The Circus Animals' Desertion
I
I sought a theme and sought for it in vain,
I sought it daily for six weeks or so.
Maybe at last, being but a broken man,
I must be satisfied with my heart, although
Winter and summer till old age began
My circus animals were all on show,
Those stilted boys, that burnished chariot,
Lion and woman and the Lord knows what.
II
What can I but enumerate old themes?
First that sea-rider Oisin led by the nose
Through three enchanted islands, allegorical dreams,
Vain gaiety, vain battle, vain repose,
Themes of the embittered heart, or so it seems,
That might adorn old songs or courtly shows;
But what cared I that set him on to ride,
I, starved for the bosom of his faery bride?
And then a counter-truth filled out its play,
'The Countess Cathleen' was the name I gave it;
She, pity-crazed, had given her soul away,
But masterful Heaven had intetvened to save it.
I thought my dear must her own soul destroy,
So did fanaticism and hate enslave it,
And this brought forth a dream and soon enough
This dream itself had all my thought and love.
And when the Fool and Blind Man stole the bread
Cuchulain fought the ungovernable sea;
Heart-mysteries there, and yet when all is said
It was the dream itself enchanted me:
Character isolated by a deed
To engross the present and dominate memory.
players and painted stage took all my love,
And not those things that they were emblems of.
III
Those masterful images because complete
Grew in pure mind, but out of what began?
A mound of refuse or the sweepings of a street,
Old kettles, old bottles, and a broken can,
Old iron, old bones, old rags, that raving slut
Who keeps the till. Now that my ladder's gone,
I must lie down where all the ladders start
In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart.
poem by William Butler Yeats
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Related quotes
Love In Vain
Long night, too long and lonely
Laying there asking myself
Hey, what's going on with you and me
How could I be so unaware
So blind I could not see
Knowing you'd be there
And always would be
Is anyone to blame but me
I've been so concerned with myself
Now I need you desperately
If you've fallen for another
Let's be honest with each other
Is there still a chance
And maybe hope to save our romance
We can't be strangers
You mean too much to me
I won't let this be a love in vain
Don't want the loneliness
Of just a memory
I don't want a love in vain
Just one more night, I want to spend with you
We'll let our hearts do the talking
Like we used to do
We'll make our first kiss last forever
Put the pieces back together
'Cause there's still a chance
There may be hope to save our romance
We can't be strangers
You mean to much to me
I won't let this be a love in vain, don't want a love in vain
I don't want the loneliness
Of just a memory
Don't want a love in vain
Oh, woman look what you've done to me
I'll show you how this love should be
Don't let it be a love in vain
Please don't, don't you know
You got my heart on a string
Don't let go
Don't let this love be a love in vain
We can't be strangers
It's not our destiny
I won't let this be a love in vain, don't want a love in vain
Don't want the loneliness
Of just a memory
Don't let this be a love in vain
song performed by by Foreigner
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ballad
A faithless shepherd courted me,
He stole away my liberty.
When my poor heart was strange to men,
He came and smiled and stole it then.
When my apron would hang low,
Me he sought through frost and snow.
When it puckered up with shame,
And I sought him, he never came.
When summer brought no fears to fright,
He came to guard me every night.
When winter nights did darkly prove,
None came to guard me or to love.
I wish, I wish, but all in vain,
I wish I was a maid again.
A maid again I cannot be,
O when will green grass cover me?
