Mission Statement
When I die I promise to haunt
all my surviving enemies,
may they be few if any at that point,
because I hope to outlive them all.
But if any of them are left
I'll keep them awake at night with weird noises.
I'll whisper words in their ears while they sleep
to encourage feelings of low self-esteem when they awake.
Actually, I'll never let them sleep.
I'll kick them out of bed
just as they're falling
into deep slumber.
Or maybe I'll just let them be.
Enemies are such a responsibility,
and eat up so much time.
Perhaps I'll just travel,
which I didn't really enjoy
much while alive. I'll travel,
eat fish, listen to rap music
and bluegrass, read a lot
of trade association magazines,
have numerous root canals,
and settle down somewhere in Ohio.
[from The Drift of Things, The Figures Press, 2001]
http://www.terencewinch.com
poem by Terence Winch
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Sleep Waltz
for MCW
Get old enough so you won't have much to fear.
By then, the music plays inside your head
and everything beautiful must be learned by ear.
In the bathroom mirror I behold my wear and tear.
In our bedroom I try to levitate in bed.
Get old enough so you won't have much to fear.
Meanwhile, my son at six wants to keep me near
and we sing together every night head to head.
So everything beautiful must be learned by ear.
His father's tunes, though, will one day disappear
beyond today's routines and daily bread.
But get old enough so you won't have much to fear.
Remembering my mother was my first career
and the songs surrounding her on which I fed,
knowing everything beautiful must be learned by ear.
We may waltz in the kitchen now, my dear,
or dance out of time in our sleep instead.
Get old enough so you have nothing left to fear.
Everything beautiful must be learned by ear.
[from The Drift of Things, The Figures Press, 2001]
http://www.terencewinch.com
poem by Terence Winch
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Non-Possession is One-Tenth of the Law
Do not travel over vast distances.
Stay home and contemplate your neighbor,
the old woman who roams up and down the street.
She can never remember who you are
or who she is, for that matter.
This way, you will protect
your precarious sense of self.
Ruin your appetite before dinner.
This will ensure that you'll never feel hunger.
Play the same tune over and over,
driving everyone else crazy.
This protects you from unpredictability.
Find large articles of clothing
and wrap them around the trees,
so you will be as one with nature.
Fill your shoes with rocks
to ensure a suitable measure of gravitas.
Hide precious items from yourself,
then forget where you have hidden them.
This will promote non-attachment to things.
Make yourself dizzy by spinning around
so that the world will seem more steady.
Put all of your chairs in one room.
Sleep standing up. Move the refrigerator
into the bedroom and at night read
by its light. Rub with things,
not against them. Use pain to distract
a sore spirit. You will then be dreamier,
full of strength, able to bark at stars.
[from The Drift of Things, The Figures Press, 2001]
http://www.terencewinch.com
poem by Terence Winch
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Shattered, Without Sleep
When you feel shattered, without sleep,
the time left for recuperating
depends if company you keep
keeps you awake while you are mating,
for if while mating you are wide
awake, forbidding sleep to shatter
love-making, being bleary-eyed
when you are not is no great matter.
When you feel shattered, without sleep
because your dreams kept you awake,
perhaps change the company you keep,
for it may be your big mistake,
not waking you before you dream,
to make sure that your sleep is deep
once you’ve regained your self-esteem,
not wasting time by counting sheep.
6/2/08
poem by Gershon Hepner
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On The Dream Board
On the Dream board,
How does it feel like?
Do you really sleep?
And see a moving film.
Or you are wide awake,
Thinking of the alternatives,
And the varying promise.
For a problem that has had,
Beseeched you for long enough,
Be solved for once and all.
There is something, somewhere.
That calls, and wakes me up.
From sleep, deep sleep, in fact.
Always and often it has,
Happened, but I hardly know,
What it has been so?
Curious and imperious.
A faint image of the thing,
That I left somewhere,
Sometime back knowingly,
Well it implored completion,
At some later arena.
When did I see that picture?
Alas! I do not remember.
But, this is something
That has kept me awake.
Day after day, that passed,
Night after night, that quizzed.
Several years have conceded and,
Many more will, in course.
I will remain awake,
To seek out The VERITAS.
