4. Distant Thoughts
In his splendid isolation
Sits a hermit near a cave
He doesn’t move a muscle
For his energy to save
He stares into the distance
Where he hopes to be enlightened
Not all his thoughts will bring him calm
Some often leave him frightened
He sits there nearly half asleep
As people leave him food
They mainly come in ones and two
But sometimes in a brood
The hermit sees but does not move
While little children peep
He sees for all the good and bad
In this vigil he must keep
poem by David Threadgold (2008)
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
All Alone
SHE SITS THERE ALL ALONE
HER CHILDREN GROWN
WITH FAMILY OF THEIR OWN
SHE WONDERS WHAT HAPPEN
CHILDREN ALL OF THREE
THEY HAVE GROWN LIKE FRUIT UPON THE TREES
GRANDCHILDREN SHE HAS SIX
GETTING HARDER TO REMEMBER THEIR NAMES
SHE SITS THERE ALL ALONE
NO ONE COMES TO VISIT
HER GRANDCHILDREN DOESN, T KNOW HER
HER CHILDREN HAS FORSAKEN HER
SHE WONDERS WHY
SHE SITS THERE ALL ALONE
SHE LOVED HER CHILDREN DEARLY
WANTED NOTHING BUT THE BEST
WORKED HARD AND WENT WITHOUT
HER CHILDREN SHE WOULD DIE FOR
SHE SITS THERE ALL ALONE
SHE WONDERS WHY
SHE THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE AROUND HER
LIKE ALL MOTHERS DO
GET TOGETHERS ON SUNDAYS
SEE A MOVIE OR TWO
SHE SITS THERE ALL ALONE
SHE REEKS HER BRAIN
WONDERS WHAT DID SHE EVER DO
TO GET SUCH COLD TREATMENT
FROM THE BABIES SHE ONCE KNEW
SHE SITS THERE ALL ALONE
THE ANGELS CAME AND CARRIED HER HOME
poem by Verna Ralph
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The Patient Mental
Patient,
Just as I am,
As always,
Watch the time go by,
Nothing left to pass by,
The minutes follow me,
Drunken little people,
Work away in me,
Why wont they leave me, leave me alone
When I dont even want me, want me
I have to, kill the words,
Before they, form my sentence,
The sentence that is me,
Judged by those that carry
The patient sits in cradled arms
That comfort me by strangling
Why wont they leave me, leave me alone
When I dont even want me,
The patient mental sits and stares
An idle mind thats empty, screaming
Staring back
Why wont they leave him, leave him alone
A passive speared ritual
Drive by our war ship...the hate driven envy
They have to kill the meal,
Before they can consume,
Consume my inner peace,
Without the understanding,
Trapped inside the works,
The hands are moving me
The patient mental sits and stares
An idle mind thats empty, screaming
Staring back
Why wont they leave him, leave him alone
A passive speared ritual
Drive by our war ship...the hate driven envy
Release me,
Let me go,
Why do they observe me?
Theres nothing here to cure,
I can see the silhouettes,
That sit behind the mirror
Im just like a clock upon the wall
Always moving, but never going anywhere
The patient mental sits and stares
An idle mind thats empty, screaming
Staring back
Why wont they leave him, leave him alone
A passive speared ritual
Drive by our war ship...the hate driven envy
song performed by by Mudvayne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Leaving The Hermit Crab Alone By Itself
you see today
a hermit crab
crawling on the
sands
and it sees you
and does not
trust you
and it runs
away from you
and you
chase it
and then it curls
back to
its shell
helpless upon
a defense
of hiding itself
again
you leave it
finally
alone by itself
and perhaps
both of you are
happier
i can sense it
this time
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Cruel Reality
She sits and cries
She knows death will com eventually
But that doesn't make it an easier
When she know someone she loves
Is going to die
The diease is incuriable
He's been going down hill for a while
This she knows
This she sees
He tries to sound happy
But she can tell something's not right
By the sound of his voice
Her father is in denial
Doesn't recognize that Death
Is slowly taking him away
He will leave her soon
Her mother knows how
Bad it really is
All she can do is sit and cry
And try to comfort herself
Her Grandfather is dying
And that is the cruel
Reality of life
poem by Autumn Winds
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Congrats You're Beautiful
She walks in the room
Her nose in the air
All jaws drop
The guys just stare
Perfect complexion
A perfect smile
The spotlight's on her
But meanwhile
Her friend sits by unnoticed
By admiring eyes
But God sees more than make-up
He sees what's beneath
The outward disguise
The beauty outside
Sullied by pride
So fine
Congratulations:
You're beautiful
Full of yourself
Some friend you are
A cross on your neck
But hers on her heart
So golden now
Her friend sits by unnoticed
By admiring eyes
But God sees more than make-up
He sees what's beneath
The outward disguise
song performed by by New Found Glory
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Two Hermits
Upon a lonely mountain, there lived two hermits who worshipped God
and loved one another.
