The nearest figure to myself would be Shakespeare.
quote by Michael Tippett
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Related quotes
Sonnet Cycle to M C after W S Sonnets CXXXI - CXXXIX
Sonnet Cycle to M C after William Shakespeare Sonnets CXXXI - CLIV
[c] Jonathan Robin
CARE IS OUR DREAM
Sonnet Cycle after William Shakespeare: Part II
Sonnets CXXXI - CLIV
Shakespeare Sonnet CXXXI
Thou art so tyrannous, so as thou art,
As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel;
For well thou know'st to my dear doting heart
Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel.
Yet, in good faith, some say that thee behold,
Thy face hath not the power to make love groan;
To say they err I dare not be so bold,
Although I swear it to myself alone.
And to be sure that is not false, I swear,
A thousand groans, but thinking on thy face,
One on another's neck, do witness bear
Thy black is fairest in my judgement's place.
In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds,
And thence this slander, as I think, proceeds.
Sonnet CXXXI
Swift in succession fleet speed thoughts when I
Allow time to rhyme contemplating smile.
Nefertiti resignèdly would cry
Grieving 'Quits' obliged to reconcile
To defeat, a feat none else dare try.
Outer skin and inner heart worthwhile
Most naturally ally I testify,
Adopt love’s truth to heart, scorn art and style.
Millions shudder – to your rank unworthy -
Aware all their priorities weigh zilch,
Understatements glib by small minds scurvy,
Deprived of value still your fame they’d filch.
Enshadowed, dark, stark dead their teeming dreams
Compelled to spell fell shutters, failing themes.
Shakespeare Sonnet CXXXII
Thine eyes I love, and they, as pitying me,
Knowing thy heart torments me with disdain,
Have put on black and ivory mourner she,
Looking with pretty ruth upon my pain.
And truly not the morning sun of heaven
Better becomes the grey cheeks of the east,
[...] Read more
poem by Jonathan Robin
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Shakespeare Daughter's Hungry Street
Jules travelled down smoking art surreal street
to explore bohemian style flavoured beat.
Where all the noble artist souls are found
carrying her doves heart, she was stage bound.
Down to Shakespeare daughter's hungry street.
Jazz sax soared art savouring lovers danced.
Midget naked dancing twin brothers pranced.
Fire eater sister showed her fiery flash style.
Marching the military two step erotic mile.
Down upon Shakespeare daughter's hungry street.
Some priest held paintings of narrow grief.
Some lovers carried crosses of their belief.
Some miracle workers photographed their smile.
Some frozen suit prophets flaunted their style.
Down upon Shakespeare daughter's hungry street.
The red body wine skull shape face glowed.
Humanities blood of experience muse flowed.
Sax and ghost trumpeter explore reality theme.
Every jazz hip poet was singing up wild scene.
Down upon Shakespeare daughter's hungry street.
Some choir angels sung 'let humanity be heard'.
Redemptions poems quote reality to disturb.
Let the high barbed pitched tongues glow.
Artist dreams and mad sanity will overflow.
Down upon Shakespeare daughter's hungry street.
The immaculate dripping sky turned bright red.
Some saint laughed loud, cool your aching head.
Poets, junkies, taxman, lovers played high dice.
Each and every sister painted their own paradise.
Down upon Shakespeare daughter's hungry street.
Drinking her own redemption flavour wine divine.
Slept childlike and woke mysteriously to fine.
The seven stone evangelist had shifted outa town.
The sculptured Valentino had fallen nose down.
Down upon Shakespeare daughter's hungry street.
Jules travelled down smoking art valley street.
To savour bohemian flavour feel burning heat,
but finally her natural innocence was blown.
All the poets ritual seers faces had flown.
Down to Shakespeare daughter's hungry street.
poem by Wayne Falconer
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Sonnet LX - Variations In Imitation - after William Shakespeare
See below W S Sonnet LX for English and French variations
Sonnet LX
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,
Crooked eclipses ‘gainst his glory fight
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow
Feeds on the rareities of Nature’s truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow;
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth despite his cruel hand.
