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I am ashamed of confessing that I have nothing to confess.

quote by Fanny Burney
Added by Lucian Velea
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Flashs Confession

Ive just had a dream that I never will forget,
And I wish I could erase.
I was standing on the street with a whole crowd of people
And no one knew my name.
And I was just another face
No one looked at me or touched me
Spoke to or acknowledged me.
I had no identity or individuality
No thoughts of my own, no mind or personality.
I was just a no one, a total nonentity
Im just a number waiting to be called.
It is time for confessing it all,
Im just another face,
Yes, its time for confessing it all.
Been a cheat, been a crook,
Never gave I always took.
Crushed people to acquire
Anything that I desired.
Been deceitful and a liar
Now Im facing hell fire.
I cant believe that my time has come
For confessing all the evil
And the wrong that Ive done.
The reckonings come
And now Im just a no one.
I confess to the timid and the meek
To the cripples and the beggars
And the tramps in the street.
I confess my cruelty, my ego and conceit,
Ive opened up my body and looked inside
And Im everything that I once despised.
I confess for the thieves,
The affected and deranged,
I confess for the muggers and incurably insane,
I confess to the ugly for being vain,
I confess to those I hurt for causing them pain.
Im just a number
Waiting to be called
And its time for confessing it all,
And Im just another face,
And it is time for confessing it all,
Yes, its time for confessing it all,
Yes, its time for confessing it all.

song performed by Kinks
Added by Lucian Velea
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Walls

Im not ashamed
To say that Ive loved you well
Im not ashamed
To let you know
Im just a name thats all
Scratched upon your wall
Youve used it well but what the hell
Thats what walls are for
Im not ashamed
To listen to the fast-fallin rain
In the morning upon my window
Im not afraid to cry
Im not ashamed to try
To be your friend once again
cause thats whats friends are for
Friends are for sorting out the hang-ups that we hide
Walls are for shutting out the love we feel inside
Im not ashamed no to talk it over once again
To rearrange my vocabulary
But I cant seem to find
Any words to change your mind
Because I left them all behind
And thats what words are for
Words are for explaining the mistakes we might have made
Names are for calling when theres nothing left to say
Im not ashamed, no, to say that Ive loved you well
Im not ashamed, and yet I know
Im just a name, thats all
Scratched upon your wall
Youve used it well, but what the hell
Thats what walls are for
Im not ashamed of wearing out my old grey socks
Chasing you around the back woods
Im not ashamed to darn
Nor to proud to find some yarn
To sew them up once again
cause thats what socks are for

song performed by Gordon Lightfoot
Added by Lucian Velea
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Ashamed

i feel alone... i feel like i could die
i feel alone... i feel like i could die... tonight
carry on carry on

don't feel ashamed.. don't feel ashamed
i rather it be this way
you're not to blame you're not to blame
don't feel ashamed

i'm getting close...
to the other side
just close the door
i'll leave the past behind me
can you see my pride
it's only one step away from
freedom... freedom...

i feel i can fly anywhere with anyone

don't feel ashamed
i rather it be this way
you're not to blame
don't feel ashamed
don't feel ashamed
i rather it be this way
you're not to blame
don't feel ashamed

i love you baby... so don't you feel ashamed!!

song performed by Tommy Lee from Never A Dull Moment
Added by Lucian Velea
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0038 Why I'm ashamed of being British

It was so easy being a British child
in the 1930s:
everything was – or so it seems to memory’s
selective mind - so ordered:
how old was I, when I stopped
raising my school cap
(‘Don’t just touch it, Michael;
lift it! ’) to, not just staff at school,
but anyone to whom my parents talked
or who had talked (‘My, hasn’t he grown! ’
as if this was some personal achievement) to me,
or more likely, over my head, as I
shifted from foot to foot,
trapped in a grown-up world
of politenesses; which however
my mother loved and rightly
as one now raised in her station
from being polite to customers
in grandma’s terrace front-window shop
where homemade cooking was the income
now that the cotton dust had got to grandpa's lungs;
but now the wife of a man retired
at thirty-eight, stone-deaf…

The history books at school were slender – since
we’d won every war – or if some foreigners thought
we hadn’t, it had all the same brought out great courage,
incredible bravery which was a lesson to us all,
fortitude and leadership and deeds
‘ surpassing the call of duty’. We’d even
won wars in places which technically weren’t ours,
called The Empire; over which we ruled
because we did it better than the natives;
because we were born to rule..

