His Silence
Granddad carried his silence
Like a cloak. His chair by the fireplace
Held his shadows, dark images
Of trenches, friends blown apart,
Decapitated, armless, legless,
Crowded around him as he sat
And stared. Some days in his garden
With you by his side, his comrades
Hid beyond the sun’s rays,
The cloud’s motion, the birdsong,
He’d speak in slow monosyllables
Of flower’s growth or colour or scent
Not caring at that moment why the guns
Were silent or where his friends all went.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In The Flower Garden
In the flower garden
The flowers are pink and white
The sky is blue
And it drags along the clouds of white
Friends of mine are waiting for me
Friends of mine are waiting to give me information
and advice
After receiving careful words from my friends
I continue on my way through the flower garden
In the flower garden
I spy my animal friends
A lizard and a bee
Both willing to help me
Either by running along the ground
Flying in the air
Or climbing a tree
Both are willing to help me get to safety
Both are willing to help me to survive
With all the obstacles, snakes, and evil seeds
around
After besting all the enemies
My animal friends and I reach the end of the
flower garden
They've done their job
And for that I'm grateful
I wish my animal friends well
Offering them a warm goodbye
As they make their way back to the flower garden
And leave me to continue on my adventure
poem by Justin Gildow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Parting
O tell me, friends, while yet we part,
And heart can yet be heard of heart,
O tell me then, for what is it
Our early plan of life we quit;
From all our old intentions range,
And why does all so wholly change?
O tell me, friends, while yet we part!
O tell me, friends, while yet we part,
The rays that from the centre start
Within the orb of one warm sun,
Unless I err, have once begun,
Why is it thus they still diverge?
And whither tends the course they urge?
O tell me, friends, while yet we part!
O tell me, friends, while yet ye hear,
May it not be, some coming year,
These ancient paths that here divide
Shall yet again run side by side,
And you from there, and I from here,
All on a sudden reappear?
O tell me, friends, while yet ye hear!
O tell me, friends, ye hardly hear,
And if indeed ye did, I fear
Ye would not say, ye would not speak,
Are you so strong, am I so weak,
And yet, how much so e’er I yearn,
Can I not follow, nor you turn?
O tell me, friends, ye hardly hear!
O tell me, friends, ere words are o’er,
There’s something in me sad and sore
Repines, and underneath my eyes
I feel a somewhat that would rise,
O tell me, O my friends, and you,
Do you feel nothing like it too?
O tell me, friends, ere words are o’er!
O tell me, friends that are no more,
Do you, too, think ere it is o’er
Old times shall yet come round as erst,
And we be friends, as we were first?
Or do you judge that all is vain,
Except that rule that none complain?
O tell me, friends that are no more!
poem by Arthur Hugh Clough
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Granddad's Candy
Granddad offered candy
from a white paper bag
and you slowly took one
and put in your mouth
and the strong peppermint flavour
exploded on your tongue
as Granddad closed his eyes
and sank back
into his chair by the fire
and he said
if you go outside
to the john
be careful of the mutt
who sleeps there
and the spiders
which hang around
waiting for little boys
and look out
for the fairies
at the bottom of the garden
hidden amongst weeds
and you nodded
as you always did
and tried to swallow the candy
as fast as you could
and Granddad said
look over by the side
and pass me
the cigarettes and lighter
and don’t let
your grandmother see
or she’ll moan about me
and my breathing
and my heart
and you looked over the side
and picked up
his cigarettes and lighter
and brought them to him
and Gran said
from the kitchen
he’s not smoking
those cigarettes again is he?
And you said
looking at Granddad
hiding them behind his back
no Gran he’s just sucking
on a candy and he’s given me
one to suck and one to keep
and Granddad had his eyes
closed still
pretending to be asleep.
poem by Terry Collett
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Alone
Sit in a chair
alone
People I thought were
friends
sit together but away from me.
Alone
I sit, wishing my
friends
would sit by me.
Alone
I get the urge to cry, for
friends
who don’t speak to strangers.
Alone
I sit, looking at the clock, seeing
friends
consider me as nothing.
Sit in a chair
alone
People I thought were
friends
sit together, but away from me.
poem by Deana Rode
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Sun Rays (A Lyric)
The sun rays in your eye,
The love you’re giving that I have found;
Like sun that shines though the sky,
Each love must be worth and sound.