William SHAKESPEARE shak1_0008_shak1_0000 PST_DZX
________________________
So nnet LX Imitation - Par Vagues
Par vagues, s’approchant à la rive pierreuse,
Nos instants précieux écument leur destin,
Chacun son précédent remplaçant en chemin,
Le tout se bousculant - avancée périlleuse.
Le Temps notre jeunesse avale et l’âme heureuse,
Avance, et, mûrissant, se voit sacrée: sa main
Dispute nos chansons, gloires d’antan, - déclin
Que le faucheur étale, éclipse malheureuse.
Le Temps reprend ses dons, de profonds sillons creuse,
Des affronts forts profonds au front jadis si saint,
En dévorant les traces de notre grâce éteinte,
Aucun ne faisant face à sa fauche rieuse!
Pourtant malgré le Temps, sa main sans pitié,
Ces lignes attendent un jour coulant de vérité.
15 December 1991 revised 2005 robi3_0508_shak1_0008 PFT_DZX see robi3_0654
Translation William SHAKESPEARE – Sonnet LX for previous version see below
__________________
Sonnet LX
Ainsi qu’aux vagues visant la rive pierreuse,
Nos instants précieux se hâtent vers leur destin,
Chacun son précedent remplaçant en chemin,
[...] Read more
poem by Jonathan Robin
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Bishop Blougram's Apology
No more wine? then we'll push back chairs and talk.
A final glass for me, though: cool, i' faith!
We ought to have our Abbey back, you see.
It's different, preaching in basilicas,
And doing duty in some masterpiece
Like this of brother Pugin's, bless his heart!
I doubt if they're half baked, those chalk rosettes,
Ciphers and stucco-twiddlings everywhere;
It's just like breathing in a lime-kiln: eh?
These hot long ceremonies of our church
Cost us a little—oh, they pay the price,
You take me—amply pay it! Now, we'll talk.
So, you despise me, Mr. Gigadibs.
No deprecation—nay, I beg you, sir!
Beside 't is our engagement: don't you know,
I promised, if you'd watch a dinner out,
We'd see truth dawn together?—truth that peeps
Over the glasses' edge when dinner's done,
And body gets its sop and holds its noise
And leaves soul free a little. Now's the time:
Truth's break of day! You do despise me then.
And if I say, "despise me"—never fear!
1 know you do not in a certain sense—
Not in my arm-chair, for example: here,
I well imagine you respect my place
(Status, entourage, worldly circumstance)
Quite to its value—very much indeed:
—Are up to the protesting eyes of you
In pride at being seated here for once—
You'll turn it to such capital account!
When somebody, through years and years to come,
Hints of the bishop—names me—that's enough:
"Blougram? I knew him"—(into it you slide)
"Dined with him once, a Corpus Christi Day,
All alone, we two; he's a clever man:
And after dinner—why, the wine you know—
Oh, there was wine, and good!—what with the wine . . .
'Faith, we began upon all sorts of talk!
He's no bad fellow, Blougram; he had seen
Something of mine he relished, some review:
He's quite above their humbug in his heart,
Half-said as much, indeed—the thing's his trade.
I warrant, Blougram's sceptical at times:
How otherwise? I liked him, I confess!"
Che che, my dear sir, as we say at Rome,
Don't you protest now! It's fair give and take;
You have had your turn and spoken your home-truths:
The hand's mine now, and here you follow suit.
[...] Read more
poem by Robert Browning from Men and Women (1855)
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Dante, Shakespeare, Milton - From
Doctor. Ah! thou, too,
Sad Alighieri, like a waning moon
Setting in storm behind a grove of bays!
Balder. Yes, the great Florentine, who wove his web
And thrust it into hell, and drew it forth
Immortal, having burn’d all that could burn,
And leaving only what shall still be found
Untouch’d, nor with the small of fire upon it,
Under the final ashes of this world.
Doctor. Shakespeare and Milton!
Balder. Switzerland and home.
I ne’er see Milton, but I see the Alps,
As once, sole standing on a peak supreme,
To the extremest verge summit and gulf
I saw, height after depth, Alp beyond Alp,
O’er which the rising and the sinking soul
Sails into distance, heaving as a ship
O’er a great sea that sets to strands unseen.
