Years Of The Modern
YEARS of the modern! years of the unperform'd!
Your horizon rises--I see it parting away for more august dramas;
I see not America only--I see not only Liberty's nation, but other
nations preparing;
I see tremendous entrances and exits--I see new combinations--I see
the solidarity of races;
I see that force advancing with irresistible power on the world's
stage;
(Have the old forces, the old wars, played their parts? are the acts
suitable to them closed?)
I see Freedom, completely arm'd, and victorious, and very haughty,
with Law on one side, and Peace on the other,
A stupendous Trio, all issuing forth against the idea of caste;
--What historic denouements are these we so rapidly approach?
I see men marching and countermarching by swift millions; 10
I see the frontiers and boundaries of the old aristocracies broken;
I see the landmarks of European kings removed;
I see this day the People beginning their landmarks, (all others give
way;)
--Never were such sharp questions ask'd as this day;
Never was average man, his soul, more energetic, more like a God;
Lo! how he urges and urges, leaving the masses no rest;
His daring foot is on land and sea everywhere--he colonizes the
Pacific, the archipelagoes;
With the steam-ship, the electric telegraph, the newspaper, the
wholesale engines of war,
With these, and the world-spreading factories, he interlinks all
geography, all lands;
--What whispers are these, O lands, running ahead of you, passing
under the seas? 20
Are all nations communing? is there going to be but one heart to the
globe?
Is humanity forming, en-masse?--for lo! tyrants tremble, crowns grow
dim;
The earth, restive, confronts a new era, perhaps a general divine
war;
No one knows what will happen next--such portents fill the days and
nights;
Years prophetical! the space ahead as I walk, as I vainly try to
pierce it, is full of phantoms;
Unborn deeds, things soon to be, project their shapes around me;
This incredible rush and heat--this strange extatic fever of dreams,
O years!
Your dreams, O year, how they penetrate through me! (I know not
whether I sleep or wake!)
The perform'd America and Europe grow dim, retiring in shadow behind
me,
The unperform'd, more gigantic than ever, advance, advance upon
me. 30
poem by Walt Whitman
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Related quotes
I Believe In America
I Believe In America…., we’re a nation of hopes and dreams…..,
Sweet freedom will fill our needs…., I Believe In America.
I Believe In America…., I believe we must fight for peace….,
My faith in us will never cease…., I Believe In America.
With His strength from up above…,
We’ll prevail on our massive quest…,
Our nation breathes kindness and love…..,
We’ll lead our world to happiness.
I Believe In America…, we are united in democracy….,
Defeating evil and hypocrisy…., I Believe In America.
Our Lord is watching every move we make…..,
I know He’ll help us do our best….,
Guiding us with every step we take….,
Because our lives are truly blessed.
I Believe In America…., we’re a nation of hopes and dreams…..,
Sweet freedom will fill our needs…., I Believe In America.
Yes, I Believe In America.
poem by Trade Martin
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I believe in an America that is on the march — an America respected by all nations, friends and foes alike — an America that is moving, doing, working, trying — a strong America in a world of peace. That peace must be based on world law and world order, on the mutual respect of all nations for the rights and powers of others and on a world economy in which no nation lacks the ability to provide a decent standard of living for all of its people.
quote by John F. Kennedy
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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United Nations Mission World Peace
Our United Nations
its case mission global
to achieve world peace;
so stock take
how many days
of world peace;
has the United Nations
actually achieved since
end of World War Two?
United Nations
Prestigious World Peace;
batting average?
Answer officially
a total of 26 days
of world peace;
since those mass
annihilation days
back in 1945 wars.
Batting total of 26 days
in ticking war torn 66 years;
wars blaze slays pays.
In realistic some ways
peace days; none always;
some war fought forms
of profit wars,
exist at all times;
in some places.
United Nations
peace mandate
success rating sucks!
Who is responsible?
Splitting image from the poem ‘Flouting UN Security Council Resolutions? ’ by Terence George Craddock.
poem by Terence George Craddock
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A Year of Anniversaries
This year is a year of anniversaries,
and I remember where I was,
and what I was doing on each of them,
when the news came through.
The death of two famous people
who had an effect on our lives
and a diabolical act of terrorism
one could never forget.
That stunned nations around the world.
Thirty years ago,
the world was stunned by the passing of a king.
The king of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.
Although his voice was silenced
on a bathroom floor,
he left with us all a legacy
of his music that will live eternally.
Ten years ago the world lost a Princess
in a car crash in Paris.
A Royal Princess of the likes no one had ever seen before,
whose gentleness and kindness
with everyone she met
will always be remembered.
She was Diana, Princess of Wales,
but she was more than that,
she was a Princess to the world.
She reached out to the poor and rich alike.
She was mourned by millions across every land.
The legacy she left is to befriend everyone.
Then six years ago, something happened.
