For Enoch Powell
The hooded hip-hop scum
heap up the funeral pyre;
the streets of London burn,
and yet, despite the fire,
the bobbies watch and turn
their visored faces away,
as if deaf, blind and dumb,
and England not lost its way.
Two thousand twelve has shown
that you are right again.
Forced to beg and undress,
still-lifed on a smart phone,
men bow and women bend
in multi-cultural fright.
Gone is the wilderness,
gone your voice in the night.
poem by Leo Yankevich
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Undress for the T.S.A (tune of Come to the Cabaret)
What good is sittin' alone in your room
Hop on a flight today,
First Take off your coat, your hat, your shoes
Undress for the T.S.A..
We’ll scan your suitcase, your ipod and phone
Mister, we have all day,
Undress for the T.S.A. you scum
Undress for the T.S.A..
We grope the guys, we fondle girls
Best of all our acts are legal
Because we’re working for the Eagle
No use permittin' a Prophet’s buffoons
To Wipe every smile away, yes
Undress for the T.S.A. you scum
Undress for the T.S.A!
What good are privacy rights anymore?
With full body scans O.K’d,
Bend over, cough, salute the flag
Undress for the T.S.A.
I once enjoyed holidays by the shore
but now I just drive most days,
rather that than the T.S.A, old Chum
Rather that than the T.S.A.
And as for me,
As for me,
What good is waiting on long airport lines
at the mercy of the T.S.A.
While someone named Kalid pats you down
wands you and kicks your bags around
Makes me loathe the T.S.A.!
poem by John F. McCullagh
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
London Town
I do believe
I must believe
I think I can begin again
Become again the man I was back when
So Im walking on your streets again
Feeling now as I did then
Ive since become a different man
London town, turn be around
London town, carry me back
O london town, lost and found
And I feel like going back
I can remember lots of time and space
If I lose the name, still I know the faces
Time as come and left its traces
London town, turn be around
London town, carry me back
O london town, lost and found
And I feel like going back
When I grew too old and dull to rock n roll
Like to hold on tight to you darling
And when my fires have all burned out
Id like to think I can still think about
The things I used to sing about
When I was spending all my time alone
By myself and on my own
Seldom seen and quite unknown
London town, turn be around
London town, carry me back
O london town, lost and found
And I feel like going back
song performed by by James Taylor
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Old Song
A livid sky on London
And like the iron steeds that rear
A shock of engines halted
And I knew the end was near:
And something said that far away, over the hills and far away
There came a crawling thunder and the end of all things here.
For London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down,
As digging lets the daylight on the suken streets of yore,
The lightning looked on London town, the broken bridge of London town.
The ending of a broken road where men shall go no more.
I saw the kings of London town,
The kings that buy and sell,
That built it up with penny loaves
And penny lies as well:
And where the streets were paved with gold the shrivelled paper shone for gold,
The scorching light of promises that pave the streets of hell.
For penny loaves will melt away, melt away, melt away,
Mock the men that haggled in the grain they did not grow;
With hungry faces in the gate, a hundred thousand in the gate,
A thunder-flash on London and the finding of the foe.
I heard the hundred pin-makers
Slow down their racking din,
Till in the stillness men could hear
The dropping of the pin:
And somewhere men without the wall, beneath the wood, without the wall,
Had found the place where London ends and England can begin.
For pins and needles bend and break, bend and break, bend and break,
Faster than the breaking spears or the bending of the bow,
Of pagents pale in thunder-light, 'twixt thunderload and thunderlight,
The Hundreds marching on the hills in the wars of long ago.
I saw great Cobbett riding,
The horseman of the shires;
And his face was red with judgement
And a light of Luddite fires:
And south to Sussex and the sea the lights leapt up for liberty,
The trumpet of the yeomanry, the hammer of the squires;
For bars of iron rust away, rust away, rust away,
Rend before the hammer and the horseman riding in,
Crying that all men at the last, and at the worst and at the last,
Have found the place where England ends and England can begin.
