En.Citatepedia^®.ro

What Have We Learned From History

What have we learned from history little if anything
Of war men and war heroes their praises we still sing
Humankind have come far in technology and on the moon surface have trod
And still we fight for our Nation's flag and go to war for our God.

What have we learned from history not much if you ask me
We still have wars and famines and we still have poverty
And we still have this awful thing called ethnic cleansing and we still have refugees
And we still wage war on Mother Earth and we still pollute her seas.

What have we learned from history if anything at all
Before the baby has to walk the baby has to learn to crawl
And life is just a learning curve or so we have been told
But few of those who lack wisdom in their twenties grow wiser as they grow old.

What have we learned from history we have learned to populate
And by bulldozing more virgin woodlands more diseases we create
We pollute Mother Earth who feeds us and our successes seem so few
And that the World would do nicely without us only happens to be true.

What have we learned from history go ask one wiser than I
The World is far more polluted now than when I was a boy
And history has a habit of repeating itself a wise one once did say
And I've not learned from history though I grow old and gray.

poem by Francis Duggan
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History

History is sad.
It makes me mad
that we have learned nothing.

History is the past.
It goes so fast
and still we have learned nothing.

Today's not history
and so it's a mystery
why we repeat the same old nothing?

poem by Edwina Reizer
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I Know My History

Mmmmm, Yeah.
I was a freckle-faced kid with a buck tooth grin.
I was cuttin' her grass when she asked me in.
Learned everything that I needed to learn,
When I was sixteen, know what I mean.
Whoo, ooh, ooh, grew up fast.
Fin'lly found somethin' I was really good at.
When it comes to love,
I know what I'm talkin' about.
I know my history, but good lovin' gets me.
It ain't no mystery, just kiss me: kiss me, baby.
I never learned my lesson: I'm pretty good at guessin'.
I been down that road a time or two or three:
I know my history.
Come a little closer, let me show you what it's all about.
Oh, I know my history, baby.
You can second guess me all night long,
Make yourself believe that it's all wrong.
Sooner or later, girl,
You're gonna see you can trust me.
Once again there, whoo, ooh, ooh, step into school:
Let me show you a thing or two:
When it comes to love,
I know what I'm talkin' about.
I know my history, but good lovin' gets me.
It ain't no mystery, just kiss me: kiss me, baby.
I never learned my lesson: I'm pretty good at guessin'.
I been down that road a time or two or three:
I know my history.
Don't worry 'bout tomorrow, come along girl.
Got his own road on a right cool world.
Take my hand, it's just you an' me.
Tonight's the night we're makin' history.
Instrumental Break.
(A little, little history.)
(Whoo, ooh, ooh.)
I know my history, yeah, good lovin' gets me.
It ain't no mystery, just kiss me: (Kiss me.)
Come a little closer, let me show you what it's all about.
Let me show you, baby, what my love is really all about.

song performed by by Van Zant
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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From History We've Not Learned

Men crucified the one millions now worship more than two thousand years ago
Yet many men they are as cruel today and any compassion towards others they never seem to show
And the gifts of compassion and empathy to the special few belong
And many far too many seemingly cannot tell right from wrong
Two thousand and seven years ago Jesus Christ was crucified
And nailed to a timber cross on Calvary slowly and painfully he died
Yet we have not learned from human history and it does seem sad to say
That nowadays many decent people die in the foulest way,
The war supposed to end all wars did not live up to it's tag
Young people dying in war zones every day for God and Land and Flag
Before we learn the lesson of history how many more must die
War men mock the sacredness of human life and many wars based on a lie
It has been more than two thousand years since Christ died on Calvary
And from history we've not learned a thing that's how 'twould seem to be.

poem by Francis Duggan
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We've Not Learned From War History The Facts Never Lie

We've not learned from war history the facts never lie
For God and for Country many still fight and die
The flowers do not bloom brighter on the dead soldier's grave
As the one who died of old age and was not known to be brave.

With the words we've not learned from war history
I happen to be one of those who agree
One war leads to another it does seem to me
And we still have War Memorial day in the twenty first century.

