The Key (A Moorish Romance)
'On the east coast, towards Tunis, the Moors still preserve the key of their ancestors' houses in Spain; to which country they still express the hopes of one day returning and again planting the crescent on the ancient walls of the Alhambra.'
—Scott's
Travels in Morocco and Algiers.
'Is Spain cloven in such a manner as to want closing?'
Sancho Panza in
Don Quixote
The Moor leans on his cushion,
With the pipe between his lips;
And still at frequent intervals
The sweet sherbét he sips;
But, spite of lulling vapor
And the sober cooling cup,
The spirit of the swarthy Moor
Is fiercely kindling up!
One hand is on his pistol,
On its ornamented stock,
While his finger feels the trigger
And is busy with the lock—
The other seeks his ataghan,
And clasps its jewell'd hilt—
Oh! much of gore in days of yore
That crooked blade has spilt!
His brows are knit, his eyes of jet
In vivid blackness roll,
And gleam with fatal flashes
Like the fire-damp of the coal;
His jaws are set, and through his teeth
He draws a savage breath,
As if about to raise the shout
Of Victory or Death!
For why? the last Zebeck that came
And moor'd within the Mole,
Such tidings unto Tunis brought
As stir his very soul—
The cruel jar of civil war,
The sad and stormy reign,
That blackens like a thunder cloud
The sunny land of Spain!
No strife of glorious Chivalry,
For honor's gain or loss,
Nor yet that ancient rivalry,
The Crescent with the Cross.
No charge of gallant Paladins
On Moslems stern and stanch;
But Christians shedding Christian blood
Beneath the olive's branch!
A war of horrid parricide,
And brother killing brother;
Yea, like to 'dogs and sons of dogs'
That worry one another.
But let them bite and tear and fight,
The more the Kaffers slay,
The sooner Hagar's swarming sons
Shall make the land a prey!
The sooner shall the Moor behold
Th' Alhambra's pile again;
And those who pined in Barbary
Shall shout for joy in Spain—
The sooner shall the Crescent wave
On dear Granada's walls:
And proud Mohammed Ali sit
Within his fathers halls!
'Alla-il-alla!' tiger-like
Up springs the swarthy Moor,
And, with a wide and hasty stride,
Steps o'er the marble floor;
Across the hall, till from the wall,
Where such quaint patterns be,
With eager hand he snatches down
And old and massive Key!
A massive Key of curious shape,
And dark with dirt and rust,
And well three weary centuries
The metal might encrust!
For since the King Boabdil fell
Before the native stock,
That ancient Key, so quaint to see,
Hath never been in lock.
Brought over by the Saracens
Who fled accross the main,
A token of the secret hope
Of going back again;
From race to race, from hand to hand,
From house to house it pass'd;
O will it ever, ever ope
The Palace gate at last?
Three hundred years and fifty-two
On post and wall it hung—
Three hundred years and fifty-two
A dream to old and young;
But now a brighter destiny
The Prophet's will accords:
The time is come to scour the rust,
And lubricate the wards.
For should the Moor with sword and lance
At Algesiras land,
Where is the bold Bernardo now
Their progress to withstand?
To Burgos should the Moslem come,
Where is the noble Cid
Five royal crowns to topple down
As gallant Diaz did?
Hath Xeres any Pounder now,
When other weapons fail,
With club to thrash invaders rash,
Like barley with a flail?
Hath Seville any Perez still,
To lay his clusters low,
And ride with seven turbans green
Around his saddle-bow?
No! never more shall Europe see
Such Heroes brave and bold,
Such Valor, Faith and Loyalty,
As used to shine of old!
No longer to one battle cry
United Spaniards run,
And with their thronging spears uphold
The Virgin and her Son!
From Cadiz Bay to rough Biscay
Internal discord dwells,
And Barcelona bears the scars
Of Spanish shot and shells.
The fleets decline, the merchants pine
For want of foreign trade;
And gold is scant; and Alicante
Is seal'd by strict blockade!
The loyal fly, and Valor falls,
Opposed by court intrigue;
But treachery and traitors thrive,
Upheld by foreign league;
While factions seeking private ends
By turns usurping reign—
Well may the dreaming, scheming Moor
Exulting point to Spain!
