Citatepedia^®.com

Generosity with strings is not generosity It is a deal.

quote by Marya Mannes
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Invisible Strings

(ian hunter)
One, two, three
Well I woke up this morning - theres a girl in my bed.
How did she get there? was it something I said?
I dont understand it but somehow it seems
She visits me in invisible dreams.
Over and over I try to explain
How did that girl get into my veins?
Did somebody send her - was it my velvet wings?
And how does she touch my invisible strings?
Invisible strings - invisible strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Now its all over when the fat lady sings
Ill still be playing my invisible strings
Well maybe she dont have a world of her own
Maybe shes using me just like a phone
And sometimes shes cool and sometimes she stings
And Im all tangled up in invisible strings
Invisible strings - invisible strings
These are a few of my favorite things
When youre wearing black and Im wearing wings,
Well still be playing those invisible strings
Well she never leaves - Im never alone
I aint in the book but shes still calling home
I tried to lose her - watch the tv
But that womans always picking on me
Well, theres strings round my body, strings round my heart
Id like to know where the string-pulling starts
Id give anything to meet the angel who sends
Invisible ink to my invisible pen
Invisible strings - invisible strings
These are a few of my favorite things
When youre wearing black and Im wearing wings,
Well still be playing our invisible strings
Invisible strings - invisible strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Now its all over when the fat lady sings
Well still be playing our invisible strings
Invisible strings - invisible strings
Oh yeah

song performed by Ian Hunter
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Can You Deal With It?

(words and music: duran duran)
There must be somebody
Wholl make love to me.
Blow the rules away
And trash these yesterdays.
Live in simpathy
Use psychology.
To find the twist in me (ah-ha)
Can you deal with it?
Recent enquiry
Showed now boundry.
Loves the only way
Can you handle it?
Can you deal with it? (oowa)
Can you deal with it?
Can you deal with it? (oowa)
Can you deal with it?
Can you deal with it?
When you aint sorry? (can you deal with it? )
For all that you appologise (can you deal with it? )
Working up to something,
I know youre up to something...
Yeahhhh...
Can you deal with it? (somethings got to happen)
Can you deal with it? (somethings got to get me up)
Say you deal with it? (but nothing never happens)
Can you deal with it? (cos nothings ever good enough)
Say you deal with it?
Can you deal with it? (somethings got to happen)
Can you deal with it? (somethings got to get me up)
Say you deal with it? (but nothings gonna happen)
Can you deal with it? (cos nothings ever good enough)
Say you deal with it?

song performed by Duran Duran
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Deal With The Preacher

I need love, the kind I've
never known before.
You need it, too, the kind that makes you feel so good, baby.
I want to give, give you all the love you need.
Well, I'm a loner, and that's the way I want to be, Yeah.
Let me say. As the sun climbs across the sky above,
So your smile filled me with a stronger love.
Just as you and I, watchin' the morning sky, oh, yeah.
Somehow I know it's time for me to say goodbye, Yeah, yeah.
Here's why: can't make a deal with the preacher, oh, yeah, yeah.
And I can't make a bargain in heaven, now.
Angel, you came to my window, Angel, you came to my door.
I was a fool and I let you in; I sure ain't no fool anymore!
Yeah, yeah, you better believe me right now baby.
Oh, yeah.
As the sun climbs across the sky above,
So your smile, filled me with a stronger love, mm.
Just as you and I, we're watchin' the morning sky,
And somehow I know, it's time for me to say goodbye.
I can't make a deal with the preacher, you know yeah.
And I can't make a bargain in heaven, yeah, yeah.
Heaven knows me by now.
I can't make a deal, oh no, no, no,
no.
I love you baby, I love you baby.
I can't make a deal, make a deal, make a deal,
Make a deal, make a deal. Yeah, yeah.
You know and I can't make no bargain in heaven,
Listen, I can't make a deal, make a deal, make a deal,
Make a deal, make a deal, oh, oh.
And I can't make no bargain in heaven, oh yeah.
Make a deal...

song performed by Bad Company
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Deal

Since it costs a lot to win, and even more to lose,
You and me bound to spend some time wondrin what to choose.
Goes to show, you dont ever know,
Watch each card you play and play it slow,
Wait until that deal come round,
Dont you let that deal go down, no, no.
I been gamblin hereabouts for ten good solid years,
If I told you all that went down it would burn off both of your ears.
Goes to show you dont ever know
Watch each card you play and play it slow,
Wait until that deal come round,
Dont you let that deal go down, no, no.
Since you poured the wine for me and tightened up my shoes,
I hate to leave you sittin there, composin lonesome blues.
Goes to show you dont ever know
Watch each card you play and play it slow,
Wait until that deal come round, dont you let that deal go down.
Wait until that deal come round, dont you let that deal go down,
Wait until that deal come round, dont you let that deal go down,
Dont you let that deal go down, dont you let that deal go down.

