23feb9 The Day After: Hotel Grand Chancellor
proud beacon
darkness lamp lit
night aspiring
26-story
Hotel Grand Chancellor
is listing badly
leaning tower
threatening to crush
deadfall blocks
damage is
in the ribs
in the guts
hidden in
fatal flaw
at heart
unseen in
a third of
buildings?
spectral limbs
spore carcinomas
skyward loom
cracked cancerous
maze fractured malignant
frame broken bones
beauty split spoilt
ruptured designs
ignorant built tilt
garden city rues
unknown quake fault line
leveling dreams
poem by Terence George Craddock
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
23feb Many Miracles Near Misses
many miracles
near misses
80% of city
has no water
water flooding
outside my place
stable thank God
ground shaking
'severe' in city
centre only 10
kilometres away
earthquake's epicenter
widespread reports
severe building damage
two buses crushed
by collapsing buildings
75 per cent of city
left without power
an active fault area
approximately 225
square kilometers
of fault load unloaded
'One side of the fault
moved about 1 metre
relative to the other'
last quake we
dogged the bullet
this is why
weaker is worse
last year's 7.1-magnitude
earthquake was more than
10 times stronger than 6.3
but caused no deaths
because it occurred deeper
at greater depth further
away from Christchurch
its epicentre was 40
kilometres west of city
that quake caused
widespread damage
several power outages
particularly in the city
of Christchurch but mass
fatalities were avoided
not a single soul died
because of miracle timing
4 September 2010
4: 35 am Saturday morning
the people the people
were safely sleeping
most people were off
the street few houses
are of unreinforced
construction that quake
was 10 kilometres
below ground
this quake was only
5 kilometres deep
this February earthquake
occurred during lunchtime
business rush hour traffic
in heart of work day Tuesday
not before dawn Saturday
many buildings were already
weakened from previous quakes
contrast risk minimum;
magic bullet empty
buildings; risk maximum
killing zone despair
New Zealand sits
on tectonic boundary
between Pacific plate
Australia-India plate
with 14,000 quakes a year;
Christchurch is another frontier
near to related secondary
faults; the Alpine fault
pristine Southern Alps
spine of the South Island
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Hidden
your sweetness remains hidden
through your muted silence
the warmth of your embrace
locked in the coldness of your dreams
when will ever they be
exposed with the sun?
your longing for love
remains locked
in the unknown dome
within the frozen sentiments
of your blinded eyes
unseen by the uncaring heart
of an unknown explorer
of the deep abyss
of a calous mind
what a waste of beauty and charm
only to be hidden within the praise
of someone's heart
lost in a maze of
bottled up emotions
of an uncaring soul...
EXPOSED DO NOT HIDE..HATE THAT WASTE.....
poem by Villiamor Calventas
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In The Enchanted Tower
THE waves in thunderous menace break
Upon the rocks below my tower,
And none will dare the Sea-king's power
And venture shipwreck for my sake.
Yet once,--my lamp a path of light
Across the darkling sea had cast--
I saw a sail; at last, at last,
It came towards me through the night.
My lamp had been the beacon set
To lead the ship through mist and foam,
The ship that came to take me home,
To that far land I half forget.
But since my tower is built so high,
And surf-robed rocks curl hid below,
I quenched my lamp--and, weeping low
I saw my ship go safely by!
poem by Edith Nesbit
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Where once a hillock was
Where once a hillock was
I see bulldozers, trucks
and cranes
busy digging
deeper into the earth.
Houses and tower blocks
rise where once
plants had grown green
against that kopje
and from infinity,
were undisturbed
until man’s hand
stretched out.
No one will know
how great it looked before
buildings broke the serenity
and the rich started to dwell
in houses above the cliffs
and nothing will ever mend
the damage done.
Nature is dying,
pines away and disappears
while people
are erecting buildings almost everywhere.
poem by Gert Strydom
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My Heart Cracked
you're spreadin lies all over town about the way you brushed me off and put me
down i'm her to say make no mistake my heart cracked but it did not break I
cant deny the hurt was deep the way you slammed that door and walked right out
on me but im telling you get one thing straight my heart cracked but it did not
break shatterd dreams lay every where broken promises are all we share I
finally took all I could take my heart cacked but it did not break well i was
blue but for long cause this brand new love i got has made me strong and I'm
over you and all the ache my heart cracked but it did not break shattered
dreams lay everywhere broken promises are all we share I finally took all I
could take mty heart cracked but it did not break
song performed by by Randy Travis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Mr. Mine
Notice how he has numbered the blue veins
in my breast. Moreover there are ten freckles.