And as the mounting and descending bark,
Borne on exulting by the under deep,
Gains of the wild wave something not the wave,
Catches a joy of going, and a will
Resistless, and upon the last lee foam
Leaps into air beyond it, so the soul
upon the Alpine ocean mountain-toss’d,
Incessant carried up to heaven, and plunged
To darkness, and still wet with drops of death
Held into light eternal, and again
Cast down, to be again uplift in vast
And infinite succession, cannot stay
The mad momentum, but in frenzied sight
Of horizontal clouds and mists and skies
And the untried Inane, springs on the surge
Of things, and passing matter by a force
Material, thro’ vacuity careers,
Rising and falling.
Doctor. And my Shakespeare! Call
Milton your Alps, and which is he among
The tops of Andes? Keep your Paradise,
And Eves, and Adams, but give me the Earth
That Shakespeare drew, and make it grave and gay
With Shakespeare’s men and women; let me laugh
Or weep with them, and you—a wager,—aye,
A wager by my faith—either his muse
Was the recording angel, or that hand
Cherubic, which fills up the Book of Life,
Caught what the last relaxing gripe let fall
By a death-bed at Stratford, and hence-forth
Holds Shakespeare’s pen. Now strain your sinews, poet,
And top your Pelion,—Milton Switzerland,
[...] Read more
poem by Sydney Thompson Dobell
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An Unfortunate Likeness
I'VE painted SHAKESPEARE all my life -
"An infant" (even then at "play"!)
"A boy," with stage-ambition rife,
Then "Married to ANN HATHAWAY."
"The bard's first ticket night" (or "ben."),
His "First appearance on the stage,"
His "Call before the curtain" - then
"Rejoicings when he came of age."
The bard play-writing in his room,
The bard a humble lawyer's clerk.
The bard a lawyer (3) - parson (4) - groom (5) -
The bard deer-stealing, after dark.
The bard a tradesman (6) - and a Jew (7) -
The bard a botanist (8) - a beak (9) -
The bard a skilled musician (10) too -
A sheriff (11) and a surgeon (12) eke!
Yet critics say (a friendly stock)
That, though it's evident I try,
Yet even I can barely mock
The glimmer of his wondrous eye!
One morning as a work I framed,
There passed a person, walking hard:
"My gracious goodness," I exclaimed,
"How very like my dear old bard!
"Oh, what a model he would make!"
I rushed outside - impulsive me! -
"Forgive the liberty I take,
But you're so very" - "Stop!" said he.
"You needn't waste your breath or time, -
I know what you are going to say, -
That you're an artist, and that I'm
Remarkably like SHAKESPEARE. Eh?
"You wish that I would sit to you?"
I clasped him madly round the waist,
And breathlessly replied, "I do!"
"All right," said he, "but please make haste."
I led him by his hallowed sleeve,
And worked away at him apace,
I painted him till dewy eve, -
There never was a nobler face!
[...] Read more
poem by William Schwenck Gilbert
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Imitations of Horace: The First Epistle of the Second Book
Ne Rubeam, Pingui donatus Munere
(Horace, Epistles II.i.267)
While you, great patron of mankind, sustain
The balanc'd world, and open all the main;
Your country, chief, in arms abroad defend,
At home, with morals, arts, and laws amend;
How shall the Muse, from such a monarch steal
An hour, and not defraud the public weal?
Edward and Henry, now the boast of fame,
And virtuous Alfred, a more sacred name,
After a life of gen'rous toils endur'd,
The Gaul subdu'd, or property secur'd,
Ambition humbled, mighty cities storm'd,
Or laws establish'd, and the world reform'd;
Clos'd their long glories with a sigh, to find
Th' unwilling gratitude of base mankind!
All human virtue, to its latest breath
Finds envy never conquer'd, but by death.
The great Alcides, ev'ry labour past,
Had still this monster to subdue at last.
Sure fate of all, beneath whose rising ray
Each star of meaner merit fades away!
Oppress'd we feel the beam directly beat,
Those suns of glory please not till they set.
