The mind's eye can nowhere find anything more dazzling nor more dark than in man; it can fix itself upon nothing which is more awful, more complex, more mysterious, or more infinite. There is one spectacle
grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul. To write the poem of the human conscience, were it only of a single man, were it only of the most infamous of men, would be to swallow up all epics in a superior and final epic.
Victor Hugo in Les Miserables
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.
quote by Victor Hugo
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Look at the sunrise and sunset as a spectacle of the ephemeral, as a scene where people climb noisily and pass silently into oblivion, a spectacle in which colors are born and die in the frenzy of the sun.
Look at the sunrise and sunset as a spectacle of heaven as long as you are in time, combining the beauty within you with perfect sincerity in your relationship with God.
Camelia Oprița in from the book The wall of thoughts (2020)
Submitted by Akexander
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Let This One Poem Be About Me
Let this one poem be just about me
Let this one poem engulf all my beauty
Let this one poem define my soul
Let this one poem consume me whole
My soul was earth bound
And my heart lay in a place that it would never be found
Let this poem be what entangles my mind
Let this poem be where people will find
They will find that missing link
And this poem it will make them think
They will wonder how this girl came
They will wonder how I avoided fame
I didn’t write these words to please
I wrote these words to tease
My heart it’s the type that beckons for ease
And my taste will not accept the flavor of peas
Let this poem describe me in most simplest of ways
Let this poem show how I get through these days
And I know people will read this and say…
This girl she knew where heart lay…
Let this poem eat me whole
Let me entire heart bleed its luscious love into a broken bowl
My soul wanted only to be free
And this poem only pushed it back into me
I never will lose any part of my soul
Because then this world will swallow my inner being whole
Let this poem be what I hate
Let this poem describe with who I would mate
Let this thoughts become my ways
Let this poem be where I stray
Let this poem show how I lie
Let this poem describe how I will die
Yes I am human I cannot avoid death
Yes I am human I chose not to use meth
These words they dance upon this page
These words they have no age
These verses have lost all meaning
Because I revealed my demeaning
Let this poem describe what I deem right
Let this poem that I will always fight
My age floats through these words
And people will never understand why I want to be heard
Let this poem be only about me
Let this poem be what sets me free
And I know some day people will look at this and say…
This girl, this girl she knew exactly where her heart lay…
poem by Victoria Martinez
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My Mind Is Not A Complex Poem
MY MIND IS NOT A COMPLEX POEM
My mind is not a complex poem
That makes a metaphor of rhyme-
Or understands the simple beat,
Of an imperfect right offline.
My mind is old and wandering
And trusts itself to carry on.
The poem it comes to turns to stone
And weighs upon a soul unsung.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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There Is A Poem Which Is Not A Poem
THERE IS A POEM WHICH IS NOT A POEM
There is a poem which is not a poem
Its mind breaks its music
Its heart is too much in thought.
It does not sing us to somewhere else.
There is a poem which is not a poem
Prosaic confessional flat,
Its says its single thing from the soul
And leaves the page without implication.
How many such poems have I written
As I write this one now?
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Garbage On the Sidelines
They stood by on the sidelines
Pointing at spectacle after spectacle.
Watching those parading and serenading
Taunts with gestures.
And when the street sweepers came...
Only then did they realize,
They were the trash to be hauled!
Garbage on the sidelines,
Had been declared eyesores.
Observing participation...
Was outlawed and long outdated!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Poem Of All The Places I Have Never Been
THE POEM OF ALL THE PLACES I HAVE NEVER BEEN
The poem of all the places I have never been
The poem of all the dreams I have not seen
The poem of others poems written in lines I have never imagined
The poem of the infinite – what-is- not and ‘what- will- never- be
The poem of seas and suns and sounds and Shakespeare’s sonnets,
The poem of words and only words whose sounds do not mean what we feel
The poem of all I would not and cannot write
The poem that is not and never will be in me
The poem I do not write
The poem I am not
The poem lost
The poem which itself is not a poem
The poem of the last contradiction and the first
The poem beyond the poem hidden within the poem
The poem which will never be a poem
The poem which is not
The poem I cannot dream.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Scribbler's Stymie
Pen and paper in sight
I've got no poem to write
Staying up all night
I've got no poem to write
Although my mind is bright
I've got no poem to write
It's windy out tonight, should I go fly a kite?
I've got no poem to write
My ceiling, it is white
I've got no poem to write
It's 4: 59! Five, but not quite
I've got no poem to write
In your arms I'd feel so light
I've got no poem to write
I've had no sleep tonight
I've got no poem to write
Will you just hold me tight?
