These Things.
These things are sent to try us,
Gran said, her thumb
Moving itself over
The well-worn beads
Of her dark wood rosary;
Her eyes taking in the crucifix
On the wall above her bed.
You sat watching her thumb
Moving its way back and forth
Over the round black beads,
Her arthritic fingers clutching
Blue blankets and white sheet.
Never tries us beyond our strength,
She added, the strained features
Mingling with the yellow taint
Of wrinkled skin. You wondered
Who sent the things to try her,
Whose bounty of gifts left
Small tears wedged in the corners
Of her eyes, pushed out words
Between harsh sighs.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Wasp Man
Under my thumb's the girl who once had me down
Under my thumb's the girl who once pushed me around
It's down to me, the diff'rence in the clothes she wears
It's down to me, the change has come, she's under my thumb
Under my thumb's a squirming dog who's just had her day
Under my thumb's a girl who has just changed her ways
It's down to me, the way she does what she's told
It's down to me, the change has come, she's under my thumb
Under my thumb's a Siamese cat of a girl
Under my thumb she's the sweetest pet in the world
It's down to me, the way she does what she's told
It's down to me, the change has come, she's under my thumb
Under my thumb her eyes are just kept to herself
Under my thumb, well, I can still look at someone else
It's down to me, the way she talks when she's spoken to
It's down to me, the change has come, she's under my thumb
song performed by by Who
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Holy Saturday Gains and Losses
Holy Saturday. Lulu softly rubs her
Black rosary held between fingers.
The church cold and dark. Waiting
For the light. The candle brought by
The priest and others of his ilk to bring
Light to the darkness. Rudandoff stands
Still silent in shadows watching her
Outline in candlelight's glow. Lulu feels
Smooth wood on fingers and thumb
Mutters her pure prayers watching
The candle light up the darkness.
Rudandoff smells her the scent
Touching him the shine of her hair
Caught by passing light her profile
Moves him her moving fingers stirs
His dark embers stiffen his manhood.
The holy candle brings light to the
Church. The priest and others chant
Out the long prayers. Lulu's soft lips
Kiss the crucified Christ on her crucifix
Warm lips on smooth wood. Rudandoff
Wishes those were his kisses his manhood
Between her moving fingers her tender
Body beneath his hot frame. Lulu closes
Eyes imagines her Christ blue bruised
And beaten hammered and battered
Gazing through eye slits bringing her true
Love never forsaken. Rudanoff's hot lust
Swells in the darkness his sausage fingers
Want to reach and touch to squeeze and
Fondle to greedily suck her female juices.
Holy Saturday. She finds her love's light.
He loses lust's kiss and burns in darkness.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Rubber Of The Rosary
I am the rubber of the rosary,
said Sister Paul, my finger and
thumb move over the beads like
a humble worm, I utter prayers
like a hissing snake, my breath
rising in the air like a frightened
bird. The silence enfolds me like
my lover's arms, its peacefulness
kisses my ears like my lover's lips,
the touch of the thick silence my
lover's fingertips. His breath breathes
upon my neck, His requests utter
In my ears, His love echoes through
my being. The darkness embraces
me like a black cloth, my eyes see
shadows in nightly prayers, my sight
fails me with its tired eyes, the late
nights, the on knees prayers, the
going up and down the stairs to
and from the chilling chapel. I am
a denier of self, my self denial is
my weapon against the selfish I,
my way of keeping the ego in its
place, the surging wanter of wants
kept check, each fight for self denial
takes its toll, the selfish I wants its
revenge, seeks its way through my
daily walks, my day to day talks,
the moment of eating, drinking,
sleeping, the dreaming nights.
My lover comes at my least request,
His eyes see me in the darkness's
hold, His fingers find me and release
my bonds, His words echo through
the blackest night, His love warmer
than the sun's kiss, His nearness
closer than air to lungs, than stars
to sky. My Lover comes, my prayers
are heard, my soul is lifted up, my
finger and thumb push round the black
beads, He is there, noting each whispered
prayer, he lays me upon my bed, rests
me down, His holy lips healing my soul,
granting peace to my all too human head.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Thumbsucker
I met her on a corner in Duluth
(That’s the truth.)