The sun that shines each day,
The love you gave from your heart;
What matter what we do or say,
Never let it depart.
Each heart is broken only once
And never grows from sorrow,
Let there never be no bygones
Not today nor tomorrow.
Sun rays oh sun rays
Never hide behind a cloud,
Sun rays all my days
That's what love's all about;
Give me no raining shower thought,
Nor glimpse of shadows I've caught.
On each star brightening night
When only flickering light is around,
I wish you'd hold me so tight
My fright could surely be drowned;
The sun rays the feeling of touch
Each love is not made of stone,
You know I love you so much
Oh never let me be here alone.
Each heart is broken only once
And never grows from sorrow,
Let there never be no bygones
Not today nor tomorrow.
Sun rays oh sun rays
Never hide behind a cloud,
Sun rays all my days
That's what love's all about;
Give me no raining shower thought,
Nor glimpse of shadows I've caught.
Sun rays oh sun rays
There are many turning ways,
Let’s give future to all
Before it returns to the haze;
Give me no answer: perhaps or not,
Tomorrow you may have forgot.
Sun rays oh sun rays
Sun brightening rays oh sun rays.
Sun rays oh sun rays
Never hide behind a cloud,
Sun rays all my days
That's what love's all about;
Give me no raining shower thought,
Nor glimpse of shadows I've caught.
Sun rays oh sun rays
Never hide behind a cloud,
Sun rays...
poem by Peter S. Quinn
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Planted A Flower
I planted me a flower
Though my friends say a weed
In my garden from a forgotten seed.
So I planted it deep
And around it I hoed
So someday my flower would grow.
But my flower never came
From the sunshine or the rain
That GOD placed above its head.
And so my friends would just laugh
Every time that they would pass
My garden, my plant and I.
Gardeners were them all
As though they have been called
To bring beauty upon our sight.
And a gardener wasn't I
Just a poet in disguise
And for that reason I sat and cried.
More care to my plant I gave
And more affection to it I showed.
While praying one day my flower would grow.
And my friends would just laugh at me
When they saw me on my knees
And to my flower when they heard me speak.
To ignorance they did blame
Its a weed they would exclaim
Then they would walk away.
For a madman I must be
Trying to create a flower out of a weed
Then I would bow my head to weep.
And every night that I went to bed
I dreamt of a rainbow in my head
Which was my flower I planted with my own hands.
And every morning when I awoke
I ran to my garden, but I was torn
For my flower was still unborn.
And I could hear my friends laugh at me
Hidden behind an old oak tree
And I could see them shake their heads and walk away.
But then came one magic morning
When in my head my dreams were forming
While in my garden, my dream, had awoke.
I awoke, to gasps and jeers
I arose, to shouts and cheers
Then in my garden, I walked in bitterness and fear.
Then I saw a rainbow with a halo
I saw my friends with a child's glow
And then I heard the wind, as she softly spoke to me.
You had faith in a weed,
A weed, had faith in you.
And nature, had faith in you two.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
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The Heaven Door
silent public road
shimmer of public road lamp
as flower in garden
flower in my love garden
following dark side becoming shadow
life which sometimes leap the exhilaration
but on the other side dwindle
in silent corner
without meaning
only suffer the eye
for a while future still mist
by smoke incense
the incense and supertitous formula
what cannot reach
the heaven door
poem by Prasetya Utama
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Cloud Formations and Jane..
I like cloud formations
Jane said
laying on her back
in the small church yard
looking up at the sky
above her head
it's like a form of art
you said
grey and white
against a canvas of blue
that looks like a man's head
Jane said
the way it forms
and unforms
you followed
the pointing
of her finger at the sky
that looks like a dog
over there
you said
she looked
and then gazed at you
her blue eyes
catching the sun's light
through a tree above
I like these moments alone
with you
she said
no one near us
no disturbance
no sounds save for birdsong
and the buzz of bees
you moved closer to her
and lay with you right hand
supporting your head
searching her eyes
her dark hair
about her face
daddy said
that Heaven is above us
and looking
at the cloud formations
I feel I see it
especially when the sun
shines through
she said
her lips moving
with slow motion
I think that sometimes
you said
she leaned nearer to you
and kissed your lips
then lay back
and stared at the clouds
and sky
and you lay back too
thinking inwardly
this is where
I'd like to lie
the day I die.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Slow Motion Hell (Life Poem)
The week was spinning at 1000mph
I was sitting at a bar with friends
Very slowly I reached for my drink
And drank savouring the moment
Feeling every second in 3D sharp
Living in the moment, in control
My friends noticed my escape,
Expressed concern that I was
Having a stroke, so be warned,
Living life in slow motion might
Lead men in white coats to your
Door, your new heaven, may
Become an unintended hell.