song performed by Grateful Dead
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

We Deal In Dreams

Don't you feel so very pointless
In the feelings of the rain
And the violence of the sun
I must confess that I feel graciously
Bigger than the rain
And hotter than the sun
What did you do
What do you say
When the blood spilled is of your loved one
And the kremlins of the world fall around you
We deal in dreams, yeah
We deal in dreams
We deal in structures that grow cold in our hearts
Oh fearful, crying people
The fool is by the river
Watching, but not swimming
It takes energy not to get used to it
And fall into this place
Where everything runs together and dies
This quiet kingdom she is now
Forever will she be, in silent celebration
We deal in dreams, yeah
We deal in dreams
We deal in structures that grow cold in our hearts, yeah
We deal in dreams
We deal in dreams
We deal in structures that grow cold in our hearts, yeah
We deal in dreams
We deal in dreams, silent silent dreams
Structures that grow cold
Structures that grow cold
Structures that grow cold in our hearts, yeah
Don't you feel so very pointless
In the feelings of the rain
And the violence of the sun

song performed by Live
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

You Got The Deal

I lived my life one way too long.
Deal me straight, I can't go wrong.
A gambler's fate's in the cards he takes,
And now I know it's just a mistake.
Don't know the game,
But you got the deal.
Don't know the game,
But you got the deal.
You got the . . .
Left our dreams on a lonely road.
Come back here with a heavy load.
Fight our best when the chips are down.
You go your way, and I'll win this round.
Don't know the game,
But you got the deal.
Don't know the game,
But you got the deal.
LEAD BREAK
You live your life for the dollar sign.
And all that you've made,
You're just buying time.
But time takes it toll,
It don't care who you are
You know you're marked for life
With your empty heart.
Don't know the game,
But you got the deal.
Don't know the game,
But you got the deal.
I don't know the game,
But you got the deal.
Don't know the game,
But you got the deal.

song performed by 38 Special
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Song of the Guitar.

In the tenth year of Yuanhe I was banished and demoted to be assistant official in Jiujiang. In the summer of the next year I was seeing a friend leave Penpu and heard in the midnight from a neighbouring boat a guitar played in the manner of the capital. Upon inquiry, I found that the player had formerly been a dancing-girl there and in her maturity had been married to a merchant. I invited her to my boat to have her play for us. She told me her story, heyday and then unhappiness. Since my departure from the capital I had not felt sad; but that night, after I left her, I began to realize my banishment. And I wrote this long poem -- six hundred and twelve characters.

I was bidding a guest farewell, at night on the Xunyang River,
Where maple-leaves and full-grown rushes rustled in the autumn.
I, the host, had dismounted, my guest had boarded his boat,
And we raised our cups and wished to drink-but, alas, there was no music.
For all we had drunk we felt no joy and were parting from each other,
When the river widened mysteriously toward the full moon --
We had heard a sudden sound, a guitar across the water.
Host forgot to turn back home, and guest to go his way.
We followed where the melody led and asked the player's name.
The sound broke off...then reluctantly she answered.
We moved our boat near hers, invited her to join us,
Summoned more wine and lanterns to recommence our banquet.
Yet we called and urged a thousand times before she started toward us,
Still hiding half her face from us behind her guitar.
...She turned the tuning-pegs and tested several strings;
We could feel what she was feeling, even before she played:
Each string a meditation, each note a deep thought,
As if she were telling us the ache of her whole life.
She knit her brows, flexed her fingers, then began her music,
Little by little letting her heart share everything with ours.
She brushed the strings, twisted them slow, swept them, plucked them --
First the air of The Rainbow Skirt, then The Six Little Ones.
The large strings hummed like rain,
The small strings whispered like a secret,
Hummed, whispered-and then were intermingled
Like a pouring of large and small pearls into a plate of jade.
We heard an oriole, liquid, hidden among flowers.
We heard a brook bitterly sob along a bank of sand...
By the checking of its cold touch, the very string seemed broken
As though it could not pass; and the notes, dying away
Into a depth of sorrow and concealment of lament,
Told even more in silence than they had told in sound....
A silver vase abruptly broke with a gush of water,
And out leapt armored horses and weapons that clashed and smote --
And, before she laid her pick down, she ended with one stroke,
And all four strings made one sound, as of rending silk
There was quiet in the east boat and quiet in the west,
And we saw the white autumnal moon enter the river's heart.
...When she had slowly placed the pick back among the strings,
She rose and smoothed her clothing and, formal, courteous,
Told us how she had spent her girlhood at the capital,
Living in her parents' house under the Mount of Toads,
And had mastered the guitar at the age of thirteen,
With her name recorded first in the class-roll of musicians,
Her art the admiration even of experts,
Her beauty the envy of all the leading dancers,
How noble youths of Wuling had lavishly competed
And numberless red rolls of silk been given for one song,