His horse-hoofs go before you
Far beyond your bursting tyres;
And time is bridged behind him
And our sons are with our sires.
A trailing meteor on the Downs he rides above the rotting towns,
The Horseman of Apocalypse, the Rider of the Shires.
For London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down;
Blow the horn of Huntington from Scotland to the sea -
...Only flash of thunder-light, a flying dream of thunder-light,
Had shown under the shattered sky a people that were free.
poem by G.K. Chesterton
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy!
The Old Song
A livid sky on London
And like the iron steeds that rear
A shock of engines halted
And I knew the end was near:
And something said that far away, over the hills and far away
There came a crawling thunder and the end of all things here.
For London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down,
As digging lets the daylight on the suken streets of yore,
The lightning looked on London town, the broken bridge of London
town.
The ending of a broken road where men shall go no more.
I saw the kings of London town,
The kings that buy and sell,
That built it up with penny loaves
And penny lies as well:
And where the streets were paved with gold the shrivelled paper
shone for gold,
The scorching light of promises that pave the streets of hell.
For penny loaves will melt away, melt away, melt away,
Mock the men that haggled in the grain they did not grow;
With hungry faces in the gate, a hundred thousand in the gate,
A thunder-flash on London and the finding of the foe.
I heard the hundred pin-makers
Slow down their racking din,
Till in the stillness men could hear
The dropping of the pin:
And somewhere men without the wall, beneath the wood, without
the wall,
Had found the place where London ends and England can begin.
For pins and needles bend and break, bend and break, bend and break,
Faster than the breaking spears or the bending of the bow,
Of pagents pale in thunder-light, 'twixt thunderload and thunderlight,
The Hundreds marching on the hills in the wars of long ago.
I saw great Cobbett riding,
The horseman of the shires;
And his face was red with judgement
And a light of Luddite fires:
And south to Sussex and the sea the lights leapt up for liberty,
The trumpet of the yeomanry, the hammer of the squires;
For bars of iron rust away, rust away, rust away,
Rend before the hammer and the horseman riding in,
Crying that all men at the last, and at the worst and at the last,
Have found the place where England ends and England can begin.
His horse-hoofs go before you
Far beyond your bursting tyres;
And time is bridged behind him
And our sons are with our sires.
A trailing meteor on the Downs he rides above the rotting towns,
The Horseman of Apocalypse, the Rider of the Shires.
For London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down;
Blow the horn of Huntington from Scotland to the sea --
...Only flash of thunder-light, a flying dream of thunder-light,
Had shown under the shattered sky a people that were free.
poem by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Girl On Fire
(the margarita horns: bill runge (baritone sax), paul baron & derry byrne (trumpets),
Tom keenlyside (tenor sax & arranger))
I just landed
Girl on fire
I felt the heat
From sydney to london
Well she shut my mouth
With her repartee
I opened hers
With the rest of me
Girl on fire
Baby burn burn burn
Girl on fire
Baby burn burn burn
Outta the shadows
Comes a dirty song
The same old faces
Try to keep you in line
I saw you laughing
At the very first show
You lit up the city
From the twenty-sixth floor
Girl on fire
Baby burn burn burn
Girl on fire
Whats saving her
Baby burn burn burn
Baby burn burn burn
Baby burn burn burn
I just landed
Girl on fire
I felt the heat
From new york to london
Well she shut my mouth
With a repartee
I opened hers
With the things that I say
Girl on fire
Thats the heat that burns
Girl on fire
How the flames make you learn
Girl on fire
Baby burn burn burn
Girl on fire
How the flames make me yearn
Girl on fire
Girl on fire
Girl on fire
Girl on girl on
Flames are rising
Flames are rising
Flames are rising
Flames are rising
song performed by by INXS
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Pass the Crack
What can be said to those who are 'not'
Deaf, dumb or blind?
