Overture to a Dance of Locomotives
Men with picked voices chant the names
of cities in a huge gallery: promises
that pull through descending stairways
to a deep rumbling.
The rubbing feet
of those coming to be carried quicken a
grey pavement into soft light that rocks
to and fro, under the domed ceiling,
across and across from pale
earthcolored walls of bare limestone.
Covertly the hands of a great clock
go round and round! Were they to
move quickly and at once the whole
secret would be out and the shuffling
of all ants be done forever.
A leaning pyramid of sunlight, narrowing
out at a high window, moves by the clock:
disaccordant hands straining out from
a center: inevitable postures infinitely
repeated--
two--twofour--twoeight!
Porters in red hats run on narrow platforms.
This way ma'am!
--important not to take
the wrong train!
Lights from the concrete
ceiling hang crooked but--
Poised horizontal
on glittering parallels the dingy cylinders
packed with a warm glow--inviting entry--
pull against the hour. But brakes can
hold a fixed posture till--
The whistle!
Not twoeight. Not twofour. Two!
Gliding windows. Colored cooks sweating
in a small kitchen. Taillights--
In time: twofour!
In time: twoeight!
--rivers are tunneled: trestles
cross oozy swampland: wheels repeating
the same gesture remain relatively
stationary: rails forever parallel
return on themselves infinitely.
The dance is sure.
poem by William Carlos Williams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Time Ticks Like Death Crawling In My Skin
at 6: 15
twilight,
darkness chokes the neck of day
i hear nothing
i tell the fence, steel and rusty, feeling death itself
on its rails,
that death makes no sound, it is only the time ticking
like the dripping of the water from the gutter
to the rocks
at the foot of the house
it is only its hands that move
round and round my body
feeling the irrationality of my wrist,
the mind closes like a window at night
the thoughts are turned off like the lights of the village
the self loses itself in this darkness
you hear nothing of its insanities
no one talks no one listens
at 8 o'clock in the evening all the eyes pretend that sleep is just nearby
in bed my hands argue
there is something wrong
the feet stamp against themselves at the foot of the bed
there are no changes without a bloodshed
that is still the philosophy of life
this world is not a playground for saints
this world spins upon its own foolishness
at the center is the hub of all selfishness
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Human Wheels
This land today, shall draw its last breath
And take into its ancient depths
This frail reminder of its giant, dreaming self
While i, with human-hindered eyes
Unequal to the sweeping curve of life
Stand on this single print of time
Chorus:
Human wheels spin round and round
While the clock keeps the pace
Human wheels spin round and round
Help the light to my face
That time, today, no triumph gains
At this short success of age
This pale reflection of its brave and
Blundering deed
For i, descend from this vault
Now dreams beyond my earthly fault
Knowledge, sure, from the seed
Chorus:
Human wheels spin round and round
While the clock keeps the pace
Human wheels spin round and round
Help the light to my face
This land, today, my tears shall taste
And take into its dark embrace
This love, who in my beating heart endures
Assured, by every sun that burns
The dust to which this flesh shall return
It is the ancient, dreaming dust of god
Chorus:
Human wheels spin round and round
While the clock keeps the pace
Human wheels spin round and round
Help the light to my face
Human wheels spin round and round
While the clock keeps the pace
Human wheels spin round and round
Help the light to my face
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
People In Love
People in love do funny things
Walk under buses and burn their wings
People like us do nothing right
Talk to the ceiling into the night
Look at the smile in her eyes
I knew I was right in my bones
I feel the turnin of wheels as it grows
Look at my face in her eyes
Am I right, am I wrong
Shes given me butterflies all along
Ooh sitting alone in the dark
Ooh feeling you close to me
Were in a dream
But the hands on the clock seem to know
Tell me its time to go
People in love play silly games
Running in circles and everywhere
People like us can make believe
Love is forever and Ill never be
Ooh sitting alone in the dark
Ooh feeling you close to me
Were in a dream
But the hands on the clock seem to know
Tell us its time to go
song performed by by 10 Cc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Till Then
Stock/aitken/waterman
I've been away for such a long time
Every day i miss you
All those long and lonely nights
Counting the hours till i'm with you
Till then
I'll keep holding on
Praying i'm not wrong
Hoping that our love is still strong
(till then)
Keep our love alive
Hope you're satisfied
Till you're right here by my side
And the hands on the clock
Going round and round and round
But time don't seem to be moving at all
Every minute you were on my mind
Every day i wrote you
Half of me is lost in time
Half of me is always with you
Till then
I'll keep holding on
Praying i'm not wrong
Hoping that our love is still strong
(till then)
Keep our love alive
Hope you're satisfied
Till you're right here by my side
And the hands on the clock
Going round and round and round
But time don't seem to be moving at all
Another ticket for another trip
To another destination (destination)
It's just the thought of you that keeps me strong
Moving in the right direction
(choruses to fade)
song performed by by Rick Astley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I Am Time
i am time, more than that, i do not have only hands
i have feet, but like time,
i only move on, i cannot stop, i do not think anymore,
i just run
and i go round and round
not moving that far, i only move in the mind,
like time, i do not see, i have long plucked my eyes
from my sockets, but i still feel, like time,
i know what darkness is
what coldness is, and what anticipation is,
i sense the loneliness of my journey
the eternity of my dreams,
i heal because i forget,
and there is one thing that i wish, like time
weary of its round-the-clock work,
it wants rest, but there is none,
it wishes death, but still unknown.