Now these two hermits had one earthen bowl, and this was their only
possession.
One day an evil spirit entered into the heart of the older hermit
and he came to the younger and said, 'It is long that we have
lived together. The time has come for us to part. Let us divide
our possessions.'
Then the younger hermit was saddened and he said, 'It grieves
me, Brother, that thou shouldst leave me. But if thou must needs
go, so be it,' and he brought the earthen bowl and gave it to him
saying, 'We cannot divide it, Brother, let it be thine.'
Then the older hermit said, 'Charity I will not accept. I will
take nothing but mine own. It must be divided.'
And the younger one said, 'If the bowl be broken, of what use would
it be to thee or to me? If it be thy pleasure let us rather cast
a lot.'
But the older hermit said again, 'I will have but justice and mine
own, and I will not trust justice and mine own to vain chance. The
bowl must be divided.'
Then the younger hermit could reason no further and he said, 'If
it be indeed thy will, and if even so thou wouldst have it let us
now break the bowl.'
But the face of the older hermit grew exceedingly dark, and he
cried, 'O thou cursed coward, thou wouldst not fight.'
poem by Khalil Gibran
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While Hair Brushing
Juliette drags the brush
through her hair you have
to brush it at least one
hundred times her mother
had said years ago and say
a prayer each time you get
it through and maybe God
will bless you and as she sits
and brushes her hair she
remembers her mother standing
over her when she was a child
and the hair was as long then
as it is now and oh God she
says how I hated it the knots
and tangles and the number of
times I used to cry each time
she pauses in front of the mirror
the brush held mid air sometimes
when she brushes her hair and
stares in the mirror she sees him
there looking at her as he did back
then watching her every move
his dark eyes greedily drinking
her in and once he placed his
hands around her waist and kissed
her neck how she cringed his spittle
still there her uncle his breath his
hands touching always when she
was alone and once when undressing
he came in and stared and said he
thought she was becoming a beautiful
young girl now she brushes her hair
again the brush stiff and heavy gripped
in her hand and as she stares into the
mirror heavy with times and care she
thinks she sees him still staring still there.
poem by Terry Collett
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Bird Has Flown
Oh the beggar on his cornerstone
Catches pity in his wrinkled hand
But the lover whose bird has flown
Catches nothing only grains of sand
All the children in the distant house
They have feelings only children know
But the lover whose bird has flown
Catches nothing only flakes of snow
The sensation is not new to you
Its something we all have known
You get it - it goes right through you
Yes its something we all have known
And the bird it has flown
To a place on its own
Somewhere all alone
Now the hermit in his lonely cave
Has himself to keep him company
But the lover whose bird has flown
He has heartaches same as you and me
The sensations not new to you
Its something we all have known
You get it - it goes right through you
Yes its something we all have known
And the bird it has flown
Now the hermit in his lonely cave
Has himself to keep him company
But the lover whose bird has flown
He has heartaches same as you and me
Oh its started snowing
song performed by by Deep Purple
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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There is a girl
There is a girl
Who sits alone
She never talks
As she’s on her own
She sits in the corner
She tries to fade away
She doesn’t see colours
She only sees grey
She wears lots of clothes
To cover her cuts she has
No one wants to know her
‘The emo girl’ she’s known as
She cries out for help
But no one will see
What’s really hurting her
Why can’t she feel free
She comes off as different
Not like the rest
Most of it’s others judgments
Just by the way she is dressed
She’s just like any other
But down with some pain
Don’t just ignore her
Don’t make her insane
poem by Lisa French
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You've Got To Show
Yes it's true
I've gotten very
Moody over you
Don't think i don't
Sense your caution
Way across the room
Or across the phone lines
Big black ocean
Conversation brief
We can't find
A clear connection
And i can't get relief
Why don't we both agree
We're both afraid
And too afraid to say
If i say
Count to three
(count to three)
Move toward me
(move toward me)
Would you meet me half the way
(would you meet me)
There are a thousand things about me
I want only you to know
But i can't go there alone
You've got to show
While you occupy me
I command my dreams
Each day
To bring you in me
Even thinly
As the morning chases you away
I half believe
If i just picture us
We will come true
Wishful thinking
Or my hopes sinking
Half depends on you
Why don't we both agree
(why don't we both agree)
We're both afraid
And too afraid to say
(too afraid to say)
If i say
Count to three
(count to three)
Move toward me
(move toward me)
Would you meet me half the way
(would you meet me)
There are a thousand things about me
I want only you to know
But i can't got there alone
You've got to show me
(show me)
You are fully alive
If you want to fly
Take this dive
If you want to kiss
Kiss for real
I'll give you back everything you feel
Drive in space
That peaceful place
You'd be my secret sharer
Front and back
And all around
The thin margin of error
Ah move too fast
Or move too slow
Or somewhere in between
Or navigate your
Perfect distance
Your getaway is clean
Why don't we both agree
That we're both afraid
And we're too afraid to say
If i say
Count to three
And move toward me
Would you meet me half way
Cause there are a thousand things about me
I want only you to know
I want only you to know
I want only you to know
But i can't got there alone
You've got to show
song performed by by Indigo Girls
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Man with the Thousand Yard Stare
He sits with a stoic's resistance,
his son in the casket lies there.
