Memory's Kingdom
MEMORY’S KINGDOM
In memory’s kingdom we try to forget
the downsides of life and the sadness and sorrows
that when we recall them induce and upset
the cart that transports us to happy tomorrows.
We may spend a day in solemn memorial
of what happened once and still makes us downcast,
and read in a poem or brief editorial
events that transport us from present to past,
but quickly move back then to pastures much greener
than those where great tragedies once had occurred.
Forgetting’s not classified as misdemeanor,
and memories may feel more blessed when they’re blurred.
Written on Memorial Day, May 25,2009, and inspired by Marc Porter-Zasada’s article “Random Access Memory” which he wrote inspired by a visit to the Veterans’ graveyard in Westwoood:
Random Access Memory
By Marc Porter Zasada
It’s a few days before Memorial Day, right here in the Kingdom of Forgetting, and the Urban Man has gone down to the veteran’s cemetery. Yes, the cemetery. Wait...don’t tune out just yet, my swift and belovèd Angelenos, zipping down the 405 to the next big thing; or just now heading home on the 10 with that nice full-day-at-the-beach feeling; or better yet rushing to apple martinis at your friend’s excellent after-the-barbeque bash...
You only have to do this once a year.
In fact, you don’t have to do it at all, since I have pulled off the 405 to serve as your very own ambassador to the L.A. National Cemetery, right near the Wilshire exit. Maybe you’ve seen it: that glimpse of many white headstones appearing briefly below the crowd of Westwood office towers as you head north.
I went last Thursday to avoid the rush. And sure enough, again this year as I parked among the low rolling hills, I was the only visitor I could see: For a time just me and 86,000 sleeping vets.
I’m sorry to say it wasn’t peaceful. The 405 runs right alongside on an elevated grade, so it’s never peaceful here. I figure even the dead are aware of us roaring ceaselessly into the future.
What do I do on these annual visits? I read a few headstones, here and there, out loud. That’s all. That’s it. I exercise a sort of Random Access Memory by reciting from what you might call the original memory sticks:
Charles O. Wesby, Colonel,158th Infantry, Spanish American War. Walter T. Rowland, PFC, World War II. Bertrand R. Butler, PFC, Vietnam—I see that Bertrand died at age 18.
Here’s a crowd of fresh flowers and a bouquet of happy birthday balloons around the grave of Daniel Patrick Cagle, SPC, U.S. Army, killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom: born May 20,1985, died May 23,2007. Daniel had just made it to age 22. Obviously his family visited this grave just the day before, on his birthday, when they set up little figurines of pirates and Homer Simpson and other small toys, I suppose from his childhood. Birthday candles were stuck in the earth, reading “D-A-N.”
Okay, sorry, now I really am depressing you. I know that images should be more fleeting in the Kingdom of Forgetting, that the names should come more quickly, one after the other. I mean, what would happen if people here paused too long to recall not merely lost lovers and misplaced friends, but lost soldiers and far-off wars? And what if they actually remembered the 7 p.m. news when the 8 p.m. news rolled around? Here in the Kingdom of Forgetting, shouldn’t it always be the moment just after the last update?
It’s not like that in a cemetery, where one headstone does not disappear when you read the next. Here’s Robert Thomas Ayers the third, Sergeant, U.S. Army, Iraqi Freedom, died 2007 at the age of 23. And further on, Steven Vega, SPC U.S. Army, Iraqi Freedom, born 1984, died 2008. “Truly one of a kind, ” it says on his marker.
Someone has placed fresh blooms and coins on the headstone of Jin Su Ong, PFC, U.S. Army, Iraqi Freedom, born 1987, died January 4,2009. Me I add a coin, since I forgot to bring flowers.
Then the Urban Man looks at his watch, and finds he’s late for his next appointment. He glances up at the 405 and feels the tug of the current. Still, as he rushes toward his car, he tries to get in just two or three more names:
Paul Thornton, Apprentice Seaman,1954. Richard Duncan, U.S. Navy, Vietnam. Edgar Lopez, Marine, born 1977, died in Iraq August 28,2004, Killed in Action, awarded the Purple Heart.