And we were taught by haunted heroes who’d fought
in the war to end all wars – the PT instructor
had a face like camouflage, white, greenish, brown and red,
where he’d been mustard-gassed; our heroes
were still close to us, although
they didn’t talk about it much. That was
another lesson in how to be British.

Geography was happy natives
(only the National Geographic Magazine
photographed their tits, and then only if brown)
moving export crops, balancing trade
and the occasional water-pot – which was always full.
And the sun never set on those red bits on the map
which were the British Empire…

[...] Read more

poem by Michael Shepherd
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We Should Be Making Love

Weve been friends forever looking for the same thing
True love can be so hard to find
Maybe weve been looking in all the wrong places
cause we keep coming back here everytime
Talking to each other
Comparinng our heartaches
Confessing the ways we long to be satisfied
Maybe theres something going on here
Maybe theres something here for you and me
We should be making love
Instead of wasting time with someone else
We should be making love instead of going home all by ourselves
Oh, now Ive told you I want to be your lover
Why dont we discover where we go from here
I dont want no other
Do you feel it too everything we get together?
Telling our stories
Comparinng our heartaches
Confessing the ways we long to be satisfied
Comparinng our heartaches
Confessing the ways we long to be satisfied
Telling our stories
Comparinng our heartaches
Confessing the ways we long to be satisfied
I know theres something going on here
You know its so obvious to see
We should be making love
Instead of wasting time with someone else
We should be making love instead of going home all by ourselves

song performed by Huey Lewis And The News
Added by Lucian Velea
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I Must Confess

Today I confess to you
one of my biggest fears
That you don’t feel the same as I do.

Today I confess to you
one of my greatest joys
For this feeling gives me great happiness.

Today I confess to you
my grandest accomplishment
To be able to have this feeling.

Today I must confess to you
That seeing you
Makes me feel complete.

Today I must confess to you
That your touch
Heals all my pain.

Today I must confess to you
what I feel is painful
And it makes it more grand.

Today I must confess to you
That no one shares
What my heart feels for you.

Today I must confess to you
My deepest feeling,
I love you!

poem by Maria Segura
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Not Ashamed Of Being Ashamed

Some Frenchmen are ashamed of being French,
while others are ashamed that those who are ashamed aren’t proud;
though nowadays it’s hard to be a mensch,
it’s harder to oppose opinions of the madding crowd,
as well as those espoused by the elite,
which turns a blind eye to the problems of identity,
opining that a nation should backbeat
traditions and become an obsolete nonentity.

Devorah Lauter writes an article about French identity politics in the LA Times, December 14,2009 (“As the French debate their identity, some recoil”) . The allusion to the Swiss minaret poll brings to mind my poem “Swiss Minarets, ” which Huffpo chose not to put on its blog. Lauter writes:
It was one of a series of government-run public debates aimed at defining the values that constitute French national identity. But in this middle-class suburb west of Paris, the discussion last week quickly turned into a cacophony of hot-tempered accusations. Rather than give his version of what it means to be French, an invited speaker, historian Jean-Yves Mollier, attacked his host (who sat stone-still a few feet in front of him) for supporting the national dialogue. Mollier said the ongoing debates represent none other than Vichy-style propaganda attempting to 'stigmatize' those who don't fall into France's ruling native caste, in this case mostly French Muslims of immigrant origin. Mollier and several other attendees proceeded to walk out. Meanwhile, two actors disguised as avid participants launched into a faux back-and-forth. 'Today, I'm ashamed of being French! ' said one of the men, standing up to be heard. The other, jumping to his feet, replied, 'Excuse me, but I'm proud of being French, and you, you should be ashamed of being proud of being ashamed of France! ' 'It's a shame for France! ' shouted back the first. 'I'm proud of the shame I feel for people like you who are ashamed of being French! ' cried the second. In the crowd, one middle-aged man's face turned the color of his pink shirt. He termed the scene 'disgraceful.' Host Anne Boquet, the local police chief, expressed her hope that the dialogue would 'remind people of their Republican values and to respect authority.'

