Keep your hands open, and all the sands of the desert can pass through them. Close them, and all you can feel is a bit of grit.
quote by Taisen Deshimaru
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Related quotes
On Quitting
How much grit do you think you've got?
Can you quit a thing that you like a lot?
You may talk of pluck; it's an easy word,
And where'er you go it is often heard;
But can you tell to a jot or guess
Just how much courage you now possess?
You may stand to trouble and keep your grin,
But have you tackled self-discipline?
Have you ever issued commands to you
To quit the things that you like to do,
And then, when tempted and sorely swayed,
Those rigid orders have you obeyed?
Don't boast of your grit till you've tried it out,
Nor prate to men of your courage stout,
For it's easy enough to retain a grin
In the face of a fight there's a chance to win,
But the sort of grit that is good to own
Is the stuff you need when you're all alone.
How much grit do you think you've got?
Can you turn from joys that you like a lot?
Have you ever tested yourself to know
How far with yourself your will can go?
If you want to know if you have grit,
Just pick out a joy that you like, and quit.
It's bully sport and it's open fight;
It will keep you busy both day and night;
For the toughest kind of a game you'll find
Is to make your body obey your mind.
And you never will know what is meant by grit
Unless there's something you've tried to quit.
poem by Edgar Albert Guest
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Song (Untitled #7)
Thou to me art such a spring
As the Arab seeks at eve,
Thirsty from the shining sands;
There to bathe his face and hands,
While the sun is taking leave,
And dewy sleep is a delicious thing.
Thou to me art such a dream
As he dreams upon the grass,
While the bubbling coolness near
Makes sweet music in his ear;
And the stars that slowly pass
In solitary grandeur o'er him gleam.
Thou to me art such a dawn
As the dawn whose ruddy kiss
Wakes him to his darling steed;
And again the desert speed,
And again the desert bliss,
Lightens thro' his veins, and he is gone!
poem by George Meredith
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Desert Rats
Desert rats
Take cover in the heat,
They know what to toss
And what to keep -
They skillfully hide under big sombreros
And down lots of water,
They've learned well when to sit, and when to quit,
When to stay, and when to scatter -
The desert calls them
Right to the edge of existence;
But, too wise are they, any foolish games to play,
For in the desert they have found the art of survival is patience -
Listen close my friends for the divine desert to call you...
By all means, come and see,
But, with eyes wide open tread slowly
Following the tracks of wise old desert rats...
Just like me.
(this is for my pal Juan O. A fellow 'desert rat'!)
poem by Smoky Hoss
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Adage 3
'A good meal ought to begin with hunger.'
French Proverb
one who is full
shall never be full
because he is
to be full
one must be empty again
to be a wall
one must start being a window
blink
and then open your eyes
and then close
each eye
slowly
this is the ritual of days and nights
shuttered existence
close
open
close
open
cl ose
open
fragile tiny hands of a new born baby
beside
the sleeping mother.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Excited?
When the day gets dark
Over a thousand streets
And you feel your heart
Is a living beat
When you're all alone
And you close your eyes
Naked to the bone
The dream comes alive
Do you get excited
When I touch you in the night?
My oh my...
Do you get excited
When I meet you every night?
You won't let the night pass you by
When your body's hot
The window's open wide
This moment's all you got
In this race of life
When you feel the fire
Is getting close to you
Hey baby, you know
Im lonely too
Do you get excited
When I touch you in the night?
My oh my...
Do you get excited
When I meet you every night?
You won't let the night pass you by
Do you get excited
When I touch you in the night?
My oh my...
Do you get excited
When I meet you every night?
You won't let the night pass you by
I wanna know
I gotta know
song performed by by Roxette
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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(Do You Get) Excited
When the day gets dark
Over a thousand streets
And you feel your heart
Is a living beat
When you're all alone
And you close your eyes
Naked to the bone
The dream comes alive
Do you get excited
When I touch you in the night?
My oh my...
Do you get excited
When I meet you every night?
You won't let the night pass you by
When your body's hot
The window's open wide
This moment's all you got
In this race of life
When you feel the fire
Is getting close to you
Hey baby, you know
I'm lonely too
Do you get excited
When I touch you in the night?
My oh my...
Do you get excited
When I meet you every night?
You won't let the night pass you by
Do you get excited
When I touch you in the night?
My oh my...
Do you get excited
When I meet you every night?
You won't let the night pass you by
I wanna know
I gotta know
song performed by by Roxette
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Venus Man Trap
Waiting for opportunity to strike
I have been your biggest fan
What a tour
A little blow to cure your fright
Its what it takes to trap a man
Water me
I am not a desert plant
And there was life before you
When I close
Will I wear my blue eyes when I open this time?
