Proletarian Poet
A big young bareheaded woman
in an apron
Her hair slicked back standing
on the street
One stockinged foot toeing
the sidewalk
Her shoe in her hand. Looking
intently into it
She pulls out the paper insole
to find the nail
That has been hurting her
poem by William Carlos Williams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sidewalk Talk
Watch where you walk 'cause the sidewalks talk
And you can't keep a secret from the ground beneath you
Step very lightly on the earth below
Or before you know it everyone will know
Streets were paved with a thousand eyes
And try as you may you can't disguise
There's only two things that you can't hide from
That's you and the ground you're walking on
Chorus:
Watch where you walk, 'cause the sidewalks talk
You better watch what you do, what you do
'cause the sidewalk talk can get carried away
You better watch what you say, what you say
Think when you speak 'cause you gotta 'long the street
They can read what you say so you gotta stay away
From words that sting, words are not true
And the things you say make a fool of you
Little white lies make the sidewalk cry
And you can betray with the things you say
Words won't last when you say 'em too fast
And you've been mislead by the things you've said
(chorus)
Intermediate:
When you're living on the street
Life can be full of misery
Find a place to call your own
Make your heart into a home
You can do it, uh huh
(repeat 3 times)
You can do it
After every word there's a place that heard
Every time your shoe hits the avenue
And when you've gone they'll sing a song
Of the stories you told when you felt so bold
You better think twice when you cross the ice
Everything you do comes back to you
When you're shedding a tear sidewalks will hear
When your laughter's true they'll run with you
(chorus)
(intermediate)
You can do it, uh huh
(repeat 3 times)
You can do it
(repeat 3 times)
(chorus)
Sidewalk talk
(repeat 3 times)
Let me tell ya 'bout sidewalk talk
Sidewalk talk
Sidewalk talk
Sidewalk talk
(repeat)
Watch out for sidewalk talk
Sidewalk talk
Sidewalk talk
Sidewalk talk
Let me tell ya 'bout
Let me tell ya 'bout
Let me tell ya 'bout
Let me tell ya 'bout sidewalk talk
song performed by by Madonna
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Left Me With A Nail To Drive
Left me with a nail to drive
By: jimmy buffett
1975
Well its the same old story
Another mobile home broken up
Well Im eatin off of a paper plate
Drinkin from a paper cup
Chorus:
She caught me with another woman
I guess Im lucky to be alive
Well she stole my car
And left me a nail to drive
Chorus:
She caught me with another woman
I guess Im lucky to be alive
Well she stole my car
And left me a nail to drive
Yeah she stole my car
And left me a nail to drive
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Paper And Pen
Paper and pen
Trying to write a song again
Paper and pen
Paper and pen
Paper and pen
Trying to write a song again
Paper and pen
Paper and pen
Can’t think of anything to say today
Can’t think of anything to do
Can’t think of anything to play today
Minds gone blank
Leaving me here, just sitting here
Listening to my hair grow
Paper and pen
Paper and pen
And I look towards you
For an inspiration or a word or two
I try but I find
Every road only leads me back to these lines
Paper and pen
Paper and pen
Paper and pen
Piano, guitar
I try but don't get very far
Paper and pen
Piano, guitar
Paper and pen
Trying to write a song again
Paper and pen
Paper and pen
Copyright Colin Coplin 1985 / 2010
poem by Colin Coplin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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For the want of a nail, the shoe was lose; for the want of a shoe the horse was lose; and for the want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for the want of care about a horseshoe nail.
quote by Benjamin Franklin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Street Only Knew Your Name
Your street, rich street or poor
You should always be sure of your street
There's a place in your heart,
When you know from the start
And you can't be complete without a street
Keep movin' on, just like a train
Sometimes you gotta look back to the street again
Would you prefer all those castles in spain
Or a view of the street from your window pane
When you were young, so young
So very very young
When you were young, so young
So very very young
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name, oh your precious name, precious name
There was walter and joy, kate and roy
All hung around the corner lamplight
Get together sing some songs
Like boppin' the blues - you make me feel alright
That was long before fortune and fame
No such thing as a star when you've played that game
Everyone knew who everyone was
There was no preference in the street no, no
When you were young, so young
So very very young
When you were young, so young
So very very young
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name, oh your precious name
And you walked around in the heart of town
Listening for that sound
And you walk around in the heart of town
Listening for that sound
Blue suede shoes, it was the blue suede shoes
When you were young, so young
So very very young
When you were young, so young
So very very young
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On The Other Side Of Critique
That you and others,
Sharing the same point of view...