'The debates can introduce that respect, ' she said, and help 'define the face of France we like today.' That, it seems, may be a long way off. The 3-month-long national debate series, spearheaded by conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy and his minister of immigration, has been the subject of heated controversy since a late November vote in Switzerland to ban the construction of minarets on mosques. Sympathy for the Swiss vote here, according to polls, has helped focus the debates, which began in November, on widely held demands that Muslims do more to blend into French society. Polls show that a small majority in France favor a ban on minarets like the one the Swiss approved with a 57.5% majority.

12/14/09

poem by Gershon Hepner
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Unrocked By a Sweet and Boldened Glow

If all my needs were multipled,
I'd still find a reason,
To lay in a helpless restlessness.
Yet feeding sleeplessly...
And much awake.

Something has surrounded me!
And from me away from it,
I can not shake.
From this I can not break away.
Captured I am and there's no escape.

Unsatisfied although I am pleased.
With a feeling of a selfishness...
I desire more and more,
And more of it to increase in me.

What is this?

Unrocked by a sweet and boldened glow.
And I confess it!
Unrocked by a hold I can't control.
Stripped and molested.
And under arrest.

Something has surrounded me!
And from me away from it,
I can not shake.

If all my needs were multiplied,
I'd still find a reason,
To lay in a helpless restlessness.
Yet feeding sleeplessly...
And much awake.

What is this?

Unrocked by a sweet and boldened glow.
And I confess it!
Unrocked by a hold I can't control.
Stripped and molested.
And under arrest.
Yes...
Unrocked by a sweet and boldened glow.
And I confess it!

Unrocked by a hold I can't control.
Stripped and molested.
And under arrest.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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This Is Precious

This is precious.
And, the freshest yet.
The surface is golden,
With more of it...
In it's depth!
Yeah.

This is precious.
And, the freshest yet.
The surface is golden,
With more of it...
In it's depth!
Yeah.

People should be more expressive,
With more of that shown...
From a depth.
Yeah.

People should stop their feeding,
On more nonsense that will upset.
Yeah!

People should spend time finding,
More happiness for them to get.
And forget about a past to sack and pack,
Yeah!

People should be more expressive.
With more of that and from a depth,
Yeah.
People should expand their minds...
But they want to find that which upsets.
Confessing unhappiness and their regrets,
Yeah.

This is precious.
And, the freshest yet.
The surface is golden,
With more of it...
In it's depth!
Yeah.

People should be more expressive.
With more of that and from a depth,
Yeah.
People should expand their minds...
But they want to find that which upsets.
Confessing unhappiness and their regrets,
Yeah.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Annus Mirabilis, The Year Of Wonders, 1666

1
In thriving arts long time had Holland grown,
Crouching at home and cruel when abroad:
Scarce leaving us the means to claim our own;
Our King they courted, and our merchants awed.

2
Trade, which, like blood, should circularly flow,
Stopp'd in their channels, found its freedom lost:
Thither the wealth of all the world did go,
And seem'd but shipwreck'd on so base a coast.

3
For them alone the heavens had kindly heat;
In eastern quarries ripening precious dew:
For them the Idumaean balm did sweat,
And in hot Ceylon spicy forests grew.

4
The sun but seem'd the labourer of the year;
Each waxing moon supplied her watery store,
To swell those tides, which from the line did bear
Their brimful vessels to the Belgian shore.

5
Thus mighty in her ships, stood Carthage long,
And swept the riches of the world from far;
Yet stoop'd to Rome, less wealthy, but more strong:
And this may prove our second Punic war.

6
What peace can be, where both to one pretend?
(But they more diligent, and we more strong)
Or if a peace, it soon must have an end;
For they would grow too powerful, were it long.