To thee the world its present homage pays,
The harvest early, but mature the praise:
Great friend of liberty! in kings a name
Above all Greek, above all Roman fame:
Whose word is truth, as sacred and rever'd,
As Heav'n's own oracles from altars heard.
Wonder of kings! like whom, to mortal eyes
None e'er has risen, and none e'er shall rise.
Just in one instance, be it yet confest
Your people, Sir, are partial in the rest:
Foes to all living worth except your own,
And advocates for folly dead and gone.
Authors, like coins, grow dear as they grow old;
It is the rust we value, not the gold.
Chaucer's worst ribaldry is learn'd by rote,
And beastly Skelton heads of houses quote:
One likes no language but the Faery Queen ;
A Scot will fight for Christ's Kirk o' the Green:
And each true Briton is to Ben so civil,
He swears the Muses met him at the Devil.
Though justly Greece her eldest sons admires,
Why should not we be wiser than our sires?
In ev'ry public virtue we excel:
[...] Read more
poem by Alexander Pope
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Believe It Or Not
Believe it or not, everyone, have things that they hide
Believe it or not, everyone, keep most things inside
Believe it or not, everyone, believes in something above
Believe it or not, everyone, needs to feel loved
Feel loved, but we don't and we won't until we figure out
Could someone deliver us, and send some kind of sign
So close to giving up, 'cause faith is so hard to find
But you don't and you won't, until we figure out
Seen it or not, every time, the world turns upside down
Believe it or not, most of us, feel like we're losing ground
Believe it or not, everyone, hate admitting fear
Believe it or not, most of us, wanna know why we're here
Why we're here, but we don''t and we won't until we figure out
Could someone deliver us, and send some kind of sign
So close to giving up, 'cause faith is so hard to find
Someone deliver us, and send some kind of sign
So close to giving up, 'cause faith is so hard to find
But you're young and you won't, until we figure out
Most of us have nothing to complain about
Most of us have things we could live without
Everyone needs advice on how to get along
You know we won't until we figure out
[Instrumental]
Believe it or not everyone
Believe it or not, everyone, have things that they hide
Believe it or not, everyone, keep most things inside
Believe it or not, everyone, believe in something above
Believe it or not, everyone, needs to feel loved
Feel loved, well we don't and we won't until we figure out
Could someone deliver us, and send some kind of sign
So close to giving up, 'cause faith is so hard to find
Someone deliver us, and send some kind of sign
So close to giving up, 'cause faith is so hard to find
But you're young and you won't, until we figure out
You're young and you won't, until we figure out
song performed by Nickelback
Added by Lucian Velea
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Discovering Shakespeare
‘From you have I been absent in the spring.’
The words of Shakespeare have a truly lovely ring,
But, when I was younger, by his words, I was bored,
And his words, written on a page, by me, were ignored.
Now I’m older, I can see that his famous words,
Are actually among the loveliest I’ve ever heard.
Until recently, I couldn’t recite a Shakespeare speech,
But, slowly, line by line, myself, I did teach.
Of his work, I love the rhythm and rhyme,
As it makes it much easier to learn each line.
Being able to recite a short speech, I felt proud,
As I had never performed any of his work aloud.
I was really amazed at what I’d been able to achieve,
And now, from my mind, his words will never leave.
When I feel low, in my mind, his words I recall -
They lift my mood, just as I am about to fall.
I didn’t understand any of his stories before,
But with each day that passes, I’m learning more.
I now understand about the characters and the plots.
Over the last few months, I really have learnt a lot.
Helena from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ’
Is very like me in character, or so it seems:
She’s sensitive and cautious and likes to think things through,
And that description can pretty much be applied to me to!
Prior to my Shakespeare Bronze exam, I was full of fear,
But it proved to be one of the highlights of my entire year.
It’s been one of the best experiences of my life to date,
And to take my Shakespeare Silver exam, I just can’t wait.
If only Shakespeare was alive today, he would see
Just how much sheer joy he has managed to bring me.
poem by Angela Wybrow
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One Four Square Sonnet - Parody Shakespeare Sonnet CXVI
ONE FOUR SQUARE SONNET
Let's not into true marriage of two minds
Admit expedience. Love wears no kid glove
Which falters where fits, altercations, finds
Or ends when dumb observer would remove.