Well may he cleanse the rusty Key
With Afric sand and oil,
And hope an Andalusian home
Shall recompense the toil!
Well may he swear the Moorish spear
Through wild Castile shall sweep,
And where the Catalonian sowed
The Saracen shall reap!
Well may he vow to spurn the Cross
Beneath the Arab hoof,
And plant the Crescent yet again
Above th' Alhambra's roof—
When those from whom St. Jago's name
In chorus once arose,
Are shouting Faction's battle-cries,
And Spain forgets to 'Close!'
Well may he swear his ataghan
Shall rout the traitor swarm,
And carve them into Arabesques
That show no human form—
The blame be theirs, whose bloody feuds
Invite the savage Moor,
And tempt him with the ancient Key
To seek the ancient door!
poem by Thomas Hood
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
But then again in the East Coast, I think, Tupac, inspired everybody on the East Coast, everybody down south, everybody in the West Coast you know what sayin'.
quote by Bubba Sparxxx
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We also want to try and slow down all this foolishness that's going on between the East and West. We gotta understand that Hip Hop is now universal. Hip Hop is not East coast or West coast.
quote by Afrika Bambaataa
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In starting to learn about film festivals and what were good ones - 'cause there are five billion of them - it was just a really good East Coast festival. And I thought this little movie was an East Coast film.
quote by Andrew McCarthy
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We thus see that the Greeks of the early ages knew little of any real people except those to the east and south of their own country, or near the coast of the Mediterranean.
quote by Thomas Bulfinch
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Our culture/200 years of independence
Three colors in my Flag
Red green and white
2 cultures make my race
My ancestors came from spain
I'm also of aztec desedence
200 years ago my country claimed its indepence
Spanish is the language i speak
Day of the dead november first
5 de mayo and September 16th
Soccer, Tequila, as we sing
Mexican thats what I am
Mexican thats who I am
poem by Juan Rivera
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You Tell Me Of Your Australian History
You tell me of your Australian history your ancestors were British and Irish pioneers
But your history in this Land is not an old history just two centuries and twenty years
And in time that may seem quite a long span though the combined life spans of three people nothing more
Your ancestors hardly were Aussies they came here from a distant shore.
The first Australians have lived in this Country for longer than most care to know
Their ancestors came here from Asia more than sixty thousand years ago
They are indigenous to this Country all others have links to elsewhere
Yet they still struggle for recognition and that to me seems quite unfair.
Dispossessed by the Northern invaders they never did get back their Land
And that they are now ruled by white people I find that hard to understand
You talk of the history of this Land as if it were only two hundred years old
But then suppose the history of the ancient Dreamtime by white people will never be told.
I was not even born in this Country which makes you more Aussie than I
And though I'm not Nationalistic or Patriotic my heritage I won''t deny
You talk of your pioneering ancestors but why talk of Human history at all
If the history of the first Australians you do not see fit to recall.
You tell me of your pioneering ancestors but one fact you tend to ignore
That they were not born in this Country they came here from a foreign shore
You''d swear by you the Human history of this Land was only two centuries old
But the true history of this great Country by your type will never be told
poem by Francis Duggan
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The Coast Of Barbary
My lad is on the water and far away from me,
And I pray God be good to him wherever he may be,
Up the sea and down the sea,
And along the coast of Barbary.
Oh, night and day ships come in, the ships both great and small,
But never one among them brings a word of him at all,
From Port o' Spain and Trinidad, from Rio or Funchal,
And along the coast of Barbary.
If I must think he comes no more across yon seas forlorn,
If I must think there is no tide may bring him night or morn,
I'd curse the light that I look on, and the day that I was born,
And the cruel coast of Barbary.
But well I know that soon or late he'll come back blithe and brown,
When the fire's a good thing to see, and the dark drawing down,
From many a wild and stormy sea, and many a foreign town,
And along the coast of Barbary.
With a green silk handkerchief and a parrot red and green,
And shells and bits o' things to show from the places where he's been,
Up the sea and down the sea,
And along the coast of Barbary.
poem by Cicely Fox Smith
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I'll build you a house!
