An Apology for the Bottle Volcanic
Sometimes I dip my pen and find the bottle full of fire,
The salamanders flying forth I cannot but admire.
It's Etna, or Vesuvius, if those big things were small,
And then 'tis but itself again, and does not smoke at all.
And so my blood grows cold. I say, "The bottle held but ink,
And, if you thought it otherwise, the worser for your think."
And then, just as I throw my scribbled paper on the floor,
The bottle says, "Fe, fi, fo, fum," and steams and shouts some more.
O sad deceiving ink, as bad as liquor in its way—
All demons of a bottle size have pranced from you to-day,
And seized my pen for hobby-horse as witches ride a broom,
And left a trail of brimstone words and blots and gobs of gloom.
And yet when I am extra good and say my prayers at night,
And mind my ma, and do the chores, and speak to folks polite,
My bottle spreads a rainbow-mist, and from the vapor fine
Ten thousand troops from fairyland come riding in a line.
I've seen them on their chargers race around my study chair,
They opened wide the window and rode forth upon the air.
The army widened as it went, and into myriads grew,
O how the lances shimmered, how the silvery trumpets blew!
poem by Vachel Lindsay
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Related quotes
Bottle 'O
I ain't the kind of bloke as takes to any steady job;
I drives me bottle cart around the town;
A bloke what keeps 'is eyes about can always make a bob --
I couldn't bear to graft for every brown.
There's lots of handy things about in everybody's yard,
There's cocks and hens a-runnin' to an' fro,
And little dogs what comes and barks -- we take 'em off their guard
And we puts 'em with the Empty Bottle-O!
Chorus --
So it's any "Empty bottles! Any empty bottle-O!"
You can hear us round for half a mile or so
And you'll see the women rushing
To take in the Monday's washing
When they 'ear us crying, "Empty Bottle-O!"
I'm driving down by Wexford-street and up a winder goes,
A girl sticks out 'er 'ead and looks at me,
An all-right tart with ginger 'air, and freckles on 'er nose;
I stops the cart and walks across to see.
"There ain't no bottles 'ere," says she, "since father took the pledge,"
"No bottles 'ere," says I, "I'd like to know
What right 'ave you to stick your 'ead outside the winder ledge,
If you 'aven't got no Empty Bottle-O!"
I sometimes gives the 'orse a spell, and then the push and me
We takes a little trip to Chowder Bay.
Oh! ain't it nice the 'ole day long a-gazin' at the sea
And a-hidin' of the tanglefoot away.
But when the booze gits 'old of us, and fellows starts to "scrap",
There's some what likes blue-metal for to throw:
But as for me, I always says for layin' out a "trap"
There's nothing like an Empty Bottle-O!
poem by Andrew Barton Paterson
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Commandeering
Our hero was a Tommy with a conscience free from care,
And such an open countenance that when he breathed the air
He mopped up all the atmosphere -- so little went to spare
You could hardly say he breathed, he "commandeered" it.
For nowadays you'll notice when a man is "on the make",
And other people's property is anxious for to take,
We never use such words as "steal", or "collar", "pinch", or "shake".
No, the fashion is to say we "commandeered" it.
And our simple-minded hero used to grumble at his lot,
Said he, "This commandeerin's just a little bit too hot,
A fellow has to carry every blooming thing he's got;
Whatever he puts down they'll commandeer it."
So after much anxiety our simple-minded elf
He thought he'd do a little commandeering for himself,
And the first thing that he'd noticed was a bottle on a shelf
In a cottage, so he thought he'd commandeer it.
"What ho!" says he, "a bottle, and, by George, it's full of beer,
And no commanding officer to come and interfere.
Here's my own blooming health," says he, "I'm on the commandeer."
And without another word he commandeered it.
On his subsequent proceedings we must draw a little veil,
For the Boers had left some sheep dip in that bottle labelled "Ale";
But the doctor said he's shift it -- if all other methods fail,
We must use the stomach pump and commandeer it.
poem by Andrew Barton Paterson
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Daley's Dorg 'Wattle
"You can talk about yer sheep dorgs," said the man from Allan's Creek,
"But I know a dorg that simply knocked 'em bandy! -
Do whatever you would show him, and you'd hardly need to speak;
Owned by Daley, drover cove in Jackandandy.
