A Letter to Ruth Stone
Now that you have caught sight
of the other side of darkness
the invisible side
so that you can tell
it is rising
first thing in the morning
and know it is there
all through the day
another sky
clear and unseen
has begun to loom
in your words
and another light is growing
out of their shadows
you can hear it
now you will be able
to envisage beyond
any words of mine
the color of these leaves
that you never saw
awake above the still valley
in the small hours
under the moon
three nights past the full
you know there was never
a name for that color
From 'The Shadow Of Sirius'
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press (September 1, 2008)
poem by William Stanley Merwin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
A Codex
It was a late book given up for lost
again and again with its sentences
bare at last and phrases that seemed transparent
revealing what had been there the whole way
the poems of daylight after the day
lying open at last on the table
without explanation or emphasis
like sounds left when the syllables have gone
clarifying the whole grammar of waiting
not removing one question from the air
or closing the story although single lights
were beginning by then above and below
while the long twilight deepened its silence
from sapphire through opal to Athena’s iris
until shadow covered the gray pages
the comet words the book of presences
after which there was little left to say
but then it was night and everything was known
From 'The Shadow Of Sirius'
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press (September 1, 2008)
poem by William Stanley Merwin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Shadow Hand
Duporte the roofer that calm voice
those sure hands gentling weathered tiles
into new generations or
half of him rising through a roof
like some sea spirit from a wave
to turn shaped slates into fish scales
that would swim in the rain Duporte
who seemed to smooth arguments by
listening and whom they sent for
when a bone was broken or when
they had a pig to kill because
of the way he did it only
yesterday after all these years
I learned that he had suddenly
gone blind while still in his sixties
and died soon after that while I
was away and I never knew
and it seemed as though it had just
happened and it had not been long
since we stood in the road talking
about owls nesting in chimneys
in the dark in empty houses
From 'The Shadow Of Sirius'
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press (September 1, 2008)
poem by William Stanley Merwin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Hello Shadows
Shadows imitate every thing in life
But it does not argue, fuss, or fight
And can be changed by the reflection of light
Your shadow will imitate everything that you do
For that shadow belongs to you.
The shadow of an object can
hide you from the sun
Not just you but every one.
Shadows have but one color (black)
And it is not belittled or put down
But accepted by all you see
Which makes it one of gods mysteries.
It can be seen in the sunlight
But not in the dark
It can even be seen with artificial light
And the kids have fun with it
Man! What a sight.
It has no face to show emotions
And it will always be by your side
Although at times it must hide.
The sun can not touch it, as it stares up at you
This is something the sun can not do.
The shadow will walk in front of you
Or in back, or walk on your sides
But will always be there wherever you go
For it is something that we all know
And to my shadow I say “hello”.
poem by Louis Rams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Color Me
I wish that they would color me
The color of the rose
The color of the spring
Or the color of the snow.
If again they’d color me
The color that I would be
Would be the color I could see
As long as I am free.
As I wish that they would color me
The color of the trees
Or the color of the leaves
And then that color I would be.
I wish that I was a rainbow
With the many colors of the sky
Or the single color of a star
Shimmering in the night.
And if again they would color me
The color that I would be
Would be the color that is me
Is the color that I could see.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Autumn Dreams
Grinning pumpkins, falling leaves,
Dancing scarecrows, twirling breeze,
Color, color everywhere,
Autumn dreams are in the air! Autumn is a woman growing old,
Ready to let what is dead go,
Her youthful radiance has faded, and that's sad,
But underneath she discovers a
spread of colors she didn't know she had. Little children screech and run,
Ghosts and goblins having fun,
Color, color everywhere,
Autumn dreams are in the air! Around her a kaleidoscope of leaves are whirling.
Deep within her visions stir of new life that will be,
A budding, a flowering, a promise unfurling.
Autumn is a woman growing old,
Ready to let what is dead go. Calico kittens, rain falling rat-a-tat-tat,
Big full moon, funny black cats,
Color, color everywhere,
Autumn dreams are in the air!
poem by Mary Naylor
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Red.