No line of a tear mars his visage-
the man with the Thousand yard stare.
He sits in the front row of mourners,
His dear sobbing wife by his side
in silence he keeps his sad vigil
and stares up at Christ crucified.
The mourners pass by him in silence,
touch his hand or say meaningless words,
for his part he stares straight on through them
as if nothings felt, nothings heard.
The Parson commands us to silence
and struggles to lead us in prayer-
but half of the room has forgotten the words
like the man with the thousand yard stare
Death is my race's core competence
dealing with life, we're but fair,
but none living today keeps sorrow at bay
not the man with the thousand yard stare.
poem by John F. McCullagh
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Geraldine's Bus Ride to Work
Geraldine rides the bus to work.
She sways side to side with the
motion of the bus, sitting in the
compact human zoo, faces, limbs,
bodies, eyes, mouths. The sky
outside is an early morning icy blue.
A man opposite stares, his eyes
moving over her, his hands in his
lap, fingers playing with each other.
His eyes settle on her legs, drink
them in. She feels as if he were
undressing her, taking each item of
clothing off one by one. His eyes
are dark, deep set. She stares back
at him, takes in his lips, parted, thick
and saliva sits there. Her thoughts
move to Holly and the night before,
the game they played, the role plays,
the pre-sex drama. The man shifts
in his seat, wrinkles his nose, moves
his eyes to her breasts. She looks away,
senses his eyes fondling her tits, his
imaginary fingers groping. Holly would
have said something to the creep opposite,
would have shown him up, but she
doesn't have that way with her, she sits
it out, pushing thoughts of him away,
focuses on Holly's tongue licking the
inside of her thighs, sensation electrifying.
The man looks away, no doubt to masturbate
in his dark mind with his imaginary fingers.
Geraldine lets the thoughts of Holly and
her deeds linger, sucks in the hotness,
the scents, the sighs, the smells. She stares
at the man. He looks at his hands, his fingernails.
There is dirt beneath the nails, black as soot
as if he'd rooted in dark soil. She looks away;
Holly has set her (with her deeds) to sexual boil.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Desperate and Dreaming
Desperate!
And dreaming.
Of a life that would be the best,
With a lot less guessing kept.
Yes, I'm desperate.
And dreaming.
To leave behind a manifesting of,
All that is that comes to suck my blood!
Aches and pains that cause me strain,
That come along to suck my blood.
Emotions that seem to remain the same,
That come along to suck my blood.
Relationships splitting over petty business,
That come along to suck my blood.
It's hard to move forward when a stagnant sits.
That comes along to suck my blood.
Yes, I am desperate.
And dreaming.
To leave behind a manifesting of,
All that is that comes to suck my blood!
I'm ready to leave behind the tit for tat pits,
That come along to suck my blood.
And people who decide they wish an argument,
That come along to suck my blood.
While stirring up their needless conflicts meant.
That come along to suck my blood.
From me I want all of that pushed and shoved.
That comes along to suck my blood.
That comes along to suck my blood.
Oh yes, I'm desperate.
And I'm also dreaming.
To leave behind a manifesting of,
All that is that comes to suck my blood!
Aches and pains that cause me strain,
That come along to suck my blood.
Emotions that seem to remain the same,
That come along to suck my blood.
Relationships splitting over petty business,
That come along to suck my blood.
It's hard to move forward when a stagnant sits.
That comes along to suck my blood.
Desperate!
And dreaming.
Of a life that would be the best,
With a lot less guessing kept.
Yes, I'm desperate.
And dreaming.
To leave behind a manifesting of,
All that is that comes to suck my blood!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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And the flower smiled
A nameless virgin flower just bloom in the thick jungle.
