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Tradition is the illusion of permanance.

quote by Woody Allen
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The Hind And The Panther, A Poem In Three Parts : Part II.

“Dame,” said the Panther, “times are mended well,
Since late among the Philistines you fell.
The toils were pitched, a spacious tract of ground
With expert huntsmen was encompassed round;
The inclosure narrowed; the sagacious power
Of hounds and death drew nearer every hour.
'Tis true, the younger lion 'scaped the snare,
But all your priestly calves lay struggling there,
As sacrifices on their altars laid;
While you, their careful mother, wisely fled,
Not trusting destiny to save your head.
For, whate'er promises you have applied
To your unfailing Church, the surer side
Is four fair legs in danger to provide;
And whate'er tales of Peter's chair you tell,
Yet, saving reverence of the miracle,
The better luck was yours to 'scape so well.”
“As I remember,” said the sober Hind,
“Those toils were for your own dear self designed,
As well as me; and with the selfsame throw,
To catch the quarry and the vermin too,—
Forgive the slanderous tongues that called you so.
Howe'er you take it now, the common cry
Then ran you down for your rank loyalty.
Besides, in Popery they thought you nurst,
As evil tongues will ever speak the worst,
Because some forms, and ceremonies some
You kept, and stood in the main question dumb.
Dumb you were born indeed; but, thinking long,
The test, it seems, at last has loosed your tongue:
And to explain what your forefathers meant,
By real presence in the sacrament,
After long fencing pushed against a wall,
Your salvo comes, that he's not there at all:
There changed your faith, and what may change may fall.
Who can believe what varies every day,
Nor ever was, nor will be at a stay?”
“Tortures may force the tongue untruths to tell,
And I ne'er owned myself infallible,”
Replied the Panther: “grant such presence were,
Yet in your sense I never owned it there.
A real virtue we by faith receive,
And that we in the sacrament believe.”
“Then,” said the Hind, “as you the matter state,
Not only Jesuits can equivocate;
For real, as you now the word expound,
From solid substance dwindles to a sound.
Methinks, an Æsop's fable you repeat;
You know who took the shadow for the meat:
Your Church's substance thus you change at will,

[...] Read more

poem by John Dryden
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The Illusion Of Power

What is it that turns you on to the illusion of power,
This thing that grabs you by the heart and makes you want to tear things down.
There is no reason why I should need all this power, but if you cross me now,
Im gonna tear your whole world down.
The illusion of power, things I feel, seem so real,
The illusion of power.
I cant get the emotional thing straight in my head,
Everything I love dies too soon, or is already dead.
Dont stand too close I spit and breathe fire,
Anything Ive got now you cannot desire.
You want to be my friend, I promise you nothing.
Nothing I can give you, nothing I can do for you,
Im being chased by the sins of my past and its killing me now,
Killing me now.
The illusion of power, things I feel, seem so real,
The illusion of power.
The illusion of power, its already set signed and sealed,
The illusion of power.
Fool, youre caught in a complex catacomb of your own inadequcies and pitiful weaknesses,
Your soul secretes insecurity.
So you live on the reflection side of the mirror; youre terrified of true power.
You fear
I can tell you stories of my
Shaded past and I can drag you down into the depths of my soul.
The illusion of power, things I feel, seem so real,
The illusion of power.
The illusion of power, its already set signed and sealed,
The illusion of power.
Why dont you come closer, promise a story I will tell, yeah,
Ill save you from your dreams, yeah
Ill save you from your dreams.

song performed by Black Sabbath
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Grand Illusion

I saw you in a dream, it hit me like a bright light
Flashing on a screen, visions of my whole life.
I used to chase the moment of desire
Back to when my young heart burned like a fire.
It was just a, nothing but a grand illusion.
Heart was quicker than the eye.
Nothing but a grand illusion,
Legend in my own mind.
I held you in my arms till the other side of midnight.
Kept you in my mind, you got me through some long nights.
Standing on the threshold of desire,
Caught between the madness and the fire.
Chorus
It was all a grand illusion.
Hand was quicker than the eye.
Nothing but a grand illusion,
Legends in our own minds.
I used to chase the moments of desire
Back to when my young heart burned like a fire.
It was just a, nothing but a, it was all a grand illusion.
Nothing but a grand illusion.
It was all a grand illusion,
Legend in my own mind.
It was just a grand illusion.
Nothing but a grand illusion.
It was just a grand illusion,
Legend in our own mind.

song performed by Eric Clapton
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Those Who Defy This Definition

Even in our adopted realities,
We cling onto habits.
What has been defined...
And labelled to be slimed by mankind,
Has found a permanance in our minds!
With a steel and concrete defense...
We are uplifted by our pretensions.