7
Behold two nations, then, engaged so far
That each seven years the fit must shake each land:
Where France will side to weaken us by war,
Who only can his vast designs withstand.

8
See how he feeds the Iberian with delays,
To render us his timely friendship vain:
And while his secret soul on Flanders preys,
He rocks the cradle of the babe of Spain.

9
Such deep designs of empire does he lay

[...] Read more

poem by John Dryden
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Fashion Party

Tonight were gonna have a good time
Oh were really gonna have a good time
Tonight were gonna have a good time
Oh were really gonna have a good time
Confess you look at her
Confess youd like to be with her
Confess you look at her
Confess youd like to be with her
Confess!
Confess you look at her
Baby,
Blue-eyed connie walker
Is a fashion model
Youll lose her
Youll lose her
Blue-eyed connie walker
Is a fashion model
Youll lose her
Youll lose her
Do it/do it/youll do it
Dance yourself mad
Dance yourself mad
Youll like it
Youll like it
Fashion party
Were gonna have a real good time

song performed by Ace Of Base
Added by Lucian Velea
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The Victories Of Love. Book II

I
From Jane To Her Mother

Thank Heaven, the burthens on the heart
Are not half known till they depart!
Although I long'd, for many a year,
To love with love that casts out fear,
My Frederick's kindness frighten'd me,
And heaven seem'd less far off than he;
And in my fancy I would trace
A lady with an angel's face,
That made devotion simply debt,
Till sick with envy and regret,
And wicked grief that God should e'er
Make women, and not make them fair.
That he might love me more because
Another in his memory was,
And that my indigence might be
To him what Baby's was to me,
The chief of charms, who could have thought?
But God's wise way is to give nought
Till we with asking it are tired;
And when, indeed, the change desired
Comes, lest we give ourselves the praise,
It comes by Providence, not Grace;
And mostly our thanks for granted pray'rs
Are groans at unexpected cares.
First Baby went to heaven, you know,
And, five weeks after, Grace went, too.
Then he became more talkative,
And, stooping to my heart, would give
Signs of his love, which pleased me more
Than all the proofs he gave before;
And, in that time of our great grief,
We talk'd religion for relief;
For, though we very seldom name
Religion, we now think the same!
Oh, what a bar is thus removed
To loving and to being loved!
For no agreement really is
In anything when none's in this.
Why, Mother, once, if Frederick press'd
His wife against his hearty breast,
The interior difference seem'd to tear
My own, until I could not bear
The trouble. 'Twas a dreadful strife,
And show'd, indeed, that faith is life.
He never felt this. If he did,
I'm sure it could not have been hid;
For wives, I need not say to you,

[...] Read more

poem by Coventry Patmore
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David

My thought, on views of admiration hung,
Intently ravish'd and depriv'd of tongue,
Now darts a while on earth, a while in air,
Here mov'd with praise and mov'd with glory there;
The joys entrancing and the mute surprize
Half fix the blood, and dim the moist'ning eyes;
Pleasure and praise on one another break,
And Exclamation longs at heart to speak;
When thus my Genius, on the work design'd
Awaiting closely, guides the wand'ring mind.

If while thy thanks wou'd in thy lays be wrought,
A bright astonishment involve the thought,
If yet thy temper wou'd attempt to sing,
Another's quill shall imp thy feebler wing;
Behold the name of royal David near,
Behold his musick and his measures here,
Whose harp Devotion in a rapture strung,
And left no state of pious souls unsung.

