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Ted Turner sailed into the meeting, and I mean sailed. He holds himself as if he were at the helm of his sailboat, in the process of winning the race.

quote by Joseph Barbera
Added by Lucian Velea
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Consumed Within the Process

Consumed within the process
That process we call life.
Immuned? Not from this process.
It keeps the vision near yet uncompromised.
And far enough to become realized.

Consumed.
Within the process.
That process called life!
Don't assume...
This process,
Is a process you can't like!

Consumed.
Within the process.
That process called life!
Don't assume...
This process,
Is a process you can't like!

Consumed.
Within the process.
That process called life!
Don't assume...
This process,
Is a process you can't like!

Consumed within the process.
That process we call life.
Immuned?
Not from this process!

It keeps the vision near yet uncompromised.
And far enough to become realized.
Closing its eyes only when it wishes,
To call itself out!

Consumed.
Within the process.
That process called life!
Don't assume...
This process,
Is a process you can't like!

Consumed.
Within the process.
That process called life!
Don't assume...
This process,
Is a process you can't like!

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Listen To The Lion *

And all my love come down
All my love come tumblin' down
All my love come tumblin' down
All my love come tumblin' down
Oh, listen listen
To the lion
Oh, listen listen listen
To the lion...
Inside of me
Oh, oh, oh
And I shall search my soul
I shall search my very soul
And I shall search my very soul
I shall search my very so-o-oul
For the lion
For the lion
For the lion
For the lion...
Inside of me
Oh, oh, yeah
And all my tears have flown
All my tears like water flown
And all my tears like water flown
All my tears like-a water flown
For the lion
For the lion
For the lion
For the lion...
Inside of me
(growling, scatting, etc.)
Listen to the lion (repeated 14 times)
(more scatting)
And we sailed, and we sailed...
And we sailed, and we sailed...
And we sailed, and we sailed...
... sailed to Caledonia
And we sailed, and we sailed,
And we sailed, and we sailed, and we sailed...
Away from Denmark
Way up to Caledonia
Away from Denmark
Way up to Caledonia
And we sailed, and we sailed, and we sailed...
All around the World
And we sailed..., and we sailed..., and we sailed...
Looking for a brand new start
And we sailed...
And we sailed, and we sailed...
All around the World
... a brand new start

[...] Read more

song performed by Van Morrison
Added by Lucian Velea
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Teddy Bears

Up to the age of four years old
Edmund was called ‘Little Ted’,
but the day after his fifth birthday
he was called something else instead.

For his birthday he was bought a teddy bear
and of course that night he took it to bed.
The very next morning he told his mummy
the bear was to be called ‘Little Ted’.

Two ‘Little Ted’s’ would be confusing, said mum
so you ought to change your name.
Because you’re bigger we’ll call you ‘Big Ted’
and then your names won’t be the same.

‘Big Ted’ and ‘Little Ted’ became great friends,
and went everywhere together,
upstairs and downstairs, indoors and out,
and in all kinds of weather.

One day ‘Big Ted’ and his mother went shopping,
and he saw an even bigger teddy bear.
He whispered to his mother, “Don’t you think
‘Little Ted’ is looking worse for wear? ”

She knew what he was getting at and said,
“You can’t replace ‘Little Ted’ just because he’s worn, ”
and he said, “I don’t want to replace ‘Little Ted’,
but another teddy would help to keep him warm.”

“By what name would it be known? ” she asked.
“Well, it’s only right that he should be ‘Big Ted’,
and then everyone will call me Edmund,
which is what I prefer to be called instead.”

poem by Orlando Belo
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The Runcorn Ferry

On the banks of the Mersey, o'er on Cheshire side,
Lies Runcorn that's best known to fame
By Transporter Bridge as takes folks over t'stream,
Or else brings them back across same.

In days afore Transporter Bridge were put up,
A ferryboat lay in the slip,
And old Ted the boatman would row folks across
At per tuppence per person per trip.

Now Runcorn lay over on one side of stream,
And Widnes on t'other side stood,
And, as nobody wanted to go either place,
Well, the trade wasn't any too good.

One evening, to Ted's superlative surprise,
Three customers came into view:
A Mr and Mrs Ramsbottom it were,
And Albert, their little son, too.

