P O E T R Y

I thought it would be fun to start a thread where we can all post our favorite poetry (can be yours or someone else's)!

One of my very favorite poets is Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Here's one of the best poems, IMO, she ever wrote.

Life's Harmonies
LET no man pray that he know not sorrow,

Let no soul ask to be free from pain,

For the gall of to-day is the sweet of to-morrow,

And the moment's loss is the lifetime's gain.

Through want of a thing does its worth redouble,

Through hunger's pangs does the feast content,

And only the heart that has harbored trouble,

Can fully rejoice when joy is sent.

Let no man shrink from the bitter tonics

Of grief, and yearning, and need, and strife,

For the rarest chords in the soul's harmonies,

Are found in the minor strains of life.

How true! Nice one! I will be back later. So many to choose!!!

Another of my favorites by Ella, cuz I just can't resist...you've probably seen this one before.

Solitude

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow it's mirth,
But has trouble enough of it's own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

205, take your time! I eagerly await your selection(s) : )

Hey I just found out she was born November 5th. I should have known she was a Scorpio!

IF thou must love me, let it be for naught
Except for love's sake only. Do not say,
'I love her for her smile?her look?her way
Of speaking gently,?for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day'?
For these things in themselves, Belov?d, may
Be changed, or change for thee?and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry:
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning


PS she is a little hard to read, but she is the best when it comes to love poems, EVER!!!

S.

WHEN our two souls stand up erect and strong,
Face to face, silent, drawing nigh and nigher,
Until the lengthening wings break into fire
At either curving point,?what bitter wrong
Can the earth do us, that we should not long
Be here contented? Think! In mounting higher,
The angels would press on us, and aspire
To drop some golden orb of perfect song
Into our deep, dear silence. Let us stay
Rather on earth, Belov?d?where the unfit
Contrarious moods of men recoil away
And isolate pure spirits, and permit
A place to stand and love in for a day,
With darkness and the death-hour rounding it.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Ooohhhhhhoooohhhh!!! I'm feeling it! I have goose bumps all over me! Love what a thing. How cool is it!

Thanks for the thread!

GREAT poems you guys : )

Thanks for posting them. I also LOVE Elizabeth Barret Browning.

Kepp them coming and I will post more as well!

-phoenix

A Woman Waits for Me
by Walt Whitman

A woman waits for me, she contains all, nothing is lacking,
Yet all were lacking if sex were lacking, or if the moisture of
the right man were lacking.

Sex contains all, bodies, souls,
Meanings, proofs, purities, delicacies, results, promulgations,
Songs, commands, health, pride, the maternal mystery, the
seminal milk,
All hopes, benefactions, bestowals, all the passions, loves,
beauties, delights of the earth,
All the governments, judges, gods, follow'd persons of the
earth,
These are contain'd in sex as parts of itself and justifications
of itself.

Without shame the man I like knows and avows the
deliciousness of his sex,
Without shame the woman I like knows and avows hers.

Now I will dismiss myself from impassive women,
I will go stay with her who waits for me, and with those
women that are warm-blooded sufficient for me,
I see that they understand me and do not deny me,
I see that they are worthy of me, I will be the robust
husband of those women.

They are not one jot less than I am,
They are tann'd in the face by shining suns and blowing
winds,
Their flesh has the old divine suppleness and strength,
They know how to swim, row, ride, wrestle, shoot, run,
strike, retreat, advance, resist, defend themselves,
They are ultimate in their own right--they are calm, clear,
well-possess'd of themselves.

I draw you close to me, you women,
I cannot let you go, I would do you good,
I am for you, and you are for me, not only for our own
sake, but for others' sakes,
Envelop'd in you sleep greater heroes and bards,
They refuse to awake at the touch of any man but me.

It is I, you women, I make my way,
I am stern, acrid, large, undissuadable, but I love you,
I do not hurt you any more than is necessary for you,
I pour the stuff to start sons and daughters fit for these
States, I press with slow rude muscle,
I brace myself effectually, I listen to no entreaties,
I dare not withdraw till I deposit what has so long
accumulated within me.