She was tryin’ to fix her shoe in a telephone booth
(Her name was Ruth.)
She said she was just waiting for a bus
But I hid my thumb cause I knew just what she was,
And I ain’t gonna let no thumbsucker such my thumb.
It’ll drive you crazy and leave you deaf and dumb.
It’ll make you crawl and climb the wall
Leave you without no thumb at all.
So I ain’t gonna let no thumbsucker suck my thumb.
I’ll tell you what them thumbsuckers like to do.
They suck your thumb till it’s wrinkled like a prune
They’ll say you’ve got the sweetest thumb of all
But then they suck the thumb of the guy livin’ down the hall
That’s why I ain’t gonna let no thumbsucker suck my thumb
(etc. . . etc. . . until finally giving in.)
poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Thumbs
Oh, the thumb-sucker's thumb
May look wrinkled and wet
And withered, and white as the snow,
But the taste of a thumb Is the sweetest taste yet
(As only we thumb-suckers know).
poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Infringement of the Rules
Any infringement of the rules
Or minor sin puts her head in
A spin, puts her soul just over
The edge, lingering there in mid
Air waiting for some dark demon
To snatch. Sister Angela rubs sins
From the black beads, utters long
Prayers from the tongue. She firmly
Wrestles with her demons in the bed,
In the cloisters, out there in the dark
Corners of the world, inside her head.
Her father used to say, your demons
Know you better than you do yourself;
They know your pitfalls, your small
Faults, your tiny imperfections that
Cling to your soul like dark bruises on
Fruit. Then he’d beat her black and blue
And leave her in her room to brood and
Suck in the emptiness of thick dark space.
She kisses the black beads as once she
Kissed that Boyle boy behind the bike
Sheds there, not from lust or love, but
For an unholy dare. The knees ache;
The back is stiff, the incense fills her nose
And head. Pray for us now, she mutters,
Her black serge habit tight about her form,
Pushing out her breath, and at the hour of
Our death. Her father lingers in his cancer
Bed; her mother rots in her grave where her
Father drove her with his drunken words
And fisted hands on frail skin. Sister Angela
Washes with her fierce scrubs any small
Infringements of the rules or minor sin,
Hearing her father’s words harsh within.
poem by Terry Collett
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She Told Her Beads
She told her beads with down-cast eyes,
Within the ancient chapel dim;
And ever as her fingers slim
Slipt o'er th' insensate ivories,
My rapt soul followed, spaniel-wise.
Ah, many were the beads she wore;
But as she told them o'er and o'er,
They did not number all my sighs.
My heart was filled with unvoiced cries
And prayers and pleadings unexpressed;
But while I burned with Love's unrest,
She told her beads with down-cast eyes.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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Thinking Round Corners
All of you sit up in bed. dont think in straight lines ahead.
Cant sleep? head spin? dont think in circles, itll do you in.
Think back to the dream you had; no sense of being good or bad.
Jump to the left, jump to the right. think round corners into night.
Lets go in wet corridors: dive down drains.
Draw strength from machinery, its al] the same.
Thinking round corners. think round corners, I say.
Pretty girl with neon eyes: best man between white thighs.
Bridegroom didnt know a thing: got his love in lights,
She wears two rings.
Think back to that dream you had.
Blue boy sorry, pink girl sad.
Yellow cow, big-eyed moon all coming round the corner soon.
Lets stand in rapids: cling to carnivals.
Spit life from the maypole in savage ceremony.
Lets go in wet corridors: dive down drains.
Draw strength from machinery, its all the same.
Thinking round corners. think round corners, I say.
Paper cowboys, tin drums banging where the white man comes.
Landowners with whips and chains but soft in bed amidst
Warm rains.
Thinking back to the dream they had. jack and jill.
Jack the lad.
Homestead. home free. how about leaving some for me?