"How much for the three?" Mr Ramsbottom asked,
As his hand to his pocket did dip.
Ted said: "Same for three as it would be for one,
Per tuppence per person per trip."

"You're not charging tuppence for that little lad?"
Said Mother, her eyes flashing wild.
"Per tuppence per person per trip", answered Ted,
"Per woman, per man, or per child".

"Fivepence for three, that's the most that I'll pay",
Said Father, "Don't waste time in talk".
"Per tuppence per person per trip", answered Ted,
"And them, as can't pay, 'as to walk!"

"We can walk, an' all", said Father. "Come Mother,
It's none so deep, weather's quite mild".
So into the water the three of them stepped:
The father, the mother, the child.

The further they paddled, the deeper it got,
But they wouldn't give in, once begun.
In the spirit that's made Lancashire what she is,
They'd sooner be drownded than done.

Very soon, the old people were up to their necks,
And the little lad clean out of sight.
Said Father: "Where's Albert?" And Mother replied:
"I've got hold of his hand, he's all right!"

[...] Read more

poem by Marriott Edgar
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The Great Eastern

The bones of the great and troubled ship
Lay under a greying sky,
I'd travelled on up to Liverpool
To see the monster die,
The wreckers were ripping the hull apart,
Were opening wounds of old,
Not only the bones of a rusty ship
But the bones of a tale untold!

My mind went back those thirty years
To the time when we built the ship,
When I was a poor, young riveter,
Just out on my maiden trip,
I'd found some digs in Millwall,
Right down in the Isle of Dogs,
Where the Thames sweeps on forever
In a miasma of mist and fogs.

I moved on in with Ted and Jane,
The Lamptreys they were called,
He was a man of forty years,
She was just twenty four,
But Ted was grim and serious,
While Jane was as light as froth,
While he was around, he held her down,
I thought her a fluttering moth.

She'd laugh and dance, and prance around
When Ted was not at home,
He liked his pint of Guinness Stout,
His beer, a head of foam,
He said that he'd worked a mighty thirst
For Isambard Brunel,
Whose dream of the great Leviathan
Rose up from the depths of hell.

I got me a job with Ted down there,
Riveting iron plates,
That ship was the first with a double hull
With an inner working space,
We belted the red-hot rivets in
And flattened the ends across,
We'd work in pairs, and the light was scarce
In the depths of that albatross.

Whenever old Ted would seek the pub
I'd go on home to Jane,
I thought that she must have feelings,
But the love that I felt was pain,
For I never dared to voice it, though

[...] Read more

poem by David Lewis Paget
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Dis Con Nec Ted

Ive got to do something
About the loathsome
State Im in.
Dis con nec ted
Dis con nec ted
Dis con nec ted
Everywhere I see decay.
Mechanized and sterilized
Visions of replay.
I must release my rage.
Oh... dis con nec ted
Im... dis con nec ted
Feeling so... dis con nec ted
D o w n.........
Maybe all I need
Beside my pills
And the surgery
Is a new metaphor for reality.
Im... dis con nec ted
Feeling so... dis con nec ted
Oh... dis con nec ted
- you know -

song performed by Queensryche
Added by Lucian Velea
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Up By Two Possessions

Up by two possessions,
In a heated competing session.
And the hope is to reach to the goal,
To keep...
A winning told.
And keep...
That winning bold.

You can't let moss grow under your feet!
And keep...
A winning told.
You can't stay satisfied and sleep!
And keep...
That winning bold.
You must push alibis aside!
To keep...
A winning told.
And sacrifice with a drive inside!
To keep...
A winning told.
And keep...
That winning bold.

Up by two possessions,
In a heated competing session.
And the hope is to reach to the goal,
To keep...
A winning told.

Up by two possessions,
In a heated competing session.
And the hope is to reach to the goal,
To keep...
That winning bold.