"We was talkin' in the parlour, me and Daley, quiet like,
When a blow-fly starts a-buzzin' round the ceilin',
Up gets Daley, and he says to me, 'You wait a minute, Mike,
And I'll show you what a dorg he is at heelin'.'
"And an empty pickle-bottle was a-standin' on the shelf,
Daley takes it down and puts it on the table,
And he bets me drinks that blinded dorg would do it by himself -
And I didn't think as how as he was able!
"Well, he shows the dorg the bottle, and he points up to the fly,
And he shuts the door, and says to him - 'Now Wattle!'
And in less than fifteen seconds, spare me days, it ain't a lie,
That there dorg had got that insect in the bottle."
poem by William Thomas Goodge
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Bottle
Life long bottle partner
Feeding bottle at childhood
To Ganga jal(Holy water of river Ganga)
Bottle at deathbed
Water bottle at schooldays
Cold drinks bottles
And liquor bottles at adulthood
And blood bottles at hospital bed.
Lifelong bottle partner
Lifelong bottle partner
Our life our soul is in a bottle
This body is bottle
And it is life partner.
poem by Gajanan Mishra
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Woes Versus Rues II
One on one, against and with each other
What's a bottle of alcohol?
"Brothers are bound to each other…"
I listened carefully, the smoke lifting
"Because they are bound by blood, "
I listened carefully, remembering everything
"tethered by compulsory empathy."
I listened carefully, the whiskey sweating
"I do not want that..."
I listened carefully, the sweat soldering down
"I want to be your comrade."
I listened carefully, the echoes rupturing painfully
I have never asked:
"What is a comrade? "
poem by Norman Santos
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I like your books
In the betting line the other
day
man behind me asked,
"are you Henry
Chinaski?"
"uh huh," I answered.
"I like your books," he went
on.
"thanks," I answered.
"who do you like in this
race?" he asked.
"uh uh," I answered.
"I like the 4 horse," he
told me.
I made my bet and went back
to my seat....
the next race I am standing in
line and here is this same man
standing behind me
again.
there are at least 50 lines at
the windows but
he has to find mine
again.
"I think this race favors the
closers," he said to the back of
my neck. "the track looks
heavy."
"listen," I said, not looking
around, "it's the kiss of death to
talk about horses at the
track..."
"what kind of rule is that?"
he asked. "God doesn't make
rules..."
I turned around and looked at him:
"maybe not, but I
do."
after the next race
I got in line, glanced behind
me:
he was not there:
lost another reader.
I lose 2 or 3 each
week.
fine.
let 'em go back to
Kafka.
poem by Charles Bukowski
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Message in The Bottle
Suddenly I feel silly
Looking for the message in the bottle in the sky
As the crowd start to melt, "the sea…" one mumble
I search the sea - toss the sand - built a castle
31 days 8 hours 20 minute 12 second I spent in restless
Some figure passed - outreached their hand and off we fly
The sky now highlight in the color of frowning-apple
One step, mislead - they're fading in blinding light
Where am I? Where to go? Where are here?
Another thing revealed… lousy - misshape
Wait… That's the message in the bottle! !
I rejoice - shaking in bewilderment rip of the glass
The yellowish-paper represents the waiting
"Find me in the sea" why? I just did!
Suddenly I feel silly
poem by Niken Kusuma Wardani
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Bottle Of Red Wine
(by bonnie bramlett and eric clapton)
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
I cant get up out of bed
With this crazy feeling in my head.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
You hear what I say?
Gonna love you anyway.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
I went to an all-night get together
And everyone I knew was there.
Had the love that would last forever.
Everywhere I looked, I saw you standing there.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
I cant get up out of bed
With this crazy feeling in my head.
I said get up right now, oh oh.
I said get up right now.
Feel so bad this morning; got a terrible headache in my head.
Do me a favor, baby, do me a favor please.
Please get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
Get up, get up; get your man a big big bottle of red wine.
song performed by by Eric Clapton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Genie
(don henley/stan lynch/stuart brawley)
Is this what you wanted?
Did you even think twice?
