Citatepedia^®.com

Riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as they torment us with their loss.

quote by Epicurus
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Romeo Delight

I told her, never in hell, no special reason.
Must a lied cause I aint leavin.
Were in for a very long night.
Heard a vicious rumor from your mamas tongue:
You a desprate woman, need a man with a gun.
High crime zone in the city of lights.
Baby, please!
Cant take it anymore.
Baby, please!
Cant take it anymore.
Im takin whiskey to the party tonight,
And Im lookin for somebody to squeeze.
I aint lookin for somebody to fight.
Baby, dont get uptight.
Baby, please!
Wanna see my i.d.? try to clip my wings!
Dont have to show you proof of anything.
I know the law friend.
At the leventh hour. Im goin back outside.
Give it a try.
Im your last loose end.
Baby, please!
Cant take it anymore.
Baby, please!
Cant take it anymore.
Im takin whiskey to the party tonight
And Im lookin for somebody to squeeze.
I aint lookin for somebody to fight.
Baby, dont get uptight.
Baby, please!
I feel my heart beat,
Feel my heart beat,
Feel my heart beat,
Oh yeah.
Baby, please!
Cant take it anymore.
Baby, please!
Cant take it anymore.
Im takin whiskey to the party tonight,
And Im lookin for somebody to squeeze.
I aint lookin for somebody to fight.
Baby, dont get uptight.
Baby, please!
Loss of control
Mayday!
I checked it out. I think you ought to know.
Im only wastin time. I think Id better go.
You way too civilized. oh,
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!

[...] Read more

song performed by Van Halen
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Loss Of Control

Mayday!
I checked it out. I think you ought to know.
Im only wastin time. I think Id better go.
You way too civilized. oh,
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Baby, I checked it out. I think you ought to know.
Im only wastin time. I think Id better go.
You way too civilized. oh,
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!
Baby, I checked it out. I think you ought to know.
Im only wastin time. I think Id better go.
You way too civilized. oh,
Loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!

song performed by Van Halen
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

l Losses Are Sometime Good...

Loss, most of the time bad. On occasion, great!

SOME TIME A LOSS CAN BE GOOD!

Can loss sometime be happy. You bet! Ask some
divorced couples.

The other guy had a loss and I won!

My ex had a loss, of most of our assets. Yes,
you guessed it, I got 'em!

Insurance companies, now there's some, that
many take great delight,
when they suffer a loss.

When the tax man does an audit, if they have
a loss, we have a win! (best kind of loss)

The person who brings suite against you,
suffers a loss. (Ain't that sweet?)

A hostile mother-in-law, suffers a loss,
when her daughter gets divorced.

When one experiences a weight loss.
Now that's something that would make
millions of people happy!

When the owner of your building, is deemed
to be, 'rent controlled, ' it brings a loss
to the greedy titleholder. (break out the champagne)

When the neighbor you hadn't spoken to for years,
has a loss, of the keys, to her car.

When the kid, who keeps running over your lawn,
with his bike, has a loss, of the two wheel monster.

When you child, who you love, but drives you nuts
with their loud music, has a broken stereo,
and a loss of music. (They're unhappy. You're ecstatic.)

When one has a loss of sleep, because their spouse
was amorous all night. (Ahhhh, the good old days.)

When your in-laws, prepare to come to your house,
for the first time, and have a loss of directions.

When your spouse, who cremates every barbecue

[...] Read more

poem by Joe Fazio
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Not All Losses Are Bad

Loss, most of the time bad. On occasion, great!

SOME TIME A LOSS CAN BE GOOD!

Can loss sometime be happy. You bet! Ask some
divorced couples.

The other guy had a loss and I won!

My ex had a loss, of most of our assets. Yes,
you guessed it, I got 'em!

Insurance companies, now there's some, that
many take great delight,
when they suffer a loss.

When the tax man does an audit, if they have
a loss, we have a win! (best kind of loss)

The person who brings suite against you,
suffers a loss. (Ain't that sweet?)

A hostile mother-in-law, suffers a loss,
when her daughter gets divorced.

When one experiences a weight loss.
Now that's something that would make
millions of people happy!

