People who want to understand democracy should spend less time in the library with Aristotle and more time on the buses and in the subway.
Simeon Strunsky in No Mean City, 1944

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Open Book's Monologue Part 5: Welcome To The Library!
Welcome to the library! come one come all
Welcome to the library! come with your brethren on this wall
Welcome to the library! come all you books tattered or new
Welcome to the library! come tired and overdue
Yes welcome to the library the place where you're most mundane
Yes welcome to the library the place where you're to endure most pain
Yes welcome to the library where you'll sit unwanted
Yes welcome to the library where you'll sit haunted
Yes welcome to the library where everyone's just like you
Yes welcome to the library where we're all books too!
Yes welcome to the library where you can take comfort
Yes welcome to the library where In the fact you're no longer unique
Yes welcome to the library You're just pen marks ink
Departing the library? I think not, even if you get out we'll bring you back
Departing the library? Here you rot, but we'll dust you to ease your passing
Departing the library? Don't make me laugh, here you're black and white
Departing the library? Nobody argues on your behalf, look more amassing
Welcome to the library! A place of keeping and safety
Welcome to the library! Take your place you'll like it, just wait and see
Welcome to the library! New books don't mind the old they're disillusioned
Welcome to the library! You've sold your soul... but it's too late for you
so WELCOME
poem by David Knox

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Rock Me, Roll Me
Have you ever been in love before
With a beautiful woman?
Does she have insecurities?
And have you ever been in love before
With a needy woman?
Is she too controlling?
She only wants you to
Rock me (she only wants you to)
Roll me (she only needs you to)
Spend a little more time
Spend a little more time
Rock me (she only wants you to)
Roll me (she only needs you to)
Spend a little more time
Spend a little more time with me
I need ya babe
I need ya babe
Have you ever been in love before with a cheatin woman?
Is she always lying?
Now, you ever been in love before with a crazy woman?
Does she make you crazy?
She only wants you to
Rock me (she only wants you to)
Roll me (she only needs you to)
Spend a little more time
Spend a little more time
Rock me (she only wants you to)
Roll me (she only needs you to)
Spend a little more time
Spend a little more time with me
Thats all I wanrt you to do with me, baby
Love me
Spend a little more time
Spend a little more time
Oh yeah, yeah
Spend a little more time
Spend a little more time
And I only wanna know
I only want to know your loves for real
Be your only girl in this whole wide world, yeah
All of these things are just a part of me
So that you can see what women really need
And I need to be loved
Rock me (she only wants you to)
Roll me (she only needs you to)
Spend a little more time
Spend a little more time
Rock me (she only wants you to)
Roll me (she only needs you to)
Spend a little more time
Spend a little more time with me
song performed by by Toni Braxton

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lost to Connect a Thought
The more I understand...
The less time I spend around those,
Who do not comprehend.
I've become very impatient.
And at times feeling isolated.
I witness more and more people,
Pretending to be aware.
And these folks are the first to declare...
They have no clue,
As to what is going on!
And somehow...
Immediately I know exactly why!
The more I understand...
The less time I spend around those,
Who do not comprehend.
I've become very impatient.
Especially around those who dress to impress.
And these folks are lost to connect a thought!
I begin to feel guilty.
As if I have a reason...
To be and feel just as self centered.
Objectively self obsessed.
But unable to express it!
Or flaunt it like the rest.
What's wrong with me?
Why am I reluctant...
To bear my resumé on my sleeve,
And sip cocktails?
To bore in such confessing conversations.
Is it the fear of being believed?
Or is it...
That I'd rather spend my time,
In the production of deeds?
To complete and do to get done.
'I think it's...'
Ssshhh...
I'm not asking.
That's just a method I use,
To motivate my own self importance.
It works all the time!
Trust me.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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You know, I wish the world well. I want Iraq to have democracy and the Haitians to have democracy. I want the people of Afghanistan to thrive. Lord knows, we spend enough money there to help them. What about people at home? Isn't that our first responsibility?
quote by Barbara Boxer

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Words From A Husband To A Wife (Envelope Couplet Sestets)
Spend your time with me until the night end
as we attend a party at the house of a friend
smile and talk to me as if I am someone else
laugh merrily at the jokes our host tells,
while you dance with me where the stairs bend,
spend your time with me until the night end.
Spend your time with me until the night end
smile coyly while a drink I recommend,
treat me like a stranger you have just met
while our eyes are just on each other set,
let your glance shy before mind descend,
spend your time with me until the night end.
Spend your time with me until the night end
even if our friends do not really comprehend
why we are different from our old stances
why we are romancing in all our glances
while like some strangers we together blend,
spend your time with me until the night end.
Spend your time with me until the night end
as if life on a moment do depend
while you act just like a brand new lover,
as if our feelings we did rediscover,
as if we met only on a godsend,
spend your time with me until the night end.
Spend your time with me until the night end,
friendly greet the old smiling reverend
while we proudly walk past to our dinner
as if we are just two love-struck sinners,
while our unfamiliarity we do pretend,
spend your time with me until the night end.
poem by Gert Strydom