Didnt they tell you that anything that feels this good
Comes with a price
It gave you such a rush
Now you think youve had enough
Its not that easy to walk away
This is the hard stuff
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
And everything matters, everything matters
Every little thing you do
That smoldering tingle under your skin
That sweet, delicious, but not-so-original sin
And when the world becomes too little or too much
The shadow mind contrives
The triumph and the tragedy that we invite into our lives
And adam glanced back at the tree
As he was leaving
Said, baby, thats the price we pay
Knowing is grieving
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
And everything matters, everything matters
Everything you say, everything you do
And the past comes back to smack you around
For all the things you thought you got for free
For the arrogance to think that you could somehow
Defy the laws of gravity
These are lessons in humility
Penitence for past offenses
Consequences, consequences
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
You cant get the genie back in the bottle
song performed by by Don Henley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Genie in the Bottle
Where is that genie in the bottle?
Where is it that he dwells?
Oh if I could find him
I wish these living hells
could evaporate like a vapor
and rise like a mist in the air.
I'd wish he could bring all decency back
and make everyone aware
of beauty, of cleanliness
and grace.
I'd rub that bottle again and again
until I saw his face
and when he appeared I'd ask of him
to soothe the human race.
But the genie in the bottle
that I've been searching for
cannot be found any longer.
He lives only in folklore.
We must be the genie
and perform the miracles we need.
We must wake up every morning
and try to do a good deed.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down
Tonight the bottle let me down
It let your memory come around
The one true friend I thought Id found
Tonight the bottle let me down
Ive always had a bottle I could turn to
And lately Ive been turnin every day
But the wine dont take effect the way it used to
And Im hurtin in old familiar ways
Tonight the bottle let me down
It let your memory come around
The one true friend I thought Id found
Tonight the bottle let me down
Each night I leave the bar room when its over
Not feeling any pain at closing time
But tonight your memory found me much too sober
I cant drink enough to keep you off my mind
Tonight the bottle let me down
It let your memory come around
The one true friend I thought Id found
Tonight the bottle let me down
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Note
one night on the beach
i chanced upon a bottle
with a little note bearing words so chilly
i thought it should be left
in the bottle and corked
the way they were in the heart of the author
the andaman sea roared, cried to claim the bottle
the little note as dry as it was found
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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Sonnet V: Nothing But No
Nothing but "No," and "Aye," and "Aye," and "No"?
How falls it out so strangely you reply?
I tell ye, Fair, I'll not be answer'd so,
With this affirming "No," denying "Aye."
I say, "I love," you slightly answer "Aye";
I say, "You love," you pule me out a "No";
I say, "I die," you echo me an "Aye";
"Save me," I cry, you sigh me out a "No";
Must woe and I have nought but "No" and "Aye"?
No I am I, if I no more can have;
Answer no more, with silence make reply,
And let me take myself what I do crave.
Let "No" and "Aye" with I and you be so;
Then answer "No," and "Aye," and "Aye" and "No."
poem by Michael Drayton
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Lucindy Jane
When I was young I was too proud
To wheel my daughter in her pram.
"It's infra dig," I said aloud,--
Bot now I'm old, behold I am
Perambulating up and down
Grand-daughter through the town.
And when I come into the Square,
Beside the fountain I will stop;
And as to rest I linger there,
The dames will say: "How do, Grand-pop!
Lucindy Jane with eyes so blue
Looks more and more like you."
And sure it's pleased as Punch I get,
And take Lucindy on my knee;
Aye, at the risk of getting wet,
I blether to the girls a wee:
Then as we have a bottle date
Home we perambulate.
Gosh! That's the joy of all my day;
And as I play the part of nurse:
"She's got your nose," I hear them say.
Thinks I: "Well now, she might have worse."
And how I dream I'll live to see
A great-grandchild upon my knee,
Whom folks say looks like me!
poem by Robert William Service
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Confessions
What is he buzzing in my ears?
"Now that I come to die,
Do I view the world as a vale of tears?"
Ah, reverend sir, not I!
What I viewed there once, what I view again
Where the physic bottles stand
On the table's edge, -is a suburb lane,
With a wall to my bedside hand.
That lane sloped, much as the bottles do,
From a house you could descry
O'er the garden-wall: is the curtain blue
Or green to a healthy eye?
To mine, it serves for the old June weather
Blue above lane and wall;
And that farthest bottle labelled "Ether"
Is the house o'ertopping all.