When the owner of your building, is deemed
to be, 'rent controlled, ' it brings a loss
to the greedy titleholder. (break out the champagne)

When the neighbor you hadn't spoken to for years,
has a loss, of the keys, to her car.

When the kid, who keeps running over your lawn,
with his bike, has a loss, of the two wheel monster.

When you child, who you love, but drives you nuts
with their loud music, has a broken stereo,
and a loss of music. (They're unhappy. You're ecstatic.)

When one has a loss of sleep, because their spouse
was amorous all night. (Ahhhh, the good old days.)

When your in-laws, prepare to come to your house,
for the first time, and have a loss of directions.

When your spouse, who cremates every barbecue

[...] Read more

poem by Joe Fazio
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Les Nouveaux Riches

Ou sont les nouveaux riches...nous sommes les nouveaux riches
Wie haben alle berlistet
Haben es dieser welt gezeigt
Kennen jedes fr und alles wider
Under appeal ist weltverzweigt
Brauchen keine sprache
Kennen unsere welt
Haben eines gemeinsam
Wir haben geld, und
Deine gigolos
Meine maitressen
Haben gemeinsam
Keine interessen
Wenn du sagst ich bin dein stereotyp
Mit haut und haar und car
Ist mir klar wir brauchen keine worte
Wir zahlen uns bar
Zwischen weltbild und success
Fahren wir einen zug, den zeitgeistexpress
Nach alcapulco, monaco, der swiss
Wir, die neuen reichen
Les nouveaux riches
Oh oh oh you are one of the nouveaux riches
Oh oh oh making money is all you preach
Oh oh oh take a look at the nouveaux riches
Ich kenne meine partner, deine nicht
Die quintessenz der sprache ist gift
Es gibt bessere und es gibt mich
Du liebst das leben
Ich liebe dich
Ein überflieger wär ich gerne
Ein reisender der zeit
Und wann immer du gehen möchtest, komm
Ich bin bereit
Der argonaut Im kosmokrator kennt horizonter nicht
Er fliegt und fliegt
Er fliegt iss weisse licht
Nicht nach de janeiro
Und nicht nach nice
Nicht als armer reicher
Als nouveaux riches
Oh oh oh you are one of the nouveaux riches
Oh oh oh making money is all you preach
Oh oh oh take a look at the nouveaux riches
Where do you go when the moneys gone
Where do you go when youre all alone
Where do you go when theres no one there
Sell your soul
Oh oh oh you are one of the nouveaux riches
Oh oh oh making money is all you preach

[...] Read more

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

Annals of Assur-Nasir-Pal column I

To Ninip most powerful hero, great, chief of the gods, warrior, powerful Lord, whose onset in battle has not been opposed, eldest son,

crusher of opponents, first-born son of Nukimmut, supporter of the seven, noble ruler, King of the gods the producers, governor, he who rolls along the mass

of heaven and earth, opener of canals, treader of the wide earth, the god who in his divinity nourishes heaven and earth, the beneficent,

the exalted, the powerful, who has not lessened the glory of his face, head of nations, bestower of sceptres, glorious, over all cities a ruler,

valiant, the renown of whose sceptre is not approached, chief of widespread influence, great among the gods, shading from the southern sun, Lord of Lords, whose hand the vault of heaven

(and) earth has controlled, a King in battle mighty who has vanquished opposition, victorious, powerful, Lord of water-courses and seas,

strong, not yielding, whose onset brings down the green corn, smiting the land of the enemy, like the cutting of reeds, the deity who changes not his purposes,

the light of heaven and earth, a bold leader on the waters, destroyer of them that hate (him), a spoiler (and) Lord of the disobedient, dividing enemies, whose name in the speech of the gods

no god has ever disregarded, the gatherer of life, the god(?) whose prayers are good, whose abode is in the city of Calah, a great Lord, my Lord - (who am) Assur-nasir-pal, the mighty King,