Now he goes left. Now he goes right.
He is building a city, a city of flesh.
He's an industrialist. He has starved in cellars
and, ladies and gentlemen, he's been broken by iron,
by the blood, by the metal, by the triumphant
iron of his mother's death. But he begins again.
Now he constructs me. He is consumed by the city.
>From the glory of words he has built me up.
>From the wonder of concrete he has molded me.
He has given me six hundred street signs.
The time I was dancing he built a museum.
He built ten blocks when I moved on the bed.
He constructed an overpass when I left.
I gave him flowers and he built an airport.
For traffic lights he handed at red and green
lollipops. Yet in my heart I am go children slow.
poem by Anne Sexton
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Welcome To Sleazy Town
One hand on the controller
One hand on the re-wind
You can even watch it all in slow mo
cos you just sit at home all day
Now you got plenty of time
If you want some real live action
And the videos too tame
If you wanna touch some heat
But you dont know how to light that flame
If you want some satisfaction
Instead of studying the freeze frame
I used to have this spot on main street
It was bounding, it was hot
It was dark, it was dirty
But dull it was not
The joint was jumping every night
But now its just a parking lot
This city was cruel
This city was keen
This city was alive
This city was mean
Till the office blocks and parking lots
Came and closed this city down
I could stand outside
The kids hung round
And the neon sign said
Welcome to sleazy town
Welcome to sleazy town
Sleazy, sleazy town
Everybody hung loose
It was cool and easy
People used to meet and have a good time
Down in sleazy town, sleazy town, sleazy town, sleazy town
Then the corporations came along
And bought this piece of ground
The leases all went up
And so the buildings all came down
They built the motorways and shopping malls
And they killed off sleazy town
This city was cool
This city was keen
This city was alive
This city was till the office blocks and parking lots
Came and closed this city down
I could stand outside, the kids hung round
And the neon sign said
Welcome to sleazy town
Welcome to sleazy town, sleazy, sleazy town
City hall killed off that scene
Now sleazy town is just a dream
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I have a book of buildings from 25,000 BC. These are huts built out of mammoth bones. These buildings were beautifully made, from the bones of the body into shelter.
quote by Ben Nicholson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Susceptible Chancellor
The law is the true embodiment
Of everything that's excellent.
It has no kind of fault or flaw,
And I, my lords, embody the Law.
The constitutional guardian I
Of pretty young Wards in Chancery,
All very agreeable girls - and none
Is over the age of twenty-one.
A pleasant occupation for
A rather susceptible Chancellor!
But though the compliment implied
Inflates me with legitimate pride,
It nevertheless can't be denied
That it has its inconvenient side.
For I'm not so old, and not so plain,
And I'm quite prepared to marry again,
But there'd be the deuce to pay in the Lords
If I fell in love with one of my Wards:
Which rather tries my temper, for
I'm SUCH a susceptible Chancellor!
And every one who'd marry a Ward
Must come to me for my accord:
So in my court I sit all day,
Giving agreeable girls away,
With one for him - and one for he -
And one for you - and one for ye -
And one for thou - and one for thee -
But never, oh never a one for me!
Which is exasperating, for
A highly susceptible Chancellor!
poem by William Schwenck Gilbert
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Edge of a dream
Soft hum dissolves into hypnotised air;
That surrounds the sleeping angel.
Sweetened breaths travel the nasal freeway;
As the hum transforms into silent beats.
A night annouces its arrival somewhere;
As the dark is chased away by a divine lamp.
Tender steps begin an unknown journey;
Through the well lit streets of heart.
A fountain breaks free to kiss the air;
Gleaming droplets smile in unseen cradle.
New found thoughts travel up; the heart
begins to dance on rhythm of the beats.
Thoughts cascade, patches of green appear; mind travels faster than light, closed eyes visualize what life can't bestow. Cracked window frame and creaking bed await as always.