Where there is mistrust between people hatred come to the boil
In war over borders and war over oil
And in wars over God far too many have died
To antiquated thinking many do remain tied.

Out of war and it's suffering many heroes are made
And to honour the war dead another parade
And for as long as those who glorify war do have things their own way
The flower of peace will never see light of day.

poem by Francis Duggan
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I've learned

Ive learned that to love someone doesnt have to involve pain,
Ive learned that to have a friend you must be a friend first,
Ive learned that in time youll see your mistakes and learn from them,
Ive learned that to be alone sometimes is the best thing for you,
Ive learned that in order to love a person you must feel loved,
Ive learned that if your wrong admit it or youll never forgive yourself,
Ive learned that your first love will be a part of you and you may never forget,
Ive learned that in order to move on you must fix what was first wrong,
Ive learned that if you ever mess up, you can always start over again,
Ive learned that to be 'cool' doesnt involve pressure,
Ive learned to accept what I have and be happy,
Ive learned that people will come and go so tell the ones you love how you feel,
Ive learned that to respect yourself you must respect others,
Ive learned that your actions always involve consequences whether it be good or bad,
Ive learned that priceless words can mean the world to someone,
Ive learned that sometimes being silent is the best solution,
Ive learned to expect the unexpected,
Ive learned that healing a broken heart involves tears and pain,
Ive learned to see the world in the eyes of others,
And Ive learned that each new day is a day to touch a life.

poem by Carly Almonde
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He was what I often think is a dangerous thing for a statesman to be - a student of history; and like most of those who study history, he learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.

quote by A.J.P. Taylor
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Have Learned

I had been told 'never' to say never.
And for as long as I lived,
I will learn a 'never' said will return.

And I found that to be true.
I have learned to focus and remain conscious.
Never to keep repeating the same mistakes.

I have learned,
The giving of oneself...
Opens the door to heartache.

I have learned,
Forgiveness for some...
Means a forgetting for them to what they've done.

I have learned,
A revolving door...
Revolves not solve solutions.

I have learned,
A no does not mean yes...
To a depleting of my happiness.

I have learned,
Never to allow my peace of mind...
To be plucked by anyone wishing to get on my nerves.

I have learned,
THAT!
And 'that' aint gon' happen no mo'!
Never.

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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History Repeats Itself

We only hear of war and terrorism and crimes against humanity
In the World news headlines every day on radio and t v
Systematic abuse by so called soldiers on their prisoners of such we hear and see
And history repeats itself or so 'twould seem to me.

Of a war between the good guys and the bad guys there is no such a thing
For only death and suffering war has been known to bring
To the people of the Country where war is waged in many civilians in the cross fire die
As between the warring parties bullets to and fro do fly.

We've heard it said that war brings peace but with such I don't agree
As the World seems more divided now than at anytime in history
The cultural and religious divide it only seems to grow
And for centuries of fighting wars we do not have much to show.

In the news headlines only bad news or so it would appear
And of war and death and suffering we only see and hear
Yet the war that was to end all wars was waged nine decades ago
And of the lessons we should have learned from history we do not wish to know.

poem by Francis Duggan
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What experience and history teach is this - that nations and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it.

quote by Hegel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Learned...

from being homeless,
i learned the value of home!
from being hungry,
i learned the value of being fed.
from being sick,
i learned the value of health.
from being left alone,
i learned the value of love.
from being confined in a cell,
i learned the value of freedom.
from being persecuted,
i learned the value of human rights.
from being an infidel,
i learned to see the face of god...

poem by Eric Cockrell
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First Year University Expereinces

I learned why it is not wise to skip class often

I learned that skipping homework in university is not the same as skipping homework in high school

I learned what it feels like to be awake for over 2 days

I learned how to smoke pot from a bong

I learned how to compose an essay the day before it's due

I learned that the Freshman 15 is no joke

I learned how to do laundry

I learned to pretend to be happy

I learned to multitask

I learned to be more sociable

I learned why my parents and teachers warned me about the difficulty of university

