The Birds Of St. Marks
(Jackson Browne)
[From the Jackson Browne: Going Home video]
Oh how sadly sound the songs the queen must sing of dying
A prisoner upon her throne of melancholy sighing
If she could see her mirror now
She would be free of those who bow and
Scrape the ground before her feet
Silently she walks among her dying midnight roses
Watches as each moment goes that never really know us
And so it seems she doesn't care
If she has dreams of no one there
Within the shadows of her room
But all my frozen words agree, and say it's time to
Call back, all the birds I sent to
Fly behind her castle walls, and I'm
Weary of the nights I've seen
Inside these empty halls
Wooden lady turn and turn among my weary secrets
And wave within the hours past and other empty pockets
Maybe we've found what we have lost
When we've unwound so many crossed entangling
Misunderstandings; but
All my frozen words agree and say it's time to
Call back all the birds I sent to
Fly behind her castle walls, and I'm
Weary of the nights I've seen
Inside these empty walls
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Birds Of St. Marks
(from the jackson browne: going home video)
Oh how sadly sound the songs the queen must sing of dying
A prisoner upon her throne of melancholy sighing
If she could see her mirror now
She would be free of those who bow and
Scrape the ground before her feet
Silently she walks among her dying midnight roses
Watches as each moment goes that never really know us
And so it seems she doesn't care
If she has dreams of no one there
Within the shadows of her room
But all my frozen words agree, and say it's time to
Call back, all the birds i sent to
Fly behind her castle walls, and i'm
Weary of the nights i've seen
Inside these empty halls
Wooden lady turn and turn among my weary secrets
And wave within the hours past and other empty pockets
Maybe we've found what we have lost
When we've unwound so many crossed entangling
Misunderstandings; but
All my frozen words agree and say it's time to
Call back all the birds i sent to
Fly behind her castle walls, and i'm
Weary of the nights i've seen
Inside these empty walls
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Where White Walls Meet On Painted Cracks
Where white walls meet on painted cracks,
and tears still streak the face of dawn.
Where trouble lies and hopes abound
in places lost long ago.
Wounded souls meet, and sit, and stare
and condolences are bitter words to speak.
An empty house stands,
empty, save for the prisoners within its weary walls.
Walls of words and hopes and lies,
of stone they weigh still more.
Castle Walls
She ventured out from her castle walls
In hopes of meeting me,
I said: ‘we’ll flee to the furthest shores,
We’ll run to the far countree,
We’ll sit in bliss on a grassy slope
To see our love returned; ’
I looked again at the moat and saw
That all the boats were burned.
‘How shall I leave my castle walls
And all that keeps me free,
I fear the step that you wish to take
Could spell the end for me,
I wish to come, if I only dared, ’
She said in a sad reply,
The moat was still and the air was chill
And the moon was riding high.
I stood alone by the castle moat
As she turned to seek the warm;
‘The roads of life are a trap, ’ I cried,
‘But so is a thunderstorm,
So are the walls of a castle when
The mortar turns to dust,
So are the bolts on a castle gate
When the hinges start to rust.’
‘You weary me, I must be free, ’
The tower echoed, black,
‘As free as the castle walls allow, ’
I called in sadness back.
‘It’s not too late for the grassy slope
To see our love returned -’
I looked again at the moat and saw
That all the boats were burned.
12 July 1973
poem by David Lewis Paget
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Hollow Nature Of Being
WALL I:
inside an empty room lies an empty box
and in that box is a four walled inside room within-
on each of the four walls is a mirror reflecting
the deep desertion of the next
and distant within each wall is another
echoing & spiraling back into infinite repetition
with nothing or no one except the physical entities
bearing back upon each other.
WALL II:
an empty room in an empty house
the house itself has no physical attributes because it
was built in a barren field-
there are no animals, no trees,
no beings of any kind
roaming around the house whose image cannot be
imagined,
at best, know that this house in fact
“housed” the room in question,
as any house might any room.
WALL III:
such a barren field stretches to all four corners
carrying itself out beyond the periphery
curling back in on the other side,
and walking in any direction will bring one back to the
beginning-
the barren field that reveals the empty house that
encapsulates the empty room is the most integral point of
reference within the endless flat plain of grass.