© 2009 Gershon Hepner 5/24/09
poem by Gershon Hepner
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Related quotes
That is my major preoccupation, memory, the kingdom of memory. I want to protect and enrich that kingdom, glorify that kingdom and serve it.
quote by Elie Wiesel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Kingdom
Now we are come to our Kingdom,
And the State is thus and thus;
Our legions wait at the Palace gate—
Little it profits us.
Now we are come to our Kingdom!
Now we are come to our Kingdom,
And the Crown is ours to take—
With a naked sword at the Council board,
And under the throne the snake.
Now we are come to our Kingdom !
Now we are come to our Kingdom,
And the Realm is ours by right,
With shame and fear for our daily cheer,
And heaviness at night.
Now we are come to our Kingdom !
Now we are come to our Kingdom,
But my love's eyelids fall.
All that I wrought for, all that I fought for,
Delight her nothing at all.
My crown is of withered leaves,
For she sits in the dust and grieves.
Now we are come to our Kingdom !
poem by Rudyard Kipling
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My Memories
Today will be a memory
yesterday is a memory drifting away
memories turn into tears,
tearing us apart.
Fear of moving on, afraid of change,
in a minute this will just be a memory
memories are all pain in vain
memories are like dreams, a reflection of the past.
Memories are vision of what it used to be.
my memories are sadness and struggle
what are yours?
are they sadness and struggle?
You are but a memory
that dwindles as each day passes me by.
and as you slowly vanish
I huddle in my room and cry.
A memory that’s all I have
that’s all that’s left of you
nothing but a mere memory
that still lingers, only for a little while longer in my head.
Don’t forget about the past
without memories there is no yesterday.
make every day one to remember a
memory to move on with no regrets
poem by lizzy Sydney
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My Memories
Today will be a memory
yesterday is a memory drifting away
memories turn into tears,
tearing us apart.
Fear of moving on, afraid of change,
in a minute this will just be a memory
memories are all pain in vain
memories are like dreams, a reflection of the past.
Memories are vision of what it used to be.
my memories are sadness and struggle
what are yours?
are they sadness and struggle?
You are but a memory
that dwindles as each day passes me by.
and as you slowly vanish
I huddle in my room and cry.
A memory that’s all I have
that’s all that’s left of you
nothing but a mere memory
that still lingers, only for a little while longer in my head.
Don’t forget about the past
without memories there is no yesterday.
make every day one to remember a
memory to move on with no pain or anymore regrets
poem by Ralph Acosta
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I Dont Remember
I got no means to show identification
I got no papers show you what I am
Youll have to take me just the way that you find me
Whats gone is gone and I do not give a damn
Empty stomach, empty head
I got empty heart and empty bed
I dont remember
I dont remember
I dont remember, I dont recall
I got no memory of anything at all
I dont remember, I dont recall
I got no memory of anything
-anything at all
Strange is your language and I have no decoder
Why dont you make your intentions clear
With eyes to the sun and your mouth to the soda
Saying, tell me the truth, you got nothing to fear
Stop staring at me like a bird of prey
Im all mixed up, I got nothing to say
I dont remember
I dont remember
I dont remember, I dont recall
I got no memory of anything at all
I dont remember, I dont recall
I got no memory of anything
Anything at all
I dont remember, I dont recall
I got no memory of anything at all
I dont remember, I dont recall
I got no memory of anything
Absolutely anything at all
I dont remember
song performed by by Peter Gabriel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Making Love With Memories
You poked my blurring eye,
Let me lift your mushy breast.
We aged onwards
While you stroked flaccidity –
Recalling decades of
Blood-gorged coming, shuddering to boot.
I kissed a venerable mouth
Crammed with falsities –
Once brilliant keys
Guarded by crimson lips
Washed by a sensual tongue.
And so we writhed in wrinkles,
Tiring effort, and
Memories.
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2010
Memory memory memory memory memory
Memory memory memory memory memory
Memory memory memory memory memory
Memory memory memory memory memory
poem by Mark R Slaughter
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Kingdom Come
See the white light
The light within
Be your own disciple
Fan the sparks of will
For all of us waiting
Our kingdom has come
Rays of power shinning
Rays of magic fall
On the golden voice that speaks within us all
For all of us waiting
Your kingdom will come
Kingdom Come
Feel the white light
The light within
Yea it burns a fire that drives a man to win
For all of us waiting
Your kingdom will come
Kingdom Come
Words of power
Calling to us all
Holding us together while other kingdoms fall
No longer waiting
Our kingdom has come
Kingdom Come
Kingdom comming
Another kingdom falls
The rightful are waiting
But all are not rightful
Wait and receive the weight of the fall
Kingdom Come
song performed by by Manowar from Kings Of Metal
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Day by Day
I think it is impossible
To recall ev’ryone you met
and also highly probable.