Find in your private discussions,
An embitterness expressed...
By those who publicly address,
Their disappointments...
As petty?
Is not surprising.
Considering your opinions,
Are socialized over cocktail sips.
I don't see you taking stances,
Or standing on your own two feet.
Gossiping you do and that is well done.
Quiet and secret.
And extremely discreet.
Never have you been a target.
But your expertise is in targeting.
You can be counted on to sit on a fence.
However,
Standing up for anything you defend...
The experience being on the other end of critique,
Would blind you like a deer...
Caught off guard by a spotlight as you tried,
Tip toeing your way across a crowded street.
You and the others would be out of your element.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Toughest Street In Town
Outside the window the neon flashes
In the morning light
Down on the sidewalk theres a woman with a problem
But she dont know how to fight
Shes destitute and broken down
She softly whispers is there no one around
And no one hears the sound
Her knees give way and hit the ground
This is the toughest street in town
This is the toughest street in town
This is the toughest street in town
This is the toughest
Like a rat in a pack it attacks
From the back
Through a crack in a track
And you take a smack
This jack has had a hard day
No one told him it would be like this
Hes had to score the hard way
Working on twenty hour shifts
This is the toughest street in town
This is the toughest
Its tough stuff
This is the toughest street around
This is the toughest
Dont you do down
No how
Its just another black spot
Where far too many people have died
Its just another grave yard
And theres not too many people left alive
This is the toughest
Are you tough enough
This is the toughest
Are you rough enough
This is the toughest
Can you bluff enough
Just a minor misery did me no harm
But its there to warn outside the window
The neon is still flashing in the morning light
Down on the sidewalk that woman was blown away
Out of sight
All across the city no one gives a damn
All across the city no one seems to understand
This is the toughest
This is the toughest street in town
This is the toughest street around
This is the toughest
Are you rough enough
This is the toughest
If I were you I wouldnt come around here
This is the toughest
This is the toughest
Are you tough enough
song performed by by Thin Lizzy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When I’m The Happiest Man Alive
I always find myself laughing
In the hour of marvelous confusion
Walking somewhere in the sunlight
With no real destination
Celebrating my beautiful disorientation.
Excitement fills my heart
With everyone woman I see
With her divine hair kissing her shoulders
And her long skirt
Flirting with her ankles.
I’m thankful for the windows of my eyes
Ceaselessly falling in love
With some elegant stranger
Whom I’d make love to right in the street
If she had the willingness and the time
And if a cop wouldn’t arrest us!
I’m prepared for every judgment,
Sentence me to this delirious insanity! !
Gazing into sidewalk windows
Of fashionable women’s shoe boutiques
And fainting at the sight
Of lovely sandaled feet! !
There are decadent sweet days
When I’m the happiest man alive,
I may throw away my long face
And smile for eternity! !
poem by Uriah Hamilton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My woman
Tell me if you know
If you have seen my woman
Have you seen my woman?
In the street
And over there
Where is my woman?
In the street
Over here
Over there
Where is my woman?
This way and that way
In the street
In the club
At the disco
Have you seen my woman?
Hey... tell me if you know...
If you have seen my woman...
Short hair
On the Side
A Carnation
Hey... you talk
Talk about sex
About love
That no one can understand
Hey.. Tell me
If you know where my woman is
Where is my woman?
Where is my woman?
Tell me if you know...
If you have seen my woman
Have you seen my woman?
Down the street
And over there
Where is my woman?
In the street
Over here
Over there
Where is my woman?
This way and that way
In the street
In the club
At the disco
Hey... tell me if you know...
If you have seen my woman...
Short hair
On the Side
A Carnation
Tell me if you know...