WALL IV:
endless flat plains of grass flowing out in all directions covering
the circumference of the area around the empty house residing in
the middle of the plain wherein
the inside of the empty house holds the
empty room & in the
room,
the four mirrored walls reveal only the replication of the
others,
spiraling into infinite repetition-
there is no feeling
no sound
no communication of any kind
woven with the thread of human fiber.
poem by Andrew Delapruch
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Another Night Alone
Alone again tonight
In this empty time
The sound in my head
The sight leaves me blind
I'll write a million words
I'll sing until it hurts
How far could this be
Until it's seen
How long will I let this go
I can't stand to spend another night alone
I stare at the empty walls
I speak
song performed by by Sr-71 from Now You See Inside
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Any Time Any Place
I can call it mine
if I lay down my weary head sit at a table or dine
call a friend have a chat
read a message or two
are these words merely cutting through
the edges of writs in haste at that
any time any place I can call it mine
if I lay down my weary head sit at a table or dine
'cos I'm not sure if it makes any difference at all
we build the houses in tower cards in homes with walls
with two many walls
poem by Miroslava Odalovic
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Let The Nights
let the nights
sing for us our love songs
if it be
let it be some birds' calls for love
let the nights
when we are too weary
be a very restful sleep
taking us to dreams of more love
let the nights be not a recalling
of our mistakes
let there be no stories
about our shortcomings
let the night be like
a shadow of a house on top of its roof the full bright moon sitting
the lamp slowly dying to rest and sleep
in a little cozy room the windows still open
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Time Passes
Time is passing while I am waiting
For true life to have some meaning-
Time is passing and I blindly
Count to ten upon my fingers-
Not knowing and not even able to distinguish
What is real from what is not?
One, two, three and the voices inside me won't stop commanding-
Four, five and six-
All I see are snakes within the bleakness and confinement of this room-
Seven, eight, and nine, and even through this dim light I believe I am being watched-
I count aloud to ten upon my fingers and
Time is passing and all that is all that I hear for the moment-
All that I see, I reach out to touch or to open my eyes to see-
Time has passed and everything is silent, without a trace of
Ever being near and once more I count,
Starting at seven, eight and then nine- watching the second hand on the wall clock and
Ten? Ten more hours to be locked inside of this empty, room where
The walls are barren and I am alone with my thoughts-
Time is passing and I would be running away, but there is nowhere to run to, except to
Places inside of my mind and one, two three and all that I see is
The walls of this empty room and a locked door-
I could count from one to a thousand and
Inside of this room I would remain- I could count to one million and
I would die before I even got there- so I count from one to three over and over because
Everything is seemingly easier when I am lost inside the world of my fantasies and
I realize now what is not truly real and threatening shall never harm me and
Time is passing and as I count, I am blissfully losing myself inside the world
I have made here inside of my mind for myself, alone…
This way time may pass even before the sun rises tomorrow, and then-and then?
My life perhaps shall have some meaning-
poem by Claudia Krizay
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The lonesome walls
The lonesome walls
~
It shows me no mercy
No care or thought given
Just the empty walls about me
And the silence which fills them
All thoughts are a dream
A prelude to some fantasy
That may never come to pass
How alone I feel this night
My heart beats heavy
Although there is no care
I have seen from this world
Just the lonely, the empty nights
And passions burn to excite
Each fanciful dream
In the quiet and empty hour
There is no mercy shown
No care or thought given
Just the empty wall about me
poem by Matthew Holloway
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Walls Of Red Wing
Oh, the age of the inmates
I remember quite freely:
No younger than twelve,
No older n seventeen.
Thrown in like bandits
And cast off like criminals,
Inside the walls,
The walls of red wing.
From the dirty old mess hall
You march to the brick wall,
Too weary to talk
And too tired to sing.
Oh, its all afternoon
You remember your home town,
Inside the walls,
The walls of red wing.
Oh, the gates are cast iron
And the walls are barbed wire.
Stay far from the fence
With the lectricity sting.
And its keep down your head
And stay in your number,
Inside the walls,
The walls of red wing.
Oh, its fare thee well
To the deep hollow dungeon,
Farewell to the boardwalk
That takes you to the screen.
And farewell to the minutes
They threaten you with it,
Inside the walls,
The walls of red wing.
Its many a guard
That stands around smilin,
Holdin his club
Like he was a king.
Hopin to get you
Behind a wood pilin,
Inside the walls,
The walls of red wing.
The night aimed shadows
Through the crossbar windows,
And the wind punched hard
To make the wall-siding sing.
Its many a night I pretended to be a-sleepin,
Inside the walls,
The walls of red wing.
As the rain rattled heavy
On the bunk-house shingles,
And the sounds in the night,
They made my ears ring.
til the keys of the guards
Clicked the tune of the morning,
Inside the walls,
The walls of red wing.
Oh, some of usll end up
In st. cloud prison,
And some of usll wind up
To be lawyers and things,
And some of usll stand up
To meet you on your crossroads,
From inside the walls,
The walls of red wing.
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Mask
My thoughts are hidden behind a
Stone – like mask, once unsmiling, but never weeping- as
I began my solitary walk into the darkness.