Lets bathe in malt whisky: covet gold finery
Through the eyes of a jackdaw, dressed to the nines.
Lets go in wet corridors: dive down drains.
Draw strength from machinery, its all the same.
Thinking round corners. think round corners, I say.
Thinking round corners.
song performed by by Jethro Tull
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Has His Measure
Sister Cecilia fingers the beads.
The wood hard between finger
And thumb. The Christ has been
Rubbed smooth by years of prayer.
Shines like a new coin. Her feet ache
With cold. The fingers work their magic.
Her lips move to the rhythm of words
Carried on breath. She carries her
Christ in her breast close to her heart
His picture in the black and red book
In a pocket of her habit of black cloth.
She knows He follows her and listens
To her words and thoughts and watches
Her deeds done in darkness and light
In coldness and heat in cloister and chapel.
For weeks on end she feels His absence
Like a lover gone from sight on some
Distant voyage over rough sea or far off
Lands in search of some other treasure.
But she loves Him still her constant lover
And knows His worth and has His measure.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Xulon
Small things were
witness to genes
of freak mutation.
Tooth in eye
becoming boat in blindness.
Witch hazel
fails to stop leakage.
Thumb with beads of lymph
stung high in stillness,
wants to peel off
the concept of injury.
A brace
stops the smile.
Blue-chips have nothing to offer.
A king had hemophilia.
Timbers drip the blood
from heartwood
dropp by drop.
poem by Satish Verma
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Im Moving On
Save your sweet talk
For when you score,
Keep your monday kisses
For your glass lady.
I want the truth and nothing more,
Im moving on,
Moving on,
Youre getting phony.
You didnt have to tell me a white lie,
You know you scored me for life.
Dont stick your fingers in my pie,
You know, Ill see through your jive.
I want the truth and nothing more,
Im moving on,
Moving on,
Were getting phony.
When you were angry
You had love in your eyes,
When you were sad
You had dream in your voice.
Now youre giving me your window smile,
Im moving on,
Moving on,
Its getting phony.
Moving on!
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Scrawled In Sap
O the sky grey orange
An the walls stained blue
An I laid right down on the golden satin with you
Into sween dark circles of beautiful eyes
I go round
O lord
I go round
Will you tell me once again
Cream white skin
You are my friend
I seen you walkin and your white hips sway
O girl I will have you no more
To the moan in your voice
Not a charm do you lack
Your skin to touch as a black ravens back
But I cannot go far with these words as they rhyme
As to tell, of the pleasure, your hand in mine
An I pray as I say this song in this way
That your eyes they would close an your head begin to sway
An youll feel how he heals with his blood on our skin
I am yours lady scrawled an thin
Will you tell me once again
Cream white skin
You are my friend
I seen you walkin in your husbands way
Girl I will have you more
song performed by by 16 Horsepower
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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White Skin Black Heart
Yeah, whatcha gonna do now, now that you started?
Whatcha gonna do now, now that its done?
The words got out there, they float around and are coming right back down.
You gonna leave us lying here
Dealing with the consequences of a bad sound
Of a bad sound.
White skin black heart
White skin black heart
Whatcha gonna do now, that its spoken?
These words of a habit, have not faded away.
.................... it clear, conscious gets opened like a wound.
If you cant concieve a better line and better times,
Then let silence bury you, in the end.
When you feel it, when you feel it
Youre condemned.
You see, youve lost your strangle on the freedom road! you
Think ........................of something a long time ago! you
[spewed it out you were so] insecure! it was like ............. on
The toilet floor! youre a [nine seat] drunk, ............... and
You say you want something, .......... you heard the rednecks
Roaring for blood and then they wanted more! life was so small, you
Couldnt get enough. you made a start.
White skin black heart
Dripping,
White skin black heart
White skin black heart
White skin black heart
White skin black heart
Drag your eyes from [aurora] black heart!
White skin black heart
Drag your leg, get outta here [my sight]!