Him to the wond'ring world but newly shewn,
Celestial poetry pronounc'd her own;
A thousand hopes, on clouds adorn'd with rays,
Bent down their little beauteous forms to gaze;
Fair-blooming Innocence with tender years,
And native Sweetness for the ravish'd ears,
Prepar'd to smile within his early song,
And brought their rivers, groves, and plains along;
Majestick Honour at the palace bred,
Enrob'd in white, embroider'd o'er with red,
Reach'd forth the scepter of her royal state,
His forehead touch'd, and bid his lays be great;
Undaunted Courage deck'd with manly charms,
With waving-azure plumes, and gilded arms,
Displaid the glories, and the toils of fight,
Demanded fame, and call'd him forth to write.
To perfect these the sacred spirit came,
By mild infusion of celestial flame,
And mov'd with dove-like candour in his breast,
And breath'd his graces over all the rest.
Ah! where the daring flights of men aspire
To match his numbers with an equal fire;
In vain they strive to make proud Babel rise,
And with an earth-born labour touch the skies.
While I the glitt'ring page resolve to view,
That will the subject of my lines renew;
The Laurel wreath, my fames imagin'd shade,
Around my beating temples fears to fade;
My fainting fancy trembles on the brink,
And David's God must help or else I sink.

[...] Read more

poem by Thomas Parnell
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Two Lovers

Well Ive got two lovers and I aint ashamed
Two lovers and I love them both the same
Let me tell you bout my first lover
Hes sweet and kind, hes mine all mine
He treats me good like a lover should
And makes me love him
I really really love him
Oh oh oh oh I love him so
And Ill do everything I can
To let him know
But Ive got two lovers and I aint ashamed
Two lovers and I love them both the same
Let me tell you bout my other lover
You know he treats me bad, he makes me sad
He makes me cry but still I cant deny
That I love him
I really really love him
Oh oh oh oh I love him so
And Ill do everything I can
To let him know
Oh but darling, well,
Dont you know that I can tell
Whenever I look at you
That you think that Im untrue
cause I said that I love two
But I really really do
cause youre a split personality
And in reality
Both of them are you
But Ive got two lovers and I aint ashamed
Two lovers and I love them both the same
Ive got two lovers but I aint ashamed
cause both of them are you
Ive got two lovers and I aint ashamed, no
Two lovers and I love them both the same
Ive got two lovers, two lovers
And both of them are you

song performed by Dolly Parton
Added by Lucian Velea
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I Could Never Be Ashamed Of You

Everybody says you let me down
That I should be ashamed to take you round
Makes no difference what you used to do;
Darling, I could never be ashamed of you.
Maybe you were reckless yesterday
But together, we can find a brighter way.
In my heart, I know that youll come through
Darling, I could never be ashamed of you
All the happiness Ive ever known
Came the day you said youd be my own
And it matters not what we go through
Darlin I could never be ashamed of you
Maybe youve been cheated in the past,
And perhaps those memories will always last
Even though you proved to be untrue
Darlin I could never be ashamed of you.

song performed by Hank Williams
Added by Lucian Velea
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I'm Not Ashamed

I'm not ashamed to call you mine,
I'll scream it out til the end of time.
I'm not ashamed to say I love you,
Why some are I have no clue.

I'll never hide you from my life,
Or to others, even those who strife.
You will be known for who you are,
My loving girl, my shining star.

I'm not ashamed to hold your hand,
To stand beside you as your man.
I'm not ashamed to kiss your lips,
Or wrap my arms around your hips.

No matter who is here with us,
It's not just me, I have a plus.
No matter if they fuss or whine,
I'm not ashamed to call you mine.

poem by Adam McKim
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Tamar

I
A night the half-moon was like a dancing-girl,
No, like a drunkard's last half-dollar
Shoved on the polished bar of the eastern hill-range,
Young Cauldwell rode his pony along the sea-cliff;
When she stopped, spurred; when she trembled, drove
The teeth of the little jagged wheels so deep
They tasted blood; the mare with four slim hooves
On a foot of ground pivoted like a top,
Jumped from the crumble of sod, went down, caught, slipped;
Then, the quick frenzy finished, stiffening herself
Slid with her drunken rider down the ledges,
Shot from sheer rock and broke
Her life out on the rounded tidal boulders.