Red,
The color of blood,
Red,
The color of my tortured bud..
The color of my rose,
The color of my focus,
The color of my arm,
The blood streaming,
Down
Down
I pull my blade upto the little spot I dug,
Make it deeper and longer...
Let's all just start over again.
RED
RED
The color of my broken hearted soul,
RED
RED
The bleeding that I suffice in all words.
In all words.
poem by Cory Burton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
What Color? (Hope)
what color
was the dust
from which the stars
were made?
what color is the hunger
written on the child's face?
what color is justice,
forgiveness, desire, truth?
what color is the wind....
the rain, gravity,
and knowledge?
what color is equality?
what color is freedom?
what color is eternity?
what color is redemption?
what color is God?
what color were the nails
that hung Jesus on the cross?
what color was enlightenment
falling on the Buddha as he sat
'neath that tree?
what color is prejudice, hatred,
fear, greed, apathy.....
what color your skin?
nay, what color is your blood?
and what color are the eyes
of humanity staring through the darkness?
and what color is hope?
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ghost In The Mirror
I've been hearing voices
Voices in my head
Can't escape the noises
Lying in my bed
The winter nights grow colder
The darkness falls too soon
I will hide till morning
How silent is this moon?
Just one look and I will find
Someone else on the other side
A trick of light or the darker mind
Ghost in the mirror
And as the dawn is waking
The shadows burn away
The sun reborn the savior
The safety of the day
Just one look and I will find
Someone else on the other side
A trick of light or the darker mind
Ghost in the mirror
The darkness calls me
The shadows fool me
Is it safe on the other side?
Is this my future?
If it's a dream why can't I wake?
Just one look and I will find
Someone else on the other side
A trick of light or the darker mind
Ghost in the mirror
song performed by by Asia
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Black Moon
Oh the devil is rising with the moon
He cries and my blood runs cold.
Oh no never was the darkness so black,
No light and nowhere to go.
My spirit is crying for a love
So tired of being alone.
I remember he came here to steal,
And you are his stealer of souls.
I see a black moon rising,
And its calling out my name.
Oh its calling my name.
Ive been blinded, lost and confused,
Darkness will call me no more.
Heaven is no friend of mine,
No God ever knocked on my door.
I see a black moon rising,
And its calling out my name.
Oh its calling my name.
Im standing on the dark side of time
Reaching for the power of her hand.
Shes weaving an unholy light
And calls from lucifers land.
I see a black moon rising,
And its calling out my name.
An angel of hell is rising,
Heavens no friend of mine.
I see a black moon rising,
And its calling out my name,
I see a black moon rising,
And it causes so much pain.
An angel of hell is rising,
Heavens no friend of mine.
I see a black moon rising,
And its calling out my name.
Its calling my name,
This spirits crying for love.
Heavens no friend of mine.
song performed by by Black Sabbath
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
When The Leaves Come Falling Down
I saw you standing with the wind and the rain in your face
And you were thinking bout the wisdom of the leaves and their grace
When the leaves come falling down
In september when the leaves, come falling down
And at night the moon is shining on a clear, cloudless sky
And when the evening shadows fall Ill be there by your side
When the leaves come falling down
In september when the leaves, come falling down
Follow me down, follow me down, follow me down
To the place beside the garden and the wall
Follow me down, follow me down
To the space before the twilight and the dawn
Oh, the last time I saw paris in the streets, in the rain
And as I walk along the boulevards with you, once again
And the leaves come falling down
In september, when the leaves come falling down
Follow me down, follow me down, follow me down
To the place between the garden and the wall
Follow me down, follow me down
To the space between the twilight and the dawn
And as Im looking at the colour of the leaves, in your hand
As were listening to chet baker on the beach, in the sand
When the leaves come falling down,
Woe in september, when the leaves come falling down
Oh when the leaves come falling down
Yeah in september when the leaves come falling down
When the leaves come falling down
In september, when the leaves come falling down
When the leaves come falling down in september, in the rain
When the leaves come falling down
When the leaves come falting down in september, in the rain
When the leaves come falling down
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Nature's Favorite Color
The green foliage is an attractive sight
On the vast landscape on a clear summer day,
As the white daisies gradually unfold along the side
Of a winding roadway that is somber and gray.
