To Live For Oneself Alone
'To live for oneself alone is to die.'
Thomas Merton, Seasons of Celebration
Stars line up
and testify
against me;
a raspy chorus of
marsh-voices
rises to decry my
bitter tears as
human lies.
I despair
in the empty
wind, as trees
whisper rumors
of my lonely end.
poem by Steven Federle
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Related quotes
Whispers of trees
Trees whisper of the coming winter
Leaves mutter among themselves
Seasons silently steal upon us…
As Falling streams from rocky shelves
Soft sibilant sighs, indistinct…incoherent
Nature’s voices, spoken through the dells
It’s the trees whisper… of the coming winter
The voices of Trolls, faeries and elves
Branches freeing…captive leaves fleeing
Limbs bleakly waving…in poignant farewell
Listen closely! …to the trees soft whisper
Of places of mystery…where legends dwell
Trees whisper the coming winter
Voices elusive…secretive as well
Hear the murmur of the wooded heart…
muted tumble of an acorn shell
Trees whisper…coming winter…
Tales that only trees can tell
poem by David Whalen
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Rumors and Lies
Rumors and Lies
Rumors and Lies
Humor no longer there
Wondering how you can bare
Going through the day like you just dont care
Rumors and Lies
Rumors and Lies
You hide in the bathroom
So no one sees you cry
Tears streaming down your face
Wondering how you got to this place...
poem by Kaleigh Greenfield
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0017 And Where The Joy
This, then, the question
for those whom it may concern –
to find a celebration in oneself
that, as outer is, so inner;
that all truth rests within oneself –
for where else can it be found?
to love oneself – for oneself must be loveable,
or none other could be loved for true;
to know all happiness to be within;
to celebrate all this; the world a constant joy;
to find this celebration in oneself.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Stars define
I recall trees foliage above
a sky was, 'n' distant stars;
the bitter wind and iron bars,
to keep us locked from love.
Lone echoes from night birds,
to cry in vastness and beset,
my pride's error - eyes wet,
hopes left out, and our words.
wishes that absconded young,
in prime times - of eighteen,
sepia tones, trees evergreen,
in foliage of dark sky among.
Abstinent solitude of then
allows love memories hereby
amidst winds that tear decry,
and crowns solitude to begin;
Stars that know only to shine
in worlds acclaim only of pain
there is no life in merit's gain
as lone stars darkness define.
poem by Giorgio Veneto
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From A Dark Room
"Our spirits were made for light, not for darkness." Thomas Merton
This dark room
comforts me.
Tender eyes
are safe here from
the hot autumn wind.
Dark tears cleanse
as I gaze out
to the shimmering street
where rises the sacred scent
of yellow flowers,
heavy
and sweet.
poem by Steven Federle
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Day After Day
She lives in a house
That reflects her state of mind,mind
Organised chaos
In this labyrinth she hides,hides
She got locked up years ago
All these voices whisper
All these voices whisper
Whisper and whisper
And day after day
Marinated in wine and tobacco
All these voices whisper
All these voices whisper and
Day after day
After day
Pink fluffy dinosaurs
Are almost back in town,town
Pulling all the strings
That will finally bring her down,down
She got locked up years ago
All these voices whisper
All these voices whisper
Whisper and whisper
And day after day
Marinated in wine and tobacco
All these voices whisper
All these voices whisper and
Day after day
After day
song performed by by Hooverphonic
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Serenade
"We are always traveling and traveling as if we did not know where we were going. " Thomas Merton
Warm wind stirring my
tallest trees. Sunset retrieves
another hot day.
Descends silken sky;
passion ignites summer's night,
stars, like wine, delight!
In cool rooms I'll wait
for you to awake. O come!
We'll begin again!
