaves, the burning tree
no matter the absent ground
these things will
in turn return
for the seasons never-end.
Therefore, I shall take my sip of sorrow
sipped slowly from my Flask of Time
and await
the Spring.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
You Are Born
Knowledge is in need of action when you recite it from the heart,
Rote memory is required, but the limbs from the prior souls also, for you are one born.
The mothers have given birth to you, your father is godly for he is good,
Let his soul be at one with Him, the conquest of knowledge is from him though, for you are born.
The families of eternity shall bear you all along, testing your thoughts forever,
The thanks given is the superior deed, of worship, of speech, of tomorrow, for you were born.
The excellence of wisdom is so great that the Lord shall question you on wise men
And the men of wisdom reply to Him Alone, learning is on tiptoe, for it is born.
The storage of thoughts will supply good deeds enough to succeed over those in wealth,
A major event happened to be with supplication to throw, for we are all born.
Those who practice the whole number of pages need small tests,
Big examinations are like those from God, and He questions the souls of woe since we were born.
Any more thinking of the same subject needs moderate leanings, the whole of the mind
And the soul are employed, and those in illness shall never winnow since they were born.
The philosophy and scholarship best described by the discussions is little
Compared to my heart’s thought and point - to look at Hell’s volcano, ever since you were born.
poem by Naveed Akram
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Maple Leaf
I watched a maple leaf’s descent to ground.
It’s downward swaying motion, every now
And then a pirouette without a sound
Until it came to rest so gently down.
I asked myself: A life so brief and yet
So beautiful, is life to be defined
By lasting time and taken for granted?
To go around in circles disinclined
To find profundity-Sad existence!
Ah! But the leaf, its purpose foreordained:
To live a measured life, a subsistence
Profound in many ways and unrestrained.
To waste a lengthy life, so incomplete
I’d sooner live my life a maple leaf.
poem by Albert Ahearn
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!