You can't let moss grow under your feet!
And keep...
A winning told.
You can't stay satisfied and sleep!
And keep...
That winning bold.
You must push alibis aside!
To keep...
A winning told.
And sacrifice with a drive inside!
To keep...
A winning told.
And keep...
That winning bold.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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The Aeneid of Virgil: Book 9

WHILE these affairs in distant places pass’d,
The various Iris Juno sends with haste,
To find bold Turnus, who, with anxious thought,
The secret shade of his great grandsire sought.
Retir’d alone she found the daring man, 5
And op’d her rosy lips, and thus began:
“What none of all the gods could grant thy vows,
That, Turnus, this auspicious day bestows.
Æneas, gone to seek th’ Arcadian prince,
Has left the Trojan camp without defense; 10
And, short of succors there, employs his pains
In parts remote to raise the Tuscan swains.
Now snatch an hour that favors thy designs;
Unite thy forces, and attack their lines.”
This said, on equal wings she pois’d her weight, 15
And form’d a radiant rainbow in her flight.
The Daunian hero lifts his hands and eyes,
And thus invokes the goddess as she flies:
“Iris, the grace of heav’n, what pow’r divine
Has sent thee down, thro’ dusky clouds to shine? 20
See, they divide; immortal day appears,
And glitt’ring planets dancing in their spheres!
With joy, these happy omens I obey,
And follow to the war the god that leads the way.”
Thus having said, as by the brook he stood, 25
He scoop’d the water from the crystal flood;
Then with his hands the drops to heav’n he throws,
And loads the pow’rs above with offer’d vows.
Now march the bold confed’rates thro’ the plain,
Well hors’d, well clad; a rich and shining train. 30
Messapus leads the van; and, in the rear,
The sons of Tyrrheus in bright arms appear.
In the main battle, with his flaming crest,
The mighty Turnus tow’rs above the rest.
Silent they move, majestically slow, 35
Like ebbing Nile, or Ganges in his flow.
The Trojans view the dusty cloud from far,
And the dark menace of the distant war.
Caicus from the rampire saw it rise,
Black’ning the fields, and thick’ning thro’ the skies. 40
Then to his fellows thus aloud he calls:
“What rolling clouds, my friends, approach the walls?
Arm! arm! and man the works! prepare your spears
And pointed darts! the Latian host appears.”
Thus warn’d, they shut their gates; with shouts ascend 45
The bulwarks, and, secure, their foes attend:
For their wise gen’ral, with foreseeing care,
Had charg’d them not to tempt the doubtful war,
Nor, tho’ provok’d, in open fields advance,
But close within their lines attend their chance. 50

[...] Read more

poem by Publius Vergilius Maro
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Rip It Up/ready Teddy

Well, it's saturday night and i just got paid,
Fool about my money, don't try to save.
My heart says, "go! go! have a time!"
'cause it's saturday night and, baby, i feel fine.
Gonna rip it up,
Gonna rock it up,
Gonna shake it up,
Gonna ball it up,
Gonna rock it up,
And ball the night.
I got me a date and i won't be late,
Picked her up in my eighty-eight.
Shag on down to the union hall,
When the joint starts jumpin', i'll have a ball.
Gonna rip it up,
Gonna rock it up,
Gonna shake it up,
Gonna ball it up,
Gonna rock it up,
And ball the night.
Whoa!
Well, ready, set, go man, go,
I got a girl that i love so.
And i'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready, ready, ted to rock and roll.
Goin' to the corner, pick up my sweetie pie,
She's a rock and roll baby, she's the apple of my eye.
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready, ready, ted to rock and roll.

song performed by Yoko Ono
Added by Lucian Velea
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Rip It Up/ready Teddy

Well, it's saturday night and i just got paid,
Fool about my money, don't try to save.
My heart says, "go! go! have a time!"
'cause it's saturday night and, baby, i feel fine.
Gonna rip it up,
Gonna rock it up,
Gonna shake it up,
Gonna ball it up,
Gonna rock it up,
And ball the night.
I got me a date and i won't be late,
Picked her up in my eighty-eight.
Shag on down to the union hall,
When the joint starts jumpin', i'll have a ball.
Gonna rip it up,
Gonna rock it up,
Gonna shake it up,
Gonna ball it up,
Gonna rock it up,
And ball the night.
Whoa!
Well, ready, set, go man, go,
I got a girl that i love so.
And i'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready, ready, ted to rock and roll.
Goin' to the corner, pick up my sweetie pie,
She's a rock and roll baby, she's the apple of my eye.
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, ted,
I'm ready, ready, ted to rock and roll.

song performed by Yoko Ono
Added by Lucian Velea
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Forgot To Follow