I've got no poem to write
Outside it's almost light
I've got no poem to write
It's late, off goes my light
I've got no poem to write
poem by Julia Grace
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Nothing discernable to the eye of the spirit is more brilliant or obscure than man; nothing is more formidible, complex, mysterious, and infinite. There is a prospect greater than the sea, and it is the sky; there is a prospect greater than the sky, and it is the human soul.
Victor Hugo in Les Miserables
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Nick Joaquin Story
I remember pretty well
As I write these
Poems, these unlikely
Unbecoming poems
Of a legal mind
Wanting still
To craft
A bridge poem
To connect
Two untalking
Worlds
Nick Joaquin indeed
Wrote so well and
Won the hearts
Of Filipino
Literati when
He gave them
The Portrait of
A Filipino as
An Artist
In fact the story
Was made into
A play and Nick
Was invited to watch
An actress who
Played a minor role
Was so irritated
About this drunken
Old rugged
foul smelling
alcoholic
dirty
man,
And seeing him
drank as
Usual with lots
Of beer,
she shouted
omigod!
shouted at
At him
“old man, this is
a nice play, so please
do not watch it drunk
and disappoint us
with your unruly
behaviour! ”
she felt he was just
kind of rude
uncultured
and disrespectful
to the content
of the play
of the portrait
of the Filipino
as an Artist.
she
agreed
the story
was grand
the play grander
what she did not know
she was shouting
at Nick Joaquin
the author
of the story
the
mighty author
of the story
that was made
into a grander play
of the century
Nick Joaquin left the theater
The actress did not really know
What she was saying about
Authorship
and
behavior.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Speckulation
Grander than great religions can anoint
universe began as geometric point,
then space and time expanded from this dot
more epic than prophetic words have taught-
This microscopic-macroscopic mess!
Man stands Adam tall, atom small- or less.
poem by Glenn Bagshaw
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Its A Miracle
You wouldnt believe where Ive been,
The cities and towns I been in,
From boston to denver
And every town in between.
The people they all look the same,
Only the names have been changed.
But now that Im home again
Ill tell you what I believe:
Its a miracle
A true blue spectacle,a miracle come true.
Were together baby,
I was goin crazy till the miracle come through.
Now youre here and my arms
Are around you and baby
Theyll be dancin in the streets
For the miracle a true blue spectacle,
The miracle is you
I never knew you look so good.
Oh I never knew anyone could.
I must have been crazy
To every have gone away.
I almost forgot what its like,
Holdin you near me at night.
But now that Im home again
Youll know that Im home to stay,
Cause its a miracle a true blue spectacle,
A miracle come true.
Were together baby,
I was going crazy till the miracle come through.
Im feeling so good,
And baby theyll be dancing in the streets
For the miracle a true blue spectacle,
The miracle is you.
song performed by by Barry Manilow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Poem I Cannot Write/ Is The Poem Beyond My Own Poetry
THE POEM I CANNOT WRITE/ IS THE POEM BEYOND MY OWN POETRY
The poem I cannot write
Is the poem beyond my own poetry -
It is greater than what I am capable of -
It surprises in ways my awkward phrases cannot
It is complex beyond my simple simplicity
It has an infectious beauty
That demands to be recited again and again -
It lingers in the mind and memory
As a strange new beauty beyond anything done by anyone else before.
The poem I cannot write
Has been written will be written
By those greater than myself-
I have the great blessing
Of being able to read them
But I cannot join them
Despite a lifetime of trying.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Right Between The Eyes
Don't care what they have to say
Why you listening to them anyway
Why do you have to give them what they want?
They love to watch you as you fall apart
Stick it to them like a phoenix rise
There's nothing grander than the big surprise
They can't hurt you with their sticks and stones
About time take them right between the eyes
Seek to destroy cause they're scared of you
That's why they try to make a fool of you
They're so jealous of my pretty star
Cause you've got soul inside your shattered heart
Stick it to them like a phoenix rise
There's nothing grander than the big surprise
They can't hurt you with their sticks and stones
About time take them right between the eyes
And you've been waiting all your life
To fly high into somebody else
And it's true it's a cruel, cruel world
Life's a bitch and then you die my love
Don't care what they have to say
You shouldn't listen to them anyway
Stick it to them like a phoenix rise
There's nothing grander than the big surprise
They can't hurt you with their sticks and stones
About time take them right between the eyes
People like to build you up
Then they'll stab you in the back like that
You know it breaks my heart
Can't see you going out like that
Stay alive my love
Stay alive my love
Stay alive my love
Stay alive my love
song performed by by Garbage
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Life Art
Life Art
I want to write you a poem.