For lo! that marks stark feckless leaver, hark!
Tempest cooks cat's books, stands sturdy shaken,
Here, wild oats sown, dog-star to wandering bark,
Its birth unknown although its bow save bacon.
Since Love fools Time, lip-service cheeky rhyme
Within big spending tickle’s compass come,
O'er years piques havoc wreak, strange phantom mime,
Remaining edgy till wan wedge of doom,
Let be, if error writ, and on me proved,
Dumb see my wit, for no man clever loved.
30 October 1991 revised 14 July 2007 and 1 May 2010
robi03_0467_shak01_0022 PAS_LZX
Parody William SHAKESPEARE 1564_1616 Sonnet CXVI
For previous version see after notes and links
Author notes
acrostic sonnet LAW OF THIS WORLD
------
readers should carefully compare text line by line to that of Shakespeare's version
--------
Title One Four Square Sonnet...One hundred and 4 x 4 = 116 = Sonnet CXVI
four-square
• adjective 1 (of a building) having a square shape and solid appearance.2 firm and resolute.
• adverb 1 squarely and solidly.2 firmly and resolutely.
see also the game Four-Square where eternal triangle tries an additional angle
http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-Square
Animat ed Cat tossing Dog http: //media.photobucket.com/image/%22animated%22%20%2 0%20%20%22cats%22%20%20%20%22dogs%22/boedaxkeneh/ funny_animated_pictures_18.gif? o=13
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
MARRIAGE OF TWO MINDS
Let not into the marriage of two minds
Admit expedience. Love is not love
Which falters where it altercation finds
Or ends when some observer would remove.
Fie no! it is an ever fixèd mark
That looks on cats and never is awaken,
Here, ‘tis the dog-star to every wandering bark,
Its birth unknown although its bough be shaken.
Since Love Time’s fool is not, though rosy cheeks
Within his wending tickle’s compass come,
Or alters not with years which havoc wreaks,
[...] Read more
poem by Jonathan Robin
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Eyes Of Mr D (Part 5)
Mr D took off his glasses,
and raised his white cane.
He struck the dark figure,
hard with the crook of the handle
in the middle of the back.
The dark figure bends backwards
revealing his mask of death.
Quickly he recovered and twisted around.
He went to strike out at Mr D,
who hooked the white cane
around one leg and pulled.
The dark figure with the mask of death
fell upon the ground.
He pulled a blade from his pocket
that glinted under the moonlight.
Mr D used the cane again
to knock the blade from his hand
into the dark waters of the lake.
The sound of sirens and blue lights filled the air.
The figure with the mask of death
tried his best to flee.
Mr D went after him.
He ran onto the wooden bridge.
Mr D caught him there.
They struggled with each other,
one getting the upper hand for a moment,
then the other.
Mr D finally hit him with his fist.
The figure spun and stumbled against the wooden guardrail.
The rail snapped under the sudden weight.
Into the dark waters,
the figure plunged and disappeared below.
Mr D came off the bridge
moments before the police arrived.
It was over now he said to himself.
The pretty woman waited there for him.
She looked, smiled, and held her hand out
to the man who saved her life.
“How did you know? ” she asked.
“My eyes told me it was going to happen.”
He then went on to explain.
When they were allowed to leave,
they left hand in hand.
“I don’t know your name.” She said,
“And here you save my life.”
He smiled. “Are you sure you want to know? ”
She nodded.
“My name is Henry De Ath,
[...] Read more
poem by David Harris
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Can Not Stop
I can not...
And will not stop,
Or drop
My affair with love.
I can not stop,
To figure out 'why'
This affair came,
To start this love!
This feeling felt is healing.
It appeals to what I'm needing.
And I can not drop,
Or stop to figure out...
My affair to have this love!
I can not...
And will not stop,
Or drop
My affair with love.
I can not stop,
To figure out 'why'
This affair came,
To start this love!
This feeling felt is healing.
It appeals to what I'm needing.
And I can not drop,
Or stop to figure out...
My affair to have this love!