That some you’re happy to forget.
The first lover who broke your heart,
Imprinted deep in memory.
Though you suspected from the start,
this was a dream which could not be.
The petty boss that bullied you.
When you were young and powerless.
It’s odd but you recall him too.
Though not with any kindliness.
Yet good friends fade from memory
erased by quickly passing years
almost you’d think impossible,
You wonder if you’ve slipped from theirs.
Although you meant to keep in touch.
You never did too much to do.
I wonder does it matter
because they have forgotten too.
Par for the course I understand.
Although sometimes spontaneously
they come to mind; you can’t command
the actions of your memory.
The present matters not the past.
It is consigned to history,
the pace of life is far too fast.
To take time out for reverie.
We touch on others and affect
each other in some subtle way
That is the truth we must accept.
We really live from day to day.
1-Dec-08http: // blog.myspace.com/poeticpiers
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
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Come As You Are (LP Version)
Come As You Are"
Come, as you are. As you were.
As I want you to be. As a friend.
As a friend. As an old enemy. Take your time.
Hurry up. The choice is yours. Don't be late.
Take a rest. As a friend. As a old memory, memory, memory, memory.
Come. Dowsed in mud. Soaked in bleach.
As I want you to be. As a trend. As a friend.
As an old memory, memory, memory, memory.
And I swear that I don't have a gun.
No I don't have a gun. No I don't have a gun.
Memory, memory, memory, memory (don't have a gun).
And I swear that I don't have a gun.
No I don't have a gun. No I don't have a gun.
No I don't have a gun. No I don't have a gun. Memory, memory...
song performed by by Nirvana
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Without Our Gift Of Memory
What would we be without the power to recall?
Without our gift of memory we'd be little at all
To those who lose their memory confusion is their lot
The faces of friends and family by them even forgot
For the children and kindred of alzheimers sufferers life must be very sad
The memory loss of a sibling, uncle, aunty, mum or dad
Though 'tis a natural instinct for us to cling to life's breath
In a choice between death and loss of memory I think I would choose death
I am a lucky fellow my gift of memory I retain
And I hope till my last breath of life that with me it will remain
To the great gift of memory I will gladly drink a toast
In that sense I am lucky far luckier than most
Life would not be worth much without it the great gift of memory
I am sure at what I say here that most with me would agree.
poem by Francis Duggan
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A Heads-Up From On High
Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven
and
the Kingdom of Heaven’s within
Except that you come through Me,
you cannot enter Heaven –
But
seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven –
Look!
The Kingdom of Heaven’s within
***
I’ve given you the key here,
I’m telling you I’m right here
I am in Heaven and
I am in you
And I can never be
anywhere else –
See, the Kingdom of Heaven
Lies deep within you
And I am in Heaven, too
Heaven is a state of being,
it’s not a place to go,
because, as I’ve told you,
so many times,
it’s within to yourself
you must go
There you must look,
like it says in the Book,
and My promise is, you will find Me
You’ve just got to realize
That I will never tell lies
And I’ve told you,
The Kingdom’s within!
poem by Rev. Rebecca Guile Hudson
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God's Kingdom
PART 1
[INSPIRED BY LEO TOLSTOY]
More than a hundred years gone
since a thought by this great man
to put an end to man's kingdom
to be a part of god's kingdom
A kingdom which need not bind
bind itself to a boundary
a kingdom which need not safeguard
guarding men need not war over a boundary
a nation without a boundary
a nation which would'nt war for a boundary
would'nt be a man's kingdom
yes...truely a god's kingdom
how do you curb atrocities without a war
India did it fifty years back without a war
Mahatma's ahimsa was an offshoot of Tolstoy's passive resistance
Tolstoy was Gandhi's inspiration
poem by Samanyan Lakshminarayanan
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The Husband
Yes, I have slain, and taken moving life
From bodies. Yea! And laughed upon the taking;
And, having slain, have whetted still the knife
For more and more, and heeded not the making
Of things that I was killing. Such 'twas then!