One that contains no verses
no words
how long it will be
I cannot tell.
It will be a poem that you can see through
yet it will shade you from the sun
a simple lyric
as complex as a crossword
I want it to be something
that you carry through your day
every day
I don’t know if I can write that poem
Or if indeed that poem can be written at all
So instead I am with you
Of you
And slowly together
we are writing our very own poem
Not on a page
Or in a lost notebook
But in the café
and in the street
At a table
In our bed
Every day we add another line
another image
another verse
and I know that with every word that we write
I want it to be the longest poem
That has ever been written.
poem by Andy Houlihan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A poem for you...
I write a poem for you today,
to get a place in your heart for ever
A poem that could tell you my love for you
I write my poem with emotion and affection
for you to understand my deep thoughts for you
A poem to love and a poem to understand its soul
A poem to enjoy and a poem to understand its happiness
A poem to think and a poem to understand its way of life
A poem to learn and a poem to understand its content
A poem to sing and a poem to understand its melody
A poem to cry and a poem to understand its sorrow
There are poems I have written but this is specially for you
The poem could tell you how important you are for me
There are words comes out freely from my mind to write poem
but there are no words to find my love for you
Those words can not missed as I miss your love today
Let me have all those words put in to my heart and
say I love to write a love poem for you
Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka
Copyright ©2004 Ravi Sathasivam
poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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Memories of Youth
Memories of youth are emerging, desisting, then reemerging,
Fully apt for the taking, magically presented by the mind.
Youth is a wonderful endeavour of the rich, the blamed,
Who struck their riches in health as well as wealth.
Health is far superior to the strength of a business,
This business is sick and final, working like a trick.
We describe fully a general air, a young memory of worth,
This joy brings full dreaming and dreams so splendid a spectacle,
We enjoy themselves, the dreams are forcing their way through
Like a soldier of strong bravery, the worst enemy is against him.
poem by Naveed Akram
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Who Is Now Reading This?
count yourself blessed
if you are reading this?
you are the rare few
who actually read others' poetry
nobody is serious about other people's life anyway
poetry reading is being noosy
an orphan in an alleyway
tries to look for a
home sweet home
count yourself doubled blessed
if you fully understand any poem
for poets write for themselves
if a poet says he writes for others
he is probably a liar
after money probably
count yourself blessed for having learnt this
for among the millions of poets
there are poets in lost alleys
trying to find a piece of themselves
the lane that runs to treasures of heart and mind
verses springing from the sanctity of the soul
many slip on the make belief lane
throwing words, phrases helter skelter
a child that tries to plant fiction in non fiction
offering honorable readers
a half baked cake nobody would take
the heaven sounds out the genius though
each of his word gets you revved up
each of the words offers a
a spectacle into real sights, sounds, tastes
and smells
the honorable readers know the fakes
from the real - just so instinctively
real words never lie
the diamond detector never fails
inspired by
Who Is Now Reading This?
May-be one is now reading this who knows some wrong-doing of my past
life,
Or may-be a stranger is reading this who has secretly loved me,
Or may-be one who meets all my grand assumptions and egotisms with
derision,
Or may-be one who is puzzled at me.
As if I were not puzzled at myself!
Or as if I never deride myself! (O conscience-struck! O self-
convicted!)
Or as if I do not secretly love strangers! (O tenderly, a long time,
and never avow it ;)
Or as if I did not see, perfectly well, interior in myself, the stuff
of wrong-doing,
Or as if it could cease transpiring from me until it must cease.10
Walt Whitman
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In This World Of Infinite Words
IN THIS WORLD OF INFINITE WORDS
In this world of infinite words
So many poems have already been written,
Infinite poems in infinite words-
Therefore any new poem simply seems to cry out its own non- necessity-
Yet in a word in a voice
A whole world can be born and transformed-
A new poem a real poem
Can make us forget all the others
And make all the others live through it-
Yet who in this world of infinite words
Can write this poem?
And when will the next set of strangers names come
To show me that my words are nothing?
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Death of an Unknown Poet
An epic,
written by a brilliant mind
like Van Gogh,
underappreciated.
The poet dies in a squalid flat,
penniless and alone.
His lifes' work-
fantasmic verses of a visionary-
are all stuffed post-humously
into a box.
His genius,
mistaken for useless scribble,
is discarded like so much riff-raff.
It decays, forgotten.
Years pass.
The epic masterpiece alone survives
in that box filled with scraps of faded ink.
A single heart-wrenching poem,
now loved by millions,
by a now-mourned author
who's name evaporated, forgotten by time.
An epic
written by
Anonymous.
(15 minute poem challenge)
poem by Meggan McGuire
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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