It drew together nations,
who sometimes were at odds with one another,
to defeat an enemy
whose fingers stretched across many lands.
Loved ones of many nations mourned
when the twin towers crumbled to the ground
in a diabolical act of terror.
Planes were ordered out of the sky,
and for days after as I remember
I never saw a single bird fly.
Silence drew a cloud around the world,
on that day of infamy,
11 September 2001.
Images flew around the world to television screens.
Everyone looked in disbelief
at the pictures that they saw.
The unimaginable had happened.
Terror had struck
the corner stone of freedom
with one almighty blow.
The world was a sad place that day
as many millions cried.
Now the anniversaries have rolled around.
Memories of what I was doing on those days,
come to the forefront of my mind,
of how I felt,
where I was,
when for a few minutes around the world
time stood still in my life.
So I ask as you finish this poem to take a minute of your time to remember all those who lost their lives and those who risked their lives to save people most didn’t know six years ago today.
poem by David Harris
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A Door To World Peace
The door to world peace is open.
All nations are invited to come in.
A welcome mat is available for every one,
And rogue nations may enter again.
The door to world peace is open
And no nation is turned away,
But if few decide not to enter the fold,
Peace will be shortlived in every way.
Peace keepers fill our hearts with hope,
And attempt to dry our heavy tears,
And open hearts for sound relationships
That will last for many delightful years.
A nation that is closed to others
Grows harder than concrete or stone,
And the people who reside there
Are destined to be isolated and alone.
If you slam the door on some nations,
Peace initiatives will continue to cease,
But if all nations are willing to compromise,
What a difference it can make to seek peace?
Skeptical nations will always wonder
How world peace might have been
When the door was open for them to enter,
But they failed to come in.
poem by Joseph T. Renaldi
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Spirit Of America
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
The bonneville salt flats had seen some strange things
But the strangest thing yet was a jet without wings
Once as a jet it played in the stars
But now on the ground its the king of our cars
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
An airplane an auto now famous worldwide
The spirit of america, the name on the side
The man who would drive her craig breedlove by name
A daring young man played a dangerous game
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
With a j-47, a jet for his power
Craig breedlove had averaged four-o-seven per hour
Both man and machine had given fair warn
Theyd set a new record on that warm august morn.
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
Spirit of america
song performed by by Beach Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Let America be America Again
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!
poem by Langston Hughes
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When The World Is Running Down
Turn on my V.C.R.
Same one I've had for years
James Brown on the T. A. M. I. show
Same tape I've had for years
I sit in my old car
Same one I've had for years
Old battery's running down
It ran for years and years
Turn on the radio
The static hurts my ears
Tell me where would I go
I ain't been out in years
Turn on the stereo
It's played for years and years
An Otis Redding song
It's all I own
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
Plug in my M.C.I
To exercise my brain
Make records on my own
Can't go out in the rain
Pick up the telephone
I've listened here for years
No one to talk to me
I've listened here for years
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When I feel lonely here
Don't waste my time with tears
I run 'Deep Throat' again
It ran for years and years
Don't like the food I eat
The cans are running out
Same food for years and years
I hate the food I eat
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what's still around
song performed by by Police
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Never Give Up
Never give up,
Never give up!
For the heat belongs to the noise and,
The cold belongs to silence;
But we are all made of love and hatred in this world.
Wine and tea,
Seven miles ahead of you to swing the muse;
Molasses and banana,
Seven years away from you without your love;
Information is very important to us all in this world.
So many years,
So many dreams,
So many acts,
So many attempts,
So many tears;
But never give up!
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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One Day (a song)
I never expected to live so long
In those shell-shocked years when lymphoma came
In the proliferate shadow of the nuclear bomb
With wars fanning out like toxic flowers
It was hard to believe and grow up tall
Without a shield or a place to fall.
I never thought I'd live to see
The days of crowds so dense and wild
In processionals of liberty
Nelson Mandela strolling free
Lands governed by people, not big men
Exulting the power of ballot and pen.
I'm still waiting to walk that country of dreams
Where no child stays hungry, no baby weeps
While the waiting is longer than it seems
The poems in my head will send me to sleep
I never thought to live so long
With the taunts and screams assailing us
The acts of violence carrying on
And it threatened the heart, to look around
And see the mass of impunity
But I held my immunity, tight and strong
In the certainty that you would come
And one day listen to my song.
poem by Frank Bana
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Love With Peace And Justice
It's a troubled World we live in the World of today
But love with peace and justice only decades away
In fifty years or less from now there won't be mistrust and hate
The war lords and the men of war will have passed their use by date.
Those who love peace and justice are beginning to unite
And for the men who worship war their loss of power in sight
Soon war jets will not fly the sky under the cloak of night
And those who promote harmony will be the men of might.