But now the thirst so hideous has left me.
I live within a coolness, among calm men,
And yet am strange. A something has bereft me
Of a seeing, and strangely love returns;
And old desires half-known, and hanging sorrows.
I seem agaze with wonder. Memory burns.
I see a thousand vague and sad tomorrows.
None sees my sadness. No one understands
How I must touch her hair with bloody hands.
poem by Leon Gellert
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Memory (Thy Shall)
Thy shall not slumber,
Thy shall not wake,
A memory so fragile,
So delicate it may break.
A memory so lost,
So unwanted it tears apart,
Until it dies,
It shall go back to thy start.
A powerful memory it may be,
Or a memory that shall be overlooked,
Thy one shall let it see,
How thy memory is like a book.
But how powerful thy memory is,
It has to be stronger than a good memory,
A memory that has passion and feeling,
A memory that has greatness and becoming myself, I, and me.
Until that kind of memory is shown,
Thy memory shall be looked upon near and far,
Thy memory shall be kept hidden,
Until it shall be who we are.
Thy shall not slumber,
Thy shall not wake,
A memory so fragile,
so delicate it may break.
poem by Alicia Meyers
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Getting In My Way
I wish I could forget you, but I wont
I wish I loved another, but I dont
Its just the same, day after day
Your memory keeps getting in my way
But Im hoping I will be alright
But I dont even sleep at night
I close my eyes I see your face
Your memory keeps getting in my way
Bridge:
I dont know why I cant forget you
I dont see why I should let you
Keep messing up my mind with all those thoughts of yesterday
Your memory keeps getting in my way
Its easy for someone to lie
Im saying Ill forget you and Ill try
Heres hoping that I will someday
Your memory keeps getting in my way
Repeat bridge
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We Can Never Forget
We can never forget the moment
when love came to us.
We can never forget the feeling
of being in love for the first time.
We can never forget the first heartache
and how the earth fell away beneath us.
We can never forget the first time
we did something
and how painful or how wonderful it was.
We can never forget the simple joys
that our life can brings,
nor can we forget the sadness that comes to.
Our memory stores all these things and more
to help us remember we have a life.
An essence that will live on
even when our turn comes and we are gone.
11 March 2009
poem by David Harris
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Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you - and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you!
quote by John Irving
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Adveniat Regnum Tuum
Thy kingdom come ! Yea, bid it come!
But when Thy kingdom first began
On earth, Thy kingdom was a home,
A child, a woman, and a man.
The child was in the midst thereof,
O, blessed Jesus, holiest One!
The centre and the fount of love
Mary and Joseph's little Son.
Wherever on the earth shall be
A child, a woman, and a man,
Imaging that sweet trinity
Wherewith Thy kingdom first began,
Establish there Thy kingdom! Yea,
And o'er that trinity of love
Send down, as in Thy appointed day,
The brooding spirit of Thy Dove!
poem by Katharine Tynan
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Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME (1952-2011) Untimely Death
Not by a knife
You have carved your memory
In the hearts of many
Not with a pallet
You have painted your deeds
In the heart that bleeds
Not by a pen
You have written your story
In the book of destiny
With your words, carved advocacy
With your deeds, framed memories
With your love, treasured stories
by your death, all your acclaims
The Kingdom of God, it proclaims
In memory of Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME
poem by Maia Padua
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Vampire Memory
When I go I go,
When I stay I stay,
And in all that you will always think of me.
Never forget,
Never forgetting a vampires memory,
A night with memories,
Vampire memories,
I watch you watching me,
You watch me watching you,
I look away,
You can’t,
I look back at you,
You’re still watching me,
You’ll never forget,
A vampire memory,
And you’ll never see me,
Unless I see you and let you see me.
Never forget,
Never forget,
Never forget a vampire memory.
I wistfully watch as you step in the sun,
I wistfully see you dance in the light,
Laughing at the irony,
I can never forget a vampire memory,
I am a vampire that can never forget,
You are a human, who will never forget,
And I can see that you want to but don’t and can’t.