It seems as though they have been processed,
On an assembly line.
And mass produced to only receive deceptions.
With defections approved and encouraged.
What can be said to those who are 'not'
Deaf, dumb or blind?
When even blatant hand signs,
Can not stop them from their desires...
Of the experience of getting hit by a truck!
They've been programmed to accept its coming.
Much like their anticipation as they wait...
For truth to tumble from the lips of politicians.
They become ecstatic with hope,
By the words spoken by freshly minted visionaries!
What can be said to those who are 'not'
Deaf, dumb or blind?
'Pass the crack.
And if you want more...
Get back in line! '
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Implausible
The Silence Rings so load
Only the Deaf Could Listen
A sweet voice from the dumb
Wow! The Cripples dancing in Steps
The blind filming the show
Still, The Noise can't defeat the Silence
Melody in the Noise not concede
Only the Deaf could enjoy it
Cripples hunting Great Aromas of the Silence
Blind can't cope with darkness
And the silence was touched,
No one could bear the Disaster
Smiles on the face of the Noise
The Dumb Singing of help
The blind ready to correct the mistakes
On the top of all, the Noise Stand,
So hard to dance but no option
Tears on the face of the deaf
Sympathizing the agony of silence.
From the sofa, The blind watched
poem by Abayomi Okemakinde
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Kerosene
everywhere I look I see
exclusive huddled
uninviting shelter
is privilege
of the same and competent
kerosene keeps me warm
I'm alone to watch it burn
kerosene
exposure is a pitiful
and pointless way of dying
before it gets me
I'll set a funeral pyre
kerosene keeps me warm
I'm alone to watch it burn
kerosene
i'm a man and
my dignity won't wave
Tonight buildings rage!
kerosene keeps me warm
it feels so good
to watch it burn kerosene
kerosene keeps me warm
feels so good
to watch it burn kerosene
song performed by by Bad Religion
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Lord of Stripes
In my dreams
I take the paws
Of a lonely tiger
And together we dance
My love, I’ll find you
Ablaze in a funeral pyre
We swim together
The tiger and I
Through cities
Made of emerald
My love, I’ll find you
Ablaze in a funeral pyre
Lions watch jealously
As the king of the jungle
Is passed over
For the lord of the dance
My love, I’ll wait for you
Ablaze in a funeral pyre.
poem by Jeffrey McCambridge
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
An Example
They were two deaf mutes, and they loved and they
Resolved to be groom and bride;
And they listened to nothing that any could say,
Nor ever a word replied.
From wedlock when warned by the married men,
Maintain an invincible mind:
Be deaf and dumb until wedded-and then
Be deaf and dumb and blind.
poem by Ambrose Bierce
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Don't stand aloof
We stand aloof and watch their crimes
Taking the lives of leaders to be
Just because they own the guns
And the knives to scare us all,
London streets are not for crimes,
London streets are ours to claim.
Let us stand against their crimes,
Re-claim the streets that belong to us,
Why must we stand and watch their crimes
Allowing the guns to rule our streets
And ruin the lives of those we love
London streets belong to us.
Drop your guns, dropp your knives,
Drop all the wrapped up drugs.
Free London streets from deaths of youths
Unnecessary and wasteful deaths.
London streets belong to all
London streets is for all to share.
Why must we just stand aloof?
UK
poem by Enitan Onikoyi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Light My Fire
You know that it would be untrue
You know that i would be a liar
If i was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Aouh, come on!
Come on, babe!
Yeah! come on!
Come on!
Woaouh! yeah!
It was the greatest night of my life.
Although i still had not found a wife
I had my friends
Right there beside me.
We were close together.
We tripped the wall, we scaled the graveyard
Ancient shapes were all around us.
The wet dew felt fresh beside the fog.
Two made love in an ancient spot
One chased a rabbit into the dark
A girl got drunk and balled the dead
And i gave empty sermons to my head.