The yearn for peace is spreading getting stronger by the day
And those who are divisive will not have a part to play
In the World of the future the racist and the cruel
Will not have any power at all only the just will rule.
The children who are born today will surely live to see
A World of peace and harmony and of war and hatred free
For the yearn for peace is spreading and with each passing day it grow
And war will be unheard of in forty years or so.
poem by Francis Duggan
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With Antecedents
WITH antecedents;
With my fathers and mothers, and the accumulations of past ages;
With all which, had it not been, I would not now be here, as I am:
With Egypt, India, Phenicia, Greece and Rome;
With the Kelt, the Scandinavian, the Alb, and the Saxon;
With antique maritime ventures,--with laws, artizanship, wars and
journeys;
With the poet, the skald, the saga, the myth, and the oracle;
With the sale of slaves--with enthusiasts--with the troubadour, the
crusader, and the monk;
With those old continents whence we have come to this new continent;
With the fading kingdoms and kings over there; 10
With the fading religions and priests;
With the small shores we look back to from our own large and present
shores;
With countless years drawing themselves onward, and arrived at these
years;
You and Me arrived--America arrived, and making this year;
This year! sending itself ahead countless years to come.
O but it is not the years--it is I--it is You;
We touch all laws, and tally all antecedents;
We are the skald, the oracle, the monk, and the knight--we easily
include them, and more;
We stand amid time, beginningless and endless--we stand amid evil and
good;
All swings around us--there is as much darkness as light; 20
The very sun swings itself and its system of planets around us;
Its sun, and its again, all swing around us.
As for me, (torn, stormy, even as I, amid these vehement days,)
I have the idea of all, and am all, and believe in all;
I believe materialism is true, and spiritualism is true--I reject no
part.
Have I forgotten any part?
Come to me, whoever and whatever, till I give you recognition.
I respect Assyria, China, Teutonia, and the Hebrews;
I adopt each theory, myth, god, and demi-god;
I see that the old accounts, bibles, genealogies, are true, without
exception; 30
I assert that all past days were what they should have been;
And that they could no-how have been better than they were,
And that to-day is what it should be--and that America is,
And that to-day and America could no-how be better than they are.
In the name of These States, and in your and my name, the Past,
And in the name of These States, and in your and my name, the Present
time.
I know that the past was great, and the future will be great,
And I know that both curiously conjoint in the present time,
(For the sake of him I typify--for the common average man's sake--
your sake, if you are he;)
And that where I am, or you are, this present day, there is the
centre of all days, all races, 40
And there is the meaning, to us, of all that has ever come of races
and days, or ever will come.
poem by Walt Whitman
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America- America, How I Love You So
America, America,
How I love you so,
We are richly blessed from up above,
Where all good blessings flow.
What other land upon this earth,
Like ours could ever be,
We are duty bound and ready to fight,
From sea to shining sea.
She has conquered lands around the world,
In great and numerous wars,
Let freedom ring for everyone,
From shore to gleaming shore.
Her gallant men strong and true,
Bear arms to keep her safe,
Old glory flies in distant lands,
None can take her place.
Her brave young men in foreign lands,
Go forth that freedom may flow,
That this great land may forever stand,
America, America, how I love you so.
Author,
Franklin Spriggs
April 26,2008
Dedicated to our Veterans, (active and inactive)
poem by Franklin Spriggs
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Greatest of the Great
Great, America Great
The god of all nations
Lord of all states
Voice of the voiceless
Strength of the weak
Eyes of the blind
You are the lion claws of the earth
The un-slumbering eagle eyes ever awake
Your fang, a devastating missile to injustice
Great America, great
Lead America, lead on
Abolisher of slave trade
Installer of rights
Enforcer of justice
Light to the dark world
Terror to the terrorist
Spine of the human rights
Pursuer of justice for humanity
Slaver freer
The land of freedom for all
Blanket of naked
Hope of the hopeless
With you, opportunity is not a waste
In you talent is celestially optimized
Great America, great
Long live great fathers that begot great leaders
With you, color is fashion
Content is valued
With you gender is style
Age is number
Religion is choice
Freedom is full
My eyes hope to see you someday
My foot itches for you
Though terrors many are in the world
But with you all hope is not lost
Great America
Keeper of peace
Great America
My gentle giant
Great America, o my greatest hero
The fairer morale of the earth
Great America, hope of the unborn generation
Live on and lead on
Great America, the greatest of the great.
poem by Ezekiel Igbodo
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Papa
Papa, this is your son writing to you from a very strange land;
There is air on this land but with the floating minds that muses,
And of the power of love and the power of the muse that it brings.
I have been able to live here for many years and,
I have taken your words and i am now myself over here.
This is a very strange land with no air,
But your words had taken me in that far;
For up and close and personal is the muse that the land shares.
I am living on this strange land with my lover,
But my heart will grow on to fulfil my dreams;
Papa, it is all coming back to you now!
