Favourite Poem?

[svetLANAA]

Talk to strangers
when the family fails and friends led you astray
and Buddah laughs and Jesus weeps and turns out God is gay.
As angels in disguise love can come in many forms,
the hallways of your projects or the fat girl in your dorm,
and when you finally take the time to see what they’re about
perhaps you find they’re lonely or their wisdom trips you out.
Maybe you’ll find the cycles end
right back where you began,
but come this time around
you’ll have someone to hold your hand,
who prays for you who is there for you
who sends you love and light,
exposes you to parts of you
that you once tried to fight.
And come this time around
you choose to walk a different path,
you’ll embrace what you turned away
and cry at what you laughed,
because that’s the only way
we’re going to make it through this storm,
where ignorance is common sense
and senseless is the norm.
Infact we’re high above the truth
and that you never touch,
and stolen goods are overpriced
and freedom costs too much,
and no-one seems to recognise
the symbols come to life,
the bitten apple on the screen
and Jesus had a wife,
and she was his Messiah
like that stranger may be yours,
who holds a subtle knife
that carves through worlds
like magic doors,
and that’s what I’ve been looking for,
the bridge from then to now,
But this ain’t for the underground
this here is for the sun.
A seed a stranger gave to me
and planted on my tongue.
And when I look at you,
I know I’m not the only one.
As a great man once said,
there’s nothing more powerful
than an idea
who’s time
has come.


- -Saul Williams (Talk to Strangers)

 

[Josephine]

BEAUTY
John Masefield

Have seen dawn and sunset on moors and windy hills
Coming in solemn beauty like slow old tunes of Spain:
I have seen the lady April bringing in the daffodils,
Bringing the springing grass and the soft warm April rain.

I have heard the song of the blossoms and the old chant of the sea,
And seen strange lands from under the arched white sails of ships;
But the loveliest things of beauty God ever has showed to me
Are her voice, and her hair, and eyes, and the dear red curve of her lips.

 

[Josephine]

BRIDE SONG
Christina Rossetti

Too late for love, too late for joy,
Too late, too late!
You loitered on the road too long,
You trifled at the gate:
The enchanted dove upon her branch
Died without a mate;
The enchanted princess in her tower
Slept, died, behind the grate;
Her heart was starving all this while
You made it wait.

Ten years ago, five years ago,
One year ago,
Even then you had arrived in time,
Though somewhat slow;
Then you had known her living face
Which now you cannot know:
The frozen fountain would have leaped,
The buds gone on to blow,
The warm south wind would have awaked
To melt the snow.

Is she fair now as she lies?
Once she was fair;
Meet queen for any kingly king,
With gold-dust on her hair,
Now these are poppies in her locks,
White poppies she must wear;
Must wear a veil to shroud her face
And the want graven there:
Or is the hunger fed at length,
Cast off the care?

We never saw her with a smile
Or with a frown;
Her bed seemed never soft to her,
Though tossed of down;
She little heeded what she wore,
Kirtle, or wreath, or gown;
We think her white brows often ached
Beneath her crown,
Till silvery hairs showed in her locks
That used to be so brown.

We never heard her speak in haste;
Her tones were sweet,
And modulated just so much
As it was meet:
Her heart sat silent through the noise
And concourse of the street.
There was no hurry in her hands,
No hurry in her feet;
There was no bliss drew nigh to her,
That she might run to greet.

You should have wept her yesterday,
Wasting upon her bed:
But wherefore should you weep today
That she is dead?
Lo we who love weep not today,
But crown her royal head.
Let be these poppies that we strew,
Your roses are too red:
Let be these poppies, not for you
Cut down and spread.

 

[Josephine]

The Flea
John Donne

Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deny'st me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
Thou know'st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead;
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we would do.

Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that, self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.

Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st and say'st that thou
Find'st not thyself, nor me the weaker now;
'Tis true, then learn how false fears be:
Just so much honor, when thou yield'st to me,
Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee

 

[Stargirl52]

My favourite verse of a certain poem-

So, in two to the four years,
When we’re wedded to tedium,
And I am an infinitesimal blip
On your beautiful radar,
I will remember the scene and the ardor,
And I will be content knowing
There was an instant of love,
Be it transitory.

-G.

 

[Colette_B]

ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?​

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, -
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in The hands of boys but in their eyes
Shall shine The holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds

-wilfred owen

 

[electricladyland]

walt whitman

1
I SING the Body electric;

The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth them;

They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,

And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the Soul.

4

Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves;

And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead?

And if the body does not do as much as the Soul?

And if the body were not the Soul, what is the Soul?

I have perceiv’d that to be with those I like is enough,

To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough,

To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough,

To pass among them, or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly round his or her neck for a moment—what is this, then?

I do not ask any more delight—I swim in it, as in a sea.


There is something in staying close to men and women, and looking on them, and in the contact and odor of them, that pleases the soul well;

All things please the soul—but these please the soul well.

 

[Colette_B]

^ah, thank you electricladyland, this brings me back to junior year in HS, i think walt whitman is great, i love this one too:

FACING west, from California’s shores,
Inquiring, tireless, seeking what is yet unfound,
I, a child, very old, over waves, towards the house of maternity, the land of migrations,
look afar,
Look off the shores of my Western Sea—the circle almost circled;
For, starting westward from Hindustan, from the vales of Kashmere,
From Asia—from the north—from the God, the sage, and the hero,
From the south—from the flowery peninsulas, and the spice islands;
Long having wander’d since—round the earth having wander’d,
Now I face home again—very pleas’d and joyous;
(But where is what I started for, so long ago?
And why is it yet unfound?)

 

[softgrey]

[SIZE=+1]John Masefield.[/SIZE] 1878– [SIZE=+2]
Sea-Fever[/SIZE]
I [SIZE=-1]MUST[/SIZE] down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life.
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

...

 

[electricladyland]

The Night in Isla Negra

Ancient night and the unruly salt
beat at the walls of my house.
The shadow is all one, the sky
throbs now along with the ocean,
and sky and shadow erupt
in the crash of their vast conflict.
All night long they struggle;
nobody knows the name
of the harsh light that keeps slowly opening
like a languid fruit.
So on the coast comes to light,
out of seething shadow, the harsh dawn,
gnawed at by the moving salt,
swept clean by the mass of night,
bloodstained in its sea-washed crater.

Pablo Neruda

 

[electricladyland]

AL PIE DESDE SU NIÑO
EL pie del niño aún no sabe que es pie,
y quiere ser mariposa o manzana.

Pero luego los vidrios y las piedras,
las calles, las escaleras,
y los caminos de la tierra dura
van enseñando al pie que no puede volar,
que no puede ser fruto redondo en una rama.
El pie del niño entonces
fue derrotado, cayó
en la batalla,
fue prisionero,
condenado a vivir en un zapato.

Poco a poco sin luz
fue conociendo el mundo a su manera,
sin conocer el otro pie, encerrado,
explorando la vida como un ciego.

Aquellas suaves uñas
de cuarzo, de racimo,
se endurecieron, se mudaron
en opaca substancia, en cuerno duro,
y los pequeños pétalos del niño
se aplastaron, se desequilibraron,
tomaron formas de reptil sin ojos,
cabezas triangulares de gusano.
Y luego encallecieron,
se cubrieron
con mínimos volcanes de la muerte,
inaceptables endurecimientos.

Pero este ciego anduvo
sin tregua, sin parar
hora tras hora,
el pie y el otro pie,
ahora de hombre
o de mujer,
arriba,
abajo,
por los campos, las minas,
los almacenes y los ministerios,
atrás,
afuera, adentro,
adelante,
este pie trabajó con su zapato,
apenas tuvo tiempo
de estar desnudo en el amor o el sueño,
caminó, caminaron
hasta que el hombre entero se detuvo.