May be, I just think,
It could well be my
Most challenging Dream.
poem by Sanjeev Kumar
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Autopilot
I can sleep, but I won't rest
I'll try to rest, but I'll only sleep
My dreams were once my escape
My nights held my happy days
Awake, I was depresed
Alseep, I had energy
I'd cry myself to sleep
Then I'd cry no more
Spreading my wings
I'd laugh under night's sun
Flying around the world
I'd make a hundred friends
Throwing fire and ice
I'd defeat all my enemies
Then I would wake up
And happiness fled
Walking through autopilot
In a world that wasn't real
Looking but never seeing
I'd cry under day's moon
Existing but never living
I'd avoid everyone
Closing my eyes
I'd hide from any enemies
I once rested
In the chaos of my dreams
The loud sleeping happiness
Was better than the quiet waking sadness
But things have changed
In a moment, a lifetime
Awake, I am content
Asleep, I am upset
If I sleep, I dream
When I dream, I fear
Running in terror
Crying in death
I see faces unkown
And know pain unfelt
I once looked for sleep to find rest
Now I avoid sleep so not to lose rest
My heaven became my hell
My hallucination became my shelter
I do not sleep, I do not rest
Tired, but I am happy
A new kind of autopilot
Which existance is worse?
Awake, I fear sleep coming
Asleep, I cannot wake
Never resting, only existing
Life on autopilot
poem by Juvela Obi
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~Insomnia~
No sight
Insomnia
I dream
I'm awake
I sleep
Mingle between both
Insomnia
Blurry
Fuzzy
Awake all night
I'm not alone
Insomnia
No sleep
I'm tired
Dusk is death
Dawn is suicide
Insomnia
Less sleep
I'm awake more
Time slips
Lake of sleep
Insomnia
Rain of dreams
Lucid yet unclear
I reach
Grasp nothing
Insomnia
Awake
Asleep
Both
Same time
Insomnia
poem by Andrew John Morra
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Diagnosis
for David Lehman
I woke up this morning feeling
incredibly Gorky. So I made an appointment
to see my Doctorow. He said my Hemingways
looked a little swollen and sent me to
get an M.R. James and a complete Shakespeare.
By that time, I began feeling a slight Trilling
in my Dickinsons and some minor Kipling
in my left Auden. The entire experience
was extremely Dickey.
I was referred to an H.D., who asked
about my cummings. She detected traces
of Plath in my Sextons and suggested
I might also have some Updike
trapped in my Yeatsian system.
She recommended that to keep Orwell
and prevent inflammation to my Balzac,
I elevate my Flaubert once a day.
[from The Drift of Things, The Figures Press, 2001]
http://www.terencewinch.com
poem by Terence Winch
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Settle Down My Boy
Settle down, an eat your peas and gravy, my boy
Settle down, settle down my boy settle down
Stop wasting all your time with running around the town
Settle down, settle down my boy settle down
Knuckle down and find a job and take some responsibility
Settle down, settle down my boy settle down
The futures something you should be thinking about
Settle down, settle down my boy settle down
Look around for a wife to start a family, my boy
Settle down, settle down my boy settle down
Listen toy our father and hell tell you the same as me
Settle down, settle down my boy settle down
Your words would go in one ear and out the other side
Dont say my head was empty and I had things to hide
And you better put something away for your old age
So settle down, settle down my boy settle down
Settle down, settle down my boy settle down uh huh huh
song performed by by Men At Work
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Let The Night Sleep
Let the night sleep
Sleep for ever deep
With the night I sleep
Beyond the world to peep
Universe will sleep
Plants and trees
Birds and bees
Stars and moon
To sleep very soon!
Fruits and flowers
Joy with showers
Will sleep with me and the night
Not to keep the life very tight!
No dawn of the day
Right upto the dooms day!
Sleep permanent
In the world impermanent
I'll sleep without light
My agonies will sleep
My worries will sleep
My pains will sleep
My sins will sleep!
While in sleep
I am pure
I am peace
I am noble!
While my body is asleep
Awake my soul I keep
Sleep akin to death
Death akin to sleep in mirth?
Let the night sleep
Sleep for ever deep
With night I sleep
Sleep to eternity
Soul to merge in Divinity!
poem by Subbaraman N V
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Sleeper
Sleep that half dead,
sleep the body not the head.
Sleep that bad said,
Poor owns that bed,
Dreams are found on that herd.
Sleep while awake,
Sleep that dead not closed eye fake.
Sleep that weak,
Tommorow u gona take.
Eat that sleep and enjoy its steak.
Sleep still stands,
None to overtake.
Sleep that height dare for cake.
Sleep that stress and have the bless,
Sleep to confess as she do to embrance,
Sleep for paid cash as he do to love false.
Sleep that sleep as no one sleep ever deep.
Sleep that better as no other sleeper.