I remember the day that
I built a moat around my castle walls
Morning transformed into night and it was
On that starless night
The sun barely set and in all of its fullness, the moon never rose,
At daybreak, fog overshadowed the sun, and
It could have been because
On the same dank and sultry day
My lifelong summer came to an end.
The sun rose in the west and the earth stood still.
Torrential rain poured out
From the depths of me, and
It was upon that last day ever that
I let the world surrounding me see the storm through my startled eyes.
The screaming of the locusts, the sounds of cars racing down the highway,
The hammering of the hail upon the pavement and
The heavy footsteps of people walking outside
Could not surpass my silent though desperate cries…
The early morning fog descended
And settled around my castle walls- jet black as the
Tempest that raged behind those walls,
In which I became both the queen and the prisoner
Although-
No one would have known because
I had firmly pasted a frozen smile
Upon that stone-like mask that I donned night and day-
Everyone was too busy
Reading about the wars in the far-east and the plight of the homeless-
Nobody could see or hear the war that was rampant inside of me-
I have no home in this world; I walk alone.
Above the calling of the wild geese,
The rush hour traffic, the spattering of the rain upon the rooftops outside-
No one listens to the sound of shattering dreams because
That frozen smile-
Was just too beautiful…
poem by Claudia Krizay
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Night Inside Me
I used to lay out in a field under the Milky Way
With everything that I was feeling that I could not say
With every doubt and every sorrow that was in my way
Tearing around inside my head like it was there to stay
Night in my eyes, the night inside me
There where the shadows and the night could hide me
Night in my eyes
Sky full of stars turning over me
Waiting for night to set me free
I caught a ride into the city every chance I got
I wasn't sure there was a name for the life I sought
Now I'm a long way gone down the life I got
I don't know how I believed some of the things I thought
Night in my eyes, the night inside me
Here where the shadows gather to decide me
Night in my eyes
Out at the end of light and gravity
Waiting for night
It takes the night to clear all of this mess away
The obligation, the burden and the light of day
It takes the night to fall between the world I obey
And a world where I hear angels play
Maybe I should go back to Spain
I walk around inside the questions of my day
I navigate the inner reaches of my disarray
I pass the altars where fools and thieves hold sway
I wait for night to come and lift this dread away
Night in my eyes, the night inside me
Here where the shadows and the light divide me
Night in my eyes
Night full of promise and uncertainty
Waiting for night to set me free
Lyrics by Jackson Browne
Music by Jackson Browne, Kevin McCormick, Mark Goldenberg, Mauricio Lewak, Jeff Young
(Swallow Turn Music, ASCAP; Eye Cue Music, ASCAP; Bossypants Music/Songs of Windswept Pacific, BMI; Bateria Music, ASCAP; Glad Brad Music, Inc., ASCAP)
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
These Walls
If these walls could talk,
I wonder what what would they say
Would they thank me for being painted
Or will they ask me, to wash the paint away.
Would they tell me of the pictures
That once hung upon them their
Pictures that once adorn those walls
Or I wonder would they even care.
Would they speak upon the stories
That was heard within these walls
That no one else even knows about,
That is if the stories these walls could recall.
Was there children laughter all about
Or any secrets heard and being told
I wonder what have they listened to
And I wonder if anyone will ever know.
These walls inside this house
That for years have stood alone
With the stories that was told and heard
While this house had became a home.
The Sadness that they might had seen
And the worries and sorrow that they felt
Maybe they don't want to remember it at all
And maybe they too keep it bottled upon their self.
Were they painted to cover up secrets
Was they battered as to protect someone's lies
Or were they wallpapered to cover up the truth
And did they hear the whispers and the cries.
These walls they are still standing
Through the years of the days and nights
While listening and knowing all done and said
In the darkness and also in the light.
I look at these walls just one last time
As I head home from my walk,
How I wish I knew what they heard and know,
But that is, if these walls could only talk.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Walls Of Silent
WALLS OF SILENT
What if walls could talk what would they say?
Along the walls they walk
Sputtering words every day
In boardrooms
In school hallways
Hotels walls
And shopping malls
In Elevators
Hospital corridors
Office walls
Tenement halls
And bedroom walls
Some words never to been mention again
Other words that take to the air ways
Walls of silent’s
What would they say…
poem by Paul Klobusicky
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Frozen Snow
heroin and homelessness,
broken relationships and guns.
cold nights, broken glass windows,
even Jesus got baptized
in a muddy river!
blood on the kitchen floor,
roaches crawl up the walls.
Agent Orange, and picket signs,
flags burning in the alleys.
babies never seen their daddy,
mothers working, minimum wage.
breaking into churches,
and sleeping at the altar,
dont turn back time, or stop the wind!
empty graves, orphaned parents.
the nursing home smells like death
seeds planted in summers past...
wait beneath the frozen snow!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
To Lizbie Browne
I
Dear Lizbie Browne,
Where are you now?
