Is Dead
Is dead.
That’s the part
you heard,
those words
through the gap
between door
and frame.
Who’s dead?
or what?
the dog?
Uncle, Auntie,
Grandfather?
The old biddy next door
whose nose
spied through curtains?
Curiosity
like some virus
bit into you,
and your ears
lingered by the gap,
your eyes peered
at the adults talking,
lip reading unsuccessfully.
You torn
between the call
of nature (to piss)
and the needing
to know unfolding
of who had died.
Shame,
he was much loved,
the voices continued,
the ears flapping
for further news,
standing on tiptoe,
the bladder filling
to busting.
The King is dead,
long live the Queen,
Grandmother said,
circa 1952,
and you giving in
to nature’s call,
walked off satisfied
along the dark hall.
poem by Terry Collett
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Related quotes
The Dead Next Door
Watch the sky
For a reason why
Im safe here
Sunday it was part
Monday it was none
Monday was none
For the dead next door
One pair of silent terror reins
And were the dead next door
The heat of the day fades away
Fades into the night
The heat of the day
Offering a wedding
Suffering away
For the dead next door
You see
One error, silent terror
And were the dead next door
In animal land
And dark is in command
One thing you should know
Dont hear that knocking
Dont eat out of their hand
Dont stumble, die
You say
Dont stumble, cry
They see you and me
You and me
With the dead next door
You and me
With the dead next door
You and me
With the dead next door
song performed by by Billy Idol
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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New World Order
Broken down, feeling naked
Leaving me unfulfilled
Promising compromise
Championing mediocrity
Time and time again
What you said ain't what you mean
Even if all my bones are broken
I will drag myself back from the edge to
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the King
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the
King,
I am the King, God save the King
Kill the King, The King is dead
I am the King, Long live the King
Kill the King, The King is dead
I am the King, Long live the King
I reveal a deceiver
In the highest seat in the land
His idle hands the Devil's workshop
Generate more smoke than heat
Time and time again
What you said ain't what you mean
Even if all my bones are broken
I will drag myself back from the edge to
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the King
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the
King,
I am the King, God save the King
Kill the King, The King is dead
I am the King, Long live the King
Kill the King, The King is dead
I am the King, Long live the King
A new precedent in pain, a new precedent in pain
Mankind is blown to dust, mankind is blown to dust
An explosion of the Brain, an explosion of the
Brain
Spontaneously combust, spontaneously combust
Kill the King, The King is dead, Long live the
King,
I am the King
Kill the King, I, The King is dead, I am, Long live
the King,
I am the King
Kill the King, I, The King is dead, I am, Long live
the King,
I am the King
Kill the King, I, The King is dead, I am, Long live
the King,
I am the King
song performed by by Megadeth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Heard Her Call My Name
(reed)
Ever since I was on cripples monday,
Ive got my eyeballs on my knees.
I rapped for hours with mad mary williams,
She said she never understood a word from me
Because, I know that she cares about me,
I heard her call my name.
And I know that shes long, dead and gone,
Still it aint the same.
When I wake up in the morning, mama,
I heard her call my name.
I know shes dead and long, gone.
I heard her call my name.
And then I felt my mind split open.
I know that shes long, dead and gone,
Still it aint the same.
When I wake up in the morning, mama,
I heard her call my name.
I know shes dead and long, gone.
Still, I heard her call my name.
And then my mind split open.
song performed by by Velvet Underground
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dead Or Alive
Dont turn off the light
You might draw the queen of spades
Dont shut the door
You dont need to be alone
I wont bring you no food
There might be some poison in your meat
Ive got to know are you dead or alive
Dont shut the door are you dead or alive
Dead or alive
Pick your window youre leaving
Dont look in the mirror
With a dollar up your face
Youve got money to burn
Youre cheap at half the price
Oh dont powder your nose
Dont blow your brains just for the the
Crack
Ive got to know are you dead or alive
Just for the crack are you dead or alive
Dead or alive
Pick your window youre leaving
Youre running so fast
But you know youre standing still
Im afraid of your shadow
And the knife in its hand
Youre dancing with death
To the tune of the dealer
And he dont care
Dont give a toss
Dont want to know if youre dead or alive
Dont want to know if youre dead or alive
Dead or alive
Pick your window youre leaving
song performed by by Deep Purple
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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All Dead, All Dead
Memories, my memories
How long can you stay
To haunt my days
She came without a farthing
A babe without a name
So much ado about nothing
Is what shed try to say
So much ado my lover
So many games we played
Through every fleeted summer
Through every precious day
All dead all dead
All the dreams we had
And I wonder why I still live on
All dead all dead
And alone Im spared
My sweeter half instead
All dead
And gone
All dead...