King of multitudes, a Prince unequalled, Lord of all the four countries, powerful over hosts of men, the possession of Bel and Ninip the exalted and Anu

and of Dakan, a servant of the great gods in the lofty shrine for great (O Ninip) is thy heart; a worshipper of Bel whose might upon

thy great deity is founded, and thou makest righteous his life, valiant, warrior, who in the service of Assur his Lord hath proceeded, and among the Kings

of the four regions who has not his fellow, a Prince for admiration, not sparing opponents, mighty leader, who an equal

has not, a Prince reducing to order his disobedient ones, who has subdued whole multitudes of men, a strong worker, treading down

the heads of his enemies, trampling on all foes, crushing assemblages of rebels, who in the service of the great gods his Lords

marched vigorously and the lands of all of them his hand captured, caused the forests of all of them to fall, and received their tribute, taking

securities, establishing laws over all lands, when Assur the Lord who proclaims my name and augments my Royalty

laid hold upon his invincible power for the forces of my Lordship, for Assur-nasir-pal, glorious Prince, worshipper of the great gods

the generous, the great, the powerful, acquirer of cities and forests and the territory of all of them, King of Lords, destroying the wicked, strengthening

the peaceful, not sparing opponents, a Prince of firm will(?) one who combats oppression, Lord of all Kings,

Lord of Lords, the acknowledged, King of Kings, seated gloriously, the renown of Ninip the warrior, worshipper of the great gods, prolonging the benefits (conferred by) his fathers:

a Prince who in the service of Assur and the Sun-god, the gods in whom he trusted, royally marched to turbulent lands, and Kings who had rebelled against him

[he cut off like grass, all their lands to his feet he subjected, restorer of the worship of the goddesses and that of the great gods,

Chief unwavering, who for the guidance of the heads (and) elders of his land is a steadfast guardian, the work of whose hands and

the gift of whose finger the great gods of heaven and earth have exalted, and his steps over rulers have they established forever;

[...] Read more

poem by King Assur-Bani-Pal
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Victories Of Love. Book I

I
From Frederick Graham

Mother, I smile at your alarms!
I own, indeed, my Cousin's charms,
But, like all nursery maladies,
Love is not badly taken twice.
Have you forgotten Charlotte Hayes,
My playmate in the pleasant days
At Knatchley, and her sister, Anne,
The twins, so made on the same plan,
That one wore blue, the other white,
To mark them to their father's sight;
And how, at Knatchley harvesting,
You bade me kiss her in the ring,
Like Anne and all the others? You,
That never of my sickness knew,
Will laugh, yet had I the disease,
And gravely, if the signs are these:

As, ere the Spring has any power,
The almond branch all turns to flower,
Though not a leaf is out, so she
The bloom of life provoked in me;
And, hard till then and selfish, I
Was thenceforth nought but sanctity
And service: life was mere delight
In being wholly good and right,
As she was; just, without a slur;
Honouring myself no less than her;
Obeying, in the loneliest place,
Ev'n to the slightest gesture, grace
Assured that one so fair, so true,
He only served that was so too.
For me, hence weak towards the weak,
No more the unnested blackbird's shriek
Startled the light-leaved wood; on high
Wander'd the gadding butterfly,
Unscared by my flung cap; the bee,
Rifling the hollyhock in glee,
Was no more trapp'd with his own flower,
And for his honey slain. Her power,
From great things even to the grass
Through which the unfenced footways pass,
Was law, and that which keeps the law,
Cherubic gaiety and awe;
Day was her doing, and the lark
Had reason for his song; the dark
In anagram innumerous spelt
Her name with stars that throbb'd and felt;

[...] Read more

poem by Coventry Patmore
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Loss Of...

Loss it seems is the worst kind of sorrow
Loss of dreams, the dreams of tomorrow

Loss of the moments you two should have shared
Loss of opportunities to show her you cared

Loss of the memories you both could have created
Loss of the romance once intense as you dated

Loss of a kiss, caress, or embrace
Loss of that special feeling no one else can replace

Loss of a look, the twinkle in her eye
Loss of the touch as you pass each other by

Loss of a future, from a past of regret
Loss of a last chance, how many do you get

Loss of a promise you never meant to break
Loss of two hearts that forever will ache

(2012)

poem by Michael Ernst
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Paradise Regained