Through you I drain the pent-up rivers of myself,
In you I wrap a thousand onward years,
On you I graft the grafts of the best-beloved of me and
America,
The drops I distil upon you shall grow fierce and athletic
girls, new artists, musicians, and singers,
The babes I beget upon you are to beget babes in their turn,
I shall demand perfect men and women out of my love-
spendings,
I shall expect them to interpenetrate with others, as I and
you interpenetrate now,
I shall count on the fruits of the gushing showers of them, as
I count on the fruits of the gushing showers I give now,
I shall look for loving crops from the birth, life, death,
immortality, I plant so lovingly now.

GUILO
by Ella Wilcox

Yes, yes! I love thee, Guilo; thee alone.
Why dost thou sigh, and wear that face of sorrow?
The sunshine is today's, although it shone
On yesterday, and may shine on tomorrow.
I love but thee, my Guilo! be content,
The greediest heart can claim but present pleasure.
The future is thy God's. The past is spent.
Today is thine; clasp close the precious treasure.
See how I love thee, Guilo! Lips and eyes
Could never under thy fond gaze dissemble.
I could not feign these passion-laden sighs,
Deceiving thee, my pulses would not tremble.
"So I loved Romney." Hush, thou foolish one--
I should forget him wholly, wouldst thou let me;
Or but remember that his day was done
From that most supreme hour when first I met thee.
"And Paul?" Well, what of Paul? Paul had blue eyes,
And Romney grey, and thine are darkly tender!
One finds fresh feelings under change of skies--
A new horizon brings a newer splendor.
As I love thee, I never loved before;
Believe me, Guilo, for I speak most truly.
What though to Romney and to Paul I swore
The selfsame words; my heart now worships newly.
We never feel the same emotion twice:
No two ships ever ploughed the selfsame billow.
The waters change, with every fall and rise;
So, Guilo, go contented to thy pillow.

Wow! away I go......

hehe... ; )

I love this thread! 🙂
Here are some of my favs.

_______________________________________
"She walks in beauty, like the night"
Lord Byron

SHE walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies,
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meets in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress
Or softly lightens o'er her face,
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek and o'er that brow
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,?
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent.
_______________________________________

Here is one that the more philosophical side of me always loves!


The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
________________________________________

And here is one by one of the great poets of my country.

Where the mind is without fear - Rabindranath Tagore

Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
________________________________________

Have fun everyone and take care!
🙂

Here is one more!

If - An Inspirational Poem
by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head
when all about you men are losing theirs
and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
but make allowances for their doubting, too.
If you can wait but not be tired of waiting,
or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
and yet don't look too good nor talk too wise,
If you can dream but not make dreams your master,

if you can think and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
and treat those two imposters just the same,
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
and stoop and build them up with worn-out tools,
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
and risk it on one turn of pitch and toss,
and lose and start again at your beginnings
and never breathe a word about your loss,
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

to serve your turn long after they are gone,
and to hold on when there is nothing in you
but the will that says to them "hold on,"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
or walk with kings nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
if all men count with you but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
with 60 seconds worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
and which is more, you'll be a man, my son.

Just lovely! I am feeling all so manye different emotions in each of these beautiful poems! God what a gift! I am alive, and I can feel all of these things! That is truly a gift! Thank you!!!
S.

The Warning

Dear saint from the heavens that purify you

Why must you paint your hate on the ones who have the same flesh and bones as you do

Do not bring the devil inside who corrupts your mind

Because it will surely cut through your eyes which blinds

The vivid colors you encircle your world with, please don't drain out the colors and blacken the world which we would've loved to live in.

Peace, love, and harmony was in your eyes which a cross lit within but now it slowly fades away while your heart painfully parts.

Do not be afraid o holy one or lose faith being that you are still not yet gone.

For you must save yourself before you become undone.
My Falling LeavesStanding alone under the willow tree

Pale, lifeless leaves falling around her

Without strength she tries to catch them before they reach the ground

But fails every each time

The leaves just keep on falling

She doesnt want to step out into the bright light

Just wants to stay in the cold shade under the same tree

As the years passed, one by one the leaves fell

Until there was no more leaves and only the branches of the tree showed

She felt the pain touch her skin as the light embraced her

She didnt have the protection that the tree offered for her before
So either way..she had to step out someday... the poems above me...were done by yours truly..MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! hey dont hate..LuZ

Daffodils

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 5
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay: 10
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay, 15
In such a jocund company:
I gazed?and gazed?but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood, 20
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Wow everyone, great selections!