In sun, in rain? -
Or is your brow
Past joy, past pain,
Dear Lizbie Browne?
II
Sweet Lizbie Browne
How you could smile,
How you could sing! -
How archly wile
In glance-giving,
Sweet Lizbie Browne!
III
And, Lizbie Browne,
Who else had hair
Bay-red as yours,
Or flesh so fair
Bred out of doors,
Sweet Lizbie Browne?
IV
When, Lizbie Browne,
You had just begun
To be endeared
By stealth to one,
You disappeared
My Lizbie Browne!
V
Ay, Lizbie Browne,
So swift your life,
And mine so slow,
You were a wife
Ere I could show
Love, Lizbie Browne.
VI
Still, Lizbie Browne,
You won, they said,
The best of men
When you were wed . . .
Where went you then,
O Lizbie Browne?
VII
Dear Lizbie Browne,
I should have thought,
"Girls ripen fast,"
And coaxed and caught
You ere you passed,
Dear Lizbie Browne!
VIII
But, Lizbie Browne,
I let you slip;
Shaped not a sign;
Touched never your lip
With lip of mine,
Lost Lizbie Browne!
IX
So, Lizbie Browne,
When on a day
Men speak of me
As not, you'll say,
"And who was he?" -
Yes, Lizbie Browne!
poem by Thomas Hardy
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ideas For Walls
So many things in my head, Ive always had them before
No reason to be upset, theyre just ideas for walls
Now Im standing inside, outside, which is the right side
Im standing, demanding that the nightlife be called the right life
Like putting paint on my feet & walking sideways in rows
My walls could be so complete, complete with patterns of toes
Now Im standing inside, outside, which is the right side
Im standing the left side, right side, which is the right side
Now-ideas
Ideas for walls
Ideas for walls
Ideas for walls
A little m for the mirror, a double u for the wall
To make things perfectly clear, a great big h in the hall
Now Im standing inside, outside, which is the right side
Im standing, demanding that the nightlife be called the right life
Is everybody confused? (no) Im making no sense at all
You want a room with a view you need ideas for walls
Now Im standing inside, outside, which is the right side
Im standing inside, outside, outside, right side
Inside, outside, which is the right side
Now -- ideas
Ideas for walls
Ideas for walls
Ideas for walls
Ideas
Theyre just ideas for walls
Ideas for walls
Ideas for walls
Ideas for walls
Ideas for walls
song performed by by Men Without Hats
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Daughters Of The Queen
The coach stands
Waiting just outside
Just in case the queen
Should want to take a ride
But she stays
Safely locked away
She knows the world outside
Can be so cold and grey
Daughters of the queen
Come outside and play
Slip into the nighttime
Before it slips away
Her castle
Looms into the sky
Behind those walls
Youll never see
A fear fall from her eye
She seems content
To live her life all alone
But locked inside
Those castle walls
Her heart has turned to stone
Daughters of the queen
Come outside and play
Slip into the nighttime
Before it slips away
Daughters of the queen
Come let me hold your hand
Isnt it about time
You need to feel a man
Today her majesty has gone
In deaths repose
Its much too late
She lies there all alone
Alas the dreams
Inside her heart
Sleep forever silent
Imprisoned by the dead
Daughters of the queen
Come outside and play
Slip into the nighttime
Before it gets too late
song performed by by Pantera
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Welcome to Your Long Dying
Welcome, to your long dying-
Unsaid words, empty gestures
The substance you always searched for
Was never real, and you discover
We will all be dying alone
Of grief, of the faux, negligible existence
Everything taken away at the end
Dark holocaust swallow us whole
And strangle the last sound we make
Welcome, to nights of tremulous tears
Inside the winding cloth you've made:
The teeming brain's multiforme emotions
The day you were born, an empty place was created also
You were never too rare or special to die
The train whistle announces you've been left behind
To contemplate your impersonal end
We are clothed of the same dust
All arrows point in the same direction
Both the high and low road are a mobius strip
Eternal life, but a dream of dimensional matter
Held for a short time in bondage-
Time on any scale is nearly invisible to us
Welcome, to your long dying
Which is but the first breath of non-existence.
poem by Patti Masterman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sometimes When I Have Nothing To Say
sometimes when i have nothing to say
like the silence of the closed window
or the nights on the grass
or the twinkle of the stars... i feel so full
and when i get so full, i feel like
vomiting my existence,
i am nauseous to this hiding, sometimes
i want to say it all, and then i become so empty
and when empty i float, i feel like i am nothing but air,
and then i surrender again
to the walls.... talking and talking to the walls
and i do not really care about the rumors that they have ears.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!