You lady so bewitching, is your charm,
You lady, disarmed is me, your arrow, my heart is struck
As weaver birds do their houses, on tree tops
As ants make, colonies, for their queens,
As my ancestors, spear in blood they had dipped,
That, their grand sons, would build houses, for their loved ones
So, I'll build you a house, my queen,
Where my ancestors had pointed, with their walking sticks
A place with tall grass where marks were made with sticks
We'll watch the sunsets, and bless the rising moon.
I'll build you a house, my queen!
poem by Charles Jagongo Ogola
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Dilemma
I love and I need you
Nelly, I love you, I do
Need you
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
Boy, you know Im crazy over you
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
You know Im crazy over you
Uh-uh-uh-uh
I met this chick and she just moved right up the block
From me
And she got the hots for me, the finest thing I need
To see
But oh, no, no, she got a man and a son, oh-oh, but
Thats okay
cause I wait for my cue and just listen, play my
Position
Like a shortstop, pick up erything mami hittin
And in no time I better make this friend mine and
Thats for sure
cause i-i never been the type to break up a happy
Home
But theres something bout baby girl, I just cant
Leave her lone
So tell me, ma, whats it gonna be
She said, you dont know what you mean to me, come
On
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
Boy, you know Im crazy over you
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
You know Im crazy over you
Uh-uh-uh-uh
I see a lot in your look and I never say a word
I know how n****s start actin trippin , and hate up
All the girls
And theres no way nelly go for it
Aint f***in with no dame, as you could see
But i-i like your steeze, your style, your whole
Demeanor
The way you come through and holler, and swoop me in
His two-seater
Now thats gangsta and I got special ways to thank ya,
Dont you forget it
But it aint that easy for you to back up and leave
Him
But you and me we got ties for different reasons
I respect that and right before I turned to leave
She said, you dont know what you mean to me, come
On
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
Boy, you know Im crazy over you
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
You know Im crazy over you
Sing it for me, k
I love and I need you
Nelly, I love you, I do
And its more than youll ever know
Boy, its for sure
You can always count on my love
Forever more, yeah, yeah
East coast, I know youre shakin right
Down south, I know youre bouncin right
West coast, I know youre walkin right
(cause you dont know what you mean to me)
Midwest, I see you swingin right
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
Boy, you know Im crazy over you
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
You know Im crazy over you
East coast, I know youre shakin right
Down south, I know youre bouncin right
West coast, I know youre walkin right
(you dont know what you mean to me)
Midwest, I see you swingin right
East coast, youre still shakin right
Down south, I know youre bouncin right
West coast, I know youre walkin right
(you dont know what you mean to me)
Midwest, youre still swingin right
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
Boy, you know Im crazy over you
No matter what I do
All I think about is you
Even when Im with my boo
You know Im crazy over you
Yeah, yeah
East coast, I know youre shakin right
Down south, I know youre bouncin right
West coast, I know youre walkin right
(you dont know what you mean to me)
Midwest, I see you swingin right
East coast, youre still shakin right
Down south, I know youre bouncin right
West coast, I know youre walkin right
(you dont know what you mean to me)
Midwest, youre still swingin right
song performed by by Nelly
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Coast To Coast
Last stop for a resolution
End of the line, is it confusion?
So go. Go see whats there for you
Nothing new, nothing new for you to use
I've got no new act to amuse you
I've got no desire to use you, you know
But anything that I could do, would never be good enough for you
If you can't help it then just leave it alone
Leave it alone, yeah, just forget it
It's really easy
I believe I'll forget it too
Still you're keepin' me around
Til I finally drag us both down
Streaming feathers out your hat
Yes I believe that's where it's at
You belong tagging along
And I belong in your zoo
So I wait for confirmation
That you're never gonna use your starting gun
Unless its me it sounds like being here just wasn't that much fun
Anything that I could do
Would never be good enough for you
If you can't help it then just leave it alone
Leave me alone, yeah, just forget it
It's really easy
I'll just forget it too
Coast to coast, coast to coast
I'll do what I can so you can be what you do
Coast to coast, coast to coast
I'll do everything I can so you can be what you do
Coast to coast, coast to coast
Circuit rider comes every fifth sunday
Oh my lord, I fell asleep one day
Anything that I could do
Is there anything that I could do
That someone doesn't do for you
That someone didn't do for you
That I haven't already done for you
song performed by by Elliott Smith
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.