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If I Could Transcend Time
If I could transcend time
This would be the time I would choose
To spend every minute with you
This now would be our time
But each day we grow older
The inevitable grows closer and closer
The lines become clearer
And you become dearer
To this time in my mind
I will always come
When the day is long
And when the night is young
I will come back here time and time again
To spend the time with you
The time is now
The time I spend with you
poem by Brian Kilpatrick

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The Time Will Come
No money to spend is worrisome.
No one to spend for is welcome.
No time to spare is worrisome.
No one to spend for is welcome.
Being selfish is not wholesome.
When time comes you’ll understand.
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

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I Want
Don't want to spend my time, wishing you were here
Don't want to spend my time alone
Don't want to waste my life, dwelling on the past
Don't want to lock myself at home
'Cause I want, I need, nothing less than you
I want nothing else at all
Don't want to make excuses
Explaining it away
Just want to spend my time with you
Don't want to walk on ice
Don't want to live on edge
'Cause on the edge
I'm looking down
I want more, I want more
Don't want to spend my time
Wishing you were here
Don't want to spend my time alone
song performed by by Goldfinger

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Time Time Time
Time time time
Make time, give time, take time out
Win time, cost time, the time of your life
Spend time, sell time, the good times and the bad
Kill time, zero time, all the time in the world
Time watch, time travel, time to begin
Time table, time square, can I fit you in
Time frame, time to go, time that you grew up
But tell me...
How do you feel?
poem by Shaun William Hayes

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A Picture Story For The Curious
(You supply the pictures!)
I get to meditate
in a chair!
Or against the wall
with my legs
stretched out!
(Or even in bed!)
I get to see
maybe half
of what I'm looking at!
(This changes everything!)
I get to dance
like the tipsy old men
I adored
when I was an infant!
(They never dropped me!)
I get to spend time with myself
whenever I want!
I get to ride a bicycle
with tall
handlebars!
(My posture improves!)
I get to give up
learning to sail!
I get to know
I will never speak
German!
I get to snuggle all
morning
with my snuggler
of choice:
counting the hours
by how many times
we get up
to pee!
I get to spend time with myself
whenever I want!
I get to eat chocolate
with my salad.
Or even as a first course!
I get to forget!
I get to paint
with colors
I mix myself!
Colors
I've never seen
before.
I get to sleep
with my dog
& pray never to outlive
my cat!
I get to play
music
without reading
a note!
I get to spend time with myself
whenever I want!
I get to sleep
in a
hammock
under the same
stars
wherever I am!
I get to spend time with myself
whenever I want!
I get to laugh
at all the things
I don't know
& cannot
find!
I get to greet
people I don't remember
as if I know them
very well.
After all, how different
can they be?
I get to grow
my entire
garden
in a few
pots!
I get to spend time with myself
whenever I want!
I get to see
& feel
the suffering
of the whole
world
& to take
a nap
when I feel
like it
anyway!
I get to spend time with myself
whenever I want!
I get to feel
more love
than I ever thought
existed!
Everything appears to be made
of the stuff!
I feel this
especially for You! Though I may not remember
exactly which You
you are!
How cool is this!
Still, I get to spend time with myself
whenever I want!
And that is just a taste
as the old people used to say
down in Georgia
when I was a child
of what you get
for getting old.
Reminding us, as they witnessed our curiosity about them, that no matter the losses, there's something fabulous going on at every stage of Life, something to let go of, maybe, but for darn sure, something to get!
poem by Alice Walker

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Who Knows Where Time Goes
Time is something we don't understand,
It's gone with a hello and a shake of the hand.
Never enough time for those you hold dear
But always, time for sadness and tears.
Time, you can't se it at all
For it passes so quickly --- while you lean on a wall.
Who knows where time goes/
No time for the dreams you have for yourself
Nor time for reading all the books the shelf.
Not enough time to go drifting along
For one has to work eight hours long.
Who knows where time goes?
No time to laugh --- and just be alone,
No time at all for friend or foe.
Time is running out --- people all say,
Who knows where time goes --- each and every day!
poem by Dorothy Fern Fowler

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Democracy doesn't recognize east or west; democracy is simply people's will. Therefore, I do not acknowledge that there are various models of democracy; there is just democracy itself.
quote by Shirin Ebadi

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Studies indicate that the one quality all successful people have is persistence. They're willing to spend more time accomplishing a task and to perservere in the face of many difficult odds. There's a very positive relationship between people's ability to accomplish any task and the time they're willing to spend on it.
quote by Joyce Brothers

