Category: Poetry

Tuesday Poetry……

The Valley Of Unrest
Once it smiled a silent dell
Where the people did not dwell;
They had gone unto the wars,
Trusting to the mild-eyed stars,
Nightly, from their azure towers,
To keep watch above the flowers,
In the midst of which all day
The red sunlight lazily lay.
Now each visitor shall confess
The sad valley’s restlessness.
Nothing there is motionless-
Nothing save the airs that brood
Over the magic solitude.
Ah, by no wind are stirred those trees
That palpitate like the chill seas
Around the misty Hebrides!
Ah, by no wind those clouds are driven
That rustle through the unquiet Heaven
Uneasily, from morn till even,
Over the violets there that lie
In myriad types of the human eye-
Over the lilies there that wave
And weep above a nameless grave!
They wave:- from out their fragrant tops
Eternal dews come down in drops.
They weep:- from off their delicate stems
Perennial tears descend in gems.
Well, guess I got ahead f myself this week 🙂 So it’s Monday Poetry this week instead.

Tuesday Poetry……

Libertatis Sacra Fames
Albeit nurtured in democracy,
And liking best that state republican
Where every man is Kinglike and no man
Is crowned above his fellows, yet I see,
Spite of this modern fret for Liberty,
Better the rule of One, whom all obey,
Than to let clamorous demagogues betray
Our freedom with the kiss of anarchy.
Wherefore I love them not whose hands profane
Plant the red flag upon the piled-up street
For no right cause, beneath whose ignorant reign
Arts, Culture, Reverence, Honour, all things fade,
Save Treason and the dagger of her trade,
Or Murder with his silent bloody feet.

Oscar Wilde  (1854-1900)

More about Libertatis Sacra Fames

Tuesday Poetry……

The Lockless Door
It went many years,
But at last came a knock,
And I though of the door
With no lock to lock.

I blew out the light,
I tip-toed the floor,
And raised both hands
In prayer to the door.

But the knock came again.
My window was wide;
I climbed on the sill
And descended outside.

Back over the sill
I bade a ‘Come in’
To whatever the knock
At the door may have been.

So at a knock
I emptied my cage
To hide in the world
And alter with age.

Robert Frost  (1874-1963)

Tuesday Poetry……

Freedom XIV, by Khalil Gibran

 

And an orator said, “Speak to us of Freedom.”

And he answered:

At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,

Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.

Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.

And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment.

You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,

But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.

And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?

In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle the eyes.

And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?

If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead.

You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them.

And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.

For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their won pride?

And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you.

And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.

Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape.

These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.

And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light.

And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.

A Tribute To Trump…

Often the innocence of youth points to truth that many with years of jaded experience willfully turn their heads to.

A man and a woman were running a race.
The man dressed in red with a very orange face,
And the woman dressed in blue with a pantsuit and a briefcase.
The race was much longer than a dash, mile or marathon,
And to many Americans it felt like it went on and on.
This was a race of old and new ideas and one thought,
And so the race started with the sound of a gunshot.
The woman dressed in blue was off to a great start,
She was gaining support and was eager to do her part.
However the man in the red was racist and sexist I’m sure you would agree,
He even said he wanted to grab a woman by her…
As the competitors turned the corner you got a glimpse of the fans,
And you could hear in the distance a chant about a man with small hands.
He claimed his hands and feet were quite big,
All while having a bright orange spray tan and a big yellow wig.
About halfway through the race the man was falling behind,
And the supporters of the woman were happy to have saved mankind.
As the competitors were nearing the finish line,
The people in blue were already celebrating and drinking their wine.
The woman approached the finish with a big, wide grin,
But then something happened that seemed to be the work of Vladimir Putin.
The woman fell down and lost her lead,
The win began to feel a lot less guaranteed.
The man hurdled over her body and crossed the finish,
And we all knew our Nation’s reputation would certainly diminish.
The man had somehow done it, he actually won,
The supporters in blue sat in shock and ceased all of their fun.
The man was apparently going to Make America Great Again with his campaign,
And the woman was depressed and had to put away her celebratory champagne
The results of this race tore apart our land,
As millions of Muslims were immediately banned.
This man can do absolutely no good,
Except run his mouth and claim he was just misunderstood.
The man has stated “we need global warming” for all to hear,
Which has made me quite certain that the end is near.
He has called women ugly and fat,
Which has left me wondering how he could have won the race and done all that.
After insulting and making fun of men and women nationwide,
I’ve become mortified, horrified, and have lost my American pride.
Every time he talks or makes a speech,
All I can say is impeach, impeach, impeach.

14-year-old Owen Pallenberg…  Keep up the good work