18th October 2009
poem by Nikunj Sharma
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New Zealand
An earthquake struck New Zealand's city of Christchurch on Tuesday
Burying vehicles under debris and collapsing buildings into the streets.
Police announced a curfew and city was shut down on Wednesday,
Rescuers scrambled to reach beneath the rubble the residents.
The quake devastating the spire of the Cathedraland is a real tale.
The buildings had collapsed and the people were trapped inside.
All around the city, this powerful earthquake strangely bent some rails, Moreover, it toppled the tall buildings and seventy five people died.
The earthquake combination of distance and depth was so deadly,
Streets were strewn with concrete and people were stuck in towers.
Firefighters climbed ladders to pluck people from roofs to safety.
Buildings have gone because aftershocks hit the city within two hours.
Pre-World War buildings were damaged by the quake on September,
People wandered through streets strewn with debris and concrete.
The further damage was caused by a strong aftershock in December.
Now there is a real carnage with bodies littering the streets..
The women went into premature labor and the city was in agony.
The airport was shut down, in ruins the people began to groan,
Every child has been walking home trying to find the lost family.
The city were suffering cuts to the water supply and the phone.
A thirty million tone block of ice sheared off a glacier of New Zealand
After the earthquake had devastated the city groping it into Dark.
The iceberg crashed into a lake had rocked the South Island
Ripping off the Tasman Glacier at Aoraki Mount Cook National Park.
poem by Marieta Maglas
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Darkness Of...
Darkness is not the darkness of night
it is the darkness of mind and soul.
darkness is not the darkness of night,
it is the darkness of discrimination between poor and rich.
darkness is not the darkness of night,
it is the darkness of dishonesty.
darkness is not the darkness of night,
it is the darkness of aggravate.
darkness is not the darkness of night,
it is darkness of corruption.
darkness is not the darkness of night,
it is the darkness of indiscipline.
darkness is not the darkness of night,
it is the darkness of animosity.
darkness is not the darkness of night,
it is the darkness of inveterate.
darkness is not the darkness of night,
it is the darkness of perjury.
darkness is not the darkness of night,
it is the darkness that we all brought up inside us,
so, light the lamp of light inside you...
poem by Suniya Garg
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Livin On The Fault Line
Patrick simmons
Underneath us all
Theres a world that we always forget til it moves us
Where the moon on the bay dances all alone
Ramone, he draw the razor swift, it slice the air
No more lovely dreams of those summer nights
Down in santo domingo
They laugh and play in the sleepy harbor town
So unaware of the danger thats around
Livin on the fault line
Livin on the fault line
Livin on the fault line
Livin on the fault line
No one can run when it finally comes down
Nobody knows what is stirrin underground
Caruso stumbled
While the city tumbled down
The palace was in splinters
Theodore was leaving town
song performed by by Doobie Brothers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pavements of time.
I walk this concrete jungle
On pavements, paved and cracked
So many also passed this way
leaving hidden unseen tracks
Lives untouched have crossed my path
Locked within their frame of time
Yet every action on this earth
Could affect both yours and mine
If contact made, or time delayed
May change the course of lives
Insignificant little incidents
Affecting actions uncontrived
Yet time and nature stumble on
In apparent ignorant bliss
To change the world around us
On pavements such as this.
poem by Graham Jones
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Challenge to Joy
That evening
I sat in weary happiness on the high marble steps
Of Grand Central Station, still hearing Dylan sing
Through the sweet-smelling air of the Beacon Theatre
As if the whole world's heart would be opening
As if white magic had taken hold
And for this night - or was it for two -
A remote transformation was possible
To a time of great joy, diamond-hard and true
That night
When I stood in cowhide boots, guitar in hand
Beside the slow-moving Okavango waters
The thatch-covered Bistro still echoing with songs
We sang to amuse the cattlemen's daughters
Everything seemed more spacious around
And inquisitive moonlight disclosed to me
The motions of beasts on the opposite bank
Pure in their nature, unmolested and free
That moment
When your beauty for the first time flooded my eyes
In a crowded red room at the height of a tower
Built by insurance on the Boston soils
Overlooking a wasteland of corporate power
The world seemed enlightened by your smile
Which spoke in radiance and gave no clues
To the pain weighing down upon innocent dreams
And the challenge to joy brought by childhood abuse.