The hermit sniffs the fragrance and breaks his inner peace.
The flower invites him to her kingdom
And the hermit forgets his chants.
He mutters;
'I practice my way of life since a long time with great principles.
But I feel now that I cannot move any further and I became a weaker.'
'Master! I'll teach you just a simple chant,
Love the flowers before they wither
And do meditation after they perished.' The flower smiled.
* I dedicate this poem to the poetess Sue Ann Simar in gratitude.
poem by Nimal Dunuhinga
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You Move Me
I like my coffee in the mornin,
Crazy bout my tea at night.
I like my coffee in the mornin,
Crazy bout my tea at night.
If I dont get my sugar three times a day,
Boy, you know I dont feel right.
Well, I know my hound dog
When I hear him bark.
Well, I know my hound dog
When I hear him bark.
And I know my baby when I feel her
In the dark.
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Ow!
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Well, Im here
And Im ready and able to move.
Every thing that I need,
Ya know Im ready to groove,
Even though Im tired,
Im weary and wasted and worn.
Well, I just cant seem,
I cant seem to leave you alone.
Know why?
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Ow!
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
[break it down boy.]
Well, Im a secretive guy,
Ya know I like to keep things hid.
Well, Im a secretive guy,
Ya know I like to keep things hid.
Well, I love you baby
When ya call me the jellyroll kid.
Ow!
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Ow!
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
Ow!
Ya move me,
Ya move me, ya move me, ya move me baby.
[play that!]
[yeah, play it!]
[yeah!]
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Hermit Crab
The hermit crabs life is all but exciting live all alone
and in the sahdows in the bottom of the teary sea
feelings no comfort and no love this crab is all alone
no friends and allways hurting everyone
he use to have friends till the day he found him self this shell of dark sleeping alone
and being alone this crab used that bad to fell worse
we the other crabs of life the ones that live a full happy life
need to find him/her and bring this hermit out of it's shell
show to the hermit that talking isn't all bad
but being alone is talk about your problems dont hide in a shell
Every Need In Me
I've got to move...
From memories,
Haunting...
Every need in me!
I've got to move.
I've got to move...
From shadows,
And dark places.
I've got to move...
From despairing melodies,
That keep me in such solitude...
And,
Deep dark gloomy moods!
I've got to move.
I've got to move...
To open all closed windows.
And,
I've got to move...
More than two steps away from doors.
Closed within I've been.
And I've got to...
Leave behind memories,
Haunting...
Every need in me!
I've got to move.
I've got to move...
From memories,
Haunting...
Every need in me!
I've got to move.
I've got to move...
From memories,
Haunting...
Every need in me!
I've got to move.
I've got to move...
From memories,
Haunting...
Every need in me.
I've got to move.
I've got to move.
I've got to move...
From memories,
Haunting...
Every need in me.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Roll It Over
I can give a hundred million reasons
To build a barricade
I blame it on the changing of the seasons
The thoughts that I've conveyed
Does it make it all right?
It doesn't make it all right
To roll it over my soul and leave me here
Roll it over my soul and leave me here
Look around at all the plastic people
Who live without a care
Try to sit with me around my table
But never bring a chair
Does it make it all right?
It doesn't make it all right
To roll it over my soul and leave me here
Roll it over my soul and leave me here
To roll it over my soul and leave me here
Roll it over my soul and leave me here
song performed by by Oasis from Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The bitter Elixir!
The modern rebellious Hermit
Who carries a Tommygun
For his self defence
And a Laptop full of Sutras,
He searches Tom, Dick and Harry.
An old Cemetery in a Metropolis,
He's almost tired and he sits on a tomb
Takes a can of black beer from his old haversack and he sips.
Gradually he realizes all the enimies & friends were fast asleep
Except him, strenuous struggle in the messy life
With microparasites!
*I do not think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains.
-Anne Frank
poem by Nimal Dunuhinga
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There Are No Children Here
The untrained eye
Walks down the street
And sees children
But they're not children
There are no children here
Adults look back
With hungry eyes
And someone thinks
''They're just children
With a mother and a father
Never any fear''
And they kid themselves
As there are no mothers
No fathers
Because there are no children here
Terror doesn't care
As they cry over there
It lets someone stare
Through the sight of a gun
Seeing everyone
And just for fun
Shoot them
People rush around crying
''But they were just children!
They were just children! ''
A man with a gun
Turns and runs
But as he does they hear
''They aren't children''
And
''They weren't children''
And
''You need to know:
There are no children here''
No one makes a sound
Listening to the truth he's found
And they know:
It's our fault
We didn't save them
We could have saved them
If we cared
There would be children here
poem by Violet Llewellyn
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