THE FIRST BOOK

I, WHO erewhile the happy Garden sung
By one man's disobedience lost, now sing
Recovered Paradise to all mankind,
By one man's firm obedience fully tried
Through all temptation, and the Tempter foiled
In all his wiles, defeated and repulsed,
And Eden raised in the waste Wilderness.
Thou Spirit, who led'st this glorious Eremite
Into the desert, his victorious field
Against the spiritual foe, and brought'st him thence 10
By proof the undoubted Son of God, inspire,
As thou art wont, my prompted song, else mute,
And bear through highth or depth of Nature's bounds,
With prosperous wing full summed, to tell of deeds
Above heroic, though in secret done,
And unrecorded left through many an age:
Worthy to have not remained so long unsung.
Now had the great Proclaimer, with a voice
More awful than the sound of trumpet, cried
Repentance, and Heaven's kingdom nigh at hand 20
To all baptized. To his great baptism flocked
With awe the regions round, and with them came
From Nazareth the son of Joseph deemed
To the flood Jordan--came as then obscure,
Unmarked, unknown. But him the Baptist soon
Descried, divinely warned, and witness bore
As to his worthier, and would have resigned
To him his heavenly office. Nor was long
His witness unconfirmed: on him baptized
Heaven opened, and in likeness of a Dove 30
The Spirit descended, while the Father's voice
From Heaven pronounced him his beloved Son.
That heard the Adversary, who, roving still
About the world, at that assembly famed
Would not be last, and, with the voice divine
Nigh thunder-struck, the exalted man to whom
Such high attest was given a while surveyed
With wonder; then, with envy fraught and rage,
Flies to his place, nor rests, but in mid air
To council summons all his mighty Peers, 40
Within thick clouds and dark tenfold involved,
A gloomy consistory; and them amidst,
With looks aghast and sad, he thus bespake:--
"O ancient Powers of Air and this wide World
(For much more willingly I mention Air,
This our old conquest, than remember Hell,
Our hated habitation), well ye know
How many ages, as the years of men,

[...] Read more

poem by John Milton
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

My Loss

Watching as you drive away
Speed away so fast
Knowing something's different now
That ending was our last
Nothing describes the emptiness filled inside
Take me to that place
Where everything's fine
And not a worry in mind
Sweeter to the taste
This is my loss (my loss)
I did it wrong and i'd do it again
To be with you feels like the right thing
This is my loss (my loss)
I did it wrong and i try to pretend
That nothing's changed for all that you bring
For all that you bring
Simple is so complex now
So I understand
That I never thought that happy could be distraught
Help me if you can
This is my loss (my loss)
I did it wrong and i'd do it again
To be with you feels like the right thing
This is my loss (my loss)
I did it wrong and i try to pretend
That nothing's changed for all that you bring
Well I know I'm wrong
And you know I'm here
I don't want to let you disapear
What am I worth when your eyes were
Begging me in fear
I only want to see you again
And repair the wounds that brought me in
I don't want to think it won't happen again
This is my loss (my loss)
I did it wrong and i'd do it again
To be with you feels like the right thing
This is my loss (my loss)
I did it wrong and i try to pretend
That nothing's changed for all that you bring
For all that you bring
For all that you bring
For all you bring

song performed by 1208
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Loss Lost in Thought

Loss of love from your partner in soul:
A.k.a. jilt;
Loss of love from your bygones of souls:
A.k.a. mourning;
Loss of love which came from a dearth
Of love through rescinding love:
A.k.a. hatred;

Love to science in analysis be
Secretion of oxytocin in association
With an entity that leads to bonding - so boring:
A.k.a. must all suffer scientific explanation?

Loss of love, a catastrophe, nay!
So love, nurture love, and be loved!

Loss of nature from dear Mother Earth:
A.k.a. destruction;
Loss of greed in material world:
A.k.a. always opportunity for altruism;
Loss of kindness and pity and all:
A.k.a. human nature has dark undertones;
Loss of ego and fire of desire:
A.k.a. loss may be good in consequence;
Loss of responsibility; humility:
A.k.a. loss may be unnerving.

