Indian Pride
Some people say that indians have to much pride, but I would set all my pride aside to catch A dream for you.
poem by Shonda Barnes
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We’re Indians First and Lastly!
We’re Indians firstly!
And that’s the way, we’re known all o’er the globe;
And that is what we tell the world around;
This is our primary identity.
We’re Indians firstly!
We may belong to any state by birth;
Then come our language, creed, community;
We’re Indians primarily!
We’re Indians firstly!
United are we by the tricolor;
The soil is one, though states be many;
We’re Indians basically!
We’re proud of our rich our Indian heritage;
Our thirst is quenched by rivers of India;
Our hunger is appeased by crops grown here;
We’re Indians first and ultimately!
Let none dare try to sow seeds of discord;
The Indian’s free to live in any state;
When asked, let always be our reply,
‘We’re Indians firstly!
God gave one sun and moon to all of us;
We live under the sky, our common roof;
We enjoy freedom got by same ‘Struggle’!
We’re Indians all, firstly!
We’re Indians firstly!
Our patriotism is Indianness;
Our pride’s in being born as Indians;
We’re Indians first and lastly!
All Indians are our brothers and sisters;
We love our fellowmen as our brethren;
Same blood of oneness flows within us all;
We’re Indians first, always, ultimately!
‘Jai Hind! Jai Bharat! Jai bharatiya! Jai bharatvaasi!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 6-2-2010
poem by John Celes
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Custer
BOOK FIRST.
I.
ALL valor died not on the plains of Troy.
Awake, my Muse, awake! be thine the joy
To sing of deeds as dauntless and as brave
As e'er lent luster to a warrior's grave.
Sing of that noble soldier, nobler man,
Dear to the heart of each American.
Sound forth his praise from sea to listening sea-
Greece her Achilles claimed, immortal Custer, we.
II.
Intrepid are earth's heroes now as when
The gods came down to measure strength with men.
Let danger threaten or let duty call,
And self surrenders to the needs of all;
Incurs vast perils, or, to save those dear,
Embraces death without one sigh or tear.
Life's martyrs still the endless drama play
Though no great Homer lives to chant their worth to-day.
III.
And if he chanted, who would list his songs,
So hurried now the world's gold-seeking throngs?
And yet shall silence mantle mighty deeds?
Awake, dear Muse, and sing though no ear heeds!
Extol the triumphs, and bemoan the end
Of that true hero, lover, son and friend
Whose faithful heart in his last choice was shown-
Death with the comrades dear, refusing flight alone.
IV.
He who was born for battle and for strife
Like some caged eagle frets in peaceful life;
So Custer fretted when detained afar
From scenes of stirring action and of war.
And as the captive eagle in delight,
When freedom offers, plumes himself for flight
And soars away to thunder clouds on high,
With palpitating wings and wild exultant cry,
V.
So lion-hearted Custer sprang to arms,
And gloried in the conflict's loud alarms.
[...] Read more
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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Indian Dance
[Verse 1:]
Step in the club head low with the lights down
Made my way to the floor fellas gather round
Step My hips out there make em point and step
Feel the heat that beats in the atmosphere
Just my chest feel the sweat get into it now
I get the feeling we gonna party till they shut it down
people watching from the bar pretty tipsy now
break it down ladies roll it like a gipsy now
[Pre-Hook:]
went in My A, all the way to Jamaica
from New york back across to the bay now
I see you watching and i know you wanna get in me
Boy I have you singing like them indians
[Hook:]
Oh halhalhalhalhaYaaa
Boy I have you singing like them indians
Oh halhalhalhalhaYaaa
Boy I have you singing like them indians
Oh halhalhalhalhaYaaa
I have you singing like them indians
Oh halhalhalhalhaYaaa
Ohohohohohoooo... ohohohohohoo
aho-aho hohohohohoo.. mo-ohohohohohohohooo
[Verse 2:]
Feel the kick in the drums make you move
hands in the air dont be scared let it groove (mamas)
but my body wont stop put you in a trance
Try to keep up with me if you can
Shake Ya Body body, Move your Body body
dont hurt nobody body, keep this party Poppin'
Soo whats the kick on my girls let em see you drop
i put me back to the top and make you hot
[Pre-Hook:]
went in My A, all the way to Jamaica
from New york back across to the bay now
I see you watching and i know you wanna get in me
Boy I have you singing like them indians
[Hook:]
Oh halhalhalhalhaYaaa
Boy I have you singing like them indians
Oh halhalhalhalhaYaaa
Boy I have you singing like them indians
Oh halhalhalhalhaYaaa
I have you singing like them indians
Oh halhalhalhalhaYaaa
ohohohoh...