All I can hear is another year pass me by.
They pass me by.
They pass underneath you know theres nothing to see here, except ten bridges.
They pass underneath you know theres nothing to see here, except ten bridges.
Coz when you're winning you're charming,
you're winning you're charming,
when you're winning you're charming, it wont...
You might have noticed that i've fallen down on the road,
It could happen to anyone, I know.
They pass underneath you know theres nothing to see here, except ten bridges.
They pass underneath you know theres nothing to see here, except ten bridges.
Coz when you're winning you're charming,
you're winning you're charming,
when you're winning you're charming, it wont...
You're winning you're charming,
coz when you're winning you're charming,
when you're winning you're charming,
coz when you're winning you're charming,
when you're winning you're charming,
when you're winning you're charming,
when you're winning you're charming,
when you're winning you're charming.
ohhh!

song performed by Idlewild
Added by Lucian Velea
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Race

Lie down, [fair 1//pheromone], and come away
Till the rain is over and gone
G-g-gimme the beat now (face the music)
Lead line (face the music)
If the air is a little thick in this room 2nite
I reckon its the result of an onslaught of separatist rookies
Overcome by this colorful sight
Talkin so fast that even they
Talkin so fast that even they
Dont know what they mean
Of all the things that base a rhyme
How is it that u everytime
Regurgitate the racist lines that keep us apart?
Thank God this aint monopoly
Ud make us all go back 2 start
Race
In the space I mark human (face the music)
Race
Face the music
We all bones when we dead
Race
In the space I mark human (face the music)
Cut me, cut u
Both the blood is red
I gotcha
Race
Race
Check it
Three seats over theres a lady black
Entrusted 2 her care is a little white girl
And the fact of the matter is
Before her momma or another kid at school
Tells her about the fallacy that 1 race rules over the other
Shed be a much-better-off-left fool (face the music)
If we never heard about the evils that those before us committed
Then how my dear, tell me now how my dear, tell me now how now would we know
And then the band say
Race
In the space I mark human (face the music)
Race
Face the music
We all bones when we dead
Race
In the space I mark human (face the music)
Cut me, cut u
Both the blood is red
I gotcha
Race
Race
(face the music)

[...] Read more

song performed by Prince
Added by Lucian Velea
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My Name Is Not Cheek Turner or NockMee Tu Mie-Neese

I am not trying to suppress,
Or will hide my being upset...
Not at all.
When and if that should happen.
Instant feedback I deliver.

I witness others doing that.
With tremendous success.
To receive pats on their backs.
And their butts rubbed...
Or gently smacked.
I am not humored by that!
Not at all.

I am not impressed,
By those who express a lack of concern.
And those who valiantly shoulder their burdens...
In the quietness of their non-protest?
I give them my respect!
Since I know I'd be arrested.
No burdens do I shoulder,
Placed there by someone else.
I am not a product of my delusions.

And I am certainly not the one,
To cross my fingers behind my back.
As someone wishes me 'good luck'...
After attacking my character for fun and fast chat.
While dumping trash upon my path!
To have me pass along my rage and anger.

My name is not Cheek Turner!
Or NockMee Tu Mie-Neese.
I speak English fluently.
And if someone steps on my toes...
They will know without an interpretor,
Where to go and 'how' I intend...
To implant my right foot.
And I don't mind standing patiently on my left,
For balance and support.

'Slap me out some rhythm on those 'keys', Maybelle! '

My name is not Cheek Turner or NockMee Tu Mie-Neese.
My name is 'not'
Cheek Turner.
Or NockMee Tu Mie-Neese.
My name is not Cheek Turner or NockMee Tu Mie-Neese.
You play with this fire...
You'll get burned.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Vision of Columbus – Book 3