Luz, you are a very talented woman! You go girl!

*hugs* thanx pheonix!!!!! ^ ^LuZ

((((LUZ)))))

(Hugged ya back)

You're welcome! ; )

On The Road That I Have Taken
On the road that I have taken,
one day, walking, I awaken,
amazed to see where I have come,
where I'm going, where I'm from.

This is not the path I thought.
This is not the place I sought.
This is not the dream I bought,
just a fever of fate I've caught.

I'll change highways in a while,
at the crossroads, one more mile.
My path is lit by my own fire.
I'm going only where I desire.

On the road that I have taken,
one day, walking, I awaken.
One day, walking, I awaken,
on the road that I have taken.

Dean Koontz - Book of counted sorrows.

Ye stars! which are the poetry of heaven,
If in your bright leaves we could read the fate
Of men and empires-'tis to be forgiven
That, in our aspirations to be great,
Our destinies o'erleap their mortal state
And claim a kindred with you: for ye are
A beauty and a mystery, and create
In us such love and reverence from afar,
That fortune, fame, power, life have named
Themselves a star.

-Byron

Come, clear the way, then, clear the way!

Blind creeds and kings have had their day.

Break the dead branches from the path;

Our hope is in the aftermath--

Our hope is in heroic men,

Star led to build the world again.

-Edward Markham

The Sun himself is gold of purest ray;
The herald, Mercury, serves for love and pay;
Dame Venus has bewitched you all, for she,
Early and late, looks on you lovingly;
Chaste Luna has her whims, no two alike;
Mars threatens you, although he may not strike;
And Jupiter is still the splendid star.
Saturn is great, though seemingly small and far;
As metal, him we don't much venerate,
Of value slight, though heavy in his weight.
Now, when of Sol and Luna unions had-
Silver with gold-then is the world made glad;
All else, with them, is easy to attain-
Palaces, gardens, cheeks of rosy stain.

-Goethe, Faust

(Too bad they hadn't discovered Pluto yet, huh?!)

I'm on an astrological poetry kick now, apparently...

wow, those are great poems phoenix ^^ keep it up 😄LuZ

Thanks Luz, I will--I'm like, scouring the 'net right now for good stuff... : )

Phoenix,I like your selection.Shows a beautiful soul.

As a Capricorn, I have always been a fan of efficiency. Here is a poem (that hopefully hasn't been posted in this thread yet! A-yuk!) that paints the way things are in the universe in such a miniscule amount of words that it defines efficient communication.

"Chasing the horizon" by Stephen Crane

I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
Round and round they spun.

I was disturbed by this,
I accosted the man;
?It is futile,? I said.
?You'll never--?

?You lie!? he cried,
And ran on.

Come away with me dear one

Have you forgotten your heritage?

Soar with me far above the clouds, far above mundane and earthly things

Open your eyes and ears and pay attention to what is truly going on

For you have been caught in a lie, forced upon you subtly

Through television and radio, and print and magazines

Where have your beliefs really come from?

Who were your teachers and where are they now? Are they happy, powerful, and free?

You were born of royal blood, destined to reign

Yet you peck and skirmish among the prairie chickens, the dirty beasts of the earth

Use your divine sight now, hear and see past the circumstances that lie around you

Take flight and soar higher and higher

Higher and higher above the clouds

Look to your left and look to your right and you might just see me soaring beside you

Scorp 25,

Thank you for the sonnet! I appreciate your talent very much!!!

That was wonderful! You are a very gifted and creative person!!!! You should write a book!

I don't know anyone else like you! You are a pleasure!

My b eloved is all radiant
and ruddy,
distnguished among ten thousand.
His head is the finest gold;
his hair is wavy,
black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves
beside springs of water,
bathed in milk,
fitly set.
His cheeks are like beds of spices,
very yeilding fragrance.
His lips are lilies,
dustilling liquid myrrh.
His arms are rounded gold,
set with jewels.
His body is ivory work,
encrusted with sapphires.
His legs are alabaster
columns,
set upon bases of gold.
His apperance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
His speech is most sweet,
and he is altogether
desirable.
This is my beloved and this
is my friend.