[Breakdown:]
Freeze the line
(shake shake)
[...] Read more
song performed by Nivea
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Sixtieth Independence Day Celebrations of India (a)
We plan to put a man on moon!
And this could happen pretty soon:
If Indians will stay united,
Our dreams can lift off, ignited!
We have the skills and brains as well;
Let’s persevere always like hell;
Our country vast has problems much;
Our leaders can give ‘magic-touch’!
More Indian brains are being drained;
Our ties with neighbors are quite strained;
Let’s weed the terror-menace out;
Our motherland is great, sans doubt!
With more women at India’s helm,
So nigh is economic boom;
Let’s hit accord in nuclear club,
Avoiding global friction, rub.
If selection is through merit,
The nation will sure, benefit;
Let Indians work with diligence,
From Sixtieth Independence.
Let’s build more shelters for homeless;
Let’s treat the sick with love, kindness;
Let’s guard our children and women;
Let’s turn our motherland, Heaven!
Let’s wipe out poverty ’mongst us;
Let’s clothe our people with good dress;
Let’s feed the hungry millions well,
By concerted efforts, that tell.
Let ryots farm the Indian way;
Let scientists give the final say;
Let’s share with poor all excess lands;
The future lies in our own hands.
Let’s tend sick elderly persons;
Let’s not give excuses, reasons;
Let’s hoist the Tricolor atop
All Indian homes and every shop!
When Bhudia Singh had run long- miles!
And Sania beat top tennis-seeds;
When Shashi fought for UN seat,
And Manmohan clinched nuclear deal…
[...] Read more
poem by John Celes
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The Dream Is Over
Psst, hey, come on man, wake up.
Oh, yeah, yeah!
I see the power,
Changin hands
Risin from the streets
A self made businessman,
Knows how the system can be beat.
Oh, were the lost generation,
Have no place to go,
The road to destruction,
Is all we need to know,
Cause its a rip off,
Were stripped, drawn, and cheated,
Were flat stone cold lied to
But were not defeated, nooo, sir
Easy money,
Its your way out,
Join the family
No middleman,
No i.r.s.
Your ticket out of poverty
Oh, were the lost generation,
I hold fate from a string
Lookin for direction
Reachin out for anything, so
Dream another dream
This dream is over, (oooh oooh oh)
Dream another dream
This dream is over, (dream another dream)
Dream another dream
This dream is over, (oooh) over yeah, (dream another dream)
So dream another dream
(solo)
Ah,
Yeow!!!!
Oh, its a rip off,
Were stepped on an cheated,
Flat stone cold lied to,
Were not defeated, noooo,
Dream another dream, this dream is over, (oooh oooh oh)
Dream another dream, this dream is over, (dream another dream)
Dream another dream, this dream is over, (oooh oooh oh) oh
Dream another dream, this dream is over, over yeah, (dream another dream)
Dream another dream, (ooh ooh ooh)
Dream another dream, (dream another dream, oooh ooh ooh)
Dream another dream, oh, this dreams all over (dream another dream)
Dream another dream, (dream another dream)
Dream another dream...
song performed by Van Halen
Added by Lucian Velea
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The House Of Dust: Complete
I.
The sun goes down in a cold pale flare of light.
The trees grow dark: the shadows lean to the east:
And lights wink out through the windows, one by one.
A clamor of frosty sirens mourns at the night.
Pale slate-grey clouds whirl up from the sunken sun.
And the wandering one, the inquisitive dreamer of dreams,
The eternal asker of answers, stands in the street,
And lifts his palms for the first cold ghost of rain.
The purple lights leap down the hill before him.
The gorgeous night has begun again.
'I will ask them all, I will ask them all their dreams,
I will hold my light above them and seek their faces.
I will hear them whisper, invisible in their veins . . .'
The eternal asker of answers becomes as the darkness,
Or as a wind blown over a myriad forest,
Or as the numberless voices of long-drawn rains.