Now, twice twelve years, the children of the skies
Beheld in peace their growing empire rise;
O'er happy realms, display'd their generous care,
Diffused their arts and soothd the rage of war;
Bade yon tall temple grace the favourite isle.
The gardens bloom, the cultured valleys smile,
The aspiring hills their spacious mines unfold.
Fair structures blaze, and altars burn, in gold,
Those broad foundations bend their arches high,
And heave imperial Cusco to the sky;
From that fair stream that mark'd their northern sway,
Where Apurimac leads his lucid way,
To yon far glimmering lake, the southern bound,
The growing tribes their peaceful dwellings found;
While wealth and grandeur bless'd the extended reign,
From the bold Andes to the western main.
When, fierce from eastern wilds, the savage bands
Lead war and slaughter o'er the happy lands;
Thro' fertile fields the paths of culture trace,
And vow destruction to the Incan race.
While various fortune strow'd the embattled plain,
And baffled thousands still the strife maintain,
The unconquer'd Inca wakes the lingering war,
Drives back their host and speeds their flight afar;
Till, fired with rage, they range the wonted wood,
And feast their souls on future scenes of blood.
Where yon blue summits hang their cliffs on high;
Frown o'er the plains and lengthen round the sky;
Where vales exalted thro' the breaches run;
And drink the nearer splendors of the sun,
From south to north, the tribes innumerous wind,
By hills of ice and mountain streams confined;
Rouse neighbouring hosts, and meditate the blow,
To blend their force and whelm the world below.
Capac, with caution, views the dark design,
From countless wilds what hostile myriads join;
And greatly strives to bid the discord cease,
By profferd compacts of perpetual peace.
His eldest hope, young Rocha, at his call,
Leaves the deep confines of the temple wall;
In whose fair form, in lucid garments drest,
Began the sacred function of the priest.
In early youth, ere yet the genial sun
Had twice six changes o'er his childhood run,
The blooming prince, beneath his parents' hand,
Learn'd all the laws that sway'd the sacred land;
With rites mysterious served the Power divine,
Prepared the altar and adorn'd the shrine,
Responsive hail'd, with still returning praise,
Each circling season that the God displays,

[...] Read more

poem by Joel Barlow
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The Columbiad: Book III

The Argument

Actions of the Inca Capac. A general invasion of his dominions threatened by the mountain savages. Rocha, the Inca's son, sent with a few companions to offer terms of peace. His embassy. His adventure with the worshippers of the volcano. With those of the storm, on the Andes. Falls in with the savage armies. Character and speech of Zamor, their chief. Capture of Rocha and his companions. Sacrifice of the latter. Death song of Azonto. War dance. March of the savage armies down the mountains to Peru. Incan army meets them. Battle joins. Peruvians terrified by an eclipse of the sun, and routed. They fly to Cusco. Grief of Oella, supposing the darkness to be occasioned by the death of Rocha. Sun appears. Peruvians from the city wall discover Roch an altar in the savage camp. They march in haste out of the city and engage the savages. Exploits of Capac. Death of Zamor. Recovery of Rocha, and submission of the enemy.

Now twenty years these children of the skies
Beheld their gradual growing empire rise.
They ruled with rigid but with generous care,
Diffused their arts and sooth'd the rage of war,
Bade yon tall temple grace their favorite isle,
The mines unfold, the cultured valleys smile,
Those broad foundations bend their arches high,
And rear imperial Cusco to the sky;
Wealth, wisdom, force consolidate the reign
From the rude Andes to the western main.

But frequent inroads from the savage bands
Lead fire and slaughter o'er the labor'd lands;
They sack the temples, the gay fields deface,
And vow destruction to the Incan race.
The king, undaunted in defensive war,
Repels their hordes, and speeds their flight afar;
Stung with defeat, they range a wider wood,
And rouse fresh tribes for future fields of blood.

Where yon blue ridges hang their cliffs on high,
And suns infulminate the stormful sky,
The nations, temper'd to the turbid air,
Breathe deadly strife, and sigh for battle's blare;
Tis here they meditate, with one vast blow,
To crush the race that rules the plains below.
Capac with caution views the dark design,
Learns from all points what hostile myriads join.
And seeks in time by proffer'd leagues to gain
A bloodless victory, and enlarge his reign.

His eldest hope, young Rocha, at his call,
Resigns his charge within the temple wall;
In whom began, with reverend forms of awe,
The functions grave of priesthood and of law,

In early youth, ere yet the ripening sun
Had three short lustres o'er his childhood run,
The prince had learnt, beneath his father's hand,
The well-framed code that sway'd the sacred land;
With rites mysterious served the Power divine,
Prepared the altar and adorn'd the shrine,
Responsive hail'd, with still returning praise,
Each circling season that the God displays,

[...] Read more

poem by Joel Barlow
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The Winning Side