White skin black heart
White skin black heart
White skin black heart
White skin black heart
You didnt have to start
White skin black heart
White skin black heart
song performed by by Midnight Oil
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Under My Thumb
Under my thumbs the girl who once had me down
Under my thumbs the girl who once had me down
Under my thumbs the girl who once pushed me around
Under my thumbs the girl who once pushed me around
Its down to me, the diffrence in the clothes she wears
Its down to me, the diffrence in the clothes she wears
Its down to me, the change has come, shes under my thumb
Its down to me, the change has come, shes under my thumb
Under my thumbs a squirming dog whos just had her day
Under my thumbs a squirming dog whos just had her day
Under my thumbs a girl who has just changed her ways
Under my thumbs a girl who has just changed her ways
Its down to me, the way she does what shes told
Its down to me, the way she does what shes told
Its down to me, the change has come, shes under my thumb
Its down to me, the change has come, shes under my thumb
Under my thumbs a siamese cat of a girl
Under my thumbs a siamese cat of a girl
Under my thumb shes the sweetest pet in the world
Under my thumb shes the sweetest pet in the world
Its down to me, the way she does what shes told
Its down to me, the way she does what shes told
Its down to me, the change has come, shes under my thumb
Its down to me, the change has come, shes under my thumb
Under my thumb her eyes are just kept to herself
Under my thumb her eyes are just kept to herself
Under my thumb, well, I can still look at someone else
Under my thumb, well, I can still look at someone else
Its down to me, the way she talks when shes spoken to
Its down to me, the way she talks when shes spoken to
Its down to me, the change has come, shes under my thumb
Its down to me, the change has come, shes under my thumb
song performed by by Who
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You and Jackson Pollock.
How's the girl
with the red beret?
your sister asked
she'd seen you
and Janice
and her gran
on the way home
from school
she probably walking
with her friend
following behind
and Janice said
I made a picture today
out of cut up
pieces of paper
and the teacher said
it was the best
she'd seen
her gran said
Now now Janice
mustn't boast
I expect
there were other pictures
equally as good
But teacher said it
not me
Janice replied
Did you make a picture?
her gran asked you
her eyes falling on you
and taking in
your look
like a rabbit caught
in headlamps of a car
in the night
Yes
you said
I made a picture
of a morning sunset
out of red and yellow
and green for the grass
and blue for the sky
Janice smiled
and touched your hand
surreptitiously
her small hand
feeling along
your skin
Did you make it
out of cut up
pieces of paper too?
her gran asked
you sensed Janice's fingers
squeezing into your hand
No
you replied
I did it with water colour paints
and what did teacher say?
her gran asked
she said it reminded her
of a Jackson Pollock
whoever he is
you said
looking at Janice's red beret
and her hair
coming from beneath
so wonderfully
unlike your
short back and sides
and unlike her hair
with its red coloured
hair slides.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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To Go Or Not To Go.
There's a fun fair
on the bombsite
off Meadow Row
you told Fay
that Friday
on the way home
from school
and she said
I can only come
if my daddy's out
he thinks
all such things
are sinful
and if he
caught me there
he'd beat me for sure
Ok
you said
and let it dropp
and walked on
beside her
the afternoon heat
making you sweat
and then she said
I will try
to come if I can
and she looked sad
and her pale features
seemed even paler
and her eyes searched you
and you said
I hope you can
but if not another time
when the fair returns
and you both paused
at the kerb
as traffic rushed by
and her thin hand
reached out
and held yours
her fingers
touched yours
her thumb rubbing
against your thumb
and when the traffic stopped
because of the change of lights
you walked across the road
still hand in hand
she just a few steps behind
a case of
(as her father
often said)
the blind
leading the blind.
poem by Terry Collett
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Dottie Writes and Cries
Sunlight settles on the
table where Dottie writes.
Her journal records the days
since Willie left, the effects
it has had, her migraines,
the sickness, the stomach
pains, the blood loss.
She writes slowly, neat
and lucid, the pen tight
between finger and thumb.