If you have seen my woman
Have you seen my woman?
Down the street
And over there
Where is my woman?
song performed by by Nicolas Jaar
Submitted by Simona Enache
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Standing In The Rain
I'm standing in the rain
I want you-to wash away the pain (wash away the pain)
Make it go away- i'm tired of hurting
Now i'm out- in the rain
You said it was forever
Guess what? Forever's not eternal
So- what makes me think this is any different?
It's time, it's time-to hurt all over again
I'm standing in the rain
I want you-to wash away the pain (wash away the pain)
Make it go away- i'm tired of hurting
Now i'm out- in the rain
I'm sitting here all alone(all alone)
Black in one hand-merlot in the other
Thinking of the bliss i've known
but every bliss, like a kiss, must come to an end
Now here i am, in the rain, here i am
I'm standing in the rain
I want you-to wash away the pain (wash away the pain)
Make it go away- i'm tired of hurting
Now i'm out- in the rain
We were so happy
What became of us
I loved your everything
Now where is the love
Now we are lost
But i'm still standing
I'm standing in the rain
I want you-to wash away the pain (wash away the pain)
Make it go away- i'm tired of hurting
Now i'm out- in the rain
I'm standing in the rain
I wish that you would take away the pian(take away the pain)
Just make it go away, i'm tired of hurting
You left me in the rain, i'm out in the rain
poem by Guarded Heart
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Madame Joy
All the men would turn their head
When she walked down the street
Clothes are fine and hair that shine
Smiling oh so sweet, smiling oh so sweet
Got a taste of all religion
Comes on with the new
In her hair a yellow ribbon
And shes decked out all in blue
Oh yes in, decked out all in blue
Steppin lightly, steppin brightly
With her books in hand
Going to the university to teach them
Help them understand
And are helping em understand
And all the kids would love to see her
Follow in her steps
And tell her stories and adore her
Climb in through the fence
Climb in through the fence
Here she comes walking
Here she comes talking
I do believe its madame joy
Walking past that old street corner
And shes looking for her boy
Oh yes she is, looking for her boy
Steppin lightly, steppin brightly
With her books in hand
Going to the university to teach them
Help them understand
Yeah, help them understand
I was looking at the way she moved me
And I was seeing every side
Tell me, can I learn the language
Have you got the mind, have you got the mind
Here she comes walking
Here she comes talking
I do believe its madame joy
Shes walking by that old street corner
And shes looking for her boy
Oh yes looking for her boy
And all the men would turn their head
When she walked down the street
Clothes refined and hair that shine
And smiling oh so sweet, oh yes, shes smiling oh so sweet
Smiling, smiling oh so sweet, yeah, yeah, yeah
Smiling, smiling oh so sweet
And all the men would
And all the men would turn their head around
When that woman walked down the street
When that woman walked down the street
When that, when that woman walked
When that woman walked, when that woman walked
When that woman walked, when that woman walked
When that woman walked, what she wore
When that woman, when that woman, when that woman
When that woman, when that woman, when that woman
When that woman, when that woman, when that woman
When that woman, when that woman walked
She just walked
Just kept on walking down the street
When she walked, when she walked down
When she walked on down
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Straw Foot
I guess you didnt hear me
When I told you for the first time
Well dont you worry
It wont be the last
All I need a floorboard
An a wooden shoe
Step aside an let my lady through
Hey foot, straw foot
Low we lay em down
Hey foot, straw foot
Up an back around
See the high priest
He took my place
When the judge looks to me
He saw his sons face
Not gonna join you in
Your tower of babble, boy
Tired o that talkin
Im sick o that noise
Hey foot, straw foot
Low we lay em down
Hey foot, straw foot
Coverin ground
Im not alone
An looks can be deceivin
When we get down to it
Youre talkin when you
Should be leavin
Ive been to nebraska
It reminded me of spain
All the questions loaded
All my answers same
Hey foot, straw foot
Low we lay em down
Hay foot, straw foot
Coverin ground
Let us not mince our words
Lets say it true this time
I need your forgiveness
Just like you need mine
Tell me how it is that
You dont want what hes given
It aint no sin son
To be forgiven
Hey foot, straw foot
Low we lay em down
Hey foot, straw foot
All over town
song performed by by 16 Horsepower
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Standing On The Moon
Standing on the moon
I got no cobweb on my shoe
Standing on the moon
Im feeling so alone and blue
I see the gulf of mexico
As tiny as a tear
The coast of california
Must be somewhere over here - over here
Standing on the moon