We hear him and take him among us, like a wind of music,
Like the ghost of a music we have somewhere heard;
We crowd through the streets in a dazzle of pallid lamplight,
We pour in a sinister wave, ascend a stair,
With laughter and cry, and word upon murmured word;
We flow, we descend, we turn . . . and the eternal dreamer
Moves among us like light, like evening air . . .
Good-night! Good-night! Good-night! We go our ways,
The rain runs over the pavement before our feet,
The cold rain falls, the rain sings.
We walk, we run, we ride. We turn our faces
To what the eternal evening brings.
Our hands are hot and raw with the stones we have laid,
We have built a tower of stone high into the sky,
We have built a city of towers.
Our hands are light, they are singing with emptiness.
Our souls are light; they have shaken a burden of hours . . .
What did we build it for? Was it all a dream? . . .
Ghostly above us in lamplight the towers gleam . . .
And after a while they will fall to dust and rain;
Or else we will tear them down with impatient hands;
And hew rock out of the earth, and build them again.
II.
[...] Read more
poem by Conrad Potter Aiken
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Tom Zart's 52 Best Of The Rest America At War Poems
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF WORLD WAR III
The White House
Washington
Tom Zart's Poems
March 16,2007
Ms. Lillian Cauldwell
President and Chief Executive Officer
Passionate Internet Voices Radio
Ann Arbor Michigan
Dear Lillian:
Number 41 passed on the CDs from Tom Zart. Thank you for thinking of me. I am thankful for your efforts to honor our brave military personnel and their families. America owes these courageous men and women a debt of gratitude, and I am honored to be the commander in chief of the greatest force for freedom in the history of the world.
Best Wishes.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF WORLD WAR III
Our sons and daughters serve in harm's way
To defend our way of life.
Some are students, some grandparents
Many a husband or wife.
They face great odds without complaint
Gambling life and limb for little pay.
So far away from all they love
Fight our soldiers for whom we pray.
The plotters and planners of America's doom
Pledge to murder and maim all they can.
From early childhood they are taught
To kill is to become a man.
They exploit their young as weapons of choice
Teaching in heaven, virgins will await.
Destroying lives along with their own
To learn of their falsehoods too late.
The fearful cry we must submit
And find a way to soothe them.
Where defenders worry if we stand down
The future for America is grim.
[...] Read more
poem by Tom Zart
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Catch Me Now Im Falling
I remember, when you were down
And you needed a helping hand
I came to feed you
But now that I need you
You wont give me a second glance
Now Im calling all citizens from all over the world
This is captain america calling
I bailed you out when you were down on your knees
So will you catch me now Im falling
Help me now Im calling you
Catch me now Im falling
Im in your hands, its up to you
Catch me now Im falling
I remember when you were down
You would always come running to me
I never denied you and I would guide you
Through all of your difficulties
Now Im calling all citizens from all over the world
This is captain america calling
I bailed you out when you were down on your knees
So will you catch me now Im falling
Help me now Im calling you
Catch me now Im falling
Im in your hands, its up to you
Catch me now Im falling
When you were broke you would come to me
And I would always pull you round
Now I call your office on the telephone
And your secretary tells me that shes sorry,
But, youve gone out of town.
This is captain america calling
This is captain america calling
Help me now Im calling you
Catch me now Im falling
Im in your hands, its up to you
Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling
I stood by you through all of your depressions
And I lifted you when you were down
Now its your chance to do the same for me
I call your office and your secretary tells me
That youve gone out of town
This is captain america calling
This is captain america calling
Catch me now Im falling
Catch me now Im falling
I was the one who always bailed you out
[...] Read more
song performed by Kinks
Added by Lucian Velea
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Here I Go
Key:-r:- ray
A:- anita
A: ohhh... why dont you catch me?
R: catch me, cause I falling deep down below
A: Im falling! yeah!
R: theres no way out, man you try to escape
Concentrate on your mind cause it might just break
Into half, crack down fast
I keep my face straight no need to laugh
I did some right, I did some wrong
I regret these things, but I gotta stay strong
I feel the pressure, now dont you know?
Catch me, cause Im falling deep down below
A: oh, I cant escape, Im trapped there is no safe place to go
And I do regret the things I did, but how on earth could I know?
Here I go!
Here I go catch me Im falling deep
Here I go
Here I go catch me Im falling falling
Here I go
R: here I go
Here I go
A: here I go
R: catch me, come on
R: now heres the question any suggestions?