She pauses, looks at the sunlight,
how the beams seem to dance
upon the cloth, she sucks the end
of the pen, her tongue sensing
the smoothness and plasticness.
She will write of the roses,
how they have grown, the red
like blood, the blood like that
on the sheet before the wash.
She misses her brother, his
departure to fetch Sammy
has pained her, causes her
loss of sleep, despite sleeping
in his bed, caressing his pillow.
She writes again, the pen nib
moving over the journal's page,
her eyes watching the flow,
the words settling on the paper,
the words holding the images,
the images for him, for Willie
to read and have on his return.
A bird song, she cocks an ear,
outside nearby, a robin, she
closes her eyes, grasps the sound,
turns it around in her mind.
She will write that down,
he likes birdsong, loves the
songs, the call of the wild.
She opens her eyes, begins
to write once more, she wants
to cry, pushes her eyes tight
to stop tears hitting the page.
Through teary eyes sees
the sunbeams dance on
what seems like water on
the patterned cloth, she
remembers Willie laying
his head down there once
side ways on and gazing at
her as deep fond lovers may.
She puts down her black pen,
she will write no more today.
poem by Terry Collett
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Black and White
My world is black and white,
The colors I see is black and white,
Hold me tight,
Don’t let me go,
See the tears I have cried,
Listen to my cry,
Look into my eyes,
My world is black and white,
Cut my wrist,
Black my eyes,
Blacken these thoughts I think of,
Black and white is all I can see,
The tears is all I can feel,
Feel me fading away,
Watching myself falling apart,
Look deep into my eyes,
Can you see me,
Can you feel the pain I feel,
I don’t understand why I am feeling this sad,
All the moments that once we shared has faded away like others have,
I never did tried to see the beyond the black and white clouds,
I need to face what I have become,
I need to find my way back,
The black and white is all I can see and feel,
My world has been black and white.
poem by Jennifer Rondeau
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Geraldine's Bus Ride to Work
Geraldine rides the bus to work.
She sways side to side with the
motion of the bus, sitting in the
compact human zoo, faces, limbs,
bodies, eyes, mouths. The sky
outside is an early morning icy blue.
A man opposite stares, his eyes
moving over her, his hands in his
lap, fingers playing with each other.
His eyes settle on her legs, drink
them in. She feels as if he were
undressing her, taking each item of
clothing off one by one. His eyes
are dark, deep set. She stares back
at him, takes in his lips, parted, thick
and saliva sits there. Her thoughts
move to Holly and the night before,
the game they played, the role plays,
the pre-sex drama. The man shifts
in his seat, wrinkles his nose, moves
his eyes to her breasts. She looks away,
senses his eyes fondling her tits, his
imaginary fingers groping. Holly would
have said something to the creep opposite,
would have shown him up, but she
doesn't have that way with her, she sits
it out, pushing thoughts of him away,
focuses on Holly's tongue licking the
inside of her thighs, sensation electrifying.
The man looks away, no doubt to masturbate
in his dark mind with his imaginary fingers.
Geraldine lets the thoughts of Holly and
her deeds linger, sucks in the hotness,
the scents, the sighs, the smells. She stares
at the man. He looks at his hands, his fingernails.
There is dirt beneath the nails, black as soot
as if he'd rooted in dark soil. She looks away;
Holly has set her (with her deeds) to sexual boil.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Rosarium
When I entered his house
it was then when I faced the truth
we bought him the paper
and he was sat watching the news
he turned down the TV so we could speak
conversations, moments of silence spoke
the fear in his eyes when he looked at you
when he faced us all thats when we knew
fear was true.
We sat comfertable as he sat on his chair
and there Jesus looks back at me from the wall
he knows we're waiting
the devils path is waiting for him to fall
there are no children to play football
yet one remains inside his hall
the kitchen smell is not his pride
we all dress in black when he is alive.
At the door as everyone leaves
I take in the moment which everyone sees
they have only gave him everything that he needs
he hands me his rosary beads
and asks me 'can you make better use of these? '
poem by Daniel McCann
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