[...] Read more

poem by Bai Juyi
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

What The Deal

Yeah yeah ohh ooehhh

[Verse One] - [Shawn ]
Incredible...
From your legs up to your mouth you look so edible
Don't have to speak your spirit it's just legible
And when you lick your lips I swear girl I go medical
Let the mystery unfold

[Chorus: ]
What the deal mommy
Can you make a deal
Let me show you mommy
That my love is for real
Got the goods baby
Make you wanna reveal your heart (yeahey yeahey)
So let me feel mommy
'Cause I got what you need
Girl I want you (yeaheeyhh yeaheeyhh)
Really close to me
Girl I promise
We will never be apart

[Verse Two] - [Nate ]
Naaauuhhh....
Paradise
Tonight I'll take you there
Lay back and close your eyes
I'll make this loving hurt so good
But you won't wanna cry
So let me put my love inside you
Make you tremble ever so
Gently baby don't let go

[Chorus ]
I want you feel mommy
Can you make the deal (uuohhh)
Let me show mommy
That my love is for real (uuohhh)
Got the goods baby (...yeaahh)
Make you wanna reveal your heart (make you wanna reveal your heart...)
So let me feel mommy
'Cause I got what you need
Girl I want you (girl I want you)
Really close to me (so bad...)
Girl I promise (ohh yeah)
We will never be apart (uuueeeyhhh...)
I want you feel mommy
Can you make the deal (ooehhh)
Let me show mommy

[...] Read more

song performed by Boyz II Men from Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Freelove

If you've been hiding from love
If you've been hiding from love
I can understand where you're coming from
I can understand where you're coming from

If you've suffered enough
If you've suffered enough
I can understand what you're thinking of
I can see the pain that you're frightened of

And I'm only here
To bring you free love
Let's make it clear
That this is free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love

I've been running like you
I've been running like you
Now you understand why I'm running scared
Now you understand why I'm running scared

I've been searching for truth
I've been searching for truth
And I haven't been getting anywhere
No I haven't been getting anywhere

And I'm only here
To bring you free love
Let's make it clear
That this is free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love

Hey girl
You've got to take this moment
Then let it slip away
Let go of complicated feelings
Then there's no price to pay

We've been running from love
We've been running from love

[...] Read more

song performed by Depeche Mode from Exciter
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Cremona Violin

Part First

Frau Concert-Meister Altgelt shut the door.
A storm was rising, heavy gusts of wind
Swirled through the trees, and scattered leaves before
Her on the clean, flagged path. The sky behind
The distant town was black, and sharp defined
Against it shone the lines of roofs and towers,
Superimposed and flat like cardboard flowers.

A pasted city on a purple ground,
Picked out with luminous paint, it seemed. The cloud
Split on an edge of lightning, and a sound
Of rivers full and rushing boomed through bowed,
Tossed, hissing branches. Thunder rumbled loud
Beyond the town fast swallowing into gloom.
Frau Altgelt closed the windows of each room.

She bustled round to shake by constant moving
The strange, weird atmosphere. She stirred the fire,
She twitched the supper-cloth as though improving
Its careful setting, then her own attire
Came in for notice, tiptoeing higher and higher
She peered into the wall-glass, now adjusting
A straying lock, or else a ribbon thrusting

This way or that to suit her. At last sitting,
Or rather plumping down upon a chair,
She took her work, the stocking she was knitting,
And watched the rain upon the window glare
In white, bright drops. Through the black glass a flare
Of lightning squirmed about her needles. 'Oh!'
She cried. 'What can be keeping Theodore so!'