quote by Charles Kuralt
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hard Living
Hard living
In the country
Planting the corn
In the fields
Living a dream
Where we see our corn grow
Hard living
Planting that corn in the fields
In this warm summer day
Hard living
We have while living in the country
Our dream
Is to see our corn grow
This earth is strong
The rain we need
To water our fields
We pray for the rain
We worship the rain
We praise God for the rain
The rain helps our crops to grow
Our dream is to have a good crop this year
We are proud of our country
We are the country man
We work hard with our hands in the fields
This is what we call hard living
poem by Aldo Kraas
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But there is something to the fact that we don't see games on the West Coast, or we don't see games on the East Coast, and stuff like that. It's so unfair, because there is a bias that takes place.
quote by Marcus Allen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Coast 2 Coast
I met a girl named hip hop in seventy eight
Hollis Queens New York gave us our first date
man she broke me off proper yo the girl was fast
and everybody kept telling me it would not last
cause ain't no women in the world supposed to be that sweet
and ya just can't trust a hot chick from the street
I could tell she had been through lots of struggle and strife
but yet in still she'd been with me over half of my life
born key Jeff Taylor took me into his home
and intrduced me to some tables and a microphone
hip hop talked to me told me take your time
at the age of eleven I bust my first rhyme
block partys in the day house partys at night
just about one year before Rapper's Delight
everybody in the crew called to make a request
cause rap's on the radio and hip-hop was blessed
didn't go to many clubs I wasn't old enough
And if it try to sneak it out my folks is scolding up
but I still do anything to get on stage
and once I got a club gig I lied about my age
just a couple blocks away was the Hollis crew
Run and them used to rock at one ninety two
up the street was a crew called Solo Sounds
where Davey D and Mex used to throw it down
man I wouldn't trade rap for anything in the world
hip hop meant more to me than diamonds and pearls
and I still reminicse to this very day
and I remember those words hip hop would say
(Do you have love for the east coast?)
yes I do
(the hip hop on the east coast?)
yeah that's true
from the 'yes yes y'all' to 'and you don't stop'
east coast played a role in making a hip hop
(Do you have love for the east coast?)
yeah that's right
(the hip hop on the east coast?)
yeah that's tight
from the 'yes yes y'all' to 'and you don't stop'
east coast played a role in making a hip hop
now I gotta get busy time to make that move
high school over with gotta sho' improve
got college on the coast and I'm makin' plans
so hip hip went and told me go west young man
it was a different kind of style but I liked the sound
everybody in the house gauranteed to get down
I did the casa skateland word on wheels
and the crazy crazy world of the record deal
K-day was the station that played my song
I got love from the people it's a shame they gone
Julio and Tony G yo was keeping it real
and Baker Boys doin' they own up in Bakersville
I remember other brothers putting out the gin
like six in the morning and the battle ran
there were boys in the hood and little Nenah Cherry
and oh I can't forget about ooh Rock Berry
before the madness when I made my fame
alot of people on the west coast knew my name
before the big magizines even wanted to meet me
I checked the back pages of the L.A. weekly
to see if they would write and recognize the sound
cause in those days Young MC was underground
lot of times I would rhyme and I'd get no pay
but I remember those words hip hop would say
(Do you have love for the west coast?)
yes I do
(the hip hop on the west coast?)
yeah that's true
from the 'yes yes y'all' to 'and you don't stop'
west coast played a role in making a hip hop
(Do you have love for the west coast?)
yeah that's right
(the hip hop on the west coast?)
yeah that's tight
from the 'yes yes y'all' to 'and you don't stop'
west coast played a role in making a hip hop
talk of an east coast west coast beef makes me panic
I love both sides so I'm straight skitzafrenic
got my skills in the east got my deal in the west
so I just can't say what side is the best
now you love where you live that's true indeed
cause your family and friends give you what you need
stand up for yo' hood and you do it with pride
but the media tells you hate the other side
now it's hard to hate a man that I have not met
or hate a whole damn coast like a ????
cause hip hop is wit ya no matter where you stay
so remember these words hip hop would say
(Do you have love for the east coast?)
yes I do
(the hip hop on the east coast?)
yeah that's true
from the 'yes yes y'all' to 'and you don't stop'
east coast played a role in making a hip hop
(Do you have love for the west coast?)
