Batting One Thousand
For my foster son, who came to us from a broken home-1967
Four years ago we tensely scanned
The portal where you stood,
Because, we felt within our hearts
Your chances weren't too good.
But in the big ball game of life,
You played with scarce a balk;
Although you often did strike out,
Your goal was not to walk.
A special blend of fate and guts
And purpose all the way,
Has brought you through your senior year,
Right to this blessed day.
A graduate now, firm and erect,
You've crossed a vital door.
We are mighty proud, for in our book,
You've just gone four for four.
What lies ahead, God only knows,
But if someday we should
Be placing bets, we'll bet on you.
Your chances sure look good.
A few years later this young man received his
master's degree, from the college of his choice
poem by Joseph Anderson
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Related quotes
Chances Are
Chances are if we'd meet again,
You won't know who I am,
Though you might remember the smile
Or you might recall the walk,
But chances are, you will not.
And if we did meet on the road again,
Would you smile and call my name
Or would you forget who I was,
Because now, we are not the same.
Chances are, you would walk away,
And you would forget what you saw
Even though you knew me then,
But now my face, you couldn't recall.
And if we were in trouble in the sea of life,
Would you be there to toss me a line
I know I'd be there if but for you,
But alas, that was a different time.
And chances are, if we were alone
You would then smile and talk to me,
You would be my friend, and remember again,
But chances are; that will never be.
Chances are, that I will never change
And that I will stay the way I am,
And you will stay the way, that you must be,
But I don't care, in this world of man.
I will act the way that I want to act
And I will do the things that I must do,
And I am not ashamed of anything or anyone,
But chances are, the hypocrite is you.
And as life is full of chances of her own,
She has her own steps and stairs,
And could I see you on your way down,
Chances are, I will be there.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
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On Being Chosen To Be A Medical College Dean For Three Years Or More
It wasn’t my aim or ambition in life
To be a Dean of a Medical College
Nor did I ever try to work my way
Up the ladder of achievement planned
But...
Some things can happen in such strange ways
Some things don’t ever, although we want them to
Some things can’t, though we try our level-best
Some things won’t as God will never approve
But if...
Things happen in most unexpected ways
And it is something good to be proud of;
To take or not to, is the question moot
Yet, chances don’t knock at life’s door often!
So,
Why not give it a try, we sometimes feel
And grab the opportunity by heart
And put our soul in it and walk the road
Till realities strike a different chord
So much so that...
Disenchantment gains in-roads very soon
And spoils the fun and steals the thrill of life
And makes the clouds dark and fiery in sky
Bringing not just rain but a thunderstorm!
Yet...
There’s no turning back for now
There’s no leaving something half-done
There’s no accepting defeat, half-won
There’s just to dash ahead with job at hand,
Come what may...
poem by John Celes
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The Idle Son
Young Benjamin left school this year
And stepped right in a job;
And he starts in hope of a life career,
Like his eldest brother, Bob.
But Sam, the lad who came between,
Born in the fateful year 'thirteen,
Still vainly seeks a place;
And the mark of his fate, too plainly seen,
Dawns in his listless face.
For Sam was born in a black year,
In the year of the world's black rage
To rob his youth of childish mirth;
And another curse was on the earth
In the year he came of age.
War and depression, this grim twain,
Have clouded life for a bright young brain.
Life smiles for Benjamin and Bob,
Each lucky in his age;
But the count of years falls ill to rob
Same of his heritage:
Too old for a youth's apprenticeship,
Untrained, too young for a man's firm grip,
Tho' a man in stature grown,
He lives to see his chances slip,
Thro' no fault of his own.
For Sam was born in a black year,
In a black year came from school.
But we who know past years of ease
Hold stern responsibilities
Ere his youthful ardours cool.
Ours is the duty, ours the task
To yield what youth has right to ask.
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
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Really, the potential for, first of all, any college graduate today is enormously good. These are good times for anyone with a college degree today, particularly African Americans. With a college degree today, you really breach the unemployment rate.
quote by Alexis Herman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Corners
You never know
what lies around the corner
whether it be love
or another broken heart.
Life is always filled with chances
we have to take,
their outcome will only be told
in the future
through tears or smiles.
Which ever it is to be
memories of any good times
will linger through the years
and we will never know
what lies around the next corner
our lives have to take.
9 August 2008
poem by David Harris
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A Married Man's A Fool
(Willie McTell)
Had a friend, Louie Brown, he was a deacon
Just as wise as he could be
Now I realized he could read the Good Book
Back from Revelations down to Genesis
You know last Sunday morning we was over to the church
My buddy wants to take him a stand
And he looks out upon that whole congregation
The Good Book in his hand
Now he cast his eye about, and then he looks over in the Amen Corner
All the sisters commenced to shout [What'd he say ?]