All dead all dead
At the rainbows end
And still I hear her own sweet song
All dead all dead
Take me back again
You know my little friends
All dead
And gone
All dead and gone
Her ways are always with me
I wander all the while
But please you must forgive me
I am old but still a child
All dead all dead
But I should not grieve
In time it comes to everyone
All dead all dead
But in hope I breathe
Of course I dont believe
Youre dead
And gone
All dead
And gone
song performed by by Queen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Man On The Street
Ill sing you a song, aint very long,
bout an old man who never done wrong.
How he died nobody can say,
They found him dead in the street one day.
Well, the crowd, they gathered one fine morn,
At the man whose clothes n shoes were torn.
There on the sidewalk he did lay,
They stopped n stared n walked their way.
Well, the pliceman come and he looked around,
Get up, old man, or Im a-takin you down.
He jabbed him once with his billy club
And the old man then rolled off the curb.
Well, he jabbed him again and loudly said,
Call the wagon; this man is dead.
The wagon come, they loaded him in,
I never saw the man again.
Ive sung you my song, it aint very long,
bout an old man who never done wrong.
How he died no one can say,
They found him dead in the street one day.
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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09. Do not stand at my grave and weep
when i am dead, i am dead
the world goes out of me and i out of it
there is nothing anymore in between
do not stand at my grave then and weep
for these ears will not hear, and these eyes will not see
and there will be only coldness in between
if you really love and care, show it all to me now if you can
for when i am dead, i am dead
the world goes out of me and i out of it
these ears will not hear and these eyes will not see
there is only coldness in between
warm me up if you can now when i am still alive
for tomorrow the sun may never rise again
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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When I Think Of Myself As Dead
WHEN I THINK OF MYSELF AS DEAD
When I think of myself as dead
I think of what it will mean for my loved ones
I pray they will not lose heart and hope because of it-
When my father died my brother lost hope-
When I think of myself dead
I wonder about God and God�s purpose
Is there really an afterlife?
What could it mean?
Will I meet again those who have gone before me?
When I think of myself dead
I think about a body in the ground
Worms eating it, cold paining it-
When I think of myself as dead
I think about never feeling anything again-
When I think about myself as dead
I think about the work I have left behind
And whether it will mean anything to anyone
And for how long-
When I think of myself as dead
I think of all the memories that will go with me
I think about nothing and more nothing and the end of the universe-
When I think of myself as dead
I think of life going on down below
Life with all its beauty and pain
And I pray and I pray again
My loved ones will be able to manage and make their own lives still happy
When I think of myself as dead
I pray to G-d
That somehow in some way
It will not be the end for me forever.
When I think of myself as dead
I think of myself as living again somehow
In a way I cannot now know-
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Can Can Dancer Gran.
I used to be a dancer
during World War 1
your paternal grandmother said
as she sat next to you
on the seat in her
back garden in London
and your grandfather
would come and watch
with his army friends
and afterwards
he'd come
to the stage door
with flowers or chocolates
or just stand there
with that awestruck look
on his face
and she looked
at the flowers
that your grandfather grew
along both sides
of the garden
and she smiled and said
Look at him now
sits in the same room
and says nothing
or moans about the bills
or how the country is run
or the noise of the traffic
by the front gate
and you sat there
on the seat
in the back garden
in your new suit
and with your hair
cropped short
and that fifteen year old
I'm bored as hell look
on your face and you said
Why did you give up dancing
you must have been good at it?
and as you looked
at your grandmother
with her white frizzy hair
and stocky build
you couldn't imagine her
as a dancer on a stage
with men gawping at her
especially not your soft spoken
quiet grandfather
who sat in his armchair
by the fireside
in a silent mood
occasionally reading a book
or giving that
I've seen too much
of mankind's foolery
kind of look
and your grandmother said
Well after we got married
I fell for your uncle Fred
and beside I wasn't that good
a dancer and your
grandfather didn't want
a wife of his
to be peered at
or have her legs
gawked at
by other men
and then she was silent
and watched
a white butterfly
go by
fluttering its wings
but
she said softly
getting up
from the seat
and doing a small
Can Can dance
the shows not over
until the fat lady sings.