Y entonces a la tierra
bajó y no supo nada,
porque allí todo y todo estaba oscuro,
no supo que había dejado de ser pie,
si lo enterraban para que volara
o para que pudiera
ser manzana.

 

[electricladyland]

POEMA 15... ME GUSTAS CUANDO CALLAS...

Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente,
y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te toca.
Parece que los ojos se te hubieran volado
y parece que un beso te cerrara la boca.

Como todas las cosas están llenas de mi alma
emerges de las cosas, llena del alma mía.
Mariposa de sueño, te pareces a mi alma,
y te pareces a la palabra melancolía;

Me gustas cuando callas y estás como distante.
Y estás como quejándote, mariposa en arrullo.
Y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te alcanza:
déjame que me calle con el silencio tuyo.

Déjame que te hable también con tu silencio
claro como una lámpara, simple como un anillo.
Eres como la noche, callada y constelada.
Tu silencio es de estrella, tan lejano y sencillo.

Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente.
Distante y dolorosa como si hubieras muerto.
Una palabra entonces, una sonrisa bastan.
Y estoy alegre, alegre de que no sea cierto.

 

[Bluestar07]

electric, I need to ask you this ... where and how can I get the translation for Nerudo's poems? I love the Spanish ones but I'm not exactly fluent in it, so I don't think I'm getting the fullest expression of his pems when I translate it myself.

 

[electricladyland]

Here are some links:

http://www.poemhunter.com/pablo-neruda/poet-6638/
http://www.public.asu.edu/~nielle/neruda.htm
http://www.motherbird.com/pablo.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/yourpage/neruda.html

or you can just google a couple words in english from the first line of a poem with his name and the poem should come up somewhere.

happy hunting!

 

[jennifer~]

All that could never be said,
All that could never be done,
Wait for us at last
Somewhere back of the sun;

All the heart broke to forego
Shall be ours without pain,
We shall take them as lightly as girls
Pluck flowers after rain.

And when they are ours in the end
Perhaps after all
The skies will not open for us
Nor heaven be there at our call.

(To me there's no one like Sara Teasdale...)

 

[Bluestar07]

Thanks electric!

 

[electricladyland]

I Hunt For A Sign Of You, Neruda

I hunt for a sign of you in all the others,
In the rapid undulant river of women,
Braids, shyly sinking eyes,
Light step that slices, sailing through the foam.

Suddenly I think I can make out your nails,
Oblong, quick, nieces of a cherry:
Then it's your hair that passes by, and I think
I see your image, a bonfire, burning in the water.

I searched, but no one else had your rhythms,
Your light, the shady day you brought from the forest;
Nobody had your tiny ears.

You are whole, exact, and everything you are is one,
And so I go along, with you I float along, loving
A wide Mississippi toward a feminine sea.

 

[Teratel]

Her eyes were like

her eyes were like eyes
her lips were like lips
her hair was like hair
her heart was like a metaphor

I was proud to be her only drawback
without me she'd been perfect
if she'd been perfect the world would have collapsed
I was happy to be guarding the world from her perfection

(New Poetry by Ken Abustani)

 

[Teratel]

English Poetry

"No time!"... "Time is money!"... The motto of hurrying life, especially for the times ahead of us.
But a moment of rest, a respite however brief, to turn towards Nature,
Poetry and things you like best, may safeguard you from "A poor life" the poet pities in the following lines..

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life is this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

(this was written in 1870 by: W.H. Davies)

 

[Teratel]

COMO LAS OLAS

SON nuestras vidas
como las olas: afán y espumas.
Las olas nacen diciendo: ahora,
y pronto mueren diciendo: nunca.

by: Domingo Rivero

POETICA

Todas
las palabras
son
una palabra.

Todos
los gestos
que inútilmente anduvo trazando
desde siempre,
un sólo gesto.

Todo
el amor,
uno.

by: Baltasar Espinosa (Los Dias 1961-67)
Para una amiga.. elec.