The night you know accepted with no show of emotion the little
accident; grave Orion
Moved northwest from the naked shore, the moon moved to
meridian, the slow pulse of the ocean
Beat, the slow tide came in across the slippery stones; it drowned
the dead mare's muzzle and sluggishly
Felt for the rider; Cauldwell’s sleepy soul came back from the
blind course curious to know
What sea-cold fingers tapped the walls of its deserted ruin.
Pain, pain and faintness, crushing
Weights, and a vain desire to vomit, and soon again
die icy fingers, they had crept over the loose hand and lay in the
hair now. He rolled sidewise
Against mountains of weight and for another half-hour lay still.
With a gush of liquid noises
The wave covered him head and all, his body
Crawled without consciousness and like a creature with no bones,
a seaworm, lifted its face
Above the sea-wrack of a stone; then a white twilight grew about
the moon, and above
The ancient water, the everlasting repetition of the dawn. You
shipwrecked horseman
So many and still so many and now for you the last. But when it
grew daylight
He grew quite conscious; broken ends of bone ground on each
other among the working fibers
While by half-inches he was drawing himself out of the seawrack
up to sandy granite,
Out of the tide's path. Where the thin ledge tailed into flat cliff
he fell asleep. . . .
Far seaward
The daylight moon hung like a slip of cloud against the horizon.
The tide was ebbing
From the dead horse and the black belt of sea-growth. Cauldwell
seemed to have felt her crying beside him,

[...] Read more

poem by Robinson Jeffers
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Tale IX

EDWARD SHORE.

Genius! thou gift of Heav'n! thou light divine!
Amid what dangers art thou doom'd to shine!
Oft will the body's weakness check thy force,
Oft damp thy vigour, and impede thy course;
And trembling nerves compel thee to restrain
Thy nobler efforts, to contend with pain;
Or want (sad guest!) will in thy presence come,
And breathe around her melancholy gloom:
To life's low cares will thy proud thought confine,
And make her sufferings, her impatience, thine.
Evil and strong, seducing passions prey
On soaring minds, and win them from their way,
Who then to Vice the subject spirits give,
And in the service of the conqu'ror live;
Like captive Samson making sport for all,
Who fear'd their strength, and glory in their fall.
Genius, with virtue, still may lack the aid
Implored by humble minds, and hearts afraid;
May leave to timid souls the shield and sword
Of the tried Faith, and the resistless Word;
Amid a world of dangers venturing forth,
Frail, but yet fearless, proud in conscious worth,
Till strong temptation, in some fatal time,
Assails the heart, and wins the soul to crime,
When left by honour, and by sorrow spent,
Unused to pray, unable to repent,
The nobler powers, that once exalted high
Th' aspiring man, shall then degraded lie:
Reason, through anguish, shall her throne forsake,
And strength of mind but stronger madness make.
When Edward Shore had reach'd his twentieth

year,
He felt his bosom light, his conscience clear;
Applause at school the youthful hero gain'd,
And trials there with manly strength sustain'd:
With prospects bright upon the world he came,
Pure love of virtue, strong desire of fame:
Men watch'd the way his lofty mind would take,
And all foretold the progress he would make.
Boast of these friends, to older men a guide,
Proud of his parts, but gracious in his pride;
He bore a gay good-nature in his face,
And in his air were dignity and grace;
Dress that became his state and years he wore,
And sense and spirit shone in Edward Shore.
Thus, while admiring friends the Youth beheld,
His own disgust their forward hopes repell'd;

[...] Read more

poem by George Crabbe
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Hermann And Dorothea - VI. Klio

THE AGE.

WHEN the pastor ask'd the foreign magistrate questions,
What the people had suffer'd, how long from their homes they had wander'd,
Then the man replied:--'By no means short are our sorrows,
For we have drunk the bitters of many a long year together,
All the more dreadful, because our fairest hopes have been blighted.
Who can deny that his heart beat wildly and high in his bosom
And that with purer pulses his breast more freely was throbbing,
When the newborn sun first rose in the whole of its glory,
When we heard of the right of man, to have all things in common,
Heard of noble Equality, and of inspiriting Freedom!
Each man then hoped to attain new life for himself, and the fetters
Which had encircled many a land appear'd to be broken,
Fetters held by the hands of sloth and selfish indulgence.
Did not all nations turn their gaze, in those days of emotion,
Tow'rds the world's capital, which so many a long year had been so,
And then more than ever deserved a name so distinguish'd?
Were not the men, who first proclaim'd so noble a message,
Names that are worthy to rank with the highest the sun ever shone on,
Did not each give to mankind his courage and genius and language?