Song of Solomon
Torment of Seperation

64--Is that from the Bible? I really like that! Very sensual and romantic.

scorp25, I was eagerly awaiting something from you on this thread. Your poem reminds me of the symboloic Eagle of our sign. It is beautiful.

Thank you!

or, maybe, symbolic. lol

P.S. 80--thank you for your compliment : )

You have a beautiful soul as well, and I hope your scorp realizes it.

P.P.S...I just might have the courage now to post some of my own poetry, since some of you have already done that I'm not so scared now, your courage is inspiring...lol ; )

Uncertainty
Black as the vast night sky
Deep as the cold ocean water
This is my world now
When I see that it could be the end
I am without sight
I am drowning
The end of this would mean certain death
For me
But will you go on?
Or will you be haunted by me?
Am I to be only
A faded memory?
Will this love I had and gave to you
Be tossed away so carelessly?
Do you treasure me
At all?
Over our love I stumble and fall.
Heather Marie White
Copyright ?2002 Heather Marie White

Heather...that's definitely very touching!
Nice poem!

First Heartache :

I see you from a distance.
I am awed by your charm.
My heart I know, is no more my slave

You mesmerize me with those deep searching eyes...
Challenging to know the depth I can reach
I am lost, long before I know it

Searching for the unknown
I can not stop even if I tried
And so I go on

The whole world seems to disappear
Leaving only you and me
And the hope, that this is the day

You walk away
Leaving me with despair for some unsaid words
With a new hope for the next time - in those innocent days

Today as I think about it I realize that 'THE' day never did dawn
I am left in the dark wondering and solitary on my island of hope!!

207---

Beautiful and very touching! I can't believe all the talented poets on this board.

(Thank you for the compliment on my poem by the way!)

(from Sonnets from the Portuguese)

VI

Go from me. Yet I feel that I shall stand
Henceforward in thy shadow. Nevermore
Alone upon the threshold of my door
Of individual life, I shall command
The uses of my soul, nor lift my hand
Serenely in the sunshine as before,
Without the sense of that which I forbore?
Thy touch upon the palm. The widest land
Doom takes to part us, leaves thy heart in mine
With pulses that beat double. What I do
And what I dream include thee, as the wine
Must taste of its own grapes. And when I sue
God for myself, He hears that name of thine,
And sees within my eyes the tears of two.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806?1861)

I'm such an a**.

Josh, I forgot to thank you for your poem--I really liked the whole thing about the siplicity/efficiency of it.

Very cool : )

The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807?1882)

2

You left me, sweet, two legacies,?
A legacy of love
A Heavenly Father would content,
Had He the offer of;

You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea,
Between eternity and time,
Your consciousness and me.

-Emily Dickinson

so many kewl poems ^__^

"64--Is that from the Bible? I really like that! Very sensual and romantic."

Hi! Phoenix,

Yes!that is from the Old Testament. He was a son of my favorite man in the bible,King David. He was nothing like his father though. King David was fearless and a great man/warrior! Solomon was given his reign and lost it. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines and was probably a Taurus LOL! No wonder he was running around singing and writing poems!!! I thought he was a jerk!, but liked his writings.

Lastly, To Luz, Phoenix, Josh, 207, (Scorp 25 I gaveyou thanks) and if I missed someone, sorry!!!

I would like to say thanks to all the brave poet laureateswho supplied all that energy for our pleasure. Well done!!! I loved all of them very much and they were so different.

S.

You guys are cool.

especially the avid posters in here:
phoenix, i-sun, susan, scorp25, etc. your insights are all amazing. phoenix is smart, i-sun is a genious *he should post in this subject too*, susan is very insightful and scorp25 is really mysterious.

you have all inspired me. i am a taurus but the way you apply yourselfves to peoples reaction is amazing.

i-sun thank you for your insights you have helped me.
so did you phoenix. and all you scorps out there!

we are opposites but you too rock!!!

Okay S and 205, you two almost made me cry with your gratitude, seriously!

I am so glad that you've taken something away from all these poems; I keep posting them because I like to share what affects me, with you guys, because perhaps it will affect you, too.

S and 205, the boards wouldn't be the same without you. You two are also very intelligent--don't go away ever!! : )

-phoenix

I guess we are a family! And we made this one ours, instead of the other way around! How cool is this!

S.

I know!!

It's very cool!

-phoenix