i am time, and like the river i flow,
like the mirror, i reflect the lights of the world,
uncluttered, unfettered, unbeholden to no one
and there you are wanting to hold me,
like sand, i slip from the fingers
of this world, to space they say
i bend, i tell no one,
i am always moving,
and gone.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Till Then (Time Stands Still)
I've been away for such a long time
Every day I miss you
All those long and lonely nights
Counting the hours till I'm with you
Till then
I'll keep holding on
Praying I'm not wrong
Hoping that our love is still strong
(Till then)
Keep our love alive
Hope you're satisfied
Till you're right here by my side
And the hands on the clock
Going round and round and round
But time don't seem to be moving at all
Every minute you were on my mind
Every day I wrote you
Half of me is lost in time
Half of me is always with you
Till then
I'll keep holding on
Praying I'm not wrong
Hoping that our love is still strong
(Till then)
Keep our love alive
Hope you're satisfied
Till you're right here by my side
And the hands on the clock
Going round and round and round
But time don't seem to be moving at all
Another ticket for another trip
To another destination (destination)
It's just the thought of you that keeps me strong
Moving in the right direction
(Choruses to fade)
song performed by by Rick Astley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Around And Around
I say the joint was rockin'
a goin' 'round and round
Yeah reelin' and a rockin' what a crazy sound
Well they never stopped rockin' till the moon went down
Twelve o'clock
Well the place as packed
Front doors was locked
Well the place was packed
When the police knocked
Both doors flew back
But they kept on rocking
Rockin' Going 'Round and around
Yeah reelin' and a rockin' what a crazy sound
A well they never stopped rockin' till the moon went down
Oh it sounds so sweet I gotta take me a chance
Rose out of my seat I just had to dance
Started movin' my feet well a clappin' my hands
Well the joint started
Rockin' Going 'Round and around
Yeah reelin' and a rockin' what a crazy sound
A well they never stopped rockin' till the moon went down
Twelve o'clock
Well the place as packed
Oh twelve o'clock
Well the place was packed
When the police knocked
Ouh Both doors flew back
Mama they kept on rocking
Rockin' Going 'Round and around
Yeah reelin' and a rockin' what a crazy sound
They never stopped never stopped never stopped never stopped never stopped
rockin' till the moon went down
( Repeat 'til the end
song performed by by Led Zeppelin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Great Mother
Great Mother...
ecstasy dance;
inside the fur of the wolf,
the wings of the hawk
small ants on infinite journeys,
turtles moving to earth time.
water wrapping around rocks,
old tree leaning with time.
blood, sweat, passion's fluids,
the pulse of a cold mountain.
thunder and lightning, clouds hang,
the taste of flesh lingers...
naked by the fire, shadows
on the walls of the cave....
chanting, humming, praying....
with hands bruised and grateful.
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Wheels Of Life
The wheels of life are turning so much faster
The restless hands of time pass me by
There are dreams Ill never live to see
But as long as you believe in me
Ill still feel them on the way
As I take life day by day
Oh the wheels of time are turning so much stronger
The blues of days gone by weigh me down
But maybe love will come to rescue me
And Ill never set you free
Like the sea runs to the shore
Ive come back yo you once more
The wheels of life
The wheels of life
The wheels of life
The wheels of life keep turning round and round
And if I should only have one tomorrow
Its a lifetime if I knew
I could spend that day with you
Ooh, the wheels of love will turn my world forever
I want you in my arms for all time
And maybe love will come to rescue me
And Ill never ever set you free
Like the sea runs to the shore
Ill love you forever more
The wheels of life
The wheels of life
The wheels of life
The wheels of life keep turning round and round
The wheels of life
The wheels of life keep turning so much faster
The wheels of life are turning so much stronger
song performed by by Gino Vanelli
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Time-Watch
Wrist-watch on your arm
Time on your hands
Watching the clock tick
Trying to understand -
Day after day
The hands just go round and round
Spinning in circles, where
Nothing's lost... nothing's found -
Going here
Going there
It's all the same
Everywhere -
Until winding down
We come to find
Our swirling lives
Have run out of time -
Then, the madness
Will stop;
Time to get off
This crazy, spinning clock -
(and fly away, from this crazy, spinning rock...)