Its the winning side
And everybodys cheering for the winning side
And the children leave their homes to join the winning side
And when jesus comes hell march on with the winning side
And weve got all the right answers on the winning side
And the guiding light
Whether wrong or right
And we have no fear
No we have no fear
Waiting for the sign
We will give our lives
We will give our lives
And I feel so isolated
Its so lonely here at night
I could almost feel you near me
I imagine that youre with me
On the winning side
We dont ask too many questions on the winning side
And Ive got this strange sensation on the winning side
I dont recognize the faces of the winning side
And we all live here in cages . . .
Someone cried last night
And it made a sound
With my eyes closed tight
I hear everything
I can hear your voice
When I kiss the ground
When I kiss the ground
And Id like to know you better
And Id like to know your name
I could really show you something
If you give me half a chance
cuz Im on the winning side
(winning side)
In the sleepless night
When the blindness comes
Washing over me
Like a giant wave
On a sandless beach
Washing over me
I am proud to be . . .
And Id like to take you somewhere
That youve never been before
And I feel so isolated
And I feel so all alone
Here on the winning side
(and I feel so all alone)

song performed by Oingo Boingo
Added by Lucian Velea
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Winning Side

It's the winning side
And everybody's cheering for the winning side
And the children leave their homes to join the winning side
And when Jesus comes He'll march on with the winning side
And we've got all the right answers on the winning side
And the guiding light
Whether wrong or right
And we have no fear
No we have no fear
Waiting for the sign
We will give our lives
We will give our lives
And I feel so isolated
It's so lonely here at night
I could almost feel you near me
I imagine that you're with me
On the winning side
We don't ask too many questions on the winning side
And I've got this strange sensation on the winning side
I don't recognize the faces of the winning side
And we all live here in cages . . .
Someone cried last night
And it made a sound
With my eyes closed tight
I hear everything
I can hear your voice
When I kiss the ground
When I kiss the ground
And I'd like to know you better
And I'd like to know your name
I could really show you something
If you give me half a chance
'Cuz I'm on the winning side
(Winning side)
In the sleepless night
When the blindness comes
Washing over me
Like a giant wave
On a sandless beach
Washing over me
I am proud to be . . .
And I'd like to take you somewhere
That you've never been before
And I feel so isolated
And I feel so all alone
Here on the winning side
(And I feel so all alone

song performed by Oingo Boingo
Added by Lucian Velea
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Orlando Furioso Canto 12

ARGUMENT
Orlando, full of rage, pursues a knight
Who bears by force his lady-love away,
And comes where old Atlantes, by his sleight
Had raised a dome, Rogero there to stay.
Here too Rogero comes; where getting sight
Of his lost love, the County strives in fray
With fierce Ferrau, and, after slaughter fell
Amid the paynim host, finds Isabel.

I
Ceres, when from the Idaean dame in haste
Returning to the lonely valley, where
Enceladus the Aetnaean mountain placed
On his bolt-smitten flanks, is doomed to bear,
Her girl she found not, on that pathless waste,
By her late quitted, having rent her hair,
And marked cheeks, eyes, and breast, with livid signs,
At the end of her lament tore up two pines,

II
And lit at Vulcan's fire the double brand,
And gave them virtue never to be spent;
And, afterwards, with one in either hand,
Drawn by two dragons, in her chariot went,
Searching the forest, hill, and level land,
Field, valley, running stream, or water pent,
The land and sea; and having searched the shell
Of earth above, descended into hell.

III
Had Roland of Eleusis' deity
The sovereign power possessed no less than will,
He for Angelica had land and sea
Ransacked, and wood and field, and pool and rill,
Heaven, and Oblivion's bottom: but since he
Had not, his pressing purpose to fulfil,
Her dragon and her car, the unwearied knight
Pursued the missing maid as best he might.

IV
Through France he sought her, and will seek her through
The realms of Italy and of Almayn,
And thence through the Castiles, both old and new,
So passing into Libya out of Spain.
While bold Orlando has this plan in view,
He hears, or thinks he hears, a voice complain:
He forward spurs, and sees on mighty steed
A warrior trot before him on the mead;

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poem by Ludovico Ariosto
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Last Instructions to a Painter