You play it yourself, taught yourself a lesson
Out of your mind you feel like stressing
Searching for answers, you keep on guessing
You messed it up, youre living low
How far youll go, man I dont know
Come out the dark, Ill bring you in the light
And leave your problems all behind
A: here I go
R: here I go again
Here I go again
A: here I go
R: catch me, cause Im falling deep down below!
A: oh, I cant escape, Im trapped there is no safe place to go
And I do regret the things I did, but how on earth could I know?
Here I go!
Here I go catch me Im falling deep
Here I go
R: here I go
Here I go
A: here I go catch me Im falling deep
Here I go
R: deep down below
Deep down below
A: here I go catch me Im falling deep
Here I go
[...] Read more
song performed by 2 Unlimited
Added by Lucian Velea
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Custer: Book Third
I
As in the long dead days marauding hosts
Of Indians came from far Siberian coasts,
And drove the peaceful Aztecs from their grounds,
Despoiled their homes (but left their tell-tale mounds),
So has the white man with the Indians done.
Now with their backs against the setting sun
The remnants of a dying nation stand
And view the lost domain, once their beloved land.
II
Upon the vast Atlantic's leagues of shore
The happy red man's tent is seen no more;
And from the deep blue lakes which mirror heaven
His bounding bark canoe was long since driven.
The mighty woods, those temples where his God
Spoke to his soul, are leveled to the sod;
And in their place tall church spires point above,
While priests proclaim the law of Christ, the King of Love.
III
The avaricious and encroaching rail
Seized the wide fields which knew the Indians' trail.
Back to the reservations in the West
The native owners of the land were pressed,
And selfish cities, harbingers of want,
Shut from their vision each accustomed haunt.
Yet hungry Progress, never satisfied,
Gazed on the western plains, and gazing, longed and sighed.
IV
As some strange bullock in a pasture field
Compels the herds to fear him, and to yield
The juicy grass plots and the cooling shade
Until, despite their greater strength, afraid,
They huddle in some corner spot and cower
Before the monarch's all controlling power,
So has the white man driven from its place
By his aggressive greed, Columbia's native race.
V
Yet when the bull pursues the herds at bay,
Incensed they turn, and dare dispute his sway.
And so the Indians turned, when men forgot
Their sacred word, and trespassed on the spot,
[...] Read more
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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We Dream In Color
Dream sequence
(wake up, wake up, wake up, time to dream)
(wake up, time to dream)
We dream, we dream, we dream in color
Wake me up in the middle of the night, tell me what youve seen
Ivory clouds in a sea of blue, fields of endless green
But we lie here and we search for stars
Or big bad letters all the way from mars
The sky is black and the moon is pale, and we cry for this world of ours
In the dark we still believe (oh you know that we still believe)
In the dark we see
Chorus:
We dream in color - but we live in black and white
We dream in color - like a rainbow in the night
We dream of peace, we dream of love, but still the dream is not enough
We dream in color
Oh yes we dream
I wake up in the middle of the day, locked within this cell
The sun is weak on the gun gray street, a cold and concrete hell
So I close my eyes and remember the days
Of a blood red sky and a purple haze
The flag was yours and the flag was mine, but we let it fade away
In the dark we still believe (oh you know that we still believe)
In the dark we see
We dream in color - but we live in black and white
We dream in color - like a rainbow in the night
We dream of peace, we dream of love, but still the dream is not enough
We dream in color
(guitar solo)
This is where it all comes down, this is where the truth is found
Someones gotta keep this dream alive
We dream in color - but we live in black and white
We dream in color - like a rainbow in the night
We dream of peace, we dream of love, we dream of life!
We dream in color
We dream in color - we dream, yes we dream
We dream in color - but we live in black and white
We dream in color - and hold on to each other
We dream in color - lover to lover, sister to brother, we hold on
We dream in color
We dream in color - we dream
We dream in color - we dream...
song performed by Starship
Added by Lucian Velea
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Lost One, Have One
Everyone have a dream
Some go, some withdraaw
I went and went far
I had a dream
I have a dream
I dreamt with open eyes
Dreamt with two
One for heart
Another for family
One dissolved, another resolved
One dream happens once
Once in life, once for all
Fortunately it happend to me
Unfortunately was broken
Lost one, have one
I had a dream
To defend her at heart
Be in her arms
Set her in my eyes
Spend an age for her
I had a dream
To live with her
Make a family of her
It was a whole half
Remained only with half
Dreamt her to become
My piece, My sprit
This was a heart dream
This was a lost dream
Dream of every second in a minute.