A roll of thunder set the casements clapping.
Frau Altgelt flung her work aside and ran,
Pulled open the house door, with kerchief flapping
She stood and gazed along the street. A man
Flung back the garden-gate and nearly ran
Her down as she stood in the door. 'Why, Dear,
What in the name of patience brings you here?

Quick, Lotta, shut the door, my violin
I fear is wetted. Now, Dear, bring a light.
This clasp is very much too worn and thin.
I'll take the other fiddle out to-night
If it still rains. Tut! Tut! my child, you're quite
Clumsy. Here, help me, hold the case while I -
Give me the candle. No, the inside's dry.

[...] Read more

poem by Amy Lowell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Airplane

Up on the airplane
Nearer my God to thee
I start making a deal
Inspired by gravity
If I did wrong I wont do it again
Cause I can be sweet and good and nice
And if I had enemies their friends
Ill hold to my life with the grip of a vice
And Im up on the airplane
Nearer my God to thee
I start making a deal
Inspired by gravity
That little spot on the ground is my hometown
I like to call it my home and its sweet
Id rather take a seat down there
Than a throne up here up above 30,000 feet
And Im up on the airplane
I never should have read my horoscope
Or the fortune on the bubble strip
Saying what you think wont happen will
A great thing to read before a trip
On an airplane
Pilot says the big blue skys like a swimming pool
Big fluffy clouds like a feather bed
Id rather have a real pillow underneath my head
Lying in my bed which is in my hometown
Which is on the ground
Far from an airplane
(my bed my hometown)
Far from an airplane
(on the ground my bed my hometown)
Far from an airplane
(on the ground my bed my hometown)
On the airplane
(on the ground)
[Ill be making a deal]
On the airplane
(on the ground)
[Ill be making a deal]
On the airplane
[Ill be making a deal]
[Ill be making a deal]
[Ill be making a deal]

song performed by Indigo Girls
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Strings Of Freedom

walk with me..
you and me, not separate
our poem is totality
and our poetry,
is all months,
from january..
to december.
walk with me..
where to decide
the strings of poetry
mixed with both,
the guitar's strings
and the strings..
of all seasons.
walk with me..
it's me, who guides
to all strings,
which said no
and refused to sleep
but refused not..
to dream.
walk with me..
i'm still to wait
for all strings,
walking in time
and resisting,
being jailed..
in the guitar.

poem by Ahmed Khaled
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Lay Down Your Weary Tune

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.
Struck by the sounds before the sun,
I knew the night had gone.
The morning breeze like a bugle blew
Against the drums of dawn.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.
The ocean wild like an organ played,
The seaweeds wove its strands.
The crashin waves like cymbals clashed
Against the rocks and sands.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.
I stood unwound beneath the skies
And clouds unbound by laws.
The cryin rain like a trumpet sang
And asked for no applause.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.
The last of leaves fell from the trees
And clung to a new loves breast.
The branches bare like a banjo played
To the winds that listened best.
I gazed down in the rivers mirror
And watched its winding strum.
The water smooth ran like a hymn
And like a harp did hum.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.

song performed by Bob Dylan
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Loosen Up My Strings

No ones gonna jerk me around
One I get my feet on the ground
Im gonna hit it runnin
Gonna call it a day
See, a little bit of tension
Goes a long, long way
The boss man has got mine in a sling
But Ill be swingin when I loosen up my strings
Every night when the sun goes down
You wont find me hangin around
Im in loco-motion like a rock out on roll
Im nobodys puppet
Im out of control
The boss man has got mine in a sling
But Ill be swingin when I loosen up my...
Now, when it comes to getting down
And Im always keepin track
I dont need some yo-yo takin up my slack
The boss man has got mine in a sling
But Ill be swingin when I loosen up my strings
Yeah, hell have a line on me til my fat lady sings
But Ill be swingin while I loosen up my strings
Yeah, well all be swingin while I loosen up my strings
Hey, well all be swingin when I loosen up my strings

song performed by Clint Black
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Waiting In The Wings

(andy hill/pete sinfield)
I need you like freedom
I feel you like rain
I see you like silver rails across an endless plain
And I know there are moments
You feel as I do
Thats why Im waiting for you
This time around I wont push for an answer
Both of us need to be sure
To be strong
When the moment comes
Ill be your dancer
Ill be your singer
And your song
When your heart is weary
When you want a love with no strings
I will be here waiting
Waiting in the wings
Waiting in the wings
A natural dreamer
A maverick soul
How close can I be to you
And still not lose control?
And as close as the ocean
As near as the sky
As near as the tears I dont cry
Maybe a fool has been drowned in a vision
Hung up to dry in the teeth of the wind
Believing in the truth of your decisions
Thats all there is until the end
When your heart is weary
When you want a love with no strings
I will be here waiting. Ill be waiting
Waiting in the wings
Ill be waiting
Ill be waiting
When your heart is weary
When you want a love with no strings
I will be here waiting
Waiting in the wings
When your heart is weary
When you want a love with no strings
I will be here waiting
Waiting in the wings
When your heart is weary
When you want a love with no strings
I will be here waiting
Waiting in the wings

song performed by Diana Ross
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Road to Avignon