'And we also, as neighbours, at first were warmly excited.
Presently after began the war, and the train of arm'd Frenchmen
Nearer approach'd; at first they appear'd to bring with them friendship,
And they brought it in fact; for all their souls were exalted.
And the gay trees of liberty ev'rywhere gladly they planted,
Promising unto each his own, and the government long'd for.
Greatly at this was youth, and greatly old age was delighted,
And the joyous dance began round the newly-raised standards.
In this manner the overpowering Frenchmen soon conquer'd
First the minds of the men, with their fiery lively proceedings,
Then the hearts of the women, with irresistible graces.
Even the strain of the war, with its many demands, seem'd but trifling,
For before our eyes the distance by hope was illumined,
Luring our gaze far ahead into paths now first open'd before us.
'O how joyful the time, when with his bride the glad bridegroom
Whirls in the dance, awaiting the day that will join them for ever
But more glorious far was the time when the Highest of all things
Which man's mind can conceive, close by and attainable seemed.
Then were the tongues of all loosen'd, and words of wisdom and feeling
Not by greybeards alone, but by men and by striplings were utter'd.

'But the heavens soon clouded became. For the sake of the mast'ry
Strove a contemptible crew, unfit to accomplish good actions.
Then they murder'd each other, and took to oppressing their new-found
Neighbours and brothers, and sent on missions whole herds of selfÄseekers
And the superiors took to carousing and robbing by wholesale,
And the inferiors down to the lowest caroused and robb'd also.
Nobody thought of aught else than having enough for tomorrow.

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poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Solomon on the Vanity of the World, A Poem. In Three Books. - Pleasure. Book II.

The Argument

Solomon, again seeking happiness, inquires if wealth and greatness can produce it: begins with the magnificence of gardens and buildings; the luxury of music and feasting; and proceeds to the hopes and desires of love. In two episodes are shown the follies and troubles of that passion. Solomon, still disappointed, falls under the temptations of libertinism and idolatry; recovers his thought; reasons aright; and concludes that, as to the pursuit of pleasure and sensual delight, All Is Vanity and Vexation of Spirit.

Try then, O man, the moments to deceive
That from the womb attend thee to the grave:
For wearied Nature find some apter scheme;
Health be thy hope, and pleasure be thy theme;
From the perplexing and unequal ways
Where Study brings thee from the endless maze
Which Doubt persuades o run, forewarn'd, recede
To the gay field, and flowery path, that lead
To jocund mirth, soft joy, and careless ease:
Forsake what my instruct for what may please:
Essay amusing art and proud expense,
And make thy reason subject to thy sense.

I communed thus: the power of wealth I tried,
And all the various luxe of costly pride;
Artists and plans relieved my solemn hours:
I founded palaces and planted bowers,
Birds, fishes, beasts, of exotic kind
I to the limits of my court confined,
To trees transferr'd I gave a second birth,
And bade a foreign shade grace Judah's earth.
Fish-ponds were made where former forests grew
And hills were levell'd to extend the view.
Rivers, diverted from their native course,
And bound with chains of artificial force,
From large cascades in pleasing tumult roll'd,
Or rose through figured stone or breathing gold.
From furthest Africa's tormented womb
The marble brought, erects the spacious dome,
Or forms the pillars' long-extended rows,
On which the planted grove and pensile garden grows.

The workmen here obey the master's call,
To gild the turret and to paint the wall;
To mark the pavement there with various stone,
And on the jasper steps to rear the throne:
The spreading cedar, that an age had stood,
Supreme of trees, and mistress of the wood,
Cut down and carved, my shining roof adorns,
And Lebanon his ruin'd honour mourns.

A thousand artists show their cunning powers
To raise the wonders of the ivory towers:
A thousand maidens ply the purple loom

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poem by Matthew Prior
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