I see the battle rage below
Standing on the moon
I see the soldiers come and go
Theres a metal flag beside me
Someone planted long ago
Old glory standing stiffly
Crimson, white and indigo - indigo
I see all of southeast asia
I can see el salvador
I hear the cries of children
And the other songs of war
Its like a mighty melody
That rings down from the sky
Standing here upon the moon
I watch it all roll by - all roll by
Standing on the moon
With nothing else to do
A lovely view of heaven
But Id rather be with you
Standing on the moon
I see a shadow on the sun
Standing on the moon
The stars go fading one by one
I hear a cry of victory
And another of defeat
A scrap of age old lullaby
Down some forgotten street
Standing on the moon
Where talk is cheap and vision true
Standing on the moon
But I would rather be with you
Somewhere in san francisco
On a back porch in july
Just looking up to heaven
At this crescent in the sky
Standing on the moon
With nothing left to do
A lovely view of heaven
But Id rather be with you - be with you
song performed by by Grateful Dead
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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If You Dont Come Back
(words & music by mark james)
(woke up early in the morning)
(what did the poor boy find)
Well the car was gone and you were gone
And I almost lost my mind.
If you dont come back (if you dont come back)
Yeah! if you dont come back today (if you dont come back today)
You can call up the people at the crazy house
And take this crazy man away
(he threw himself off a gas stone wall)
(he tore his clothes out the door)
I ran out on the street in my stockinged feet
Tell the police Ive been robbed
If you dont come back (if you dont come back)
Mmm if you dont come back today (if you dont come back today)
Well you can call up the people at the crazy house
And take this crazy man away
Mrs. browns been talking about me
To the people across the street
She said (said (I cooked that boy a pot full of stew,
But the poor thing just wont eat).)
If you dont come back (if you dont come back)
Yeah! if you dont come back today (if you dont come back today)
You can call up the people at the crazy house
And take this crazy man away
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Want Of A Nail
Ive been wrong
I had plans so big
But the devils in the details
I left out one thing
No one to love me
No one to love me
No one to love
For the want of a nail, the world was lost
For the want of a nail, the world was lost
For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost
For the want of a shoe, the horse was lost
For the want of a horse, the rider was lost
For the want of a rider, the message was lost
For the want of a rider, the message was lost
For the want of a message, the battle was lost
For the want of a battle, the war was lost
For the want of a war, the kingdom was lost
(such a tiny thing)
Youre askin
Whats all this talk about horses and war?
Put yourself in the place of the man at the forge
And day after day you live a life without love
til the morning you cant take it anymore
And you dont get up
Multiply it a billion times
Spread it all round the world
Put the curse of loneliness on every boy and every girl
Until everybodys kicking, everybodys scratching
Everything seems to fail
And it was all for the want of a nail
Tell me what else could the answer be
Dont hold back now
Give me all your love
Just a little more love
A little tiny bit of love
song performed by by Todd Rundgren
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Stone In My Shoe
Music : rudolf schenker
Lyrics: klaus meine
I keep on dancin on the roof
Try not to fall, stay in the groove
A step too far. Im out of place
Life beats you up some of these days
Just like a whisper theres a voice
Inside of me
Its sayin you aint got a choice
Well, cant you see
Ooh, when your world comes tumbling down
Ooh, you better find a way around
I keep on walkin in the clouds
Find out what life is all about
I keep on runnin away from here
To learn the grass aint greener there
Just like a whisper theres a voice
Inside of me
Its sayin you aint got no choice
As you can see
Ooh, when your world comes tumbling down
Ooh, you better find a way around
Ooh, cause no one else but you
Ooh, can find the stone inside your shoe
Ooh, when your world comes tumbling down
Ooh, you better find a way around
Ooh, cause no one else but you
Ooh, can find the stone inside your shoe
Inside your shoe
Inside your shoe
Inside your shoe
Yeah
Keep rockin in the street
Keep landing on my feet
Keep runnin on and on
Still play my favorite blond
Keep rockin mother earth
Just all around the world
These days mean safer sex
Get my survival pack
My orgasm isnt faked
Ooh lord, I need a break
And whats annoying, too
Is that damn thing in my shoe
Ooh, there is a stone in my shoe
song performed by by Scorpions
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Future Of Hands
All winter
The trees held up their silent hives
As if they mattered.