I have a dream
Get a good name
A standard fame
Rank in the starta
Obidient son extra
I have a dream
Making my brothers proud
Being high in crowd
Hearing my talks in class
Name in mass of every class
I have a dream
Be loyal to my mom
[...] Read more
poem by Abhimanyu Kumar.s
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The Iliad: Book 2
Now the other gods and the armed warriors on the plain slept
soundly, but Jove was wakeful, for he was thinking how to do honour to
Achilles, and destroyed much people at the ships of the Achaeans. In
the end he deemed it would be best to send a lying dream to King
Agamemnon; so he called one to him and said to it, "Lying Dream, go to
the ships of the Achaeans, into the tent of Agamemnon, and say to
him word to word as I now bid you. Tell him to get the Achaeans
instantly under arms, for he shall take Troy. There are no longer
divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them to her own
mind, and woe betides the Trojans."
The dream went when it had heard its message, and soon reached the
ships of the Achaeans. It sought Agamemnon son of Atreus and found him
in his tent, wrapped in a profound slumber. It hovered over his head
in the likeness of Nestor, son of Neleus, whom Agamemnon honoured
above all his councillors, and said:-
"You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one who has the welfare of his
host and so much other care upon his shoulders should dock his
sleep. Hear me at once, for I come as a messenger from Jove, who,
though he be not near, yet takes thought for you and pities you. He
bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you shall take
Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has
brought them over to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans at
the hands of Jove. Remember this, and when you wake see that it does
not escape you."
The dream then left him, and he thought of things that were,
surely not to be accomplished. He thought that on that same day he was
to take the city of Priam, but he little knew what was in the mind
of Jove, who had many another hard-fought fight in store alike for
Danaans and Trojans. Then presently he woke, with the divine message
still ringing in his ears; so he sat upright, and put on his soft
shirt so fair and new, and over this his heavy cloak. He bound his
sandals on to his comely feet, and slung his silver-studded sword
about his shoulders; then he took the imperishable staff of his
father, and sallied forth to the ships of the Achaeans.
The goddess Dawn now wended her way to vast Olympus that she might
herald day to Jove and to the other immortals, and Agamemnon sent
the criers round to call the people in assembly; so they called them
and the people gathered thereon. But first he summoned a meeting of
the elders at the ship of Nestor king of Pylos, and when they were
assembled he laid a cunning counsel before them.
"My friends," said he, "I have had a dream from heaven in the dead
of night, and its face and figure resembled none but Nestor's. It
hovered over my head and said, 'You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one
who has the welfare of his host and so much other care upon his
shoulders should dock his sleep. Hear me at once, for I am a messenger
from Jove, who, though he be not near, yet takes thought for you and
pities you. He bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you
shall take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the
gods; Juno has brought them over to her own mind, and woe betides
the Trojans at the hands of Jove. Remember this.' The dream then
[...] Read more
poem by Homer, translated by Samuel Butler
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Colonel Buffalo Bill
Who's got the stuff that made the Wild West wild?
Who pleases ev'ry woman, man and child?
Who does his best to give the customers a thrill?
-Who?
Colonel Buff'lo Bill
Who's got the show that gets the most applause?
Five hundred Indians and fifty squaws
Ten feature acts and there's the special feature still
-Who?
Colonel Buff'lo Bill
Did you ever see a cowboy rope a steer?
-No, we haven't
Or an Indian with feathers throw a spear?
-No, we haven't
Or a marksman shoot an earring from an ear?
-No, we haven't
Did you ever see a hold up?
-No, sir
Then gather closer
And let me give you some of the atmosphere
The hour is midnight and all is still
We see the stagecoach climbing up a hill
Going along a mountain trail carrying passengers and mail
Never suspecting danger as they roll along
The watchful driver is in his seat
His trusty rifle lying at his feet
Some of the passengers inside seem to be dozing as they ride
Never suspecting there is something really wrong
Suddenly there's a shout
-What is it all about?
What is it all about you ask? It's Indians
-Indians!
Indians
-Indians!
Very notable, cut your throat-able Indians
-Indians!
Just when they've taken ev'ryone by force
Who makes an entrance on a big white horse?