Although the foundation cracks and disturbs!
We are encouraged...
And fed well on this nourishment,
That leads us to bleed for our beliefs.

Shaking like Autumn leaves from sturdy trees...
We do!
To bury, forget and repeat this unforgiving cycle!
Someone is boo-hooing somewhere!
Remember when you were there...
Dreaming for changes with high hopes?

Some recover from this doping!
Never again to underestimate,
The power unseen that made us to think...
We have as much to allow enough of it,
To be taken from someone one else!
To deposit their resources in our pockets.

Even in our adopted realities,
We cling onto habits.
What has been defined...
And labelled to be slimed by mankind,
Has found a permanance in our minds!
With a steel and concrete defense...
We are uplifted by our pretensions.
And we call those who defy this definition...
Jerks!

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Every Illusion Is Catered

Trapped and confined.
With unbalanced queasy feelings...
Felt in these times out of alignment.
And trying too hard to fit in we do!
Is this the fate one chooses to keep?
Are people too amazed,
By the speed of it increased?
As many pursue youth...
With a refusal of aging to beat!

Every illusion is catered,
But peace.
Every illusion is rated,
But peace.

On knees or on one's feet,
No peace is peeled then eaten.
It's fed and felt from the heart,
And then released.

Like a soothing breeze of air to breathe.

Every illusion is catered,
But peace.
Every illusion is rated,
But peace.

On knees or on one's feet,
No peace is peeled then eaten.
It's fed and felt from the heart,
And then released.

Like a soothing breeze of air to breathe.

Trapped and confined.
With unbalanced queasy feelings...
Felt in these times out of alignment.
And trying too hard to fit in we do!
Is this the fate one chooses to keep?
Are people too amazed,
By the speed of it increased?
As many pursue youth...
With a refusal of aging to beat!

Every illusion is catered,
But peace.
Every illusion is rated,
But peace.

On knees or on one's feet,

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Religio Laici

(OR A LAYMAN'S FAITH)

Dim, as the borrow'd beams of moon and stars
To lonely, weary, wand'ring travellers,
Is reason to the soul; and as on high,
Those rolling fires discover but the sky
Not light us here; so reason's glimmering ray
Was lent not to assure our doubtful way,
But guide us upward to a better day.
And as those nightly tapers disappear
When day's bright lord ascends our hemisphere
So pale grows reason at religion's sight:
So dies, and so dissolves in supernatural light.
Some few, whose lamp shone brighter, have been led
From cause to cause, to Nature's secret head;
And found that one first principle must be:
But what, or who, that Universal He;
Whether some soul incompassing this ball
Unmade, unmov'd; yet making, moving all;
Or various atoms' interfering dance
Leapt into form (the noble work of chance
Or this great all was from eternity;
Not even the Stagirite himself could see;
And Epicurus guess'd as well as he:
As blindly grop'd they for a future state;
As rashly judg'd of Providence and Fate:
But least of all could their endeavours find
What most concern'd the good of human kind.
For happiness was never to be found;
But vanish'd from 'em, like enchanted ground.
One thought content the good to be enjoy'd:
This, every little accident destroy'd:
The wiser madmen did for virtue toil:
A thorny, or at best a barren soil:
In pleasure some their glutton souls would steep;
But found their line too short, the well too deep;
And leaky vessels which no bliss could keep.
Thus anxious thoughts in endless circles roll,
Without a centre where to fix the soul:
In this wild maze their vain endeavours end:
How can the less the greater comprehend?
Or finite reason reach infinity?
For what could fathom God were more than He.

The Deist thinks he stands on firmer ground;
Cries [lang g]eur{-e}ka[lang e] the mighty secret's found:
God is that spring of good; supreme, and best;
We, made to serve, and in that service blest;
If so, some rules of worship must be given;
Distributed alike to all by Heaven:

[...] Read more

poem by John Dryden
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Religion And Magic

Who are these fellows?
Religion - Magic
Are they siblings who seem remarkably similar?
Are they identical twins - fantastically alike in all things?
Are they but two sides of the same coin - the coin of illusion?
Which came first - religion or magic?
The answer remains shrouded in the dim mists
Of our early steps on the stage of our existence
Magic - creator of illusion masked as reality
Religion - creator of illusion from reality
Both create illusion - purvey the same mask
Magic and religion present illusion as truth
This is my view
Another may be for you
Yet know this - If you believe illusion be truth or truth illusion
The result is the same.