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Love In The Library
Love in the library
By: jimmy buffett, mac mcanally
1994
On the corner of government and bay avenue
The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu
Sirens were wailing in the gulf coastal heat
And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat
Paid no attention, revolved through the door
Past the newspaper racks on the worn marble floor
Near civil war history my heart skipped a beat
She was standing in fiction stretched high on bare feet
Chorus:
Love in the library
Quiet and cool
Love in the library
There are no rules
Surrounded by stories
Surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library
Once upon a time
I was the pirate, she was the queen
Sir francis and elizabeth, the best theres ever been
Then she strolled past my table and stopped at the stairs
Then sent me a smile as she reached for flaubert
Chorus:
Love in the library
Quiet and cool
Love in the library
There are no rules
Surrounded by stories
Surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library
Once upon a time
She gathered her books, walked while she read
Words never spoken, but so much was said
You can read all you want into this rendezvous
But its safer than most things that lovers can do
Well stories have endings, fantasies fade
And the guard by the door starts drawing the shade
So write your own ending and hope it comes true
For the lovers and strangers on bay avenue
Chorus:
Love in the library
Quiet and cool
Love in the library
There are no rules
Surrounded by stories
Surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library
Once upon a time
Surrounded by stories
Surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library
Once upon a time
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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There's been a big spur in downtown development with new business, restaurants and a lot of loft buying. The buses run, and there's a subway that runs through downtown.
quote by Michael Ritchie

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Democracy v Liberty
The fathers of democracy.
The ancient Greek philosophers
were dependent on slavery.
Which leaves me in a quandary.
How can it be democracy
to have such inequality?
I think democracy should be
a universal human right.
Though it is not quite obviously.
An ideal to aspire to.
Which one day might be possible.
The time has come now to review.
What we mean by democracy.
If everybody has their say.
It might well lead to anarchy.
When we elect a government.
The will of the majority
is what they’re meant to represent..
But it seems they rarely do.
This cannot be democracy.
the many are ruled by the few.
Who gain control quite legally
because their wealth allows them to
encouraged by our apathy.
The systems open to abuse
The people have the power to
insist on change; which we don’t use.
We vote or not just as we choose.
A facet of democracy.
I would be hesitant to lose.
It seems to me democracy
is something which we can’t achieve
and still retain our liberty.
There is no way that I can see
which will be fair to everyone.
I must admit despondently.
A partial democracy
is what we have and will retain
a curb upon our liberty.
You have no reason to complain
if you choose not to use your vote.
You have the freedom to abstain.
Sunday,16 May 2010
http: // blog.myspace.com/poeticpiers
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg

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Make yourself at home for Friend Thad
I keep stored in my library
a treasury of poetry.
These riches I’m prepared to share
with anyone who visits there.
They’re sure to find something to please
somewhere in my anthologies.
They’ll find great poets from the past.
Whose golden words were writ to last.
Philosophy and high romance
or choose at a random take a chance.
They’ll find more formal verse than free
but I think I can guarantee.
Theres something there to suit your taste
just take your time no need for haste.
If your inspired and wish to write
the desk is placed to catch the light.
The only rule you must obey
is do not take my books away.
Through hard experience I have learned
that borrowed books are not returned.
If you should choose to visit me
you’ll find me in my library.
That’s where I spend most of my time
composing metred verse in rhyme.
22-Mar-08
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg

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Little More Time With You
Notes:
Jt on sony.com: yer love jones.
Gotta watchdog watching me
Watching me packing my bags
He knows Im leaving town
I can see that its a drag
Why leave the life I love
Here in the great state of maine
Just to ride that shining rail
Just to size that ball and chain
Gotta spend just a little more time with you
Thats why
Gotta spend just a little more time with you
Oh oh oh
Gotta spend just a little more time with you
Yes I do, yes I do
Gotta spend just a little more time with you
Oh oh oh oh oh
I passed on the cocaine
Said bye-bye to my methadone
Put down the bottle for one more day
Backing off of my tobacco jones
Still I feel like a hopeless junkie
Like a man who cant say no
I look back and theres that monkey
Rascal wont let go
Gotta spend just a little more time with you
I get high and I cant come down
I get high just hanging around
I get high, I go lost and found
I get high oh I oh i
Gotta spend just a little more time with you
song performed by by James Taylor

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Democracy
(Democracy in India has become a fun for certain people. The nexus between the corrupt politicians and corrupt officers is responsible for degrading the values of democracy)
People's state for the people, by the people,
But what kind of people?
Criminals, robbers murderers, rapists,
And off-course the corrupts,
These are the people?
And
honest, simple and plain speaking
Feel suffocated,
If this is democracy,
I denounce it.
poem by Mohammad Akmal Nazir

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Now I've even gotten to running out to the fan buses that pass by our house, so I can talk to the people. I think I'm trying to gather fans, frankly. They're very, very nice people - they really understand. It's fun talking to them.
quote by Aaron Spelling

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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