Cemetary, cool and quiet
Hate to leave your sacred lay
Dread the milky coming of the day.
Ah, ah, ah, ah!
Ah, ah, ah, ah!
Ah, ah, ah, ah!
Ah, ah, ah, ah!
Ah, ah, ah, ah!
Ah, ah, ah, ah!
Ah, ah, ah, ah!
Aah, aah, aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah, aah, aaah!
Time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Know that it would be untrue
You know that i would be a liar
If i was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire!
All right, all right!
All right!
song performed by by Doors
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Pinball Wizard
(pete townshend)
[tommy (1914-1984), various artists, 1972]
Ever since I was a young boy,
I played the silver ball;
From soho down to brighton
I must have played em all.
But I aint seen nothin like him
In any amusement hall
That deaf, dumb an blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball.
He stands like a statue,
Becomes part of the machine.
Feelin all the bumpers
Always playin clean.
Plays by intuition,
The digit counters fall.
That deaf, dumb an blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball!
Hes a pinball wizard
There has to be a twist,
A pinball wizard,
Got such a supple wrist.
How do you think he does it?
What makes him so good?
Aint got no distractions,
Cant hear those buzzes and bells,
Dont see lights aflashin
Plays by sense of smell.
Always gets a replay,
Never tilts at all
That deaf, dumb an blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball.
Even my usual table,
He can beat my best,
His disciples lead him in
And he just does the rest.
Hes got crazy flipper fingers,
Never seen him fall.
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball.
song performed by by Rod Stewart
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Pyro Maniac
A pyro with a flame.
Just writing your name in the sand.
Time tics by and fire after fire does not end the desire.
It's passion.
It's love.
It's a child's laughter.
Nothing left untouched.
As he makes his mark.
Personal and distant.
He's lived it.
Through the the fires eyes.
He can't help it.
He just want to watch everything burn.
Burn, Burn, Burn.
He speak to the eternal flame.
And she rise from the ashes.
Back again just the same.
Glowing so bright, so hot.
So appealing he can not ever turn away.
A obsession everyday.
No he doesn't care.
His mind is most certainly else where.
He can't help it
He just wants to watch everything burn.
Burn, Burn, Burn.
As holy body it rises from the grave.
As a scientific miracle it saves.
Staving off the cold.
Turning something into nothing.
It's just so amazing.
Captivating.
A star studded glaze.
An everlasting stare into nowhere.
Exhilarating is the feeling he gets.
Ever single time.
He can't help it.
He just wants to watch everything burn.
Burn, Burn, Burn.
He's a maniac.
No doubt it.
Completely reckless to t.
But its his divinity.
His saving grace.
His ace.
And he has a constant need to play it.
Even if someone dies.
He's not worried about it.
It off to the next.
He can't help it.
He just wants to watch everything burn.
Burn, Burn, Burn.
Yeah just burn, burn, burn, oh burn.
poem by Ace Of Black Hearts
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Everything But Me
Ashes falling on the ground
Winds that blow a hollow sound
Once standing taller still
Now falling by your will
How many times the sun has shown
On everything but me
Rain that falls upon my heart
Washes away the endings start
I try to sing aloud but
My voice is lost within the crowd
How many times the sun has shown
On everything but me
Every little thing is free
Every little moment sings
Every little ray of sunshine
Every little broken heart of mine
How many times the sun has shown
On everything but me
Blinded by the snow today
My true friend grey skies comes to play
Lost inside my forest desire
Feeling this wild funeral pyre
How many times the sun has shown
On everything but me
Every little thing is free
Every little moment sings
Every little ray of sunshine
Every little broken heart of mine
How many times the sun has shown
On everything but me
Every little thing is free
Every little moment sings
Every little ray of sunshine
Every little broken heart of mine
How many times the sun has shown
On everything but me
poem by Barbara Vanier
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
As I Watch...........