And I can not drop,
Or stop to figure out...
My affair to have this love!
This feeling felt is healing.
It appeals to what I'm needing.
And I can not drop,
Or stop to figure out...
My affair to have this love!
I will not stop,
To figure out 'why'
I should drop...
My affair with love!
I can not...
And will not stop,
Or drop
[...] Read more
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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In figure skating
In figure skating its the small triumphs that matter the most.
When you can't get back all the time lost.
I had a lot of fun landing an axel.
To me it was almost felt like landing a triple axel.
I know it was only a small triumph but to me it was wonderful.
I never was able to get many hours of practice.
I did my best on the ice.
All figure skaters work hard to have patience.
They may never know if they will recieve their biggest
or smallest triumph.
Even If I went back and landed a triple axel.
I would still look back fondly on my small triumph.
To be honest though the axel to me is my greatest triumph.
An axel was like setting myself free.
If your thinking that small triumphs are great.
I would love to agree.
In figure skating people are always coming and going.
Not many of them get to experience the power of jumping.
Some of them will never know.
An axel feels like a bird or plane flying.
A lot of them will never come back because of the fear of falling.
So anyones triumph could be not quiting.
The smallest triumphs should never be put down because this is
a figure skaters very beginning.
Every figure skaters story deserves to be told.
Even if they never won an olympic or any type of gold.
A figure skater must have joy or her sport will get old.
So please don't underestimate small triumphs in figure skating.
poem by Lyda Mery
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Picture-Writing
In those days said Hiawatha,
"Lo! how all things fade and perish!
From the memory of the old men
Pass away the great traditions,
The achievements of the warriors,
The adventures of the hunters,
All the wisdom of the Medas,
All the craft of the Wabenos,
All the marvellous dreams and visions
Of the Jossakeeds, the Prophets!
"Great men die and are forgotten,
Wise men speak; their words of wisdom
Perish in the ears that hear them,
Do not reach the generations
That, as yet unborn, are waiting
In the great, mysterious darkness
Of the speechless days that shall be!
"On the grave-posts of our fathers
Are no signs, no figures painted;
Who are in those graves we know not,
Only know they are our fathers.
Of what kith they are and kindred,
From what old, ancestral Totem,
Be it Eagle, Bear, or Beaver,
They descended, this we know not,
Only know they are our fathers.
"Face to face we speak together,
But we cannot speak when absent,
Cannot send our voices from us
To the friends that dwell afar off;
Cannot send a secret message,
But the bearer learns our secret,
May pervert it, may betray it,
May reveal it unto others."
Thus said Hiawatha, walking
In the solitary forest,
Pondering, musing in the forest,
On the welfare of his people.
From his pouch he took his colors,
Took his paints of different colors,
On the smooth bark of a birch-tree
Painted many shapes and figures,
Wonderful and mystic figures,
And each figure had a meaning,
Each some word or thought suggested.
Gitche Manito the Mighty,
He, the Master of Life, was painted
As an egg, with points projecting
To the four winds of the heavens.
Everywhere is the Great Spirit,
[...] Read more
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The Song Of Hiawatha XIV: Picture-Writing
In those days said Hiawatha,
'Lo! how all things fade and perish!
From the memory of the old men
Pass away the great traditions,
The achievements of the warriors,
The adventures of the hunters,
All the wisdom of the Medas,
All the craft of the Wabenos,
All the marvellous dreams and visions
Of the Jossakeeds, the Prophets!
'Great men die and are forgotten,
Wise men speak; their words of wisdom
Perish in the ears that hear them,
Do not reach the generations
That, as yet unborn, are waiting
In the great, mysterious darkness
Of the speechless days that shall be!
'On the grave-posts of our fathers
Are no signs, no figures painted;
Who are in those graves we know not,
Only know they are our fathers.
Of what kith they are and kindred,
From what old, ancestral Totem,
Be it Eagle, Bear, or Beaver,
They descended, this we know not,
Only know they are our fathers.
'Face to face we speak together,
But we cannot speak when absent,
Cannot send our voices from us
To the friends that dwell afar off;
Cannot send a secret message,
But the bearer learns our secret,
May pervert it, may betray it,
May reveal it unto others.'