At a terrace, somewhere near the stopper,
There watched for me, one June,
A girl; I know, sir, it's improper,
My poor mind's out of tune.
Only, there was a way... you crept
Close by the side, to dodge
Eyes in the house, two eyes except:
They styled their house "The Lodge".
What right had a lounger up their lane?
But, by creeping very close,
With the good wall's help, -their eyes might strain
And stretch themselves to Oes,
Yet never catch her and me together,
As she left the attic, there,
By the rim of the bottle labelled "Ether",
And stole from stair to stair,
And stood by the rose-wreathed gate. Alas,
We loved, sir -used to meet:
How sad and bad and mad it was -
But then, how it was sweet!
poem by Robert Browning
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What is—
215
What is—"Paradise"—
Who live there—
Are they "Farmers"—
Do they "hoe"—
Do they know that this is "Amherst"—
And that I—am coming—too—
Do they wear "new shoes"—in "Eden"—
Is it always pleasant—there—
Won't they scold us—when we're homesick—
Or tell God—how cross we are—
You are sure there's such a person
As "a Father"—in the sky—
So if I get lost—there—ever—
Or do what the Nurse calls "die"—
I shan't walk the "Jasper"—barefoot—
Ransomed folks—won't laugh at me—
Maybe—"Eden" a'n't so lonesome
As New England used to be!
poem by Emily Dickinson
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The Great Australian Adjective
The sunburnt ---- stockman stood
And, in a dismal ---- mood,
Apostrophized his ---- cuddy;
"The ---- nag's no ---- good,
He couldn't earn his ---- food -
A regular ---- brumby,
----!"
He jumped across the ---- horse
And cantered off, of ---- course!
The roads were bad and ---- muddy;
Said he, "Well, spare me ---- days
The ---- Government's ---- ways
Are screamin' ---- funny,
----!"
He rode up hill, down ---- dale,
The wind it blew a ---- gale,
The creek was high and ---- floody.
Said he, "The ---- horse must swim,
The same for ---- me and him,
Is something ---- sickenin',
----!"
He plunged into the ---- creek,
The ---- horse was ---- weak,
The stockman's face a ---- study!
And though the ---- horse was drowned
The ---- rider reached the ground
Ejaculating, "----!"
"----!"
This poem was originally published under the title "----!" (The Great Australian Adjective).
C.J. Dennis borrowed the style for his poem 'The Australaise.'
poem by William Thomas Goodge
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Bottle Let Me Down
(Merle Haggard)
Each night I leave the barroom when it's over
Not feeling any pain at closing time
But tonight you memory found me much to sober
Couldn't drink enough to keep you off my mind
Tonight the bottle let down
and let you memory come around
The one true friend I thought I'd found
Tonight the bottle let down
I've always had a bottle I could turn to
And lately I've been turning everyday
But the wind don't take effect the way it used to
And I'm hurting in an old familiar way
Tonight the bottle let down
and let you memory come around
The one true friend I thought I'd found
Tonight the bottle let down
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Bottle Let Me Down
(merle haggard)
Each night I leave the barroom when its over
Not feeling any pain at closing time
But tonight you memory found me much to sober
Couldnt drink enough to keep you off my mind
Tonight the bottle let down
And let you memory come around
The one true friend I thought Id found
Tonight the bottle let down
Ive always had a bottle I could turn to
And lately Ive been turning everyday
But the wind dont take effect the way it used to
And Im hurting in an old familiar way
Tonight the bottle let down
And let you memory come around
The one true friend I thought Id found
Tonight the bottle let down
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Drown My Sorrows
I’m sitting alone in the Blue Parrot Bar,
my world has fallen apart.
The woman I love has said goodbye
there’s no love for me in her heart.
We once said we were made for each other
and I believed it with all of my heart.
I’m taking my first drink from this bottle;
after a few the forgetting should start.
We used to get on so well together,
we shared every minute of the day.
I’ll take another drink from this bottle
now that she’s cast my love away.
I just can’t stop thinking about her,
nothing will ever be the same.
I’ll take another drink from this bottle,
maybe it’ll help to numb the pain.
When I reach the bottom of this bottle
her memory should have gone,
so I’ll finish what’s left in the bottle.
My mistake, it’s going to take more than one.
poem by Orlando Belo
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