Loss of Homo sapiens:
A.k.a. demise of the flawed primate - pinnacle of Darwinism - equates to
No art; music; poetry; debate, and

Everything innate ornate of human!
So concentrate please, on bliss of this.

Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2009

poem by Mark R Slaughter
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

My Possession

Hanging and banging and cussing and bitching
And scratching and twitching at my demand
Grabbing and poking and bruising and choking
Im sprinkled Im tinkled Im losing my man
I found a new way
I found a better way
I found the only way
To cure frustration
I dont care what you say
About my moral ways
Get on your knees and pray
Cos youre slaves anyway
Coming and going and moving and groaning
And hitting that kitten and making him yowl
Wailing and flailing and trudging and flogging
And punching my doggie and making him howl
I found a new way
I found a better way
I found the only way
To cure frustration
I dont care what you say
About my moral ways
Get on your knees and pray
Cos youre slaves anyway
My possession, my possession, my possession, mine, all mine
Kicking that butt now licking that butt
Now kneel on that gut now the red lights on
Pushing and shoving that bread in the oven
Im paying them back for what theyve done
I found a new way
I found a better way
I found the only way
To cure frustration
I dont care what you say
About my moral ways
Get on your knees and pray
Cos youre slaves anyway
My possession, my possession, my possession, mine, all mine

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

My Personal Possession

(charles singleton, rose marie mccoy)
You are my personal possession,
Youre mine alone
You are my personal possession,
My very own.
Nobody else must kiss you but me,
Nobody else must miss you but me.
Nobody must dream of you but me,
And nobody else must love you but me.
Youre my personal possession,
Thats what you are.
Youre my magnificent obsession,
My lucky star.
I own you exclusively,
Darling, you belong to me.
Youre my personal possession,
My precious love!
(background vocals:)
(nobody else must kiss you but me,
Nobody else must miss you but me.
Nobody must dream of you but me)
(nat:)
And nobody else must love you but me.
Youre my personal possession,
Thats what you are.
Youre my magnificent obsession,
My lucky star.
I own you exclusively,
Darling, you belong to me.
Youre my personal possession,
My precious love!

song performed by Nat King Cole
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Book of Urizen

PRELUDIUM TO THE [FIRST] BOOK OF URIZEN

Of the primeval Priests assum'd power,
When Eternals spurn'd back his religion;
And gave him a place in the north,
Obscure, shadowy, void, solitary.
Eternals I hear your call gladly,
Dictate swift winged words, & fear not
To unfold your dark visions of torment.

Chap: I

1. Lo, a shadow of horror is risen
In Eternity! Unknown, unprolific!
Self-closd, all-repelling: what Demon
Hath form'd this abominable void
This soul-shudd'ring vacuum? — Some said
"It is Urizen", But unknown, abstracted
Brooding secret, the dark power hid.

2. Times on times he divided, & measur'd
Space by space in his ninefold darkness
Unseen, unknown! changes appeard
In his desolate mountains rifted furious
By the black winds of perturbation

3. For he strove in battles dire
In unseen conflictions with shapes
Bred from his forsaken wilderness,
Of beast, bird, fish, serpent & element
Combustion, blast, vapour and cloud.

4. Dark revolving in silent activity:
Unseen in tormenting passions;
An activity unknown and horrible;
A self-contemplating shadow,
In enormous labours occupied

5. But Eternals beheld his vast forests
Age on ages he lay, clos'd, unknown
Brooding shut in the deep; all avoid
The petrific abominable chaos

6. His cold horrors silent, dark Urizen
Prepar'd: his ten thousands of thunders
Rang'd in gloom'd array stretch out across
The dread world, & the rolling of wheels
As of swelling seas, sound in his clouds
In his hills of stor'd snows, in his mountains

[...] Read more

poem by William Blake (1794)
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Loss Unbearable, Loss Irrepearable

The death of a twelve year old,
Her sister shed tears,
But the body was cold,
Loss Unbearable, Loss Irrepearable.

She felt all had lost hope,
It was her fault,
'I let go the rope! '
Loss Unbearable, Loss Irrepearable.

'I should have pulled her up'
'I lost grip'
'I should'nt have given up! '
Loss Unbearable, Loss Irrepearable.