Now joy surfs and glides on the waves of our lives
A singer harmonizing with a faint night breeze
A springbok tenses to leap in fright
Its joy proud and wounded, not captured with ease,
Wary of predators that haunt it always.
poem by Frank Bana
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Poem about Poetry - Did I write them?
did i write my poems?
no, not entirely
does the flower
blossom on its own?
not, not entirely
there are hands
that help each petal
tilt itself, one by one
so that the flower
inches and express
its beauty to you
beauty installed
by a set of hands
one could only describe as
the Lofty Ones
did i write my poems?
no, not entirely
there are verses
that have sprung
in the the mind like
the flower
so finely tuned each
petal has moved, so that
they are in unison with each other
so that they converge as
a beauty all done up to glorify
the unseen hands
the unseen, the unseen
that could only be
known by the heart
as every petal moves
like word to take the heart
to the height of praise
for the Lofty One
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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We Built This City
Chorus:
We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Say you dont know me or recognize my face
Say you dont care who goes to that kind of place
Knee deep in the hoopla sinking in your fight
Too many runaways eating up the night
Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, dont you remember
We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Chorus:
We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Someone always playing corporation games
Who cares theyre always changing corporation names
We just want to dance here someone stole the stage
They call us irresponsible write us off the page
Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, dont you remember
We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Its just another sunday, in a tired old street
Police have got the choke hold, oh then we just lost the beat
Who counts the money underneath the bar
Who rides the wrecking ball in two rock guitars
Dont tell us you need us, cos were the ship of fools
Looking for america, coming through your schools
(Im looking out over that golden gate bridge
Out on another gorgeous sunny saturday, not seein that bumper to bumper traffic)
Dont you remember (member)(member)
(whats your favorite radio station, in your favorite radio city
The city by the bay, the city that rocks, the city that never sleeps)
Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, dont you remember
We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll
(we built, we built this city) built this city (we built, we built this city)
(repeats out)
song performed by by Starship
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Proud Poet
Yes, he was proud... outspoken, too
And quick to give his point of view
And slow to praise what others did,
A spoilt brat, a spoilt kid...
Yes, he was proud and criticised,
All other poets were downsized,
When in full flow, declined to halt,
Yet he was honest to a fault...
Yes, he was proud, but there's no doubt
He knew what he was all about...
His books sold well, he wanted more,
He entertained, he knew the score...
Yes, he was proud, but life's a game,
To be well-known was his first aim...
That's why the papers loved him so
And quoted him when in full flow...
Yes, he was proud, a character
And like a villain, as it were...
But he stirred poets far and wide
When he hurt them, yes, deep inside...
So let's not judge him at his worst
And pray to God that he be cursed,
For he provoked the better part
In service to this thing called art...
Denis Martindale, copyright, January 2012.
poem by Denis Martindale
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Banda Aceh 2012 Spectral Earthquake Haunts
Banda Aceh Indonesia
massive 8.6-magnitude
earthquake 2012 April 11
caused no reports of casualties
no damage significant
from initial nightmare quake
from 8.2 strong aftershock
nearly three hours later
which sparked new waves
of panic triggered renewed
tsunami fears across Indian
Ocean sending scared people
in coastal cities fright fleeing
to sanctuary high ground
spectral quake struck about
434 kilometers (270 miles)
southwest of Banda Aceh
capital of Indonesia's Aceh
province at sea deep depth
of 23 kilometers (14 miles)
spectral fear tsunami repeat
Indonesia's government
responded by issuing
new tsunami warning
Banda Aceh was devastated
by tsunami earthquake
in 2004 which prelude shook
buildings for several minutes
people poured into streets
Aceh residents fled their homes
people were crying panicking
nightmare 2004 tsunami reliving
which caused giant 9.1-magnitude
earthquake wave killed an estimated
275,950 people in a dozen countries
poem by Terence George Craddock
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The Dark Night
There is darkness everywhere,
the night is darker than black,
strange shadows loom on the wall,
as light flickers and flutters
on the oil lamp
The merciless wind is blowing hard,
harder than ever it was,
sharp like a sword,
piercing and reaming my raw wounds,
the flame on the lamp flutters violently
and then is blown off.
The wind smiles and then suddenly it is gone.
I light my lamp again.
poem by Dr Madhavi Grace
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