poem by Ian Beckett
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Thunderbox
In Granddad’s garden there still stands
a thunder box. A monument
built lovingly by Granddads hands,
intended to be permanent,
But fashions change and indoor loos
took the place of earth closets
So now it has a different use
but he can cope with life’s upsets.
It houses now his garden tools
Green painted and in good repair
Granddad has little time for fools.
Who cannot change and will not dare.
But Granddad can and Granddad will
accept the world cannot stand still.
21/07/2007
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Your Silence
I have spoken long enough
I have spoken well enough
Now let me be silent
And see how Silence speaks
Hear the words unspoken
For you could never speak
And whenever I asked you
All I could ever hear, was:
Your Silence…
Yes, that very Silence of yours
Which sucked all my life out
making me feel miserable
day in and day out
Still I kept holding on,
hoping on and hanging on…
If you could ever speak
Yet you never spoke up
Instead, offered me a challenge
A challenge to a broken heart?
A challenge to a defeated soul?
Oh! How Ruthless you could be…
And still you ever want me
To keep hearing your silence
And make some meaning of it all
I told you long before
Silence never works for me
I am a woman of words…
It might work well for you
So be it, my love…
If that is what you call ‘friendship’
Let you be silent
And me be too
And we can still remain ‘friends’
For if you speak
And I speak too
Who knows, One day
We might become foes…
And I would rather die
A Friend of yours
Than choose to be a Foe.
poem by Aparna Chatterjee
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Carried Water
I have carried water in buckets for many,
a bucket that leaked.
I have caught tears
before they fell to dead ground.
I've held hands,
cut my own hand reaching out;
felled those who would harm
and saved many who knew nothing of me;
helped the foolish,
shielded the innocents
and never gave on that it was me,
or even that I cared.
There are, too,
a few I have buried
in the dark ground
turned away and carried on-
because of the needs of living-
who all looked at me-
soon as the first dirt fell
on the casket lid.
I may never die,
that would be letting too many others down;
and I couldn't do that.
My silent face
does not reveal all this
and this is as it should be
I can't step up to demand credit.
That is not like me.
And now I stand at store counters
count my change and my memories
knowing full well that while some know
most don't and never will
nor could they
understand the silent gnawing sacrifice
that much of life
is for many of us:
wives, husbands, grandfathers and grand mothers
yellow photos on the fireplace mantel
yester years' phantoms
who built the very ground the young ones walk on
and yet they don't know.
And I am not the one to tell
because all my auidences,
the ones who might appreciate,
have all gone.
So lonely is the peaceful silence I allow my self
knowing that gratitude in the later years
means you had to have been there
and most now were not there
so it is unreasonable to expect they'd understand
those long agos
when I was young
and, of course, knew everything.
To them I sit in the rocking chair
a fixture on the porch
symbol of a long ago
still here
but soon to be gone.
But no, that is not the way it really is.
I am their own yesterday
which I spent
making sure
they would have a tomorrow
and a silent witness to their Now
which even if unacknowledged
makes me proud.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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Friends
Friends are those who never
run away when times start getting tough.
They remain constantly at your side,
holding your hand
until the danger has long passed.
They never look the other way
when you need them most of all,
but remain always at your side
caring and sharing their all.
Friends like these are treasures
worth more than money can afford,
for there is no price you can put
on friends like these.
They come along
when you need them most
and remain with you forever more.
poem by David Harris
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All Of My Friends Were There
My big day, it was the biggest day of my life.
It was the summit of my long career,
But I felt so down, and I drank too much beer,
And my manager said that I should not appear.
I walked out onto the stage and started to speak.
The first night Ive missed for a couple of years,
I explained to the crowed and they started to jeer,
And just when I wanted no one to be there,
All of my friends were there.