Who starts a' shootin' till there's no one left to kill
-Gen'ral Grant?
No! Colonel Buff'lo Bill!
-Certainly this is quite a thrill, better than all the vaudeville
-Let us be on the go and see the show with Buff'lo Bill
song performed by Irving Berlin
Added by Lucian Velea
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Set Me Free
You operate and motivate on synthetic fuel
you're Mother Nature and an atom bomb
As long as you're kept full of pretty bodies
your little secret will be safe with me
around again insane again
it somes again it sets me free
so set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
Your kept alive and polarized with one thing in mind,
metabolizin' everything that you see
but now and then or a little later
now I'm gonna take you down with me
Around again insane again
she comes again it sets me free
so set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
so set me free
set me free
'cuase I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
So, take me down
take me down, down, down, down
take me down, take me down
So, take me down
take me down, down, down, down
take me down, take me down
So set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
So set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
So set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
So set me free
set me free
[...] Read more
song performed by Velvet Revolver
Added by Lucian Velea
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Teapots and Quails
Teapots and Quails,
Snuffers and Snails,
Set him a sailing
and see how he sails!
..
Mitres and Beams,
Thimbles and Creams,
Set him a screaming
and hark! how he screams!
..
Houses and Kings,
Whiskers and Swings,
Set him a stinging
and see how he stings!
..
Ribands and Pigs,
Helmets and Figs,
Set him a jigging
and see how he jigs!
..
Rainbows and Knives,
Muscles and Hives,
Set him a driving
and see how he drives!
..
Tadpoles and Tops,
Teacups and Mops,
Set him a hopping
and see how he hops!
..
Herons and Sweeps,
Turbans and Sheeps,
Set him a weeping
and see how he weeps!
Lobsters and Owls,
Scissors and Fowls,
Set him a howling
and hark how he howls!
..
Eagles and Pears,
Slippers and Bears,
Set him a staring
and see how he stares!
..
Sofas and Bees,
Camels and Keys,
Set him a sneezing
and see how he'll sneeze!
..
Wafers and Bears,
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poem by Edward Lear
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Courtship of Miles Standish, The
I
MILES STANDISH
In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the Pilgrims
To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling,
Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather,
Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain.
Buried in thought he seemed, with his hands behind him, and pausing
Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of warfare,
Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber, --
Cutlass and corselet of steel, and his trusty sword of Damascus,
Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical Arabic sentence,
While underneath, in a corner, were fowling-piece, musket, and matchlock.
Short of stature he was, but strongly built and athletic,
Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles and sinews of iron;
Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was already
Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in November.
Near him was seated John Alden, his friend and household companion,
Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the window:
Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon complexion,
Having the dew of his youth, and the beauty thereof, as the captives
Whom Saint Gregory saw, and exclaimed, "Not Angles, but Angels."
Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the Mayflower.
Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe interrupting,
Spake, in the pride of his heart, Miles Standish the Captain of Plymouth.
"Look at these arms," he said, "the war-like weapons that hang here
Burnished and bright and clean, as if for parade or inspection!
This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flanders; this breastplate,
Well I remember the day! once save my life in a skirmish;
Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet
Fired point-blank at my heart by a Spanish arcabucero.
Had it not been of sheer steel, the forgotten bones of Miles Standish
Would at this moment be mould, in their grave in the Flemish morasses."
Thereupon answered John Alden, but looked not up from his writing:
"Truly the breath of the Lord hath slackened the speed of the bullet;
He in his mercy preserved you, to be our shield and our weapon!"
Still the Captain continued, unheeding the words of the stripling:
"See, how bright they are burnished, as if in an arsenal hanging;
That is because I have done it myself, and not left it to others.
Serve yourself, would you be well served, is an excellent adage;
So I take care of my arms, as you of your pens and your inkhorn.
Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible army,
Twelve men, all equipped, having each his rest and his matchlock,
Eighteen shillings a month, together with diet and pillage,
And, like Caesar, I know the name of each of my soldiers!"
This he said with a smile, that danced in his eyes, as the sunbeams
Dance on the waves of the sea, and vanish again in a moment.