Claude H Oliver II
4/28/2012

poem by Claude H Oliver II
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The African Tradition

Libation! It is the African tradition;
It is the centre culture of our tradition;
The power of the African child,
The network of the information from the household gods
And the gods of kingdom, the gods of our identity.
We libate with schnapps, awake the spirits
Of our ancestors so speed us in action an' reaction
But done upon the gad at ease we no longer
For our centre culture active no more as things fell apart
But who is he that makes our minds troubled?
And walk we abroad and forgot our tradition,
Our culture, belief, our vehicle and our tradition
Woe to you foreigner for deception is you;
The betweeness between us took you away from us
And our offspring you turned rebels with your foreign ideas.
The networks of our wise ones you intercepted
And your strange God now we serve with you
While our wise ones slave for your topless.
No to you foreigner, for me, myself and I shall awake
And maintain my fathers' beliefs, culture and tradition
Which I have come and seen, for it is my true identity,
For I am a true African child.

poem by Lightcheerful Briggs
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Black Illusion

You load the dice and paint the smile upon your face
With fingers crossed you switch the perfume with the mace
What kind of dreams to you enjoy inside your bed
I'll face the lies and shake the evil from your head

Black Illusion
Is all I ever see
Black Illusion
I bring you misery
oh yeah
yeah

You always seem to know the answer to it all
You seem to cheat the truth and never take the fall
Your life is hollow and you simply the rules
The time will come when you will join the other fools

Black Illusion
Is all I ever see
Black Illusion
I bring you misery
oh yeah
yeah

I load the dice and fake a smile upon my face
With fingers crossed I switch the perfume with the mace
What kind of dreams do I enjoy inside my bed
You'll face the lies and shake the evil from my head

Black Illusion
Is all I ever see
Black Illusion
I bring you misery
oh yeah
yeah

song performed by Ozzy Osbourne from Down To Earth
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Sweet Illusions

Let me go I'm only letting you down
I 've got nothing to say to you now
I lose the feelings that are weighing me down
When I'm safe
It's turning morning all the birds sing
I'm not complicating anything
I'll have another then I'll go to bed
But I'll dream of you
Cause it's almost over
And it's almost gone
And I can feel the sweet illusion, coming
Sweet confusion, honey
Sweet illusion coming down
And I ain't got nothing but love for you now
You and I used to shine like a jewel
But times been nothing to us but cruel
So play it out and never played the fool
Cause you'll lose every time
We were nothing, we were only the past
Hard times like that don't last
I've been forgiven, I've been surpassed
By my heart
Have you?
Cause it's almost over
Yeah it's almost gone
And I can feel the Sweet Illusion coming
Sweet Confusion, honey
Sweet Illusion coming down
And I ain't got nothing but love for you
Love for you I can't use
And lonely nights multiplied by the blues
That I can't resolve
You never knew me but I did my best
I'm just lonely inside I guess
You gave me everything you really tried
Thanks....
If we were nothing and we're only the past
Then I'm just living in a dream I guess
A long black dream that takes me down the river to you
Where it's almost over
And we're almost gone
And I can feel the Sweet Illusion coming
Sweet Confusion, honey
Sweet Illusion coming down
And I ain't got nothing but love for you now

song performed by Ryan Adams
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The Primordial One

The Primordial One is immanent, while He’s never transcendent
And this existent world, at the beginning, was only His vision.
The Lord has Being to create his vision-world without lightweight
For this real world of Becoming, with His meticulous precision.

At the beginning, we were His imagination; we were a reason for creation
And, only for being with Him, He made us, in time, to become so real.
Tower of Babel wasn’t an illusion, when people suffered tongues confusion,
God isn’t an illusion in our perfection, when His plans He wants to reveal.

We are in our Apollinian illusion, when we think that God means confusion
And our own perfectionism we try to reach in the mean time.
But in the reality of our Apollinian confusion, God is no longer an illusion.
In this ache of Being and in this agony of Becoming, He’s sublime.

To reach our perfection we sing a hymn, we need to be with Him,
Because when we are not with Him, we are in the illusion of Being.
Without transmogrifying us, to transfigure Him, sometimes, we have a whim,
Because we need to understand our illusory own perfection in wellbeing.

We try to put ourselves in His place, in order to understand His grace
We need the Dionysian illusion of Being to experience the world we know.
In both Dionysian and Apolllinian illusions, we jump to our conclusions.
We are illusory Primordial Beings creating our Apollinian powerful show.