As i sit here watching the fire burn
i recall a time when all was fine
and as i watch that fire grow
i laugh as i come back to reality
and remember how things came to be
and at that moment my life breaks down
and as it breaks im forced to realise how dull
my life has been and how dull it will be
when im forced to remain in a life
a life in which solitude isnt how
i'd want to remain
so as i watch this fire burn
i reminess about my life i come to the reaization
about the way life works
and that is: Life will never cease with springing surprises unto all beings no matter the race or species
poem by Zackory Kzeminski
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
London
It was november 4th
I last held your hand
It seemed our time would last forever
You said dont ever leave
I thought youd never go
I wish I could just remember your name...
Youre just a memory now
Like all the ones before
But with your pain Ive had to suffer
Your eyes alight with flame
As the picture burns
I hear the screams from long ago
They cry remember, blood-red streaks on
Velvet throats at night
The streetlights fanned our trail of fame
Through
London london
The memories will never leave me
London london
All I see is you
London london
The cries in the night
Keep bringing me to
London london
Calling out to me
Oh theres some things in life I could never face
The worst is being alone
Sometimes I wish I could have taken your
Place my love
You know I dont want to live forever
Oh let me see you standing in the
Shadows once again
Well walk the streets like long ago in
London london
The fire in your eyes will be bringing me to
London london
All I need is you
The cries in the night keep ringing on in
London london
Calling out to you
song performed by by Queensryche
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
From the Bush
The Channel fog has lifted –
And see where we have come!
Round all the world we've drifted,
A hundred years from "home".
The fields our parents longed for –
Ah! we shall ne'er know how –
The wealth that they were wronged for
We'll see as strangers now!
The Dover cliffs have passed on –
In the morning light aglow –
That our fathers looked their last on
A weary time ago.
Now grin, and grin your bravest!
We need be strong to fight;
For you go home to picture
And I go home to write.
Hold up your head in England,
Tread firm on London streets;
We come from where the strong heart
Of all Australia beats!
Hold up your head in England
However poor you roam!
For no men are your betters
Who never sailed from home!
From a hundred years of hardships –
'Tis ours to tell the cost –
From a thousand miles of silence
Where London would be lost;
From where the glorious sunset
On sweeps of mulga glows –
Ah! we know more than England,
And more than Europe knows!
Hold up your head in London,
However poor you come,
For no man is your better
Who never sailed from home!
Our "home" and foreign fathers,
Where none but men dared go,
Have done more for the White Man
Than England e'er shall know!
poem by Henry Lawson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Mad House pt.2
Hissing and dissing and feelings are driftin
Ignored and abhorred insisting on distance
For what seems like no reason when out in public
The shoulder’s so cold you’ll freeze if you touch it
Clenching your teeth brain twisted like twine
They couldn’t have put that knife in your spine
And kept greetings on time
You gotta be crazy in order to smile
In struggles where it’s often guile v guile
Eye for an eye fight fire with fire
And everyone’s blind on a funeral pyre
All lumped in a bundle and dumped on a heap
Ready for shearing like low humble sheep
Following trends like zombies at sleep
You’re still the one bolt in this great big machine
You gotta be crazy to be yourself
And from what’s being said, it’s bad for your health
poem by P.R. Prosper
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Night After Night
by Bob Dylan
Night after night you wander the streets of my mind.
Night after night don't know what you think you will find.
No place to go, nowhere to turn,
Everything around you seems to burn, burn, burn.
And there's never any mercy night after night.
Night after night
Night after night
Night after night some new plan to blow up the world.
Night after night another old man kissing some young girl.
You look for salvation, you find none.
Just another broken heart, another barrel of a gun,
Just another stick of dynamite night after night.
Night after night
Night after night
Night after night you drop dead in your bed,
Night after night another bottle finds a head.
Night after night I think about cutting you loose
But I just can't do it, what would be the use?
So I just keep a holding you tight night after night.
Night after night
Night after night
Night after night
Night after night
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!