Wear that sweater as did Brother Peter,
Sleep that firm to dream that greater,
Sleep not slopy arrise all the weaker.
poem by Abdallah Mpogole
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Marvellous Travel
I travel with my eyes,
Watching those silently cry,
Asking themselves the question why,
Someone left them without saying goodbye;
I travel with my thoughts,
I travel with my pen;
To write about children, women and men;
I travel with my voice,
I travel with my hope,
That something new, would spring into my horoscope,
Whether in Asia, America or Europe,
There'll always be something interesting to scope;
I travel to many different places,
Mix with many races,
Identify tribesmen by their faces,
And little girls by their laces,
I travel without money,
So, please listen to my testimony,
The good, the bad and even the ugly,
Every experience is worth life's journey,
For I'll always be marvelled,
When ever I travel.
poem by Joshua Fernandez
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The Travelerz
I travel with my eyes,
Watching those silently cry,
Asking themselves the question
why,
Someone left them without
saying goodbye;
I travel with my thoughts,
I travel with my pen;
To write about children, women
and men;
I travel with my voice,
I travel with my hope,
That something new, would
spring into my horoscope,
Whether in Asia, America or
Europe,
There'll always be something
interesting to scope;
I travel to many different places,
Mix with many races,
Identify tribesmen by their faces,
And little girls by their laces,
I travel without money,
So, please listen to my testimony,
The good, the bad and even the
ugly,
Every experience is worth life's
journey,
For I'll always be marvelled,
When ever I travel.
poem by Akingbehin Daniel Murphy
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Monster Presiding Dreams, Not My Wake. There I Drove Him With A Stake
I lay there wrapped
in very bushy arms
Whispers ‘sleep now
I am here’
With the warmth
washing of this love,
I drift to a place
that is unknown
I see at play our children
Flowers fit for
a wedding day
perhaps I am skinny
having wine with a friend
flying a magic carpet
or riding an elephant
Sleep should be
a place of contentment
The mind at rest
body free and light
spirit drifts to where
all is good and right
In a flash that face
could appear
The one that harms
causes terror
That it that deserves
no mention
The one that my
tension originated
with the vileness
of his being
In those moments
did so maltreat
I may wake from
dead sleep on my feet
Took what to only
belonged to me
my blissful slumber
now without sweet dreams
song of my heart in twain
never to be joined
My heart hostage
and injuriously awake
Peaceful eyes waiting
to soon be as afore
Broken, wondering if
I will achieve sleep
the way others win awards
If in my sleep
that piece of dung
appears
slumber is deferred
to my fears
In that flash
I feel a racing heart,
viscous breath,
shuddering body
stiffens me wide-awake.
I touch the headboard,
the wall,
my pillow
to feel where I am.
I say “I am in my house,
he is not in my bed,
he has never been here.
I am safe and
without dread”
It is then I realize
the wrapping arms
of the most lovely man
are ever there
I settle consciously
to be calm
without dread
left to reconcile
how long- a season,
how many moons
will slumber
escape my being
For as I wake
the monster
does not preside
In His Dark heart
I drove a stake
With daylight
I push it aside
Though sleep
will come
that very
next night! ?
I would like
to slumber
simple sleep
without dreams
or of beauty, lifes frills
To be as I was before
Happy to sleep
with each moon
Peaceful heart
without disparity
I wish sleep
to meet me
with pleasured dreams
poem by Sandra Dodd
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The Dreams
Spare a little candle
Save some light for me
Figures up ahead
Moving in the trees
White skin in linen
Perfume on my wrist
And the full moon that hangs over
These dreams in the mist
Darkness on the edge
Shadows where I stand
I search for the time
On a watch with no hands
I want to see you clearly
Come closer than this
But all I remember
Are the dreams in the mist
These dreams go on when I close my eyes
Every second of the night I live another life
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away
Is it cloak n dagger
Could it be spring or fall
I walk without a cut
Through a stained glass wall
Weaker in my eyesight
The candle in my grip
And words that have no form
Are falling from my lips
These dreams go on when I close my eyes
Every second of the night I live another life
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away
There's something out there
I can't resist
I need to hide away from the pain
There's something out there
I can't resist
The sweetest song is silence
That I've ever heard
Funny how your feet
In dreams never touch the earth
In a wood full of princes
Freedom is a kiss
But the prince hides his face
From dreams in the mist
These dreams go on when I close my eyes
Every second of the night I live another life
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away
These dreams go on when I close my eyes
Every second of the night I live another life
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away
song performed by by Heart
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Social Security
No one is safe. The streets are unsafe.
even in the safety zones, it's not safe.