Not just my friends, but their best friends too.
All of my friends were there to stand and stare,
Say what they may, all of their friends need not stay.
Those who laughed were not friends anyway.
All of my friends were there to stand and stare.
Days went by, I walked around dressed in a disguise.
I wore a mustache and I parted my hair,
And gave the impression that I did not care,
But oh, the embarrassment, oh, the dispair.
Came the day, helped with a few last glasses of gin,
I nervously mounted the stage once again,
Got through my performance and no one complained,
Thank God I can go back to normal again.
I went to that old cafe,
Where I had been in much happier days,
And all of my friends were there,
And no one cared.
Say what they may, all of my friends were there.
Not just my friends, but their best friends too.
All of my friends were there,
Now I dont care.
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Chemistry
I am aware of your arrival
Swallowing your presence from across the room
The black shirt against your tan
Your eyes searching, then stopping, resting, smiling
As in slow motion you walk towards me
Your jeans brushing lightly against your thighs
I know of the birth mark on your hip
Remembering pearls of sweat on your chest
My nostrils flare
The scent of you embossed in my memory
I'm drowning in the blue of your slightly closed eyes
I hear you sharply inhaling just for a second
Your hand on my hips claiming my body
Your cheek against mine, still for a moment
You speak 'Hi Love'
Your voice is trapped in my stomach
Held hostage in my heart
Ever so subtle I feel a time bomb
Starting the count down
Within my being
You smell of earth, soap, love, desire and rain
Face to face, the scent of us changes
Our breathing
Later - after conversing with friends
You're walking behind me
Aware of our departure
A brief stop at the elevator
The black shirt, black buttons on your chest
Your hands claiming my back
The ride home in silence but smiling
You - controlling the vibrations of the engine
Gently with all forces possible
Taking us home
Now pained by the agony of our physical separation
We are finally alone
We meet with intention
And become one as never been apart
© 2011
poem by Kristina Louisa Carr
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Our Absent Friends
We often speak about
the fun we used to have
whenever we retrace our memories,
remembering our absent friends.
We remember our growing years,
the smiles on our faces
and the funny things we did
with our absent friends.
As the years roll on their way
and age creeps up on us
we sometimes like to reflect
on our long gone absent friends.
The flower of youth has withered,
but the flower never died.
It is still locked in our memory
when we remember our absent friends.
1 July 2012
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Wouldn't You Like To Ride
[Intro (Kanye West)]
You like to ride... (uh)
(So "why don't) you and your friends (get with) me and my friends"
"(My friends) my friends, my friends, my friends"
Would you like to ride?
(I don't know what happened, it's just like, heh)
"So why don't you and your friends get with me and my friends"
"My friends, my friends, my friends, my friends"
[Kanye West]
I had that little ass Nissan at your crib showin' up
Liquor store out of Arbor Mist, we Irish Rosed it up
Then we rolled to the movies, you rocked your fake Chloes
You had Gap and Gucci, that's still two G's
But that's that last year purse like it's still too cheap
Ooh you so boozy boo you could of fooled me
Cuz five years ago you was so Fugees
Now you don't want nothin' unless it cost a few G's
You like the light-skinned Ania, the dark-skinned Aaliyah
The black Jennifer Lopez, a ghetto senorita
You remind me of my Jeep but not no Kia
We can talk on your cell, but not Nokia
It be goin' in and out, that's why I barely hear ya
It be goin' in and out like a robbery ah
I'm tryin' to take this money like Robin Geeda
Then I'ma take you to the house like Trick and Trina
[Hook]
Would you like to ride shotgun in the Escalade
"So why don't you and your friends get with me and my friends"
"My friends, my friends, my friends, my friends"
Like a cloud in our sky, grab your things let's fly away
"So why don't you and your friends get with me and my friends"
"My friends, my friends, my friends, my friends"
[Malik Yusef]
Malik Yusef, bet your baby momma know the name
The most critically acclaimed wordsmith in the game
I give you words spit with flames
Stay to m
song performed by by Kanye West
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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One-Sided Conversation
She sat, head bent,
In her old, grey chair,
The blinds were pulled and drawn,
The shadows caught
In the gathering gloom,
But she moved not at all;
Her husband, stood by the old oak door
He'd cleared his throat to speak,
'You wanted to see me, then, ' he said,
A pallor upon his cheek.