Alden laughed as he wrote, and still the Captain continued:
"Look! you can see from this window my brazen howitzer planted
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poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Subconscious
Over there
In parallel time,
This brain -
Neuronal palimpsest
In striptease
Blood-red dawn to dying dusk;
The husk of bone
Stays the swelling
Of the soul
Within its hellish crypt -
Ironically dimensionless:
Dark deep,
An independent entity
Perambulates
Along the promenade,
Boulevard,
Tacky yard of tacky lives
In non-existence,
A shard of me in tow,
Then scurries back to
Promiscuity -
She drools, anticipating -
Poised legs of cogitation
Tingle, brim, desperate -
The imminence of dreams
Palpates.
Such a well-warn bed,
Where fucks with notion, thought,
Imagination,
Spark an orgy
While the conscious blacks in head
And eyes;
Mulling making sense
Beyond the lies against
Reality - whatever that might be -
(But matters not
In abstract dreams) :
Forebrain greys in waking;
I've not a word to tell it! -
Where's the poet?
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2012
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poem by Mark R Slaughter
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First Book
OF writing many books there is no end;
And I who have written much in prose and verse
For others' uses, will write now for mine,–
Will write my story for my better self,
As when you paint your portrait for a friend,
Who keeps it in a drawer and looks at it
Long after he has ceased to love you, just
To hold together what he was and is.
I, writing thus, am still what men call young;
I have not so far left the coasts of life
To travel inland, that I cannot hear
That murmur of the outer Infinite
Which unweaned babies smile at in their sleep
When wondered at for smiling; not so far,
But still I catch my mother at her post
Beside the nursery-door, with finger up,
'Hush, hush–here's too much noise!' while her sweet eyes
Leap forward, taking part against her word
In the child's riot. Still I sit and feel
My father's slow hand, when she had left us both,
Stroke out my childish curls across his knee;
And hear Assunta's daily jest (she knew
He liked it better than a better jest)
Inquire how many golden scudi went
To make such ringlets. O my father's hand,
Stroke the poor hair down, stroke it heavily,–
Draw, press the child's head closer to thy knee!
I'm still too young, too young to sit alone.
I write. My mother was a Florentine,
Whose rare blue eyes were shut from seeing me
When scarcely I was four years old; my life,
A poor spark snatched up from a failing lamp
Which went out therefore. She was weak and frail;
She could not bear the joy of giving life–
The mother's rapture slew her. If her kiss
Had left a longer weight upon my lips,
It might have steadied the uneasy breath,
And reconciled and fraternised my soul
With the new order. As it was, indeed,
I felt a mother-want about the world,
And still went seeking, like a bleating lamb
Left out at night, in shutting up the fold,–
As restless as a nest-deserted bird
Grown chill through something being away, though what
It knows not. I, Aurora Leigh, was born
To make my father sadder, and myself
Not overjoyous, truly. Women know
The way to rear up children, (to be just,)
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poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning from Aurora Leigh (1856)
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Quatrains Of Life
What has my youth been that I love it thus,
Sad youth, to all but one grown tedious,
Stale as the news which last week wearied us,
Or a tired actor's tale told to an empty house?
What did it bring me that I loved it, even
With joy before it and that dream of Heaven,
Boyhood's first rapture of requited bliss,
What did it give? What ever has it given?
'Let me recount the value of my days,
Call up each witness, mete out blame and praise,
Set life itself before me as it was,
And--for I love it--list to what it says.
Oh, I will judge it fairly. Each old pleasure
Shared with dead lips shall stand a separate treasure.
Each untold grief, which now seems lesser pain,
Shall here be weighed and argued of at leisure.
I will not mark mere follies. These would make
The count too large and in the telling take
More tears than I can spare from seemlier themes
To cure its laughter when my heart should ache.
Only the griefs which are essential things,
The bitter fruit which all experience brings;
Nor only of crossed pleasures, but the creed
Men learn who deal with nations and with kings.
All shall be counted fairly, griefs and joys,
Solely distinguishing 'twixt mirth and noise,
The thing which was and that which falsely seemed,
Pleasure and vanity, man's bliss and boy's.
So I shall learn the reason of my trust
In this poor life, these particles of dust
Made sentient for a little while with tears,
Till the great ``may--be'' ends for me in ``must.''
My childhood? Ah, my childhood! What of it
Stripped of all fancy, bare of all conceit?
Where is the infancy the poets sang?
Which was the true and which the counterfeit?
I see it now, alas, with eyes unsealed,
That age of innocence too well revealed.
The flowers I gathered--for I gathered flowers--
Were not more vain than I in that far field.
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poem by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
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