I learned that failing is expensive

I learned small things, like freshly washed bed sheets, make me happy
I learned to lie

I learned how expensive alcohol is

I learned what it feels like to be a failure

I type this rant while skipping my business ethics class as I further delay the composition of my psychology term paper

poem by Michelle Cow
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The Sound Of Wings.....

from the bars of the cell,
i learned freedom from the body.
from the underside of the bridge,
i learned home has not a house.
from forty years of working,
i learned the bitterness of the slave.
from the political lies,
i learned that truth cant be bought.
from the books i read,
i learned to reason and question.
from the heroin needle,
i learned the value of life.
from love lost,
i learned how to love.
from doubt i learned seeking,
in seeking i found god to be more.
from the scars on my heart,
i learned to be a man.
from battles fought and lost,
i learned the need for peace.
from discrimination i learned equality,
from anger i learned forgiveness.
from the mirror i learned responsibility...
from the bars of the cell,
i learned the sound of wings!

poem by Eric Cockrell
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The Only Immortal

From a tiny dark seedling a tree begins to grow
Into a huge tree with large branches in fifty years or so
It does not need help from Humankind Nature does best on her own
A tiny seed blown in the wind by Nature is self sown
To kind Mother Earth who feeds us all respect we do not pay
We pollute the air we pollute the seas and every Waterway
But what we do to Mother Earth to our own selves we do
The weather temperatures rising every year by a degree or two
We are like Nature's Seasons to life we come and go
The sharp scythe of the reaper is destined to lay us low
Immortality for Humankind perhaps based on a lie
We must return to Nature since we are born to die
The greats of human history the life from them long gone
But Nature lives forever she just goes on and on.

poem by Francis Duggan
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Black History Month

In January...
There they are making history.
In February...
There they are making history.
In March...
There they are making history.
In April...
There they are making history.
In May...
There they are making history.
In June...
There they are making history.
In July...
There they are making history.
In August...
There they are making history.
In September...
There they are making history.
In October...
There they are making history.
In November...
There they are making history.
In December...
There they are making history.

But...
It's nice to know
The shortest month of the year
Was chosen to celebrate
The great deeds of African-Americans!
However...
It is those LEAP YEARS,
That really have the blacks jumping for joy!

Note: 'Black History Month' along with other
works of interest can be found in...

*'MindPrints from Untouched Places-VOL I'*
~Now available online at a PC near you~

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Avoiding History

avoiding history is a family tradition,
draft dodging, missing wars, as far
back as my fathers go, I find
no soldiers, no warriors and also
no lovers. we don't write
in my family, we withdraw
our stories on objection, stop
telling them. we keep secrets.

I keep my own secrets and rarely
tell them, keep my truth
from coming back to hurt me.
I learn slowly but I learn well,
to keep my secrets, avoid history.
I avoided history by protesting war
and by refusing to marry.
I learned late, but I learned well.
your eyes tell your history, your belly,
in its soft geography, hints at mine.
I don't enlist, I avoid being drafted,
my bridges burn behind me.

I read history in the slope of her breasts,
her silence uses me in my telling.
I have many ways to lie,
using a sharp knife to separate
flesh from nerve, bone and tendon.
how many times have I undressed you,
hearing you tell me that I don't care
about anything, until you turn
away from me, turn on me, turn
to stone. I turn you over, exploring
history in the cleft of your ass,
touching with my hands but never
touching you, feeling alone finally,
shedding uniforms and telling stories.

lies return in the secrets I keep, hints
I cover with long explanations.
you come to me, naked, asking questions
and feel betrayed, telling me finally
that I don't matter and never
was real to you. I tell you
I was a soldier, that I fought,
and you lie to me by undressing yourself,
nakedness concealing your aims.