When I close
Or should I wear my green eyes when I open that shine?
And shine in my room underneath the microscope
I remember how it felt
I thought you knew I was always full of hope
But you could only help yourself
When I close
Will I wear my blue eyes when I open this time?
When I close
Or should I wear my green eyes when I open that shine and shine
song performed by by Veruca Salt
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Bedouin
O love is like an untamed steed!--
So hot of heart and wild of speed,
And with fierce freedom so in love,
The desert is not vast enough,
With all its leagues of glimmering sands,
To pasture it! Ah, that my hands
Were more than human in their strength,
That my deft lariat at length
Might safely noose this splendid thing
That so defies all conquering!
Ho! but to see it whirl and reel--
The sands spurt forward--and to feel
The quivering tension of the thong
That throned me high, with shriek and song!
To grapple tufts of tossing mane--
To spurn it to its feet again,
And then, sans saddle, rein or bit,
To lash the mad life out of it!
poem by James Whitcomb Riley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Stranded On The Island Of Life
Life sometimes seems like
You're stranded on a desert island
Waiting for the ship to come and rescue you
When no one knows you're missing
So you keep waiting and hoping they will come for you
Not knowing that they don't know your missing
There having so much fun on the yacht
That they won't come back for you
So you keep hoping that one day
They'll come back for you
And not knowing that your
Only 5 miles off shore
You sit there and wait
Not knowing you could swim to shore
It's only 5 miles away
You're so close to the shore
And you don't even know it
But you keep waiting
For them to come back for you
So years pass
Months pass
Weeks pass
Days pass
Hours pass
Minutes pass
Seconds pass
Eventually you give up
Not knowing you're so close to shore
And all you had to do was swim 5 miles
There might be some danger in the water
But it's worth all that you go through
Just to get to the main land
Where all the other people are
Finally Leaving In Search Of True Love
it will be years
when you shall know the
difference of
an essence,
the quintessence of love
you try to feel it
in a body, and years and years
of ecstasy lead
to the numbness of your skin
and you begin to
discover that
this is all nonsense because
love is not actually there
but only the constant rubbing of
the skin and
the lighting of fire
that burn upon itself
until there is nothing
but ash that
shocks you into a barren
desert of emptiness
nighttime when there are no more
stars
when all the horses have
abandoned you
when the sound of the
sands
haunt you
no end,
you look around
love
the main ingredient
was never there
you regret nothing
and see nothing important here
that may hold you
into more days of your
turbulence
nothing is peaceful now
all chaos
and you finally raise your hands
in surrender
you signal the waving hands
today is the day and then you close your eyes
today is the freedom from the bars of
the flesh
you shed off flesh like leaves
you burn bones like wood.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Only Person Who
The problem with an open book, is it can't know
How it feels, what it says, who it is.... only show
The problem with an open book is its fraught with confusion yet no answer
With danger yet no protection
How can i run from her?
When she's written all over me like an inscription
Open books don't have a say
Open books won't last more than a day
If left open, they cannot defend or close
Can't run away, no toes
Even if it's all an illusion
This delusion
This me, I'm the open book because I'm the the only
One who can't read me
The only one who doesn't know how I feel
So please tell me because I get hurt, but no one heals
I feel this way or that
But to me I don't know what is fact
What is dreamed and what is real
The only person who doesn't know me is me
Someone close it or kill it so then no one can see
poem by David Knox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Minds eye for M lady Allie
The beauty of the desert lands
Lies in the multi coloured sands
which vary with the light of day.
Only the nomad understands.
By night the dunes look black and grey
but alter when the moonbeams play
across the valleys and the peak.
Creating pictures which cannot stay.
The beauty that the nomads seek
is to the desert lands unique.
Invisible to western eyes
which view the barren sands as bleak.
The beauty of desert lies
in what the viewers mind supplies.
11-Apr-08
Rubaiyat Sonnet
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Saw God Today.... For My Pal Smoky
I saw God today, on a mountain high,
As the wind blew through my hair.
I saw God today in the clear blue sky,
I felt small and humble there.
I saw God today, in the desert sands,
As the Joshua Trees reached for the sky.
I saw God today in the arid sands,
And heard the coyotes mournful cries.
I saw God today in the desert sun,
And in the desert willow bells.
I saw God today, just one on one,
In beautiful stones and ancient sea shells.
I saw God today and he saw me,
I could reach out and touch his face.
I saw God in that vast dry sea,
And now my soul is full of grace.