poem by Steven Federle
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Bitter Tears
In the mist
Of my endless search
The best in life
Becomes clear
The rest just begins
To fade by itself
Thats a trick I learnt
Though it took so long
Bitter tears taste so sweet
Chorus
Im seeing my way
For the first time in years
When the love around
Begins to suffer
And you cant find love
In one
In one another
Push away those bitter tears
Bitter tears
And I thought I was doing no wrong
And I thought I was doing no wrong
In the hour of your needs
Lips are trembling
Cause youre gonna be free
Realise what were doing here
The time is right to kill your fears
Bitter tears taste so sweet
Chorus
And I thought I was doing no wrong
Push away those bitter tears
Push away those bitter tears
Push away those bitter tears
Push away those bitter tears
Thats what they call doing no wrong
Thats what they call doing no wrong
Push away those bitter tears
Push away those bitter tears
Push away those bitter tears
Thats what they call doing no wrong
song performed by by INXS
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Love Lies In Ruin
love lies in ruin
love lies in ruin
love lies in ruin
love lies in ruin
leave if you want
if you can decide
leave if you believe in paradise
and stay if you must
if you'll trust my highs
stay, never leave, never go
my love lies in ruin
and better still my heart has ceased to care for anyone
you want to seize her
then tell her that you love her so
testify to all that i have ever felt for this girl
so walk on the wing
on the faith of desire
walk thru this place
as if your own
and leave as a friend
as a will that won't bend
leave as you would again
thru all the seasons
that i lived, i know i'm exiled
i testify to all that i had ever felt
as a child
my love lies in ruin
my love lies in ruin
to all i denied
i resist and i cursed
to all let me say
thank you so
for love is my way
is the path i choose
for love ever young may i feel
my love lies in ruin
my love lies in ruin
my love lies in ruin
my love lies in ruin
song performed by by Zwan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lonely am I
Lonely are the nights
Lonely are the days
Lonely am I, in so many ways
Lonely are the seasons
Lonely are the years
So lonely am I, that it brings tears.
Lonely is this place
Lonely is my life
Lonely am I, that I reach for a knife
Lonely is this court room
Lonely is my sentence
So lonely am I that I ask for repentance.
Lonely i am..
Lonely are the nights
Lonely are the days
Lonely am I, in so many ways
Lonely are the seasons
Lonely are the years
So lonely am I, that it brings tears.
Lonely is this place
Lonely is my life
Lonely am I, that I reach for a knife
Lonely is this court room
Lonely is my sentence
So lonely am I that I ask for repentance.
poem by Keyush shah
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Breathe
Twenty-seven times I paint the city in lights
Now I changed my mind
I was living fast now I'm running on empty
And I feel yeah I feel
You're gonna go, let me go
Breathe, and I breathe
It's bitter without you I can't live without you
And I'm in love with you
Stood the test of time
Though I treated you rough you were always kind
I let my head rule my heart now I'm feeling so lonely
And I feel it's the deal
You're letting me go gonna go
Breathe and I breathe
Hollow without you I can't live without you
And I'm in love with you
Breathe I believe
Empty without you I can't live without you
And I'm in love with you
Breathe, and I breathe
It's bitter without you I can't live without you
And I'm in love with you
Breathe I believe
Empty without you I can't live without you
And I'm in love with you
Breathe I believe
I can't live without you I can't live with you
And I'm in love with you
song performed by by Erasure
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hush! Hush! A LONELY RAT with a Human Hat Chokes in Silence!
Lo! A lonely flower in the garden of the east,
Look! A lonely star in the night sky of the west!
Ugh! A lonely cow faces the heat in the north,
So is a lonely boy admits his defeat in the south.
Yet we say we all belong to one race – the human race!
Hush-hush! A lonely rat with a human hat chokes in silence!
Each day someone wakes up with a frown,
To make up the loss with a groan and a drown,
For rumors keep flying like houseflies in the town,
That keeps one tormented in the hell - a mental breakdown.
Yet we say we all belong to one race – the human race!
Hush-hush! A lonely rat with a human hat chokes in silence!
One is a loner as he builds walls instead of bridges,
Others are loners – shriveled up inside the nut, no repair;
Some others are broken hearts in despair,
All the others are related yet separated by egos and ridges.
Yet we say we all belong to one race – the human race!
Hush-hush! A lonely rat with a human hat chokes in silence!
Lonesome man talks alone at night;
Lonely man walks alone in the broad daylight;
Lonely man speaks when I'm with you,
Lonely man cranks when my heart's untrue.
Yet we say we all belong to one race – the human race!
Hush-hush! A lonely rat with a human hat chokes in silence!
For a crowd is not company just appearance in the show!
And faces are but a gallery of pictures in the showcase,
Talks but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love just a show!
Separate we come, and separate we go in any case,
Yet we say we all belong to one race – the human race!
Hush-hush! A lonely rat with a human hat chokes in silence!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>
(With heart and soul dedicated to my fellow poet AMIT RAY)
poem by Harindhar Reddy
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Simplicity of being
'....it is of the very essence of Christianity to face suffering and death not because they are good, not because they have meaning, but because the resurrection of Jesus has robbed them of their meaning."
Thomas Merton
*********
The moon fades,
clouds enshroud stars
pale trees glare
ensnared by winter winds
blanching at death's edge,
and yet you whisper
gently in the rain,
promise me gifts
of disease and pain
to strip me clean
and pure again.
O, make me
your sacrament!
pure essence,
of eternal gain.
poem by Steven Federle
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Daily Life
Life must provide a space of liberty, of silence, in which possibilities are allowed to surface and new choices become manifest. Thomas Merton
What I wear is pants. What I do is live. How I pray is breathe. Thomas Merton
Waking each morning, ex-
pelled from my space,
somebody
else has taken my place!