It is a picturesque view that one will readily admit,
Blesses the color of green to the greatest height,
And yet it is a scene that enlightens one's mind
With euphoria and great pleasure and delight.
It is not the beauty of the unfolding rose,
Nor the mellow sunflowers near the old mill,
But the color green - Nature's matchless green
On the highlands that gives one a welcomed thrill.
It is beholding of the color of green,
On the growth of leaves on a swaying tree,
And on the landscape far and wide indeed,
As green is Nature's favorite color for all to see.
.
poem by Joseph T. Renaldi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Silent Dreams
Oh to have silence come into my sleep
Just for a few small hours.
But no the noisy words disrupt me
Like bees buzzing ‘round the flowers.
Small phrases get caught in my head
And become pictures that I see.
And I know they are only in my dreams
But they repeat continuously.
Take leave I say and allow me rest.
Please find another one
To keep awake with words and sound
Before the morning sun/
What lies beyond these countless nights?
Is there silence anywhere?
I've heard that beyond unconsciousness
That telepathy makes us aware.
And so am I in search of death you ask?
No that's not what I now seek.
Just a little silent sleep at night
Even if it's just for a week.
poem by Edwina Reizer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Not Like Any Other Color
This is no joke
This is no egg-yoke
Black is not like any other color
Black has its unique beauty
Its own charm and splendor
It is the color of the reality
It is the absence of the sun
It is the exile of the moon
Black is the last color
That we will see before crossing the border.
Black can be positive
Or negative
Depending on someone’s perception
Interest or observation
Because of ignorance
And lack of experience
Many neophytes unfortunately use that color
As a scapegoat, as a traitor
Who can stab in the groin or in the back
Charcoal is black, coffee is black.
At times, it may not be apparent
Black is beautiful and different
It is the color of the night
It is the absence of light
It is the last color
That we will see before crossing the border
Where no color exists afterwards
Where there are no sounds, no words
No opinions, no aroma and no prejudice
There live absolute serenity and peace.
poem by Hebert Logerie
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
House Of Shadows
Every time and wherever I fall asleep I find myself walking
down this fusty and dark cobwebbed stone stairway.
I don’t know where I am, or where I’m supposed to be going
my memory usually blanks out as I approach the hallway.
This time I’ll try to stay awake and see what lies before me,
the torches on the wall are dim and the light’s not so good.
I hear unearthly scary noises not too far down the corridor
I’m frightened and I’ve a tingling in my blood.
As I hesitated a shadow on the wall pushed me towards a cell
and the noises stopped the instant I looked in.
It was empty except for moving shadows all over the place,
another push sent me tumbling to the floor within.
The cell is deathly quiet as more shadows take to the surfaces
a deep voice echoes out, “Another dreamer has come,
he wants to join the shadows and to bring frightening nightmares
to dreamers who trespass here when their day is done.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry, but coming here was purely by accident.”
“That matters not we welcome all sleepy dreamers here.
You will very soon become a shadow all it takes is a silhouetted cast
and then you will be one of us, just a blank front, side and rear.”
“But I didn’t come here to be a shadow I was just following my dream,
I thought it would have been exciting and possibly even fun.”
“That’s the trouble with dreaming when you’ve become a shadow
you can’t return, and your dark-sides have just begun.”
“Please stay absolutely still as we cast a darkness blank over you,
it takes only seconds to cast your perfect silhouette.”
Without thinking I pulled a flashlight from my pyjama pocket,
the light eliminated some, but the ordeal wasn’t over yet.
The movement of the brighter light emptied the shadowy cell
I ran out into the corridor, the one I came down before.