I am this person staring back from His mirror at me, I want existent to be.
I want to identify this image with myself and to realize who I really am.
Because of my sins I lost my serenity, I have a sense of my mistaken identity.
I was His dream, I am His child and for saving me He sent me His lamb.

Everyone is dreaming, but it seems that no one really believes in dreams.
One by one we need to wake up out of our own illusions of self.
The world of minds is the God's mental projection, it has interconnection.
Without this major pervasive reality, the world is not existent in itself.

The sufferings of people can be for some an illusory space, having no grace,
And they live in their own world of solely material realities without restricts.
Others believe in the world, which is non-physical and it's essentially spiritual,
They need a mental, spiritual and moral dimension to life, without conflicts.

poem by Marieta Maglas
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The Decline of Truth

The smoldering embers of a tree
Once shinning the life of men
Remind the story of the sad illusion
That was to be the decline of truth.
Taken by the fire of madness
Stoked by the anger within,
The clear ponds reflected the brave knight
The hero of truth
The bringer of illusion.
Stricken by the light of darkness
The sky is forever in chaos
As the light that once gave it color
Was devoured by the demon of madness.
The leaves that flew in the winds
Now rest by the embers reflecting illusion
And the smoldering heat of truth
Became apparent as the hero trapped in illusion
Sauntered beneath the chaos sky
And as the demon devoured illusion
The truth became apparent
And the hero that never was,
Defeated by truth
Faded to the embers of sad illusion
And added to the decline of truth.

poem by Mario Gonzalez
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A Long Goodbye

In these days of mine for keeps Im trying to hold on
When suddenly youre all out of reach & everything goes wrong
What we say & what we do are entirely different things
Meaningless straight through the roof its not how it should be
Easy like a bird I ride the breeze my mind is falling
Youre so ordinary, youre my sanctuary in the morning darling
New sensation, love vibration, heart to heart & a long goodbye
You go your way, Ill go my way, life is truer than fiction in this crazy
Land of milk & honey life is just an illusion
I just dont know what to believe in, if the truth be known
Suffering from soul fatigue, weathering the storm
What we say & what we do are entirely different things
The whisperings dissolve the room well its not how it should be
Swaying like a tree I feel the sky somebody calling
Youre so ordinary, be my sanctuary in the morning darling
New sensation, love vibrations, heart to heart & a dumb goodbye
Then you go your way, Ill go my way, life is truer than fiction in this
Crazy mixed up world of honey life is just an illusion darling
Easy like a bird I ride the breeze my mind is falling
Youre so ordinary, be my sanctuary in the morning darling
New sensation, love vibrations, heart to heart & a long goodbye
You go your way, Ill go my way, life is truer than fiction in this crazy
Mixed up world of honey life is just an illusion
Youre so ordinary, sanctuary, be my one in the morning darling
The new sensation, love vibrations, heart to heart & a dumb goodbye
Then you go your way, Ill go my way, life is truer than fiction in this
Crazy mixed up world of honey life is just an illusion
Youre so ordinary, sanctuary, be my light in the morning darling
The new sensation, love vibrations, heart to heart & a long goodbye
Then you go your way, Ill go my way, life is truer than fiction in this
Crazy mixed up world of honey life is just an illusion darling

song performed by Erasure
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Wanders To You

Its been so long since I slept
The good book at bedtime no longer suffices
The bottle of whiskey just one of my vices
It might help me to sleep
There you are with your golden brown skin
The sparkling pacifico catching your chin
The salt on your marguerita will stick to your lips
Lips that Id die for a fleeting stolen kiss
My mind wanders to you and things that we might do
But youre just another illusion
My mind wanders to you
You couldnt live with someone in dreamland
Toothpaste from harrods when the corner shop will do
A friend giving a lift becomes a chauffeur for two
The grandest illusions to hang on to
There you are with your golden brown skin
The sparkling pacifico catching your chin
The salt on your marguerita will stick to your lips
Lips that Id die for a fleeting stolen kiss
My mind wanders to you and things that we might do
But youre just another illusion
My mind wanders to you
Wanders to you and the things that we might do
But youre just another illusion
My mind wanders to you
(come with me)
(wander with me)
There you are with your london grey skin
The light from the streetlamp corrupting your chin
The cream from a guinness lingers on your lips
Lips that would beg for a meaningful kiss
My mind wanders to you and all that we might do
But youre just another illusion
My mind wanders to you
Wanders to you and all that we might do
But youre just another illusion
My mind wanders to you
Wanders to you
Wanders to you

song performed by Howard Jones
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Cheated (R&B Remix)