But on one main street of bars and lights,
I watched a woman who had begged for days
Throw all the coins back, insulted,
Into the crowd,
And then each cheap stone on her necklace,
As if they were confetti
At a bitter wedding,
And then her stained blouse.
I smiled, then, at her dignity.
But when the night came
With only its usual stars to show,
She was applauded and spat on,
Or those passing stepped around her,
Avoiding her body
As if it had become private, or pure.
When the police arrived,
Sniveling about the cold day she had chosen
To strip,
Her face was a brown jewel,
And I knew the hands
Of the police would have to close now,
On this body abandoned to wind,
Just as her hands closed, finally,
On wind that would have nothing
To do with her,
And never had.
*
I know that wind
Had nothing to do with longing.
I have seen that, even in the eyes
Of girls across a lunch counter--
A desire to be anywhere that wasn't
Texas, and waiting on tables--
Their eyes making a pact
With the standing, staring wheat
About to be turned back into the black soil
That spreads everywhere when no one is watching.
And writing this,
I stare at my hands,
Which are the chroniclers of my death,
Which pull me into this paper
Each night, as onto a bed of silk sheets,
And the woman gone.
After two hours of work,
I do not know if there ever was a woman.
I watch the flies buzz at the sill.
*
Or, if I sleep,
I must choose between two dreams.
In one of them, my hands move calmly
Over a woman's waist, or lift
In speech the way birds rise or settle
Over a marsh, over nesting places.
In the other dream,
There are no nesting places,
The birds are white, and scavenging.
They lift negligently over the town in wind,
Like paper, like the death of paper.
They dip and rise
As if there had never been a heaven.
Beneath them, it is summer.
It is the same town I was born in.
And in its one bar
The man selling illegal human hair from Mexico,
The hair of brides mixed
With the hair of the dead,
Argues all day over the price.
poem by Larry Levis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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You want to fall in love with a shoe, go ahead. A shoe can't love you back, but, on the other hand, a shoe can't hurt you too deeply either. And there are so many nice-looking shoes.
quote by Allan Sherman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Rope hair woman
Rope hair woman
Where you’re off to tonight
Rope hair woman
You’re lookin’ out of sight
O rope hair woman
I love with all my might
Rope hair woman if you could if you can
Let me be your dread lock man.
Dread lock man
Can you understand
That a rope hair woman
Does all that she can
To move you to that sexual point
Better then your hand
O rope hair woman
Here is my plain
Rope hair woman I will give
Up my womanly man
O rope hair woman
The world can understand
That you want a dread lock man.
poem by David E. Patton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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While I get a few coins from my pocket
Yesterday there were young black men
standing in underpants
at the Apies river
and they were busy
washing their clothes
in the dark brown water
In one of the remote corners
of Sunnyside
a big cardboard box stands
at a shop’s entrance
on the sidewalk
and I see an old white man and woman
crawling out of it one winter morning
and they have got a half white bread
that they share with a white and black fox terrier.
At shoprite in Voortrekker street
a young black man
tries to sell fake perfume
and wants to know nothing
about removing his head
from the car’s window.
I place his goods
next to my car’s door
and tell my darling
to close her window
while he walks round the car
to get him out of the car.
At a pick-a-pay
there’s a small white woman
that’s a car guard
and always helps politely
to get the bags into the boot.
Then I realised
that if you just look around
there are countless people,
that life bites into pieces
and I wonder where
everything in this country is going?
While I get a few coins from my pocket
out of my pocket,
I feel guilty
to live like a king
and to see
others struggle around me.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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