My torch flickered erratically and the light was becoming dull
the shadows were behind me and gaining for sure.
They had no intention of letting me escape from their darker side.
Quickly I ran whilst shaking the torch to get every bit of light.
A feeling of anguish came over me as they began to pull me back,
they had me, until I awoke and the darkness was out of sight.
poem by Orlando Belo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Light Through The Morning Window
THE LIGHT THROUGH THE MORNING WINDOW
The light through the morning window
The small leaves of the light green tree
The pale sky waiting behind everything
The night which is gone now.
All these failures one after the other,
Other names other destinies, greater than mine
The single singing I cannot hear
The great prophecies I will not realize.
Others who are more to me
Even than I am to myself.
The morning
The morning again
Words again
Trying to live again
A poem again perhaps.
In a life of many days
In which each small day
Its own struggle
And each night
A night which ends
With morning light.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Color
Performed by the steeles
Composed by prince
Color me black if u color me just like u
Color me angry if u color me less than I do
(whoa, whats your color? )
Yeah, whats your color?
(whoa, whats your color? )
Whats your color?
Color me happy if u teach me what I need 2 know
Color me gone if u dont, if u dont cuz every child needs 2 grow
This I know
(whoa, whats your color? )
Oh, whats your color, yeah?
I wanna know
(whoa, whats your color? )
Oh, whats your color?
Listen (listen)
Love is my color when Im shown love in return
But when I am not, its a bet u can guess what I have learned
Whats my color?
Hey
Color me green (color me green) if I cannot have what uve got
Color me blue (blue) until I do cuz the fire will shonuff be hot
Yes it will
(whoa, whats your color? )
Whats your color, yeah?
Hey yeah
(whoa, whats your color? )
Whats your color, yeah?
Oh, make me a promise (make me a promise)
Oh, make me a promise (that whatever u color me) that whatever u color me
U will at least color me then I can color u 2
Whats your color?
(whoa, whats your color? )
Whats your color, yeah?
Hey
Color
(whoa, whats your color? )
Whats your color?
(whoa, whats your color? )
Whats your color, yeah?
Whats your color?
Make it love
Whats your color?
Mine is love
(whoa, whats your color? ) yeah
(whoa, whats your color? )
Whats your color?
(whoa, whats your color? )
song performed by by Prince
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
A wold made of pink
It's just a new obsession
A color which makes me go insane
Pink is not any kind of fiction
Pink always helps me gain
Faith, confidence and everything I need
Trust, joy and a bit of laughter
This color helps me succeed
Pink is the color of my eyes
Only when I look at you
Pink makes me an angel in disguise
It's the color which brings joy to me and my crew
Pink is a color so mighty, so great
Pink is the color my face
Turns when I'm late
Pink is the color which nothing can replace
It's the color which I can't stop thinking of
Neither day nor night
Pink symbolizes my love
Pink is the color of the light
Which shines in my heart for you
It's the color of a wonderland
This color shouldn't be withdrew
It's the color of my imaginary sand
Pink is the color my cat wants to be
Pink is the color of the sun which shines
Pink is the color the world can see
Pink is the color which gives me signs
poem by Mia Peterson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Valley Of Fear
In the journey of life, as we travel along
To the mystical goal that is hidden from sight,
You may stumble at times into Roadways of Wrong,
Not seeing the sign-board that points to the right.
Through caverns of sorrow your feet may be led,
Where the noon of the day will like midnight appear.
But no matter whither you wander or tread,
Keep out of the Valley of Fear.
The Roadways of Wrong will wind out into light
If you sit in the silence and ask for a Guide;
In the caverns of sorrow your soul gains its sight
Of beautiful vistas, ascending and wide.
In by-paths of worry and trouble and strife
Full many a bloom grows bedewed by a tear,
But wretched and arid and void of all life
Is the desolate Valley of Fear.
The Valley of Fear is a maddening maze
Of paths that wind on without exit or end,
From nowhere to nowhere lead all of its ways,
And shadows with shadows in more shadows blend.