She knew, he thought,
She knew full well
His cheating, shiftless ways,
He'd married her more for her money
Than for her wit, her charm or grace.
She'd warned him once
She'd warned him twice,
She'd said that he made her sick,
Now he was the one who was feeling ill
As she still refused to speak.
'I 'spect you want
Me gone, ' he said,
And waited for some response,
She sat, head bent in her favourite chair
As he stood there, like a dunce.
'I need some money,
A thousand pounds,
Will get me out of a fix.'
The way she sat, and stared at the floor
Meant: 'No, I'll give you nix.'
He mopped his forehead
With trembling hands,
The sharks were closing in,
If she didn't come to his rescue, well,
He'd seen what they'd do to him…
'I beg you, think
Of your own good name, '
But she wasn't listening then,
Her face was grim, she stared at the floor,
With nothing left for him.
He went to a drawer
And took a gun,
Then held it up to his head,
'I'd never have thought you could be so cruel
To the man who shares your bed.'
The air grew chill
In the silent room
As he let out a plaintive cry,
The shot rang out, but she didn't move
As he fell to the floor, and died.
The doctor came,
And the police, of course,
But the wife still sat and stared,
The husband lay on the bloodstained rug
As if she'd never cared.
'It's very odd, '
Said the sergeant then,
But the Doctor suppressed a laugh,
'He's only been dead for an hour, ' he said,
'She's been dead for an hour and a half.'
9 April 2008
poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Old Friends
Old friends
Are the best friends
All my old friends
Are my best friends
Old friends
Are the best friends
All my old friends
Are my best friends
Saw you walk into the club last night
Could not even believe what I was seein
How do I even stop thinkin of you?
cause in my eyes youre still mine
Nobody told me I would feel like this
Wanting you more as the years walk on by
Now Im not afraid to say what i, I believe
But I wish you were my wife
My old friend
Old friends
Are the best friends
All my old friends
Are my best friends
(my old friend)
Old friends
Are the best friends
All my old friends
Are my best friends
First time we met so cool, cool I never knew
You would become so closely to my heart
And now when I look back, girl I was so blessed
The rest never passed the test
Im choosy when it comes to newfound friends
And I wish they could be so smooth
(just like you)
And you never sweated me girl that was so tight
You were an angel in my life, oh, if
(I knew then)
What I know now
(what I know now)
Oh, yeah
(you wouldnt be with him)
You would be here
(youd be here with me)
My old friend
Old friends
Are the best friends
All my old friends
Are my best friends
(my old friend)
Old friends
Are the best friends
All my old friends
Are my best friends
(spoken-ralph):
Wow
Wish I only knew
What I know now
Im sorry baby
(my old friend)
Old friends
Are the best friends
All my old friends
Are my best friends
(old friends)
Old friends
Are the best friends
(are the best friends)
All my old friends
Are my best friends
(what I wanna do, what I wanna say)
Old friends
Are the best friends
(I cant believe I have to leave without ya, baby, baby, baby)
All my old friends
Are my best friends
(yeah)
Old friends
(sometimes, sometimes I get so lonely, so lonely, so lonely girl)
Are the best friends
All my old friends
Are my best friends
(old friends)
Old friends
Are the best friends
All my old friends
Are my best friends
(my old friend)
Old friends
Are the best friends
(are the best friends)
All my old friends
Are my best friends
(my old friend)
song performed by by New Edition
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Me And My Old Cat Sam
I sit here all alone well
Me and my old cat Sam
Rocking back and fro
As my
Chair squeaks
As I rock
In front of the old fireplace
Just me and my old cat
Sam
Knitting mittens
Singing while my cat sam takes
A nap
I’m growing old
Still alone
Me and my old cat Sam and my
Old rocking chair
As the fireplace is cracking while
The
Red blue flames seem to cracker
And pop
As it
Burn so happily it seem's
My chair squeaks my cat nod as I
Rock
In my rocking chair back and fro
Cheerfully in front of my old
Fireplace
With red and blue flames highlighting
The wall and ceilings
Me and my old cat Sam as he nod’s
I rock back and fro
While my rocking chair squeaks along
With the fireplace cracker and
Popping..
poem by Carolyn Sears
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