[wyclef] {spoken}
Rolling Stones could not be here with you tonight, Led Zepplin couldnt
be here with you tonight, but we got Wyclef Jean in the house tonight.
Yo, I woke up on the other side of the bed. Tune into my rock station,
and someone say hip-hoppers cant play rock and roll, huh.
[Wyclef] {singing} Chorus:
I cheated on you, you cheated on me,
and this is not the way that things are supposed to be,
so tell me girl, is this for real or just an illusion?
I pinch myself to make sure that Wyclef aint dreamin
[Wyclef] {singing} Verse 1:
By the time you here this song, itll be number 1 on your radioooooooooo.
Youll be drivin from the beach,
and your boyfriend will say turn it down real loooooow.
You punch up the sun roof!
And you roll down the window, slam that pedal to the floooooooooor.
whatchin the whats wrong (?)
Shes havin a good jour (?) It said love dont let me no mooooore
(to all the girls I cheated on before)
[Wyclef] {singing} Chorus:
I cheated on you, you cheated on me,
and this is not the way that things are supposed to be,
so tell me girl, is this for real or just an illusion?
I pinch myself to make sure that wyclef aint dreamin
I cheated on you, you cheated on me (To all the girls I cheated on before)
and this is not the way that things are supposed to be,
so tell me girl is this for real or just an illusion?
I pinch myself to make sure that Wyclef aint dreamin
[Wyclef] {singing} Verse 2:
I dont know much about philosophy, play though, all I rest I know (?)
all I know, when I met you, in the streets, the air wasnt so cooooooooold.
Its like my whole world just changed.
Im like a ball with no chain, ground myself on the aaaaaaaaa-train.
Reality struck me, how could you love me?
When you slept with another maaaaaaaaaaaaan.
[Wyclef] {singing} Chorus:
I cheated on you, you cheated on me,
and this is not the way that things are supposed to be.
(to all the girls I cheated on before)
So tell me girl is this for real or just an illusion?
I pinch myself to make sure that Wyclef aint dreamin
I cheated on you, you cheated on me, (To all the girls I cheated on before)
and this is not the way that things are supposed to be.
So tell me girl, is this for real or just an illusion?
I pinch myself to make sure that wyclef aint dreamin
(School is out now, school is out, nah Im Sayin?)
[Wyclef] {singing} Verse 3:
nah, nah, nah, nah, I had to play hooky, last friday, cause she hurt me.
nah, nah, nah, nah, I lied to my mama, last friday, cause she hurt me.
nah, nah, nah, nah, I might play hooky, this friday, if she hurts me.

[...] Read more

song performed by Wyclef Jean
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The Race

Shout! (shout!)
Count on me Im gonna win the race
Count on me Im gonna win the race
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong
Now shut the door keep down to south
Shut the door keep down to south
Shut the door keep down to south
Not any track is turning but the race is in my head
Im attacking the illusion but the stopping drives me mad
Time is running out and the illusion fades away
Time is running out another day is on its way
Another sun was shining and he knew he wasnt great
He didnt ever talk about he knew he couldnt wait
Are you ever gonna push me let me run and let me do
I need it and Im ready and I havent got a clue
Not any track is turning but the race is in my head
Im attacking the illusion but the stopping drives me mad
Fire away!
This is the race!
Why?
Burn!
Shout!
Lies!
Give me the race!
Another sun was shining and he knew he wasnt great
He didnt ever talk about he knew he couldnt wait
I need this race!
Are you ever gonna push me let me run and let me do
I need it and Im ready and I havent got a clue
Any track is turning but the race is in my head
Im attacking the illusion but the stopping drives me mad
Fire away!
Time is running out and the illusion fades away
Time is running out another day is on its way
This is the race!
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen
This is billy mckloski from palm springs reporting for nbc sports of
America
Twenty seconds to the start of the thirty-first formula race on a hot
Sunny afternoon here in california
On the fast lane of the street Im driving
Sometimes, somewhere, Im arriving
Every day and every night
Why?
I need this race!
Count on me Im gonna win the race
Count on me Im gonna win the race
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong

[...] Read more

song performed by Yello
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The Race