A Minstrel stands on a marble stair,
Blown by the bright wind, debonair;
Below lies the sea, a sapphire floor,
Above on the terrace a turret door
Frames a lady, listless and wan,
But fair for the eye to rest upon.
The minstrel plucks at his silver strings,
And looking up to the lady, sings: --
Down the road to Avignon,
The long, long road to Avignon,
Across the bridge to Avignon,
One morning in the spring.

The octagon tower casts a shade
Cool and gray like a cutlass blade;
In sun-baked vines the cicalas spin,
The little green lizards run out and in.
A sail dips over the ocean's rim,
And bubbles rise to the fountain's brim.
The minstrel touches his silver strings,
And gazing up to the lady, sings: --
Down the road to Avignon,
The long, long road to Avignon,
Across the bridge to Avignon,
One morning in the spring.

Slowly she walks to the balustrade,
Idly notes how the blossoms fade
In the sun's caress; then crosses where
The shadow shelters a carven chair.
Within its curve, supine she lies,
And wearily closes her tired eyes.
The minstrel beseeches his silver strings,
And holding the lady spellbound, sings: --
Down the road to Avignon,
The long, long road to Avignon,
Across the bridge to Avignon,
One morning in the spring.

Clouds sail over the distant trees,
Petals are shaken down by the breeze,
They fall on the terrace tiles like snow;
The sighing of waves sounds, far below.
A humming-bird kisses the lips of a rose
Then laden with honey and love he goes.
The minstrel woos with his silver strings,
And climbing up to the lady, sings: --
Down the road to Avignon,
The long, long road to Avignon,
Across the bridge to Avignon,

[...] Read more

poem by Amy Lowell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Musicians

The strings of my heart were strung by Pleasure,
And I laughed when the music fell on my ear,
For he and Mirth played a joyful measure,
And they played so loud that I could not hear
The wailing and mourning of souls a-weary -
The strains of sorrow that floated around,
For my heart's notes rang out loud and cheery,
And I heard no other sound.

Mirth and Pleasure, the music brothers,
Played louder and louder in joyful glee;
But sometimes a discord was heard by others -
Though only the rhythm was heard by me.
Louder and louder, faster and faster
The hands of the brothers played strain on strain,
When all of a sudden a Mighty Master
Swept them aside; and Pain,

Pain, the musician, the soul-refiner,
Restrung the strings of my quivering heart,
And the air that he played was a plaintive minor,
So sad that the tear-drops were forced to start;
Each note was an echo of awful anguish,
As shrill as solemn, as sharp as slow,
And my soul for a reason seemed to languish
And faint with its weight of woe.

With skilful hands that were never weary,
This Master of Music played strain on strain,
And between the bars of the miserere,
He drew up the strings of my heart again,
And I was filled with a vague, strange wonder,
To see that they did not snap in two.
'They are drawn so tight, they will break assunder, '
I thought, but instead, they grew,

In the hands of the Master, firmer and stronger;
And I could hear on the stilly air -
Now my ears were deafened by Mirth no longer -
The sound of sorrow, and grief, and despair;
And my soul grew kinder and tender to others,
My nature grew sweeter, my mind grew broad,
And I held all men to be my brothers,
Linked by the chastening rod.

My soul was lifted to God and heaven,
And when on my heart-strings fell again
The hands of Mirth, and Pleasure, even,
There was never a discord to mar the strain.
For Pain, the musician, and soul-refiner,

[...] Read more

poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Three prayers during spring

I. I did not expect this early spring

I did not expect that after this severe winter
that destroyed flowers, grass and plants
that this early
without even rain falling, showering down
spring would come in all this glory

with trees blossoming in bright white and pink colours
plants flowering
unfurling and to be again really living.

I did not expect these blessings,
in life’s early winter
that even though I am constrained,
my career is falling to pieces
and not by my own making
my words, my verses
are coming to their own

and this has brought me
to see that God is truly great
that even the seasons of life
is in His hand.