Thus said Hiawatha, walking
In the solitary forest,
Pondering, musing in the forest,
On the welfare of his people.
From his pouch he took his colors,
Took his paints of different colors,
On the smooth bark of a birch-tree
Painted many shapes and figures,
Wonderful and mystic figures,
And each figure had a meaning,
Each some word or thought suggested.
Gitche Manito the Mighty,
He, the Master of Life, was painted
As an egg, with points projecting
To the four winds of the heavens.
Everywhere is the Great Spirit,
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poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Nearest Distant Shore
(written by gary harrison, tim mensy)
You fight for every breath
Caught without a ship in this sea of neglect
The one you swore to love is pulling you down
Youre in over your head
Chilled to the bone by the waters youve tread
Chart a course to land, before you drown
Swim to the nearest distant shore
Theres only so much a heart can endure
You gave it your best, forgive yourself
You cant hold on anymore
Its not as far as it might seem
Now its time to let go of old dreams
Every heart for itself
Swim to the nearest distant shore
He said for you hed change
Then hed let you down and watch you take the blame
Youre trapped between his lies and the great unknown
You vowed you would not fail
But this aint success its a living hell
Theres nothing left to lose, youre already alone
Swim to the nearest distant shore
Theres only so much a heart can endure
You gave it your best, forgive yourself
You cant hold on anymore
Its not as far as it might seem
Now its time to let go of old dreams
Every heart for itself
Swim to the nearest distant shore
song performed by Trisha Yearwood
Added by Lucian Velea
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Emily Dickinson Is Not Borges
EMILY DICKINSON IS NOT BORGES
Emily Dickinson is not Borges
And Borges is not Kafka
And Kafka is not Dickens
And no one is Shakespeare-
Each one is only one self
Except for those who are many selves
And those who are many selves
Do not know
Who they themselves are-
Lear is not Falstaff
And Falstaff is not Hamlet
And Hamlet is not Shakespeare
And Shakespeare is not Donne-
No one is anyone but themselves
And even those who are really ‘someone'
Are not all the others who also are-
And we who are nothing at all?
What are we?
We are not nothing at all.
We are not great
And no one will remember our names
But we are still here now
Reading Borges and Dickenson and Kafka and Shakespeare
And wondering how and why
There are those in a world of their own
With names of their own
They themselves will never completely know.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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In Answer To The Powers That Be
If we apply
the question
What are the
'implications of media,
in this epoch of time'
to Elizabethan England,
the age of Shakespeare;
to next King James the first,
you will agree,
a significant
period in history,
what would this phrase mean?
The answer
to put it simply,
to be succinct,
to put it in a nut shell,
is the effect upon
the public of the time;
of the stage of course
and the printing press.
This could have been put in
one simple declarative sentence
but where is the art in that?
The stage and the plays
especially of Shakespeare
are thrilling live performance
and exceptionally influential
as an early form of mass media.
In the play King Lear for example,
the king must be either very wise;
like King James I; or very stupid, so
it cannot possibly be, King James I.
The first historically documented
performance of the play; took place
on December 26,1606; before King
James I; Shakespeare embeds conceit.
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poem by Terence George Craddock
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Singing In Your Reign
SINGING IN YOUR REIGN
You are the seemly raiment of my heart;
that's why I now am singing in your reign,
for you're my queen who rules me with the art
of Cupid, to transfix me without pain
with artful arrows Cupid shoots from your
direction, having been by you directed.
His aim is just as steady and as sure
as yours, and does not need to be corrected.
I'm living in a house that's dedicated
to corporeal correction, which is stupid,
but thanks to you my spirit is elated,
in thrall to you while threesoming with Cupid.
This sonnet is no quid pro quo or payment
for what you have done, it is my raiment.
John Heilpern (Newsmen of La Mancha, " Vanity Fair, January 2011) writes about Sidney Harman:
Sidney Harman, the 92-year-old stereo-equipment magnate who, during an apparent brainstorm, bought the ailing Newsweek from the Washington Post Company for a dollar (and assumed more than $50 million in liabilities) , kindly offered me lunch at his home, a well-lighted, Bauhaus-style place, only a few minutes' drive from downtown Washington, D.C.