poem by John Clare
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A Love In Vain
Long night, too long and lonely
Laying there asking myself
Hey, whats going on with you and me
How could I be so unaware
So blind I could not see
Knowing youd be there
And always would be
Is anyone to blame but me
Ive been so concerned with myself
Now I need you desperately
If youve fallen for another
Lets be honest with each other
Is there still a chance
And maybe hope to save our romance
We cant be strangers
You mean too much to me
I wont let this be a love in vain
Dont want the loneliness
Of just a memory
I dont want a love in vain
Just one more night, I want to spend with you
Well let our hearts do the talking
Like we used to do
Well make our first kiss last forever
Put the pieces back together
cause theres still a chance
There may be hope to save our romance
We cant be strangers
You mean to much to me
I wont let this be a love in vain, dont want a love in vain
I dont want the loneliness
Of just a memory
Dont want a love in vain
Oh, woman look what youve done to me
Ill show you how this love should be
Dont let it be a love in vain
Please dont, dont you know
You got my heart on a string
Dont let go
Dont let this love be a love in vain
We cant be strangers
Its not our destiny
I wont let this be a love in vain, dont want a love in vain
Dont want the loneliness
Of just a memory
Dont let this be a love in vain
song performed by by Foreigner
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Rags & Old Iron
Norman curtis, oscar brown jr
Rags old iron rags old iron
All he was buying was just rags and old iron
I heard that old rag man now making his rounds
He came right to my alley lord with sorrowful sounds
Crying rags old iron and pulling his cart
Ask him how much hed give me for my broken heart
Rags old iron rags old iron
All he was buying was just rags and old iron
So I asked that old rag man how much he would pay
For a heart that was broken baby when you went away
For a burnt out old love light that no longer beams
And a couple of slightly used second hand dreams
Rags old iron rags old iron
All he was buying was just rags and old iron
For those big empty promises you used to make
For those memories of you that are no longer sweet
I wish he could haul them off down the street
Rags old iron rags old iron
All he was buying was just rags and old iron
When love doesnt last tell me what is it worth
It was once mamas most precious possession on earth
When I asked that old rag man if hed like to buy
He just shook his head and continued to cry
Rags old iron rags old iron
All he was buying was just rags and old iron
Rags old iron rags old iron
Rags old iron rags old iron rags old iron
song performed by by Nina Simone
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Dream Girl
In my dreams she will always be my Dream Girl
Her love is my desired dream
Love, her love, will forever be my desire
Since, with her I feel so complete.
Mine, she is mine and I mean it
Even though, the reality has stolen her away from me
Still, in my dreams I will dream about her
Life, does not have answers to all our problems
Crying, cannot solve anything
That is why I am praying for her well being with the true feelings of my heart
Love her I do so much
Even she knows it and nothing is her fault
I love her so much, since she cared about me when nobody else even thought about me
She is a perfect soul and I love her so much
Till, the last breath of mine, she will be only mine
Even though just in my dreams, only in my dreams.
poem by Rohit Sapra
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When I Live My Dream
When I live my dream, Ill take you with me
Riding on a golden horse
Well live within my castle, with people there to serve you
Happy at the sound of your voice
Baby, Ill slay a dragon for you
Or banish wicked giants from the land
But you will find, that nothing in my dream can hurt you
We will only love each other as forever
When I live my dream
When I live my dream, Ill forgive the things youve told me
And the empty man you left behind
Its a broken heart that dreams, its a broken heart you left me
Only love can live in my dream
Ill wish, and the thunder clouds will vanish
Wish, and the storm will fade away
Wish again, and you will stand before me while the sky will paint an overture
And trees will play the rhythm of my dream
When I live my dream, please be there to meet me
Let me be the one to understand
When I live my dream, Ill forget the hurt you gave me
Then we can live in our new land
Till the day my dream cascades around me
Im content to let you pass me by
Till that day, youll run to many other men
But let them know its just for now
Tell them that Ive got a dream
And tell them youre the starring role
Tell them Im a dreaming kind of guy
And Im going to make my dream
Tell them I will live my dream
Tell them they can laugh at me
But dont forget your date with me
When I live my dream
song performed by by David Bowie
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Goodbye My Love
Goodbye my love
I have come to let you go
To say a sad farewell
My heart has surrendered
All the hope in you it held
Time became to much
And opportunity failed to show
A thought began and it grew
Telling my heart constantly
That which it already knew
The denial lasted so long
How my heart fought for you
Bravely and valiant
Fought in each dream to believe
Till the colour faded away
The words ebbed into a silence
So I find myself here standing
Ready to say goodbye
Take care my love
Ill let you go
poem by Matthew Holloway
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The image broken
'Twas but a dream; a fond and foolish dream;
The calenture of a delirious brain,
Whose fever thirst creates the rushing stream.
Now to the actual I awake again:
The vision to my gaze one moment granted,
Fades in its light away, and leaves me disenchanted.
The image that my glowing fancy wrought,
Now to the dust with ruthless hand I cast:
Thus I renounce the worship that I sought;
Of my own idol the iconoclast.
The echo of "Eureka, I have found!"
Falls back upon my heart, a vain and empty sound.
Oh disembodied being of my mind,
So wildly loved, so fervently adored;
In whom all high and glorious gifts I shrined,
And my heart's incense on the altar poured;
Now do I know, that clad in mortal guise,
Ne'er on this earth wilt thou upon my vision rise.