II. My buds are form Your hand

I thank you Lord that you by grace are blessing me
causing my slender flowers to grow,
that you let my words pour down like rain

hanging flooding over in bell like strings
in internodes, joints of roses
in a pure white colouring which catches the eye

that by love you delegate me as the one
who is worth to blossom in your shade.
I thank you Lord that you by grace are blessing me

not like others of my kind, but hanging
with odourless buds opening
in internodes, joints of roses

in strings upon strings
and although some people want to prune me of blunt,
that you let my words pour down like rain

although people hit in nails
ridicule, hold my words, my verses in parody

[...] Read more

poem by Gert Strydom
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Music's Duel

Now westward Sol had spent the richest beams
Of noon's high glory, when, hard by the streams
Of Tiber, on the scene of a green plat,
Under protection of an oak, there sat
A sweet lute's master : in whose gentle airs
He lost the day's heat, and his own hot cares.
Close in the covert of the leaves there stood
A nightingale, come from the neighbouring wood :—
The sweet inhabitant of each glad tree,
Their muse, their Syren, harmless Syren she,—
There stood she list'ning, and did entertain
The music's soft report, and mould the same
In her own murmurs, that what ever mood
His curious fingers lent, her voice made good.
The man preceived his rival, and her art ;
Disposed to give the light-foot lady sport,
Awakes his lute, and 'gainst the fight to come
Informs it, in a sweet
præludium

Of closer strains ; and ere the war begin
He slightly skirmishes on every string,
Charged with a flying touch ; and staightway she
Carves out her dainty voice as readily
Into a thousand sweet distinguish'd tones :
And reckons up in soft divisions
Quick volumes of wild notes, to let him know
By that shrill taste she could do something too.
His nimble hand's instinct then taught each string
A cap'ring cheerfulness ; and made them sing
To their own dance ; now negligently rash
He throws his arm, and with a long-drawn dash
Blends all together, then distinctly trips
From this to that, then, quick returning, skips
And snatches this again, and pauses there.
She measures every measure, everywhere
Meets art with art ; sometimes, as if in doubt—
Not perfect yet, and fearing to be out—
Trails her plain ditty in one long-spun note
Through the sleek passage of her open throat :
A clear unwrinkled song ; then doth she point it
With tender accents, and severely joint it
By short diminutives, that, being rear'd
In controverting warbles evenly shared,
With her sweet self she wrangles ; he, amazed
That from so small a channel should be raised
The torrent of a voice, whose melody
Could melt into such sweet variety,
Strains higher yet, that tickled with rare art
The tattling strings—each breathing in his part—

[...] Read more

poem by Richard Crashaw
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

O ... The Girl With The ' Veenaı '!

O my darling!
Take in your hands this beautiful Veenai.
Upon the delicate strings of the divine Veenai
Ride soft your tender fingers!
O.. what a melodious strain it is!
My lids of themselves do slowly close..
My flesh and bones all slowly soften
In the divine waves your Veenai outspreads..
My mind in the sweet melody of music-
No, .no..in the cruel pain of that Supreme Joy-
Suffers much and wriggles like a snake..
Lo..! how short of words I am my feelings to express!
Alas! I know not of their kind too..
And your Veenai's voice chokes my heart...
My chest is full of pain..
My soul melts in music..
O my beloved!
What song do you play? .
Tell me dear..
To what tune have you set it?
Nothing strikes my brain..
So shallow is my knowledge of this art..
The limitless drinking of this wine of music
Intoxicates me.
I am sober and very weak..
My mind in sheer madness dances today..
Dancing it chases the delightful strain
While the music skilfully manoeuvres
All the curves and bends on its way!
The ups and downs it ascends and skids.
But so helpless is my mind
To follow close your music's heels-
It tumbles down often in its path.
Dispirited not, it picks up soon
And trudges along with the panting chest..
My darling!
Tie me fast to the hem of music from your Veenai..
Let your melody drag me along
To every world it gleefully visits
To every ridge as it ascends
Into all mystic depths it slips and rolls over
Over every wave it gladly rides
Through the skies as it gracefully glides
In every brook as it swims in glee
And as it leaps in mirth with the silvery falls..
Like the silken flag atop the tall mast
That dances gracefully in perfect rhythm
To the delightful music of the sportive winds
Let my soul dance in the madness of joy!
As a kite that plays with the rushing winds

[...] Read more

poem by Sundaram Chandrakalaadhar
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!