For your words are my weapons over here to muse up with others.
The immortality of the mortals seems far from this dream,
And i will always do my best to get you the news from here always;
But if the walls could talk, they could have told you much already.
I will give up on this dream and,
Living in this strange land will be my weapon ahead;
For, i left home to be able to satisfy you people as well.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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True Liberty
The day in which one celebrates, Independence of a union of states,
Independence from powers outside; freedom that was once denied,
The freest nation in this world, a point that others sometimes herald,
Causing many who are weary in heart, to come here for a fresh start.
A day of real joyous celebration, all across this now powerful nation,
As our voices together are raised, with full hearts a nation is praised,
Festive fireworks are always planned, in many cities across this land,
Celebrating what many of us see, as the greatest nation in all history.
Liberty we celebrate by proclamation, extends to all within this nation,
However that liberty extends only, to the borders of this dear country,
Beyond the borders and the sea, the nation’s people may not be free,
When many travel to other lands, freedoms turn into other’s demands.
Demands which turn into bondage, leaving this land of great privilege,
Privileges that others only dream of, as they look to this land we love,
A land that is so blessed by God, many agree, on this day with a nod,
But, forgetting Him most of the year; living so privileged, without fear.
There’s a freedom many don’t know, as their freedoms for them grow,
Liberty, from the bondage of sin, that captivates our land from within,
That freedom which we celebrate, doesn’t free men from Satan’s hate,
As the Devil leads a war against God, all across this land that we trod.
Freedom from such an evil foe, comes only when the Savior we know,
Who left all the Glory of Eternity, coming to earth to set captives free,
The only true freedom on this earth, comes to man, by a spiritual birth,
Through the Liberty in Jesus Christ, when in Him they receive New Life.
(Copyright ©07/2008)
Peace Everywhere
Peace, everywhere, peace today!
Peace in lands of scruffy trees and pine,
Peace in lands of olives and wine,
Peace in lands where peaks are white,
Peace in lands where fields are bright.
Peace in lands of oasis and sand,
Peace in lands where people band,
Peace in lands where children play,
Peace in lands where people pray,
Peace in lands in the thick of the fight,
Peace in lands ruled by force and might.
Everywhere, everywhere, peace this day!
Pray that all world leaders lead the way,
Encouraging moral people to stand proud and tall,
No government too great, no nation too small.
poem by Joseph T. Renaldi
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Rendering
Advance to be recognized…
is a call made to award
those who have served
the government for public service
after 20,25,30,35 or mores years
of work till retirement age.
Walk up to the stage…
to receive a pin and certificate
marking the dedicated vocation
that each one has rendered
through the long years
of patiently doing a job.
For those who just finished 20 years…
be inspired by those seniors
who were ahead and now retiring,
they are an epitome of idealism
doing their part in the society
and become asset not liability.
But why persist....?
To spend one's prime
as public servant, instead
of venturing to greater height
and build an empire of wealth
like the self-made billionaires.
Money is not everything…
Yes it can provide almost all
That man seeks in this world
Yet, the real joy is finding
Self- fulfillment by serving others
For such opportunity is true honor.
poem by Marvin Brato Sr
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History In The Making
history was in the making on this very day
where Barack Obama became the 44th president of the u.s.a.
for two years he campaigned across this nation of ours
and brought to light, graft and political power.
he brought to light that it was 'time for change'
and this country will never be the same.
he tore down the walls of discrimination
and oppression in this land
and told america it was time to take a stand.
he showed the people that freedom can ring
and made this nation stand up and sing.
no other inauguration in the history of man
could compare to this in our promised land.
the world had been watching every move we make
of that there is no mistake.
and the only thing that this world could see
'was abe lincoln sitting in his chair'
happy faces every where.
the dreams of simple men this day came to life
when the first black president
stood there with his wife.
Lincoln, Kennedy, King, to name just a few
have finally gotten to see their dreams come true.
equality is what we sought
and for equality is what we fought.
this was the dream of this nation
this dream is our salvation
so america we stand with pride
for in this land freedom rides.
poem by Louis Rams
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When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of Whats Still Around
Turn on my vcr
Same one Ive had for years
James brown on the tammy show
Same tape Ive had for years
I sit in my old car
Same one Ive had for years
Old batterys running down
It ran for years and years
Turn on the radio
The static hurts my ears
Tell me where would I go
I aint been out in years
Turn on the stereo
Its played for years and years
An otis redding song
Its all I own
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
Plug in my mci
To excercise my brain
Make records on my own
Cant go out in the rain
Pick up the telephone
Ive listened here for years
No-one to talk to me
Ive listened here for years
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When I feel lonely here
Dont waste my time with tears
I run deep throat again
It ran for years and years
Dont like the food I eat
The cans are running out
Same food for years and years
I hate the food I eat
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of whats still around
song performed by by Police
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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