That only in the vague, cold realm of thought,
Shall I meet thee whom here I seek in vain;
And like Egyptian Isis, when she sought
The scattered fragments of Osiris slain,
Now do I know that I shall never find
But fragments of thy soul within earth's clay enshrined.
Thou whom I have not seen, and shall not see,
Till the sad drama of this life be o'er!
Yet do I not renounce my faith in thee:
Thou art still mine, I think, forevermore;
And this belief shall be the funeral pyre
Of all less noble love, -- of all less high desire.
Here, like the Hindoo widow, I will bring
Hope, youth, and all that woman prizes most,
The glow of summer and the bloom of spring,
And on thy altar lay the holocaust;
And in my faith exulting, I will see
The sacrifice consume, I consecrate to thee.
To love's sweet tones my heart shall never thrill,
Nor, as the tardy years their circles roll,
Shall they the ardor of its pulses chill.
Thus will I live, in widowhood of soul,
Until, at last, my lingering exile o'er,
Upon some lovelier star, too bless'd, we meet once more.
Oh, tell me not, that now indeed I dream;
That these aspirings mocked at last will be: --
Gleams of a higher life, to me they seem
A sacred pledge of immortality.
Tell not the yearning heart it shall not find:
Oh Love, thou art too strong! Oh God, thou art too kind!
poem by Anne Lynch Botta from Poems (1848)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Thou Blind Man's Mark
Thou blind man's mark, thou fool's self chosen snare,
Fond fancy's scum, and dregs of scatter'd thought,
Band of all evils, cradle of causeless care,
Thou web of will,whose end is never wrought.
Desire, desire I have too dearly bought,
With price of mangled mind thy worthless ware,
Too long, too long asleep thou hast me brought,
Who should my mind to higher things prepare.
But yet in vain thou hast my ruin sought,
In vain thou madest me to vain things aspire,
In vain thou kindlest all thy smoky fire.
For virtue hath this better lesson taught,
Within myself to seek my only hire:
Desiring nought but how to kill desire.
poem by Philip Sidney
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Poem To A Stoner....2
I had a dream
this dream it was so real
but a dream which i could feel
and my broken heart this dream began to heal
because moments from love it began to steal.
i had a dream which felt so real
i had a dream wich gave me emotion to feel
i had a dream, a dream of you
this dream seemed to be my only clue
this deam was a dream of me and you,
maybe my dream was not really a dream
but becase i closed my eyes a dream is what you seemed
so i took my clue.
that clue being you.
and as iopened my eyes i saw the dream
the dream of me and you
poem by Maneshree Govender
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Pain
She crys out in vain
as she watchs the moon
and feels its chill
from the rain of thoughts
that blisters her dreams
She crys out in vain
as she remembers
how she opens her heart
only for it be broken in two
She remembers his smile
when he waves his farewell
as he walked away
from her veiw of pain
She begs to be forgiven
for her cold reception
of dougbts that made
her soul bleed
for a lost love forsaken
She pushed away
the one man that loved her
because of her own doubts
that bleed her heart of pain
All she remembers is the pain
from the past
all she remembers is
crying in vain
she can not will not
put her self though
all this again
She walks away with a broken heart
never to know how much he loved her so
poem by Kaila George
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A Forgotten Word
I know you are in another world
so you can touch my heart, the soul
I know you have another love
so you have a harvest of dream
soul you love my mind
really thought without you
alone can dream you
when I remember
a promise love
and a forgotten word
a broken heart
when we miss
the road where we wish to travel
and burn inside a hope
but dream never
away like a soul
leaving behind a forgotten Mad
poem by Thampi KEE
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Fidelis
You have taken back the promise
That you spoke so long ago;
Taken back the heart you gave me-
I must even let it go.
Where Love once has breathed, Pride dieth,
So I struggled, but in vain,
First to keep the links together,
Then to piece the broken chain.
But it might not be-so freely
All your friendship I restore,
And the heart that I had taken
As my own forevermore.
No shade of reproach shall touch you,
Dread no more a claim from me-
But I will not have you fancy
That I count myself as free.
I am bound by the old promise;
What can break that golden chain?
Not even the words that you have spoken,
Or the sharpness of my pain:
Do you think, because you fail me
And draw back your hand today,
That from out the heart I gave you
My strong love can fade away?
It will live. No eyes may see it;
In my soul it will lie deep,
Hidden from all; but I shall feel it
Often stirring in its sleep.