Shout! (shout!)
Count on me Im gonna win the race
Count on me Im gonna win the race
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong
Now shut the door keep down to south
Shut the door keep down to south
Shut the door keep down to south
Not any track is turning but the race is in my head
Im attacking the illusion but the stopping drives me mad
Time is running out and the illusion fades away
Time is running out another day is on its way
Another sun was shining and he knew he wasnt great
He didnt ever talk about he knew he couldnt wait
Are you ever gonna push me let me run and let me do
I need it and Im ready and I havent got a clue
Not any track is turning but the race is in my head
Im attacking the illusion but the stopping drives me mad
Fire away!
This is the race!
Why?
Burn!
Shout!
Lies!
Give me the race!
Another sun was shining and he knew he wasnt great
He didnt ever talk about he knew he couldnt wait
I need this race!
Are you ever gonna push me let me run and let me do
I need it and Im ready and I havent got a clue
Any track is turning but the race is in my head
Im attacking the illusion but the stopping drives me mad
Fire away!
Time is running out and the illusion fades away
Time is running out another day is on its way
This is the race!
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen
This is billy mckloski from palm springs reporting for nbc sports of
America
Twenty seconds to the start of the thirty-first formula race on a hot
Sunny afternoon here in california
On the fast lane of the street Im driving
Sometimes, somewhere, Im arriving
Every day and every night
Why?
I need this race!
Count on me Im gonna win the race
Count on me Im gonna win the race
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong

[...] Read more

song performed by Yello
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Amours de Voyage, Canto II

Is it illusion? or does there a spirit from perfecter ages,
Here, even yet, amid loss, change, and corruption abide?
Does there a spirit we know not, though seek, though we find, comprehend not,
Here to entice and confuse, tempt and evade us, abide?
Lives in the exquisite grace of the column disjointed and single,
Haunts the rude masses of brick garlanded gaily with vine,
E'en in the turret fantastic surviving that springs from the ruin,
E'en in the people itself? is it illusion or not?
Is it illusion or not that attracteth the pilgrim transalpine,
Brings him a dullard and dunce hither to pry and to stare?
Is it illusion or not that allures the barbarian stranger,
Brings him with gold to the shrine, brings him in arms to the gate?

I. Claude to Eustace.

What do the people say, and what does the government do?--you
Ask, and I know not at all. Yet fortune will favour your hopes; and
I, who avoided it all, am fated, it seems, to describe it.
I, who nor meddle nor make in politics,--I who sincerely
Put not my trust in leagues nor any suffrage by ballot,
Never predicted Parisian millenniums, never beheld a
New Jerusalem coming down dressed like a bride out of heaven
Right on the Place de la Concorde,--I, nevertheless, let me say it,
Could in my soul of souls, this day, with the Gaul at the gates shed
One true tear for thee, thou poor little Roman Republic;
What, with the German restored, with Sicily safe to the Bourbon,
Not leave one poor corner for native Italian exertion?
France, it is foully done! and you, poor foolish England,--
You, who a twelvemonth ago said nations must choose for themselves, you
Could not, of course, interfere,--you, now, when a nation has chosen----
Pardon this folly! The Times will, of course, have announced the occasion,
Told you the news of to-day; and although it was slightly in error
When it proclaimed as a fact the Apollo was sold to a Yankee,
You may believe when it tells you the French are at Civita Vecchia.

II. Claude to Eustace.

Dulce it is, and decorum, no doubt, for the country to fall,--to
Offer one's blood an oblation to Freedom, and die for the Cause; yet
Still, individual culture is also something, and no man
Finds quite distinct the assurance that he of all others is called on,
Or would be justified even, in taking away from the world that
Precious creature, himself. Nature sent him here to abide here;
Else why send him at all? Nature wants him still, it is likely;
On the whole, we are meant to look after ourselves; it is certain
Each has to eat for himself, digest for himself, and in general

[...] Read more

poem by Arthur Hugh Clough
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When they talk about family values, it's in a repressive way, as if our American tradition were only the Puritan tradition or the 19th century oppressive tradition. The Christian tradition.

quote by James Hillman
Added by Lucian Velea
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Obedient To Subservience

Obedient to subservience,
Was not intended for all to experience...
To enslave with materialistic wishes dreamed.
A subservience inflicted had been intended to restrict,
Those teased although strickly limited.

And yet today,
The ones who stood in the way to delay and prevent...
Opportunities meant for everyone,
To taste...
Have been from them taken away.

Obedient to subservience,
Was not intended for all to experience...
To enslave with materialistic wishes dreamed.
But those who insisted to exclusively greed,
Have discovered they regret such a selfish need to feed.

Obedient to subservience,
Has come to open the eyes of those self serving...
With an overwhelming permanance,
That exposes a blindness hindsight can not remove.

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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