'You trusted me! '
'And there is no reason....'
' No you shouldn't have, see? '
Loss Unbearable, Loss Irrepearable.

'No! It's not your fault! ',
Said her sister,
Who lay dead in the vault,
Loss Unbearable, Loss Irrepearable.

poem by Ulveena Aitzaz
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

What is loss?

I resent
What loss represents
I resent
What great loss presents

So what’s the fuss about loss?

Waiting!
Debating!
Contemplating!

What is loss?
Something you care about
Taken away from you by force
Creating total unforgivable chaos

Thinking!
Blinking!
Seeking!

What is loss
It is a minus instead of a plus
Hence the unmistakable fuss
Death and sickness build up great grief
Loss brings despair instead of relief
And in loss itself I have no belief

I resent
What loss represents
I resent
What great loss presents

Loss! An inequitable cause
Thrown on you without a toss
So you become very cross
Because in your life you realize, you are never the only boss!

Copyright 2006 - Sylvia Chidi

poem by Sylvia Chidi
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Loss

The Loss

Heinous crime it was
My grandfather said; though
The loss was marginal for the owner.
A sunny morning. My father who
Rides roughshod to his office and
In the office over his subordinates.
Noticed the theft and turned red:
Mouthed curses which, were he a saint,
Would have burnt wherever
The thief was to ashes.
It was the brass nameplate
My father brought from Aligarh.
Now, fifty summers later another loss.
Neither my father who in his old age
Ruminates over his youthful days
Like a priest who savours the memory
Of the sumptuous food offered at the feast
Nor anyone else in the house grieves.
My grandfather (May his soul rest in peace)

What he would have said about the present loss
I cannot think. The loss is not tangible
But substantial. Not one object but many.
Delicate but strong enough to sustain
The name of the entire family. Sad it was
The thief was never identified. Not
Because he eluded but because
The investigators cared not to probe.
Was it a theft? No. Negligence? Maybe.
Wilful indifference, say the experienced elders.
For causes of loss let the wise quarrel
But the loss half-heartedly established
All went busy with their chores as if
The loss was nothing more than
A failure of the monsoon for the politician.
To me, nonetheless, it is a loss
Not easily retrievable as
Substitutes and replacements hard to find.
[For the loss is that of morals and values]

poem by Akella S. Ratnam
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Paradise Regained: The Second Book

Meanwhile the new-baptized, who yet remained
At Jordan with the Baptist, and had seen
Him whom they heard so late expressly called
Jesus Messiah, Son of God, declared,
And on that high authority had believed,
And with him talked, and with him lodged—I mean
Andrew and Simon, famous after known,
With others, though in Holy Writ not named—
Now missing him, their joy so lately found,
So lately found and so abruptly gone,
Began to doubt, and doubted many days,
And, as the days increased, increased their doubt.
Sometimes they thought he might be only shewn,
And for a time caught up to God, as once
Moses was in the Mount and missing long,
And the great Thisbite, who on fiery wheels
Rode up to Heaven, yet once again to come.
Therefore, as those young prophets then with care
Sought lost Eliah, so in each place these
Nigh to Bethabara—in Jericho
The city of palms, AEnon, and Salem old,
Machaerus, and each town or city walled
On this side the broad lake Genezaret,
Or in Peraea—but returned in vain.
Then on the bank of Jordan, by a creek,
Where winds with reeds and osiers whispering play,
Plain fishermen (no greater men them call),
Close in a cottage low together got,
Their unexpected loss and plaints outbreathed:—
"Alas, from what high hope to what relapse
Unlooked for are we fallen! Our eyes beheld
Messiah certainly now come, so long
Expected of our fathers; we have heard
His words, his wisdom full of grace and truth.
'Now, now, for sure, deliverance is at hand;
The kingdom shall to Israel be restored:'
Thus we rejoiced, but soon our joy is turned
Into perplexity and new amaze.
For whither is he gone? what accident
Hath rapt him from us? will he now retire
After appearance, and again prolong
Our expectation? God of Israel,
Send thy Messiah forth; the time is come.
Behold the kings of the earth, how they oppress
Thy Chosen, to what highth their power unjust
They have exalted, and behind them cast
All fear of Thee; arise, and vindicate
Thy glory; free thy people from their yoke!
But let us wait; thus far He hath performed—
Sent his Anointed, and to us revealed him