poem by Terry Collett
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Judith and her Thoughts on Death
That Sunday
after singing
in the choir
and changing
from the blue
and white gowns
and out
of the dim lit vestry
into the sunlight
at the back
of the church
Judith was standing
by a gravestone
reading the almost
indecipherable words
chiselled there
sad isn't it
she said
that these people died
and are buried
and then the time comes
when you can't read
who died or when?
you walked over
to where she was standing
and rubbed off
some of the green moss
with your hand
comes to us all
I guess
you said
when those whom we loved
or cared about die
and after we and those
who knew them are gone
there is no one left to care
who's buried there
she looked at you
and you saw
her eyes water
and her lower lip tremble
you won't forget me
will you? she asked
course not
you said
anyway
why are we getting
so darn morbid?
we're alive
let's live while we can
she walked away
from the gravestone
and stood looking
around the graves
behind the church
the sunlight
warming the stone
and her head
and you walked
next to her
and put your hand
on hers and said
I'll never forget you
if you go before me
she smiled
and looked at you
I'll always remember you
she said
other choir members
came out of the vestry door
and there was talk
and laughter
and Roger chased Shirley
along the path
and she looked back at him
giggling and making faces
and Judith said
some have no respect
for the dead
even in this
their resting place
human all too human
you said
and kissed her
sun blessed face.
poem by Terry Collett
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The Deceased Poets Of Nature
Such beautiful poems to Nature they did write
The poetry we love for to read and recite
May they rest in peace now where-ever they lay
The deceased poets of Nature their poems live today
They glorified Nature and her praises they sung
And though they may be long dead their poems remain young
the poets of the land and the poets of the sea
In their beautiful poetry their greatness we do see
Their poems and their songs I loved as a boy
And their poems and their songs I will always enjoy
The beauty of Nature they did celebrate
And beauty in their words they loved to create.
Great insights of Nature from them we did gain
The beauty of their words with us does remain
We loved them for their poems in decades long gone
The deceased poets of Nature their poems living on.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Hiroshima Child
I come and stand at every door
But none can hear my silent tread
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead for I am dead
I'm only seven though I died
In Hiroshima long ago
I'm seven now as I was then
When children die they do not grow
My hair was scorched by swirling flame
My eyes grew dim my eyes grew blind
Death came and turned my bones to dust
And that was scattered by the wind
I need no fruit I need no rice
I need no sweets nor even bread
I ask for nothing for myself
For I am dead for I am dead
All that I need is that for peace
You fight today you fight today
So that the children of this world
Can live and grow and laugh and play
poem by Nazim Hikmet
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Miracles Of Nature
A tiny dark seed to a great tree can grow
A miracle of Nature that much we do know
And Nature's miracles are many and her secrets not few
In telling you that I'm not saying anything that's new.
The miracles of Nature we witness every day
We see life existing where there is decay
Amongst the dead leaves that are strewn on the ground
Insects and slugs that live on decay are crawling around.
The Mother of Nature lives by her own law
Of her workings one only can live in awe
The life that she give she eventually receive
And for her dead children she never does grieve.
In Spring the pink blossoms on the fruit bearing tree
In Nature all around us miracles we do see
For our existence and survival to her we do owe
Yet so little about her we can claim to know.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Dead Will Be The King
Why believe the heart torn, which is the only thief - Why not put me to death, a feast with the dead - Finally for my dark soul, the pressure of pleasure to a release - When you are unhappy, a cross of grief - I am happy, when my nose bleeds, nails taste like my tongue, i vomit, just to breathe - The fly fed by my meat of flesh, she reaps, i cry, in defeat - I will obey the wind, the flow off her rotten wings - I will swell, if she stings - I shall be her joker, her jack, her queen - If she wears the crown and i bow to a box, dead will be the king.
poem by Unic Cjonr
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News to the king, good news for all
'NEWS to the king, good news for all,'
The corn is trodden, the river runs red.
'News of the battle,' the heralds call,
'We have won the field; we have taken the town;
We have beaten the rebels and crushed them down.'
And the dying lie with the dead.
'Who was my bravest?' quoth the king,
The corn is trodden, the river runs red.
'Whom shall I honour for this great thing?'
'Threescore were best, where none were worst;
But Walter Wendulph was aye the first.'
And the dying lie with the dead.
'What of my husband?' quoth the bride,
The corn is trodden, the river runs red.
'Comes he to-morrow; how long will he bide?'
'Put off thy bridegear, busk thee in black;
Walter Wendulph will never come back.'