I saw God today, in the great Southwest,
God saw my heart, and I saw his.
I can't still the thunder in my chest,
You see, that's where heaven is.
4/4/12 Alton Texas
poem by Juan Olivarez
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Price You Pay
(bruce springsteen)
You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
Out on through an open road you ride until the day
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay
Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And then with their last breath
They built the roads they would ride to their deaths
Driving on through the night unable to break away
>from the restless pull of the price you pay
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you cant walk away from the price you pay
Now theyve come so far and theyve waited so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the light of the day
And you gotta stand and fight for the price you pay
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you cant walk away from the price you pay
Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay
So let the games start
You better run you little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all the days
But just across the county line
A stranger passin through put up a sign
That counts so many fallen away
To the price you pay,
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you cant walk away from the price you pay
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you cant walk away from the price you pay
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Goodnight Till The Morning Sun
Walking
Walking upon white sands
Imprisoned by thoughts and narrow walls
That holds no comfort within right now
Walking
Walking beneath the sun
Yes warm
But feel embraced by the coldness
As hands touch loneliness
Down on hands and knees I go
To touch the warmth once more
But through clouds of smoke
I search for you
And the sun
Oh hear my voice upon the ocean
Within your dreams
Till the morning sun appears
And as sunshine warm your face
Open your eyes in joy
And know my thoughts are with you
But for now I am walking
Walking upon white sands
Imprisoned by narrow walls
And thoughts
That holds no comfort
But as I walk beneath the sun
Upon white sands within a dream
My heart belongs… to you
As I say goodnight
Till the morning sun.
poem by Robert Sheridan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Summerday Sands
I once met a girl with the life in her hands
And we lay together on the summerday sands.
I gave her my raincoat and told her, ''lady, be good!
And we made truth together, where no one else would.
I smiled through her fingers and ran the dust through her hands ---
The hour-glass of reason on the summerday sands.
We sat as the sea caught fire.
Waited as the flames grew higher
In her eyes.
We watched the eagle born ---
Wings clipped, tail feathers shorn
But we saw him rise ---
Over summerday sands.
Came the ten oclock curfew.
She said, ''i must start my car.
Im staying with someone I met last night in a bar.
I called from my wave top ---
''at least tell me your name!
She smiled from her wheelspin
And said, ''its all the same.
I thought for a minute, jumped back on dry land ---
Left one set of footprints on the summerday sands.
I once met a girl with the life in her hands
And we lied together on the summerday sands.
song performed by by Jethro Tull
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Close My Eyes And Count To Ten
(clive westlake)
It isn't the way that you look
And it isn't the way that you talk
It isn't the things that you say or do
Make me want you so
It is nothing to do with the wine
Or the music that's flooding my mind
But never before have i been so sure
You're the someone i dreamed i would find
It's the way you make me feel
The moment i am close to you
It's a feeling so unreal
Somehow i can't believe it's true
The pounding i feel in my heart
The hoping that we'll never part
I can't believe this is really happening to me
I close my eyes and count to ten
And when i open them you're still here
I close my eyes and count again
I can't believe it but you're still here
We were strangers a moment ago
With a few dreams but nothing to show
The world was a place
With a frown on its face
And tomorrow was just, i don't know
But the way you make me feel
The moment i am close to you
Makes today seem so unreal
Somehow i can't believe it's true
Tomorrow will you still be here?
Tomorrow will come but i fear
That what is happening to me
Is only a dream
I close my eyes and count to ten
And when i open them you're still here
I close my eyes and count again
I can't believe it but you're still here
I close my eyes and count to ten
And when i open them you're still here
song performed by by Dusty Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Price You Pay
You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
Out on to an open road you ride until the day
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay
Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads theyd ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay
(chorus)
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you cant walk away from the price you pay
Now theyd come so far and theyd waited so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the light of day
And youve gotta stand and fight for the price you pay
(chorus)
Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay
So let the games start, you better run you little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all the days
But just across the county line, a stranger passing through put up a sign
That counts the men fallen away to the price you pay,
And girl before the end of the day,
Im gonna tear it down and throw it away
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The State Of Non-meaning
so many sands
long term plans
so many grains of sands
on the beach on the mind of man
oh, i guess
so many poems composed
each poem has become a grain of sands
so many grains
from my mouth
to my hands to my feet to the beach to the sands of time
in search for meaning
when actually there is none.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In My Solitude
read my footsteps
as i leave them all
to you
on the sands of
my desert
try reading again
how i feel
if at all to you
i don't matter
let the sea
erase everything
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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