So remember that the friendship
Which you now think poor and vain,
Will endure in hope and patience,
Till you ask for it again.
Perhaps in some long twilight hour,
Like those we have known of old,
When past shadows gather round you,
And your present friends grow cold,
You may stretch your hands out towards me-
Ahl You will-I know not when-
I shall nurse my love and keep it
Faithfully, for you, till then.
poem by Adelaide Anne Procter
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Psalm 57
Under the shadow of His wings I hide
As I run into this cave
They laid a net before my steps
And my soul I sought to save
For like a lion, they had stalked me
To tear me limb form limb
I ran into the darkness
But I ran away from Him
At first the darkness welcomed me
And I rested in the night
I could not see my enemies
But I had truly lost my sight
My heart was full of hatred
And the darkness did increase
My soul screamed out for justice
And the scream it never ceased
I was lost and broken
This cave was now my jail
If I stayed within this prison
Then I would surely fail
And then my God, He brought to me
The very source of all my pain
I could surely strike out for justice
But what would be my gain
For justice belongs to the Lord our God
Its certainly not for me
And as this thought ran through my mind
The darkness began to flee
And as the dawn began to break
And the sun rose in my heart
I put my knife back in my belt
And let my enemy depart
Justice is mine sayeth the Lord
You must turn the other cheek
You must not hunt down your enemies
It is I that you should seek
And now I will awaken the dawn
And lift my voice and sing
And praise you amongst the people
I will praise you oh mighty King
poem by Frank McEleny
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I Will Awaken The Dawn
Under the shadow of His wings I hide
As I run into this cave
They laid a net before my steps
And my soul I sought to save
For like a lion, they had stalked me
To tear me limb form limb
I ran into the darkness
But I ran away from Him
At first the darkness welcomed me
And I rested in the night
I could not see my enemies
But I had truly lost my sight
My heart was full of hatred
And the darkness did increase
My soul screamed out for justice
And the scream it never ceased
I was lost and broken
This cave was now my jail
If I stayed within this prison
Then I would surely fail
And then my God, He brought to me
The very source of all my pain
I could surely strike out for justice
But what would be my gain
For justice belongs to the Lord our God
Its certainly not for me
And as this thought ran through my mind
The darkness began to flee
And as the dawn began to break
And the sun rose in my heart
I put my knife back in my belt
And let my enemy depart
Justice is mine sayeth the Lord
You must turn the other cheek
You must not hunt down your enemies
It is I that you should seek
And now I will awaken the dawn
And lift my voice and sing
And praise you amongst the people
I will praise you oh mighty King
poem by Frank McEleny
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The Fortune Teller
He entered the Fortune Teller's tent
When nobody was around,
He didn't want to be seen in there
By the friends that would put him down,
The woman that sat there, heavily veiled
With her hands on a crystal ball,
Said: ‘Cross my palm with silver, sir,
The crystal reveals it all! '
He sat, but nervously sitting there
His mind had become a blank,
All of the questions he'd thought before
Had gone, and his spirits sank.
‘I see a lot of confusion here
The crystal echoes your mind,
What was the thing that you wanted most
Of the things that you sought to find? '
He dredged in the recess of his soul,
Just what did he really lack?
His life had been more than successful
There was nothing that he'd take back,
But he felt an awful ache just then
From the pit of his lonely heart,
‘I still haven't found a woman to love,
So that will do, for a start! '
She waved her hands on the crystal ball
And he noticed the twisting shapes,
Shadows of past liaisons that
Had passed through his garden gates.
‘Perhaps you treat them unfairly
I see tears here by the score,
The women that you rejected, what
On earth were you looking for? '
‘I was looking for love, ' he stammered out,
He could see she wasn't convinced,
‘Love is the one thing left behind
That you haven't revisited since.'
And he thought of June, of Carolyn
And the love that shone from their eyes,
But he'd been so very much younger then
He confessed, and not very wise!
‘They were only poor young village girls,
I'd set my heart on a dream,
I wanted a lady of fashion then
A Duchess, even a Queen! '
‘Do you think that pearls and coronets
Are the signs of a loving heart?
You'd find the cost of upkeeping them
Are the things that set you apart.'
‘There was a girl, ' he began again
That I could have loved with my life, '
He stopped and thought about Carolyn,
‘I should have made her my wife! '
‘I see her, here in the crystal ball
Surrounded by all of your lies,
She loved you once in the wherewithal
But you turned, and cast her aside.'