Each guide-post is lettered, 'This way to Despair,'
And the River of Death in the darkness flows near,
But there is a beautiful Roadway of Prayer
This side of the Valley of Fear.
This beautiful Roadway is narrow and steep,
And it runs up the side of the Mountain of Faith.
You may not perceive it at first if you weep,
But it rises high over the River of Death.
Though the Roadway is narrow and dark at the base,
It widens ascending, and ever grows clear,
Till it shines at the top with the Light of God's face,
Far, far from the Valley of Fear.
When close to that Valley your footsteps shall fare,
Turn, turn to the Roadway of Prayer-
The beautiful Roadway of Prayer.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Nocturne III
One night
one night all full of murmurings, of perfumes and music of wings;
one night
in which fantastic fireflies burnt in the humid nuptial shadows,
slowly by my side, pressed altogether close, silent and pale,
as if a presentiment of infinite bitternesses
agitated you unto the most hidden fibers of your being,
along the flowering path which crosses the plain
you walked;
and the full moon
in the infinite and profound blue heavens scattered its white light;
and your shadow,
fine and languid,
and my shadow
projected by the rays of the moon,
upon the sorrowful sands
of the path, joined together;
and they became one,
and they became one,
and they became only one long shadow,
and they became only one long shadow,
and they became only one long shadow....
Tonight
alone; my soul
full of the infinite bitternesses and agonies of your death,
separated from you by time, by the tomb and by distance,
by the infinite blackness
where our voice cannot reach,
silent and alone
along the path I walked ...
And the barking of dogs at the moon could be heard,
at the pale moon,
and the chirping
of the frogs ...
I felt cold. It was the coldness that in your alcove
your cheeks and your temples and your adoréd hands possessed
within the snowy whiteness
of the mortuary sheets.
It was the coldness of the sepulcher, it was the ice of death,
it was the coldness of oblivion.
And my shadow,
projected by the rays of the moon,
walked alone,
walked alone,
walked alone along the solitary plain;
and your shadow, svelte and agile,
fine and languid,
as in that warm night of springtime death,
as in that night full of murmurings, of perfumes and music of wings,
approached and walked with mine,
approached and walked with mine,
approached and walked with mine ... Oh, the shadows intertwined!
Oh, the corporeal shadows united with the shadows of the souls!
Oh, the seeking shadows in those nights of sorrows and of tears!
poem by Jose Asuncion Silva
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Memories
I remember my father’s garden
Roses grew in full bloom behind the maple tree
That has always been there, in my memory,
Its trunk seemed golden
Beneath the light of the moon and stars in the evening and
At dawn, it would capture the rays of the sun,
Turning copper beneath the shadows cast by the mountains;
I have always adored the nighttime hours-
The stars seemed magical to me, glistening within the darkness and
The moon brings me peace of mind, quietly sleeping,
As its gentle rays illuminated the sky, giving just enough light
So I could see the roses, trees and wildflowers that decorated my father’s garden.
My father passed away twenty years ago and
I can recall his love for nature and his passion for the silence of the evening hours-
So much like mine-so many memories have escaped me but
I can still hear his laughter ringing throughout the valley near our home,
And every time I look upward toward the moon at twilight,
I can nearly see his smile shining through its muted light-
As a gentle breeze would blow, rustling the leaves upon the trees-
It would remind me that my father’s soul is still alive-
I see his face in every rose and his hands grasping the branches on the trees-
And I have always believed that even though people die and
Though their bodies may never be seen again,
The love and recollection of their spirits remain
In the places that they so loved-
My father’s home was in his garden amongst the maple trees, roses and wildflowers, and
In my innermost thoughts, it is there where he remains- and
Every day and every night, when I walk amongst the trees and flowers
I can hear his voice calling my name and in my heart I know
He can still hear my voice and see my face, as in the light of the moon and stars-
We shall be bonded in spirit for an eternity.
Claudia Krizay
poem by Claudia Krizay
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!