[...] Read more

poem by John Milton
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Orlando Furioso Canto 8

ARGUMENT
Rogero flies; Astolpho with the rest,
To their true shape Melissa does restore;
Rinaldo levies knights and squadrons, pressed
In aid of Charles assaulted by the Moor:
Angelica, by ruffians found at rest,
Is offered to a monster on the shore.
Orlando, warned in visions of his ill,
Departs from Paris sore against his will.

I
How many enchantresses among us! oh,
How many enchanters are there, though unknown!
Who for their love make man or woman glow,
Changing them into figures not their own.
Nor this by help of spirits from below,
Nor observation of the stars is done:
But these on hearts with fraud and falsehood plot,
Binding them with indissoluble knot.

II
Who with Angelica's, or rather who
Were fortified with Reason's ring, would see
Each countenance, exposed to open view,
Unchanged by art or by hypocrisy.
This now seems fair and good, whose borrowed hue
Removed, would haply foul and evil be.
Well was it for Rogero that he wore
The virtuous ring which served the truth to explore!

III
Rogero, still dissembling, as I said,
Armed, to the gate on Rabican did ride;
Found the guard unprepared, not let his blade,
Amid that crowd, hang idle at his side:
He passed the bridge, and broke the palisade,
Some slain, some maimed; then t'wards the forest hied;
But on that road small space had measured yet,
When he a servant of the fairy met.

IV
He on his fist a ravening falcon bore,
Which he made fly for pastime every day;
Now on the champaign, now upon the shore
Of neighbouring pool, which teemed with certain prey;
And rode a hack which simple housings wore,
His faithful dog, companion of his way.
He, marking well the haste with which he hies,
Conjectures truly what Rogero flies.

[...] Read more

poem by Ludovico Ariosto
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Paradise Regained: The Fourth Book

Perplexed and troubled at his bad success
The Tempter stood, nor had what to reply,
Discovered in his fraud, thrown from his hope
So oft, and the persuasive rhetoric
That sleeked his tongue, and won so much on Eve,
So little here, nay lost. But Eve was Eve;
This far his over-match, who, self-deceived
And rash, beforehand had no better weighed
The strength he was to cope with, or his own.
But—as a man who had been matchless held
In cunning, over-reached where least he thought,
To salve his credit, and for very spite,
Still will be tempting him who foils him still,
And never cease, though to his shame the more;
Or as a swarm of flies in vintage-time,
About the wine-press where sweet must is poured,
Beat off, returns as oft with humming sound;
Or surging waves against a solid rock,
Though all to shivers dashed, the assault renew,
(Vain battery!) and in froth or bubbles end—
So Satan, whom repulse upon repulse
Met ever, and to shameful silence brought,
Yet gives not o'er, though desperate of success,
And his vain importunity pursues.
He brought our Saviour to the western side
Of that high mountain, whence he might behold
Another plain, long, but in breadth not wide,
Washed by the southern sea, and on the north
To equal length backed with a ridge of hills
That screened the fruits of the earth and seats of men
From cold Septentrion blasts; thence in the midst
Divided by a river, off whose banks
On each side an Imperial City stood,
With towers and temples proudly elevate
On seven small hills, with palaces adorned,
Porches and theatres, baths, aqueducts,
Statues and trophies, and triumphal arcs,
Gardens and groves, presented to his eyes
Above the highth of mountains interposed—
By what strange parallax, or optic skill
Of vision, multiplied through air, or glass
Of telescope, were curious to enquire.
And now the Tempter thus his silence broke:—
"The city which thou seest no other deem
Than great and glorious Rome, Queen of the Earth
So far renowned, and with the spoils enriched
Of nations. There the Capitol thou seest,
Above the rest lifting his stately head
On the Tarpeian rock, her citadel
Impregnable; and there Mount Palatine,

[...] Read more

poem by John Milton
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!