‘Do you think she'd give me a second chance
If I knocked at the girl's front door,
Would she put out the welcome mat for me,
Or wish that I'd never been born?
I must admit I deserve it, I
Have lived my life like a fool,
The dreams I had were beyond me, I
Regret I was ever so cruel! '
‘The crystal sees you approach her door,
You're getting down on your knees,
It shows you grovelling on the floor
In a vain attempt to please.'
‘I'll do it! She may forgive me then…'
And he left the tent in a spin,
While the Fortune Teller took off her veil
And smiled, did Carolyn!
8 October 2012
poem by David Lewis Paget
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Broken Dreams
Theres an ocean in my mind
Id give the world if I could find
A sailing ship and leave the past behind
Now that I must say adieu
Its killing me, Im telling you
When freedom calls what can a person do
I have felt the winds of change
Go stealing through my heart and soul
How wild it seems
In love songs and in nursery rhymes
On movie screens, in fairy tales
Lie broken dreams
Lifes broken dreams
Loves broken dreams
Sometimes a broken dream
Will make you sad or make you mean
Sometimes things aint as bad as they might seem
You might walk a lonely street
Until one day you chance to meet
A stranger who might ask where have you been
You will see the light of change
Come shining through your windowpane
When hope is gone
Though money, fame, and riches are
For fools and kings or anything
That turns them on
Lifes broken deals
Lifes spinning wheels
Theres an ocean I have found
Id like to sail the world around
And dream about the life I hope Ill find
Now that I must say adieu
To loves returns, Im telling you
When freedom comes what can a person do
I have felt the winds of change
Go stealing through my heart and soul
How wild they seem
In sounds of spring, in winter storms
In autumn gales, on summer morns
Lie broken dreams
In love songs and in nursery rhymes
On movie screens, in fairy tales
Like broken dreams
Lifes broken dreams
Loves broken dreams
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To A Lady
O! had my Fate been join'd with thine,
As once this pledge appear'd a token,
These follies had not, then, been mine,
For, then, my peace had not been broken.
To thee, these early faults I owe,
To thee, the wise and old reproving:
They know my sins, but do not know
'Twas thine to break the bonds of loving.
For once my soul, like thine, was pure,
And all its rising fires could smother;
But, now, thy vows no more endure,
Bestow'd by thee upon another.
Perhaps, his peace I could destroy,
And spoil the blisses that await him;
Yet let my Rival smile in joy,
For thy dear sake, I cannot hate him.
Ah! since thy angel form is gone,
My heart no more can rest with any;
But what it sought in thee alone,
Attempts, alas! to find in many.
Then, fare thee well, deceitful Maid!
'Twere vain and fruitless to regret thee;
Nor Hope, nor Memory yield their aid,
But Pride may teach me to forget thee.
Yet all this giddy waste of years,
This tiresome round of palling pleasures;
These varied loves, these matrons' fears,
These thoughtless strains to Passion's measures---
If thou wert mine, had all been hush'd:---
This cheek, now pale from early riot,
With Passion's hectic ne'er had flush'd,
But bloom'd in calm domestic quiet.
Yes, once the rural Scene was sweet,
For Nature seem'd to smile before thee;
And once my Breast abhorr'd deceit,---
For then it beat but to adore thee.
But, now, I seek for other joys---
To think, would drive my soul to madness;
In thoughtless throngs, and empty noise,
I conquer half my Bosom's sadness.
Yet, even in these, a thought will steal,
In spite of every vain endeavor;
And fiends might pity what I feel---
To know that thou art lost for ever.
My Resolution
Love is the solution
This is my resolution
Nightmare is different from a dream
The sea is bigger than the stream
I sought to find out
What the heart desire
And there was nothing than love
That which will take
You higher and above
Love will not treat you wrong
But will make you strong
If love will be away
Then for how long
Love i will not gain
For you to live in pain
If i do that
Then i do that in vain
poem by Matt Ancient
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Stardust (feat. Uncle Festive)
LYRICS BY MITCHELL PARISH
MUSIC BY HOAGY CARMICHAEL
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wandered down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by
Sometimes I wonder why I spend
The lonely night dreaming of a song
The melody haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
Now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Beside a garden wall
When stars are bright you are in my arms
The nightingale tells his fairy tale
Of paradise where roses grew
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain
song performed by by Barry Manilow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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