poem by Smoky Hoss
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Circle Game
Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, when youre older, must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
Were captive on the carousel of time
We cant return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell him,
Take your time, it wont be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
Were captive on the carousel of time
We cant return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
Therell be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
Were captive on the carousel of time
We cant return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
song performed by by Joni Mitchell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
He's all grown up
Tiny hands lift
He cries out for mother
She picks him up and holds him close
And rocks in back to sleep
Small hands grab
The dirt feels good in his hands
He looks up at his sister
She picks some up too
Rough hands hold tight
The suit case rolls along the floor
He sits in his seat
And looks out the window
Pale hands pick up a controller
Button's press and c sticks move
His eyes fixed on a screen
He barely moves
Big hangs type
Bulletins, poems, and stories
He writes all night
He amazes his mother
Smaller hands move a mouse
His sister finds his poems
She wonders how he grew up so fast
She realizes he's all grown up
poem by Hannah Heins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Inevitable
Somewhere in Forster—was it Aspects of the Novel?—
there's something to the effect of,
How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?
I've always meant to check the quote, but I'm half afraid
it won't be there, or if it is, that I got it all wrong,
and I pretty much like it the way it is—
I pull it out and toss it onto the table like one of those
really brightly colored chips that only get thrown into the pot
after the hand has gotten out of control and someone wants
to say something a bit more heady than, I'll see you,
and raise you, but that's what he always says, it's inevitable.
In fact, it is inevitable, the word, inevitable,
that has bought me down this road in the first place,
that made me remember Forster, and whether or not
something is inevitable—now, this is the leap—like, say,
the week I just spent in Illinois with a married woman,
who for a long time has been burning
like one of those sad wildfires they have had
all summer long out West, that gets bigger and hotter,
and spreads, it seems, forever, and while this one burned,
I kept telling myself that it was inevitable
that we would end up in the same town somewhere
at the same time, and inevitable, too, that after a few days
one or both of us would allow our ambiguity
about what was going on to get the best of us,
and we both would walk off sad and hurt,
when really it was not us who had a right
to sad and hurt, her husband and children having
a much better claim, and in the interest of terribly clarity,
of unrelenting truth, it is necessary here to interject
the word guilt, and while some people,
those who buy into religion, for example, who touch
finger to finger with the Hand of Heaven,
all herb and clay-tinted oil, on a stone ceiling,
will use Eve's apple to explain how all this is inevitable,
part of some great master plan. I wonder;
or was it simply another test, an opportunity to
do the right thing, and perhaps we failed, and I am not
even sure about that, but I know that she and I feel guilty,
and while I thought it was inevitability
I was talking about here, it was something else entirely,
and I guess old Forster was right, even if he didn't say it.
Anonymous submission.
poem by Louis McKee
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Around And Around
They say the joint was rockin'
a goin' 'round and round
Yeah reelin' and a rockin'
What a crazy sound
But you never stopped rockin'
Till the moon went down
Though it sounds so sweet
I hadda take me a chance
I rose out of my seat
I just had to dance
Started movin' my feet
Yeah clappin' my hands, Alright
But you kept on rockin'
Going 'Round and around
Yeah reelin' and a rockin'
What a crazy sound
But you never stopped rockin'
Till the moon went down
I said Twelve o'clock
I say the place as packed
The front doors was locked
I say the place was packed
When the police knocked
Both doors flew back
Chorus twice
song performed by by 38 Special
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Circle Game
Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, when youre older, must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and dawn
Were captive on the carousel of time
We cant return we con only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game.
Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell him,
Take your time, it wont be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and dawn
Were captive on the carousel of time
We cant return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur
Coming true
Therell be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through.