I read history in the curve of your thighs,
my tongue seeking your skin, seeking
you in your skin, tasting
beneath your skin. I find
your secrets, I tell your history
and turn my back to you. in sleep,
you back away, waking,
you dismiss me and I write a secret
history, full of lies and silences.

poem by Jesse Weiner
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Epiphany, Dead Man Walking

i learned to walk again,
the day you drove away
and left me standing in the drive...

i learned to see again,
staring at old photographs
in a book hid away.

i learned to think again,
thinking, and rethinking
every move and every action.

i learned to feel again,
struck dumb with waves of sorrow,
with blood on my lips.

i learned to cry again,
in the dark and sleepless night,
when no one else could see.

i learned to fight again,
pushed back against the wall
with nothing left to lose.

i learned to pray again,
to a God that doesnt answer,
from the gates of hell.

i learned to dream again,
violent shaking nightmares,
waking up to a cold sweat.

i learned to love again
to cherish every moment,
every touch forgotten.

i learned to walk again,
and walked off into the sunset
with our hearts in my hands.

poem by Eric Cockrell
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History why do we care

History
a famous person dies
History
a war rages
History
a new invention
History
a building opens
History
what happens if something happens to me
is that history?
no....
So why do we care.....

poem by Andrea Thepoet
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We Know Little

As knowledge goes I have a long way to go
So little of life and of Nature I know
I have not grown wiser but I have grown gray
And the clock on my life it is ticking away
The praises of Nature so many do sing
But the vastness of Nature is a humbling thing
Even the great whales are small in the vastness of the sea
The World we live in seems enormous to me
Of why the birds and of how the plants grow
The more we learn of life and Nature the less we know we know
Of the World around us we've been learning since before we learned how to crawl
But we realize as we learn we know little at all
Of life and of Nature you may be old and gray
But you never stop learning until your last day.

poem by Francis Duggan
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Chinese Wisdom

In crisis, wisdom growth,
And gained.
Intelligence endowed,
But wisdom is learned.

Wise men listen more,
Talk no nonsense.
Wise men may be learned
But learned men may not be wise.

A silent fool can pass for a wise man.
Silence is golden & wise,
Silence is the trusted friend of wisdom.

It is easy to blame our memory
when our judgment is at fault.
It takes a tree ten years to mature;
It takes a man one hundred years to form.

We grow old fast,
We grow wise slowly.
Youth can look only forward,
but age can also look backward.

Maturity and wisdom
take a lifetime to achieve.
Achieving maturity does not
Grow with age.

Wisdom grows when
Ones learned to avoid the wrongs.
Stand for the rights.

Biggest flaw of ones
Has a lot of flaws and
Not correcting them,
Not avoiding them.

Life is a learning journey
To discover who we are,
Learning as if life is
one continuous lesson.

Wisdom is attained by learning
when to hold one’s tongue.
Discretion is the trusted friend of wisdom.
A wise head must possess a closed mouth.

Compiled & adapted by Lawrence Hiung

poem by Lawrence Hiung
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We Have Not Learned That Much From The Past

We have not learned that much from past history the men of power repeat the same mistake
By threatening war on the Iraqi people for in war there's death and suffering and heartbreak
And in war there's never happiness and laughter the bomber jets they dropp death from the sky
Why to kill or capture the Iraqi leader will so many innocents have to suffer and die? .

I wonder when I hear talk of 'A Just War' since any war it never has been just
And war gives rise to vengeance and to hatred and between peoples build the barriers of mistrust,
Who ever coined that phrase was far from clever though many of those words have taken note
And too many far too many silly people that awful saying are too inclined to quote.

We have not learned much from man's past history if we have learned anything at all
The innocents of Baghdad and Basra will suffer when the big bombs from the night sky will fall
For bombs don't always hit their designated targets and for war mistakes it's the innocents who pay
With their lives or the most horrific injuries and the scars of war till death with them will stay.

We have not learned much from the mistakes of our forefathers for talk of war we hear now every day
And only on the day of the Election do the people ever seem to have a say
And the hawkish leaders who see war as okay from the path that leads to war cannot be cowed
They never seem to listen to their people though the voice of protest in their ears ring loud.

poem by Francis Duggan
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