yeah that's right
(the hip hop on the west coast?)
yeah that's tight
from the 'yes yes y'all' to 'and you don't stop'
west coast played a role in making a hip hop
(do you have love for the east coast?)
yes I do
(the hip hop on the west coast?)
yeah that's true
from the 'yes yes y'all' to 'and you don't stop'
both coasts played a role in making hip hop
(do you have love for the west coast?)
yeah that's right
(the hip hop on the east coast?)
yeah that's tight
from the 'yes yes y'all' to 'and you don't stop'
both coasts played a role in making hip hop
(coast to coast)
song performed by by Young MC
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Rendezvous on Champs-Elysees
Leave Paris in the morning on T.E.E.
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
In Vienna we sit in a late-night cafe
Straight connection, T.E.E.
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
From station to station
back to Dusseldorf City
Meet Iggy Pop and David Bowie
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
song performed by by Kraftwerk
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Take and be prepared for my friend C.P
The desert plains of ice and snow are not a place I’d choose to go.
Nor sandy wastes under the sun dry deserts don’t suit everyone.
The high plateaus of the Andes; I can assure you will not please.
Perhaps I’m choosy but I find such desert places most unkind.
I much prefer the moors I roam which welcome me. I feel at home.
Although they’re barren, wild and bleak I find the solitude I seek.
Each to his own I must suppose. My own high moors are what I chose.
I listen when they speak to me, I understand them easily.
They can be dangerous it’s true. You can take risks if you choose to.
I don’t take risks I know the rules. The high moors have no time for fools.
I have been sometimes weather bound by sudden mists which cloak the ground.
I have sufficient sense to see my moors are merely testing me.
Mistakes the moors will not forgive, I am prepared so I survive.
A wise man gives the moors respect but fools don not but they expect.
Tolerance for their carelessness their stupid unpreparedness.
The moors are not the enemy they judge all men impartially.
Some learn by hard experience there’s limits to their tolerance.
But others pay the penalty. Killed by their own stupidity.
06/09/2009
http: // blog.myspace.com/poeticpiers
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Back To The Coast
West coast, try outs
You've got to make it before you die out
New York is the hard way
Time to pack it up and get to L.A.
If you want to be a star get back to the coast
Back to the coast
You're gonna make it real far so get back to the coast
Back to the coast
My way is the sky way
Ain't got no time for the highway
I've got to get to the coast, fast as I can
Get to L.A. we'll be the number one band
If you want to be a star get back to the coast
Back to the coast
You're gonna make it real far so get back to the coast
Back to the coast (come on)
You've got to get on back (get back)
If you want to be a star get back to the coast
Back to the coast
You're gonna make it real far so get back to the coast
Back to the coast
I say back back back back back, back to the coast
Oooo, yeah get back back back back back, back to the coast
Whoa yeah
If you want to be a star get back to the coast
Back to the coast
You're gonna make it real far so get back to the coast
Back to the coast (oh, get on back), back to the coast
song performed by by Quiet Riot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I'm so much more of an East Coast girl than a West Coast girl.
Country Aint Country
He was raised on a tractor in overalls and boots
Been to college and then law school since leaving his roots
Came home in a lexus,he left in a ford
Country aint country no more
He told his daddy catch up with the times
He said now a days people trade heifers online
Dad aint selling deals with a handshake like before
Country aint country no more
No,country aint country no more
The back forty was sold to make up for hard times
Then sold by the half acre lot overnight
The houses went up and the trees were cut down
And there went the finest deer hunting around
Lord everyones locking their doors
cause country aint country no more
Now his dad sits in traffic looking round at the change
Watching crews turn the county road into four lanes
The old sunday drive has turned into a chore
Country aint country no more
Lord,country aint country no more
The back forty was sold to make up for hard times
Then sold by the half acre lot overnight
The houses went up and the trees were cut down
And there went the finest deer hunting around
Lord everyones locking their doors
cause country aint country no more
Theres no turning back
And you just cant ignore
That country aint country no more
No,country aint country no more
song performed by by Travis Tritt
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I am now in Gibraltar. It is a large place and there does not seem to be room in this letter, in which to express my feelings about Moors in bare legs and six thousand Red-coats and to hear Englishmen speak again.
quote by Richard H. Davis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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