Even safe sex is not safe.
Even things you lock in a safe
are not safe. Never deposit anything
in a safety deposit box, because it
won't be safe there. Nobody is safe
at home during baseball games anymore.
At night I go around in the dark
locking everything, returning
a few minutes later
to make sure I locked
everything. It's not safe here.
It's not safe and they know it.
People get hurt using safety pins.
It was not always this way.
Long ago, everyone felt safe. Aristotle
never felt danger. Herodotus felt danger
only when Xerxes was around. Young women
were afraid of wingéd dragons, but felt
relaxed otherwise. Timotheus, however,
was terrified of storms until he played
one on the flute. After that, everyone
was more afraid of him than of the violent
west wind, which was fine with Timotheus.
Euclid, full of music himself, believed only
that there was safety in numbers.
[from The Drift of Things, The Figures Press, 2001]
http://www.terencewinch.com
poem by Terence Winch
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Asleep
Wait a minute.
Can't you see what this pain has done to me
I'm alive but I'm slippin'.
What you see I cannot see and maybe you'll think before you speak
I'm alive for you.
I'm awake because of you
I'm alive told you.
I'm awake swallowing you
Take a second.
Turn your back on me and make believe
It's safe to say you're never alive.
A big part of you has died and by the way, I hope you're satisfied
I'm alive for you.
I'm awake because of you
I'm alive told you.
I'm awake swallowing you
I'm alive for you.
I'm awake because of you
I'm alive told you.
I'm awake swallowing you
song performed by by Godsmack
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Im Awake Now
Ive been where the river ran
Im drownin in a sunless sea
Sleep has helped me find my end
You promised me youd set me free
Dont fall asleep to dream
A banshees at my window pane
Theres an angel at my feet
Dont fall asleep to dream
Im awake now
(you cant touch me, I wont sleep no more)
Awake now
In the corner of my mind
Where he sits and waits for me
Theres a wall of confusion building
And the sky begins to bleed on me
Dont fall asleep to dream
Im looking for a way out now
Peace of mind is all I need
Dont fall asleep to dream
Im awake now
(you cant touch me, I wont sleep no more)
Awake now
(you cant touch me, I wont sleep no more)
Awake now
(you cant touch me, I wont sleep no more)
Awake now
Awake now
Awake now
Awake now
Awake now
song performed by by Goo Goo Dolls
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Maria's Lullaby
An extract from a poem written for my grandchildren to Brahms Lullaby
Sleep; little mice sleep
Mother will watch over you
Shut your eyes and don't peek
Tomorrow the skies will be blue
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
No harm will come whilst I am here
The sun has gone down by the peak
When the day dawns it will appear
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
Your father is watching the house
That no owl or cat dares to seek
Harm to creatures or mouse
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
Tomorrow you run and play
Now is not time to speak
When you awake a new day
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
Rest now for your own sake
Shut your eyes now be asleep
I will be here when you awake
Sleep; little mice sleep.
poem by Thomas Golding
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I Cant Sleep
(kathy louvin/mark collie)
I cant sleep
For dreaming about you
When youre gone
Theres nothing I can do
But lie awake alone
And dream the whole night through
I cant sleep
For dreaming about you
I close my weary eyes
And see your face
I hold my pillow tight
And dream of your embrace
I know that I could use the rest
But my lonely heart cries out for your caress
I cant sleep
For dreaming about you
When youre gone
Theres nothing I can do
But lie awake alone
And dream the whole night through
I cant sleep
For dreaming about you
They say that absence makes a love grow stronger
But I dont believe my empty arms can hold out any longer
I cant sleep
For dreaming about you
When youre gone
Theres nothing I can do
But lie awake alone
And dream the whole night through
I cant sleep
For dreaming about you
I cant sleep
For dreaming about you
song performed by by Martina Mcbride
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Cosmopolitan
Im okay, youre okay
Why remember when it wasnt this way
See my home, see my car
And the beach always used to seem so far
And no one touches me
Unless its the way I want it to be
I know I read the right magazines
Im cosmopolitan
And I dont look back
Im alright, sleep at night
Used to lie awake listening to cats fight
See my hair, see my shoes
And I used to be scared of the dark too
And no one touches me
Unless its the way I want it to be
I know I read the right magazines
Im cosmopolitan
And I dont look back
Cosmopolitan
And no one touches me
Unless its the way I want it to be
I know I read the right magazines
Im cosmopolitan
And I dont look back
song performed by by Joe Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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