So rising to join in the common fray
compelled through the breathless, common day;
I stop,
and I choose,
and I breathe,
and I pray.
poem by Steven Federle
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I Will Be There
(b, r & m gibb)
This is the life you saved laid out before you
Everything that I think I have been and what I am now
Nothing can change the way I feel about you
Better we go on our separate ways
Nothing is left but the endless days
Nothing to cry but your name
Dont you look back, dont say a word
I will be lonely for you, I will be standing for you
Dont you despair
I will be there for you
Farewell to you, goodbye for me
I will be waiting for you, I will be lonely for you
Dont you despair
I will be there for you
Ohh, ohh
I will be there
Ohh, ohh
I will be there
Maybe this time next year well be together
You can wipe away all of the tears, bring truth to the lies
There was a silent dream, we made a promise
Wed be there for each other forever
Borne like a ship on the oceans roar
Beating a path to your open door
Nothing will keep me away
Dont you look back, dont say a word
I will be lonely for you, I will be standing for you
Dont you despair
I will be there for you
Each night I pray, to God above
You will be waiting for me, you will be lonely for me
Dont you despair
I will be there for you
Ohh, ohh
I will be there
Ohh, ohh
I will be there
Ohh, ohh
I will be there
Ohh, ohh
I will be there
Ohh, ohh
I will be
song performed by by Bee Gees
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Different Seasons
There is a face deep in your mind
One that your heart wont leave behind
Memories are cold-empty of laughs
And all that remains are photographs
(chorus)
When shes gone there are no reasons
Natures cruel - its just different seasons
Going on and on
There is a voice deep in your soul
Telling your not to lose control
And day after day you hold back the tears
cos pain is the greatest of your fears
(chorus)
There are no reasons
Say its only different seasons
song performed by by Johnny Hates Jazz
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Howl (The Returning, Part Two)
gods hate, too damned late,
you worship what you fear!
while buddhas whisper
behind hidden doors,
and leaves fall from trees condemned!
souls traded, manipulated,
for a loaf of bread.
childrens' bodies, wrapped in money,
never make a sound.
bought votes, sacrificial goats,
toe the party line.
buildings blaze, justice burns,
the bells of liberty chime.
the human hand rises from the rubble,
grasping at poisoned air.
the tears of those long since dead,
fall like nuclear rain!
love me, hate me,
see me with your eyes.
feel me, touch me,
treat me like a man!
voices lost neath stained glass windows,
only the memory of need.
the final blow, blamed on god,
the result of human greed!
while naked bodies walk dirty streets,
their holiness defiled.
the stranger calls, the light falters,
as we trudge the final miles.
the eagle screams, hot flesh dreams,
the child raised by wolves...
the only hope, human desire,
and the will to light the torch!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Stars
Maybe Ive been the problem
Maybe Im the one to blame
But even when I turn it off and play myself
The outcome feels the same
Ive been thinking maybe Ive been partly cloudy
Maybe Im the chance of rain
And maybe Im overcast
And maybe all my lucks washed down the drain
Ive been thinking about everyone,
Everyone who looks so lonely
But when I look at the stars
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars, I see someone else
When I look at the stars
The stars, I feel like myself
Stars looking at a planet
Watching agony and pain
And maybe to start to wonder
How the chaos in our lives could
Pass as sane
Ive been thinking about the meaning of resistance
Of a road beyond our own
And suddenly the infinite and repentant
Begin to look like home
Ive been thinking about everyone
Everyone who looks so empty
But when I look at the stars
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars, I see someone else
When I look at the stars
The stars, I feel like myself.
Yeah!
The stars
Stars
Everyone, Everyone feels so lonely
Everyone, yeah everyone feels so empty
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars, I feel like myself
When I look at the stars
The stars, I see someone
song performed by by Switchfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Voice of the Stranger
God speaks, and God is to be heard, not only on Sinai, not only in my own heart, but in the voice of the stranger. Thomas Merton
Holy night,
human speech ceasing,
leaves whispering, praising
marsh-reeds swaying
in the gusty breath of God.
Throughout the hot day, lusting
tongues lashed; verbs clashed
through the busy lanes. Fear filled us
as we sought the hidden path.
Just listen
to the night-
song of dark meadows;
spring-swollen showers,
tears of passion,
engorge the sterile land.
Oh, hear the stranger sing
through these dry, city streets,
tell tales of strange
and ponderous deeds,
songs of frogs
who, once loved,
become kings!
poem by Steven Federle
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