After two sittings, now our Lady State
To end her picture does the third time wait.
But ere thou fall'st to work, first, Painter, see
If't ben't too slight grown or too hard for thee.
Canst thou paint without colors? Then 'tis right:
For so we too without a fleet can fight.
Or canst thou daub a signpost, and that ill?
'Twill suit our great debauch and little skill.
Or hast thou marked how antic masters limn
The aly-roof with snuff of candle dim,
Sketching in shady smoke prodigious tools?
'Twill serve this race of drunkards, pimps and fools.
But if to match our crimes thy skill presumes,
As th' Indians, draw our luxury in plumes.
Or if to score out our compendious fame,
With Hooke, then, through the microscope take aim,
Where, like the new Comptroller, all men laugh
To see a tall louse brandish the white staff.
Else shalt thou oft thy guiltless pencil curse,
Stamp on thy palette, not perhaps the worse.
The painter so, long having vexed his cloth--
Of his hound's mouth to feign the raging froth--
His desperate pencil at the work did dart:
His anger reached that rage which passed his art;
Chance finished that which art could but begin,
And he sat smiling how his dog did grin.
So mayst thou pérfect by a lucky blow
What all thy softest touches cannot do.

Paint then St Albans full of soup and gold,
The new court's pattern, stallion of the old.
Him neither wit nor courage did exalt,
But Fortune chose him for her pleasure salt.
Paint him with drayman's shoulders, butcher's mien,
Membered like mules, with elephantine chine.
Well he the title of St Albans bore,
For Bacon never studied nature more.
But age, allayed now that youthful heat,
Fits him in France to play at cards and treat.
Draw no commission lest the court should lie,
That, disavowing treaty, asks supply.
He needs no seal but to St James's lease,
Whose breeches wear the instrument of peace;
Who, if the French dispute his power, from thence
Can straight produce them a plenipotence..
Nor fears he the Most Christian should trepan
Two saints at once, St Germain, St Alban,
But thought the Golden Age was now restored,
When men and women took each other's word.

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poem by Andrew Marvell
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The Captains

The Captains sailed from all the World—from all the world and Spain;
And each one for his country’s ease, her glory and her gain;
The Captains sailed to Southern Seas, and sailed the Spanish Main;
And some sailed out beyond the World, and some sailed home again.
And each one for his daily bread, and bitter bread it was,
Because of things they’d left at home—or for some other cause.
Their wives and daughters made the lace to deck the Lady’s gown,
Where sailors’ wives sew dungarees by many a seaport town.

The Captains sailed in rotten ships, with often rotten crews,
Because their lands were ignorant and meaner than the ooze;
With money furnished them by Greed, or by ambition mean,
When they had crawled to some pig-faced, pig-hearted king or queen.

And when a storm was on the coast, and spray leaped o’er the quays,
Then little Joan or Dorothy, or Inez or Louise,
Would kneel her down on such a night beside her mother’s knees,
And fold her little hands and pray for those beyond the seas.
With the touching faith of little girls—the faith by love embalmed—
They’d pray for men beyond the seas who might have been becalmed.

For some will pray at CHRIST His feet, and some at MARY’S shrine;
And some to Heathen goddesses, as I have prayed to mine;
To Mecca or to Bethlehem, to Fire, or Joss, or Sol,
And one will pray to sticks or stones, and one to her rag doll.
But we are stubborn men and vain, and though we rise or fall,
Our children’s prayers or women’s prayers, GOD knows we need them all!
And no one fights the bitter gale, or strives in combat grim,
But, somewhere in the world, a child is praying hard for him.

The Captains sailed to India, to China and Japan.
They met the Strangers’ Welcome and the Friendliness of Man;
The Captains sailed to Southern Seas, and “wondrous sights” they saw—
The Rights of Man in savage lands, and law without a law.
They learnt the truth from savages, and wisdom from the wild,
And learned to walk in unknown ways, and trust them like a child.
(The sailors told of monstrous things that be where sailors roam . . .
But none had seen more monstrous things than they had seen at home.)

They found new worlds for crowded folk in cities old and worn,
And huts of hunger, fog and smoke in lands by Faction torn.
(They found the great and empty lands where Nations might be born.)
They found new foods, they found new wealth, and newer ways to live,
Where sons might grow in strength and health, with all that God would give.
They tracked their ways through unknown seas where Danger still remains,
And sailed back poor and broken men, and some sailed back in chains.
But, bound or free, or ill or well, where’er their sails were furled,
They brought to weary, worn-out lands glad tidings from the World.

The Seasons saw our fathers come, their flocks and herds increase;

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poem by Henry Lawson
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