And the dying lie with the dead.
poem by Augusta Davies Webster
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The Library
'Let there be light!' God spake of old,
And over chaos dark and cold,
And through the dead and formless frame
Of nature, life and order came.
Faint was the light at first that shone
On giant fern and mastodon,
On half-formed plant and beast of prey,
And man as rude and wild as they.
Age after age, like waves, o'erran
The earth, uplifting brute and man;
And mind, at length, in symbols dark
Its meanings traced on stone and bark.
On leaf of palm, on sedge-wrought roll,
On plastic clay and leathern scroll,
Man wrote his thoughts; the ages passed,
And to! the Press was found at last!
Then dead souls woke; the thoughts of men
Whose bones were dust revived again;
The cloister's silence found a tongue,
Old prophets spake, old poets sung.
And here, to-day, the dead look down,
The kings of mind again we crown;
We hear the voices lost so long,
The sage's word, the sibyl's song.
Here Greek and Roman find themselves
Alive along these crowded shelves;
And Shakespeare treads again his stage,
And Chaucer paints anew his age.
As if some Pantheon's marbles broke
Their stony trance, and lived and spoke,
Life thrills along the alcoved hall,
The lords of thought await our call!
poem by John Greenleaf Whittier
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Nature versus Collective Self
they say we are
a part of nature
but i say nature
is part of us
growing eyes,
ears, tongues
heart and mind
compass for us
to sail the ocean
of the one self we
all are part of
nature spells out
charms to the
varied senses in
the self too many
to count
when the full moon shines
the thought is lighted up
large and calm as a lake
when a person dies
he strips a part of nature
in the self
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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The Golden Door
I am always bound to you but,
Will you not bide your years as i do bide mine?
I am always bound to you,
Like the dead flame of the fallen day;
Surely, i shall be wiser with you always.
Of the golden door under the palm tree,
We know each other than all our lives;
But a year is not so long ahead.
A life long hunger,
Like a drunkard's hand;
Come out and see the golden door.
Such a change,
Much to look for;
You have been my guide in this house.
I earnestly prayed for a sign and,
I grieve to see you poor and wanting my help;
But, can one love twice?
Like the dead flame of the fallen day.
The golden door,
You have closed the best among us;
But today, i am rich and well to do.
At the golden door,
She sold her wares for less;
But, growing she know not where.
Of the golden door,
Of where he fixed his heart to set his hand;
Come and see swimming eyes of love,
Can you ever be loved again? !
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Thirteen Lines
A brain peered through stoic eyes;
Yet all it saw was rendered into
Flawed interpretation –
No honoured contemplation of a
Gluon, muon, quark of any flavour;
Nor a vision or conception of its world
Within a universe anthropic in its physical laws,
Inside a boundless multiverse.
All it gleaned and modelled
Bore parochialism well beyond belief! –
Delusional perhaps.
Survival only matters here on planet Earth –
Evolution saw to that.
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2010
na ture nature nature nature
nature nature nature nature
nature nature nature nature
nature nature nature nature
nature nature nature nature
nature nature nature nature
poem by Mark R Slaughter
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Not Marble Nor The Gilded Monuments
THE praisers of women in their proud and beautiful poems
Naming the grave mouth and the hair and the eyes
Boasted those they loved should be forever remembered
These were lies
The words sound but the face in the Istrian sun is forgotten
The poet speaks but to her dead ears no more
The sleek throat is gone -and the breast that was troubled to listen
Shadow from door
Therefore I will not praise your knees nor your fine walking
Telling you men shall remember your name as long
As lips move or breath is spent or the iron of English
Rings from a tongue
I shall say you were young and your arms straight and you!
mouth scarlet
I shall say you will die and none will remember you
Your arms change and none remember the swish of your garments
Nor the click of your shoe
Not with my hand's strength not with difficult labor
Springing the obstinate words to the bones of your breast
And the stubborn line to your young stride and the breath to your breathing
And the beat to your haste
Shall I prevail on the hearts of unborn men to remember
(What is a dead girl but a shadowy ghost
Or a dead man's voice but a distant and vain affirmation
Like dream words most)
Therefore I will not speak of the undying glory of women
I will say you were young and straight and your skin fair
And you stood in the door and the sun was a shadow of leaves on your shoulders
And a leaf on your hair
I will not speak of the famous beauty of dead women
I will say the shape of a leaf lay once on your hair
Till the world ends and the eyes are out and the mouths broken
Look! It is there!
poem by Archibald MacLeish
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