He said a married man's a fool to think that his wife love nobody else but him
She stick by you all your life the chances is mighty slim
Now you read the Good Book, chapter twenty-one:
Every married woman got to have a little fun
Read on over chapter twenty-two:
It's a sin to let that woman make a fool outta you
Now you read a little further, chapter twenty-three:
She two-time you, brother, like she double-crossed me
Read on back, over chapter ten:
She shimmy one time, you got the problem again
'Cause a married man's a fool to think that his wife
Loves nobody else but him, I mean, loves nobody else but him
Well, a married man's a fool to think that his wife
Loves nobody else but him
She stands by you all your life the chances is mighty and slim
Now you read on over twenty-fifth page:
Married womens, Lord, is hard to engage
Read kinda careful, chapter twenty-six:
Back door slamming you got to learn to get it fixed
Read on out, chapter twenty-eight:
Who's that back slidin' out through the back gate ?
I believe I'll close on chapter twenty-nine:
Woman get tired of the same man all the time
'Cause a married man's fool to think that his wife love nobody else but him
song performed by by Ry Cooder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Knock, Knock
Lord Jesus stood there at my door
And twice He knocked then stayed.
It was my choice, I could ignore
And that's why I delayed.
He walked away.
I watched Him leave
Then got on with my life,
To sin like others who deceive
And cause all sorts of strife
Lord Jesus stood there at my door
And I watched Him inside.
I knew He knew my every flaw,
Not one could be denied.
I stood my ground, He left again.
I let Him walk away.
I struggled every now and then
With fears of Judgment Day.
My bank account looked mighty fine
As fifteen years passed by.
To think that all that cash was mine.
How come my soul felt dry?
Lord Jesus stood there at my door,
With fear I turned the key.
And simply stared at Christ with awe.
You see, He died for me.
Lord Jesus entered as my friend,
Yet also set me straight.
My useless life came to an end,
God's love to celebrate.
I sighed I'd made Him wait so long.
Those years I can't restore.
I tell you this, you can't go wrong
If you open the door.
poem by Denis Martindale
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Second Chance
Sometimes you never get a second chance
at anything you do.
If one day you do, embrace it
and never let it slip through your fingers
or it will never come to you again.
Now this is my story of the two second chances that I got
and how I embraced them without regret.
The story begins half a century ago when I was a teenager.
I was a very shy boy
and my friends were very few,
especially where the girls were concerned.
No friendships grew there
and all too soon they were gone
without me ever saying a word to them
as I left and set sail for a far distant shore.
Their faces remained with me
through the years in photographs.
The years slipped by so quickly
from teenager to adult hood,
but still those photographs
kept the past alive to me.
Always hoping one day,
I would be able to see them over again.
More years slipped by
and the chances of that happening
became just as remote as could be,
or so I thought.
Then on the 15 December 2006,
I had an internal message on classmates.com
and that is where the first of my two second chances began.
The second came shortly afterwards
when this classmate introduced me to her friend,
whose encouraging words made me take
the second of my second chances
and on the 19th January 2007 I lifted my pen to paper
after six or seven years
and never looked back since then.
Since that date, I have written
one thousand four hundred and twenty eight poems,
a novel and published my first book.
All because of the second chances, I got.
If you are given a second chance
at anything at all,
grasp them with all your might,
never letting them go
because you will probably never get them again.
22-23 November 2008
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Here I was, this good guy that played football; I was gonna go play in college but I had a bad senior year. But I played guitar in assemblies whenever I could.
quote by Bob Livingston
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What Are You Doing New Years Eve?
Maybe its much too early in the game
Aah, but I thought Id ask you just the same
What are you doing new years
New years eve?
Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight
When its exactly twelve oclock that night
Welcoming in the new year
New years eve
Maybe Im crazy to suppose
Id ever be the one you chose
Out of a thousand invitations
You received
Aah, but in case I stand one little chance
Here comes the jackpot question in advance:
What are you doing new years
New years eve?
song performed by by Ella Fitzgerald
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What Are You Doing New Years Eve?
Maybe its much too early in the game
Aah, but I thought Id ask you just the same
What are you doing new years
New years eve?
Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight
When its exactly twelve oclock that night
Welcoming in the new year
New years eve
Maybe Im crazy to suppose
Id ever be the one you chose
Out of a thousand invitations
You received
Aah, but in case I stand one little chance
Here comes the jackpot question in advance:
What are you doing new years
New years eve?
song performed by by Carpenters
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Married Mans A Fool
(willie mctell)
Had a friend, louie brown, he was a deacon
Just as wise as he could be
Now I realized he could read the good book
Back from revelations down to genesis
You know last sunday morning we was over to the church
My buddy wants to take him a stand
And he looks out upon that whole congregation
The good book in his hand
Now he cast his eye about, and then he looks over in the amen corner
All the sisters commenced to shout [whatd he say ? ]
He said a married mans a fool to think that his wife love nobody else but him
She stick by you all your life the chances is mighty slim
Now you read the good book, chapter twenty-one:
Every married woman got to have a little fun
Read on over chapter twenty-two:
Its a sin to let that woman make a fool outta you
Now you read a little further, chapter twenty-three:
She two-time you, brother, like she double-crossed me
Read on back, over chapter ten:
She shimmy one time, you got the problem again
cause a married mans a fool to think that his wife
Loves nobody else but him, I mean, loves nobody else but him
Well, a married mans a fool to think that his wife
Loves nobody else but him
She stands by you all your life the chances is mighty and slim
Now you read on over twenty-fifth page:
Married womens, lord, is hard to engage
Read kinda careful, chapter twenty-six:
Back door slamming you got to learn to get it fixed
Read on out, chapter twenty-eight:
Whos that back slidin out through the back gate ?
I believe Ill close on chapter twenty-nine:
Woman get tired of the same man all the time
cause a married mans fool to think that his wife love nobody else but him
song performed by by Ry Cooder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Chances Of Winning
life is like a game, you lost and you win
losing is winning where it fall and
winning is losing where it stand
all the day through, you gain, but nothing
has been done
what makes it defferent, when everything
is nothing and what makes it something
when everthing is nothing
life is just, but a game to play... make the
best for it, for you win for something, that
will make you something out of nothing
many years have gone, yet! it seems
that those are just a dream, a dream that
i stand for none and end with gone
i now live for something, that the only chances
I'll make, will leads me to do something
the best of the game, i have to stand for my
chances of winning is something out of nothing
winning is a matter of chances of nothing.....
just do it... right
poem by Antonio Liao
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Happy Anniversary (Our Special Day)
Of all the things we celebrate,
There is one very special date,
That special day when vows were said,
Our special day when we were wed.
Of you my love, I was so fond,
To want to start a lasting bond,
It was a sunny Saturday in May,
That day we call our special day.
I still recall your walk up the aisle,
As you gave to me a secret smile,
I could not help but feel so proud,
The luckiest man in the crowd.
As I stood and held your hand,
I really began to understand,
For when we two were joined as one,
A whole new life had just begun.
And when they said to kiss the bride,
I felt so very proud deep inside,
Knowing that we'd be sharing a life,
You and me as man and wife.
And looking back upon it all,
It's the good times I recall,
And if you asked me to do it again,
You'd just have to tell me when.
So now that it's our anniversary day,
There's just some words I'd like to say,
Everyday my love grows more and more,
Even more today than the day before.
And since I am so very blessed,
To be with the girl who is the best,
Once again I'd like to say,
Happy Anniversary Day.
poem by Alan W. Jankowski
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A Couple More Years
I've got a couple more years on you, baby...that's all.
I've had more chances to fly and more places to fall.
And it ain't that I'm wiser...
It's only that I've spent more time with my back to the wall.
And I've picked up a couple more years on you, baby.. that's all.
I've walked a couple more roads than you, baby...that's all.
And I'm tired of runnin' while you're only learning to crawl.
And you're headin somewhere...
But I've been to somewhere... and found it was nowhere at all.
And I've picked up a couple of years on you baby... that's all.
Now sayin' goodbye, girl don't never come easy at all.
But you've got to fly 'cuz you're hearin' those young eagles call.
And someday when you're older, you'll smile at a man strong and tall.
And you'll say I've got a couple more years on you, baby... that's all.
I've got a couple more years on you baby... that's all.
You'll say I've had more chances to fly and more places to fall.
It ain't that I'm wiser...
It's only that I've spent more time with my back to the wall.