I was admiring the modern art in the airy living room when Mr. Harman burst in, like an actor making an entrance. Informally dressed in shirtsleeves, he looked about 20 years younger than he is. "What do I call you? , " I asked as we shook hands, for among the many roles he plays is Dr. Harman. (He became a doctor of social psychology in his 50s.) Or Professor Harman. (He's Professor of Polymathy at the University of Southern California.) Thank God for Google! Polymathy: the study and inter-relation of great and varied learning. Cf. Leonardo da Vinci. "Call me Sidney, " he replied breezily. "Call me friend. To adapt James Baldwin, call me what you like. I know my name! "
I put it to a test. Harman the polymath is also the author, Shakespeare lover, and philanthropist who funded the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C., home to the distinguished Shakespeare Theatre Company. "What's your favorite sonnet? , " I wondered.
He didn't hesitate! His choice was Shakespeare's meltingly beautiful Sonnet 22, beginning, "My glass shall not persuade me I am old / So long as youth and thou are of one date." He went on to recite it from memory with unpretentious, quiet, touching conviction: :
For all that beauty that doth cover thee
Is but the seemly raiment of my heart,
Which in thy breast doth live, as thine in me:
How can I then be elder than thou art?
"My wife is 27 years my junior, " he added when he was done, and laughed. Jane Harman, his wife of some 30 years, is a Democratic congresswoman who represents Southern California.
"Oh, I tell you. I love that stuff! " he announced in his enthusiasm for Shakespeare. "Here's another! But it's not a sonnet. It's a toast I've used, and you may choose to borrow it. It's from King John, one of his less regarded plays."
He then launched into King John's stanza of eternal love. ("He is the half part of a blessed man... ") It was when he had finished his recitation of a chunk from Oscar Wilde's De Profundis, however, that I asked if he had ever acted on the stage.
"Always, " he replied.
5/11/12 #10167
poem by Gershon Hepner
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Gebir
FIRST BOOK.
I sing the fates of Gebir. He had dwelt
Among those mountain-caverns which retain
His labours yet, vast halls and flowing wells,
Nor have forgotten their old master's name
Though severed from his people here, incensed
By meditating on primeval wrongs,
He blew his battle-horn, at which uprose
Whole nations; here, ten thousand of most might
He called aloud, and soon Charoba saw
His dark helm hover o'er the land of Nile,
What should the virgin do? should royal knees
Bend suppliant, or defenceless hands engage
Men of gigantic force, gigantic arms?
For 'twas reported that nor sword sufficed,
Nor shield immense nor coat of massive mail,
But that upon their towering heads they bore
Each a huge stone, refulgent as the stars.
This told she Dalica, then cried aloud:
'If on your bosom laying down my head
I sobbed away the sorrows of a child,
If I have always, and Heaven knows I have,
Next to a mother's held a nurse's name,
Succour this one distress, recall those days,
Love me, though 'twere because you loved me then.'
But whether confident in magic rites
Or touched with sexual pride to stand implored,
Dalica smiled, then spake: 'Away those fears.
Though stronger than the strongest of his kind,
He falls-on me devolve that charge; he falls.
Rather than fly him, stoop thou to allure;
Nay, journey to his tents: a city stood
Upon that coast, they say, by Sidad built,
Whose father Gad built Gadir; on this ground
Perhaps he sees an ample room for war.
Persuade him to restore the walls himself
In honour of his ancestors, persuade -
But wherefore this advice? young, unespoused,
Charoba want persuasions! and a queen!'
'O Dalica!' the shuddering maid exclaimed,
'Could I encounter that fierce, frightful man?
Could I speak? no, nor sigh!'
'And canst thou reign?'
Cried Dalica; 'yield empire or comply.'
Unfixed though seeming fixed, her eyes downcast,
The wonted buzz and bustle of the court
From far through sculptured galleries met her ear;
Then lifting up her head, the evening sun
Poured a fresh splendour on her burnished throne-
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poem by Walter Savage Landor
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