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
Were captive on the carousel of time
We cant return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
song performed by by Joni Mitchell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
A Clock Stopped
poetry in progress
the old wooden clock at
the grocery store ticks on
and on on the wall of my mind
taking me back to childhood years
it peeks at me every time
i pass by one lone child
hungering for love and
sweet adventures
in it a mirror pendulum
stands very still to the one
in my mind that tilts to
to and fro, to and fro
a child concentrating
on his yo yo
the golden horse on its top
gives it a different chi
with spanned wings that
looks ever anxious to
take me to wherever
i wish to be - carte blanche
so long i have the time
it is a no show though
the minute and hour needles
do the same hands over head
posture of a ballet dancer
yesterday, today and tomorrow
and the clock looks onto me
like a deaf man with all the
endowments to talk but without a
proper word to get things across
so that he is all hands and fingers
a round and well bred
attentive audience numbered
one to twelve sit like ministers
as they wait for hands to point out
the importance of each, why
they should be at their place
the clock is old as myself
even time must grow old and
must stop one day and what a
graceful way to do so with
such a glamorous and
flamboyant posture and on
a face everyone once confided in
- a face that blandishes
a rough mole where
its owner would work
every now and then
to put back the health
of his time so that
it would chime at the right time
morn, noon and night
the clock invariably
takes me back to years ago
when our house was flying high
with a horse with spanned wings
that promised much fun with its hourly
ding dong ding dong solemn call
that never failed to to plough into us
the seriousness of time
then it was a new clock and
had dutifully counted the minutes
and seconds with absolute accuracy
as we inched our way up the
expectations of dad and mom
grannies, teachers, and friends
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Round And Round
Well, the joint was rocking
Going round 'n' round
Yeah, reeling and a-rocking
What a crazy sound
Well, they never stopped rocking
'Til the moon went down
Well it sounded so sweet
I had to take me a chance
I rose out of my seat
And had to dance
I started moving my feet
And clapping my hands
Yeah, we kept on rocking
Going round 'n' round
Yeah, reeling and a-rocking
What a crazy sound
Well, they never stopped rocking
'Til the moon went down
About twelve o'clock
When the place was packed
The front doors were locked
I said the place was packed
When the police knocked
Those doors flew back
But kept on rocking
Going round 'n' round
Yeah, reeling and a-rocking
What a crazy sound
Well, they never stopped rocking
'Til the moon went down
Yeah
About twelve o'clock
Around lock up time
Well, the doors were locked
Said the place was packed
When the police knocked
Those doors flew back
But it kept on rocking
Going round 'n' round
Yeah, reeling and a-rocking
What a crazy sound
Well, they never stopped rocking
'Til the moon went down
Yeah, it kept on rocking
Going round 'n' round
Yeah, reeling and a-rocking
What a crazy sound
Well, they never stopped rocking
'Til the moon went down
song performed by by David Bowie
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Around And Around
They say the joint was rockin'
a goin' 'round and round
Yeah reelin' and a rockin' what a crazy sound
Well they never stopped rockin' till the moon went down
Oh it sounds so sweet I gotta take me a chance
Rose out of my seat just had to dance
Started movin' my feet well a clappin' my hands
Well the joint started
Rockin' Going 'Round and around
Yeah reelin' and a rockin' what a crazy sound
A well they never stopped rockin' till the moon went down
Twelve o'clock
Well the place as packed
Front doors was locked
Well the place was packed
When the police knocked
Both doors flew back
But they kept on a ....
Oh they kept on a....
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Colder The Air
We must admire her perfect aim,
this huntress of the winter air
whose level weapon needs no sight,
if it were not that everywhere
her game is sure, her shot is right.
The least of us could do the same.
The chalky birds or boats stand still,
reducing her conditions of chance;
air's gallery marks identically
the narrow gallery of her glance.
The target-center in her eye
is equally her aim and will.
Time's in her pocket, ticking loud
on one stalled second. She'll consult
not time nor circumstance. She calls
on atmosphere for her result.
(It is this clock that later falls
in wheels and chimes of leaf and cloud.)
poem by Elizabeth Bishop
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Clock O Clock of Times
Hours of the night in their deep
Sinuous on and always flowing
Fog bound rhythm speeding keep
Their onward footsteps going
Yesterday is now becoming new
In the rushes hours gnawing on
Clearance of the daybreaks thru
Till old shadow’s dance are gone
In the litter of their lost time
Everything moves forward still
Eve goes and morning‘s in prime
Every opportunity to fulfill
Clock o clock of times keeping
Rushing hours thru to make more
All old of dust down sweeping
Opening up the pluviose door
So much in the moldering way
Like the cadences of fog bound
Coming thru but no time to stay
All’s going in the merry-go-round
Feelings lost in pacing’s to break
As this roadway leads to its side
New thoughts in moving uptake
Is there now time for some abide?
poem by Peter S. Quinn
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!