And I've picked up a couple more years on you baby... that's all.
poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Once Upon A Lifetime
Once upon a lifetime
I looked in someone's eyes
and felt the fire burning in my heart
for the very first time
she was scared and young
and had never tasted love
so I took her by the hand
a boy became a man
once upon a lifetime
And once upon a lifetime
you hold the queen of hearts
but if you gamble on a diamond
when the dealing starts
you stand to lose it all
as the cards begin to fall
and the lesson learned is hard
you're only dealt the queen of hearts
once upon a lifetime
So if you're taking chances
know the chance you take
a broken heart's a high price to pay
foolish ways will make fools of the wise
and the best things seldom come along twice
Once upon a lifetime
you know that you've been blessed
when you hold your first born tenderly
against your chest
and through the innocence you see
the value of a family
and you feel a special bond
that only comes along
once upon a lifetime
So if you're taking chances
know the chance you take
a broken heart's a high price to pay
foolish ways will make fools of the wise
and the best things seldom come along twice
And people only find
a love like your's and mine
once upon a lifetime
song performed by by Alabama
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Joe & Rosalita
(phil vassar, charlie black)
Joe and rosalita, lookem up in the year book
Even then they had that wild-in-love crazy look
Joes car on friday night, after the ball game
Steam so thick on the windows
They could write their names
Theyd fight like cats and dogs outside of homeroom
Seeem hangin all over each other that same afternoon
Joe and rosalita
Ball-cap, good-ole boy and brown-eyed senorita
Rocked this town like no ones ever done
round here theyre known as the legends of love
Old mr.rosenbaum kickedem out of the senior prom
Busted for dirty dancin
Sent him home and he called her mom
Pulled the old pillow trick, and they both snuck out
Showed up two days later still in a tux and a prom gown
Got married on the steps outside the courthouse
Called it the great escape, people still talk about it now
Joe and rosalita
Ball-cap, good-ole boy and brown-eyed senorita
Rocked this town like no ones ever done
round here theyre known as the legends of love
Rosalita is still a rose
Now its been 10 years for rose and joe
Now sometimes you seeem cruisin down main street
Still got his arm around her, two kids in the backseat
They book a babysitter to go out on friday
Sometimes they never even make it out of the driveway
Joe and rosalita
Ball-cap, good-ole boy and brown-eyed senorita
Rocked this town like no ones ever done
round here theyre known as the legends of love
song performed by by Phil Vassar
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Blessing
THE MASTER He was hungry:
‘Shall we not dine,’ said He,
‘On the good fruit amongst the leaves
Of this delightful tree?’
But oh! the fig-tree bore no fruit.
‘Wither,’ He bade it, ‘to the root,
For thus deceiving me.’
The Master He was hungry.
He plucked the grains so red
Of wheat that grew beside the way,
And He was bravely fed.
‘For this,’ He said, ‘I guerdon thee,
Through all the years, a type to be
Of Christ, the Living Bread.’
The Master He was thirsty.
He raised His hand on high,
And crushed the good red grapes that grew
The nearest to the sky.
‘And as thou gavest me drink of thine,
So must I pour my blood, O Vine,
When I for man shall die.’
The Master He was passing
From men He held so dear.
The feast with bread and wine was made;
The Friday Cross was near.
‘Droop not!’ He spoke, and blessed their food:
‘The broken Body and the Blood
Sustain you year by year.’
And corn and wine thenceforth have stood
His symbols everywhere.
poem by Mary Colborne-Veel
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I think I finally chose the graduate degree in engineering primarily because it only took one year and law school took three years, and I felt the pressure of being a little behind - although I was just 22.
quote by Daniel J. Evans
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Summer Chance
The chances of summer are of chance,
When you take a chance,
Chances will bring,
The good,
The bad,
The indifference,
The outcome,
For taking a chance,
Is what is left,
Then is left to per chance,
Yet,
Summer time,
Brings all kinds of chances,
Summer romances,
Summer time ventures,
All in all it is a time,
For taking the time,
To just relax,
And simply just,
Let things happen,
Oh what it would be,
If, we all took a chance,
On love for love sake,
Leaving to per chance?
So summer songs,
Would ring with chimes,
When summer's love,
Would then last all year long,
What too could happen,
If,
We all took that chance,
Just to see,
What would happen,
To simply be,
A wild card,
Let loose,
To take a wild chance,
And let per chance,
Take its course,
In summer chances,
Of summer romances,
For to let a pattern to evolve,
That brings about that summer outcome,
Of a summer in per chance,
That has,
No arrangements,
Appointments set,
An agenda to be met,
Or,
A poise or position in life,
That one must be of,
Or,
Have to make that grade,
For summer chance,
And taking that chance,
Will bring you to a better place,
A fresh begining,
Or,
New places and people,
Or a summer's love,
To last all year long,
Is,
To believe in,
Per chance,
Of Summer's chance,
That then begins,
A short story of life,
That leads to the book,
Of two people in love,
From what took a chance,
With a summer romance,
That lead to their book,
A book of life,
From summer chance,
Of meeting per chance?
poem by Ellen Ni Bheachain
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