Let's Share Some Poems

[Shan]

Do you have some poems that you like, a favorite one, or just one that comes to mind that you would like to share?

This will be an on going thread that anyone can post a poem to at any time. Who knows we might find we like some of the same poems. We might find a shared, unknown poem to that we really like.

Poems posted are also open to discussion if anyone would like to talk about them.

If at all possible, please post the name of the poem and the person who wrote it.

Feel free to post the poem or a link to the poem, your choice.

Have fun.

Shan

[Shan]

This is one I posted in my castle thread, bit I kinda like it so I am going to post it here too just to get things started.

HAUNTED HOUSES - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

All houses wherein men have lived and died
Are haunted houses. Through the open doors
The harmless phantoms on their errands glide,
With feet that make no sound upon the floors.

We meet them at the door-way, on the stair,
Along the passages they come and go,
Impalpable impressions on the air,
A sense of something moving to and fro.

There are more guests at table, than the hosts
Invited; the illuminated hall
Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts,
As silent as the pictures on the wall.

The stranger at my fireside cannot see
The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear;
He but perceives what is; while unto me
All that has been is visible and clear.

We have no title-deeds to house or lands;
Owners and occupants of earlier dates
From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands,
And hold in mortmain still their old estates.

The spirit-world around this world of sense
Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere
Wafts through these earthly mists and vapors dense
A vital breath of more ethereal air.

Our little lives are kept in equipoise
By opposite attractions and desires;
The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,
And the more noble instinct that aspires.

These perturbations, this perpetual jar
Of earthly wants and aspirations high,
Come from the influence of an unseen star,
An undiscovered planet in our sky.

And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud
Throws o'er the sea a floating bridge of light,
Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd
Into the realm of mystery and night,--

So from the world of spirits there descends
A bridge of light, connecting it with this,
O'er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends,
Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss.

Shan

[Shan]

Here is a poem that I really like.

Trees - Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain,
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Shan

[Shan]

And here is another one that means alot to me.

The Gift of Friendship - Helen Steiner Rice

Friendship is a priceless gift
that can not be bought or sold,
But its value is far greater
than a mountain made of gold
For gold is cold and lifeless,
it can neither see not hear,
And in the time of trouble
it is powerless to cheer
It has no ears to listen,
no heart to understand,
It can not bring you comfort
or reach out a helping hand
So when you ask God for a gift,
be thankful if He sends
Not diamonds, pearls or riches,
but the love of real true friends.

Shan

[Shan]

After Phil mentioned Michelangelo writing some poetry in his Michelangelo thread, I went searching for some other works by him. This is one that I came across that I liked.

CELESTIAL LOVE - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

O mortal thing enthralled these longing eyes
When perfect peace in thy fair face I found;
But far within, where all is holy ground,
My soul felt Love, her comrade of the skies:
For she was born with God in Paradise;
Nor all the shows of beauty shed around
This fair false world her wings to earth have bound:
Unto the Love of Loves aloft she flies.
Nay, things that suffer death, quench not the fire
Of deathless spirits; nor eternity
Serves sordid Time, that withers all things rare.
Not love but lawless impulse is desire:
That slays the soul; our love makes still more fair
Our friends on earth, fairer in death on high.

Shan

[Shan]

Hmmmmmm, seems like I've got this thread all to myself.

But who knows, one of you might find a poem that you like out of what I post.

Here is one by Robert Frost.

The Door in the Dark

In going from room to room in the dark,
I reached out blindly to save my face,
But neglected, however lightly, to lace
My fingers and close my arms in an arc.
A slim door got in past my guard,
And hit me a blow in the head so hard
I had my native simile jarred.
So people and things don't pair any more
With what they used to pair with before.

Ouch!

Shan

[Shan]

I think we all have probably heard of this one by Robert Frost. It is one of my favorites though.

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

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.

Enjoy.

Shan

[Shan]

And then we can not forget the ones by Shel Silverstein.

Smart - Shel Silverstein

My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
'Cause two is more than one!

And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes -- I guess he don't know
That three is more than two!

Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!

And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!

And then I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head--
Too proud of me to speak!



Shan

[Sir Ped of Ro]

Shan

very nice post...keep on coming those great choices of yours, i'll try to track down a few fav. of mines during the week.

regards

[philster]

Very cool

I'm not a big fan of poems otherwise I'd participate more. But maybe I will develop a taste for it eventually if I come to this thread enough ;-D

[philster]

Oh, did you know our English word poem comes from the Greek word translated "workmanship?" I just thought that was interesting.

[Tsel]

I deleted this poem on this forum and resubmitted it here; it seemed more appropriate.

I wrote this poem a few years ago and it has been published although not in its entirety.


When Angels Sing

Ubiquitous within a sovereign temple
Aside a lake of living crystal
Resides one on a numinous throne
Whose divine face no human has known
Whose courtyards are outer laced and interwoven
By retem, mustard tree, and olive garden
Where mansions blaze a golden pearl
Ornate with hyacinth, jasper, topaz, and beryl
Where by His thunderous word without hesitation
Seraphim, Cherubim, and Archangels obey Him
Faithfully focused bound by supreme command
To sing their twilight song
To a desert minded world; tellurian

At the speed of thought
Inside the Great Nebula just past Rigel
Through Orion’s belt with fervent vigil they travel
To where one once called the morning star
Cross bound – now dwells
His annals bound now to hells bowels
Until at last
They reach the Four Winds camp
Who with reverence bow as they pass
Honoring not the Angelic cast
But the sacred song they possess
Of Love and Death – Hope and Pain
A Sword of Damocles – and Life Serene

Then jubilant in one triumphant psalm
Each adding life to that spiritual song
They begin passionately soul kissed by vibrato
As every living being acknowledges their arrival
By gazing above hearing that hallowed magnificat
While for a half hour heaven is silently dormant
Absolute symphonic, rejoice soave tenors, and noble sopranos
Who are warmly upheld by bass, baritone, and alto
Who reveal con fuoco with a hint of mesto
A celestial welcome home opus dividing all Gods loyal

For the requiem mass who chose not to go
After the sea of faithful were hasten joyful
Blood curtailing cries echoed behind
Wailing, “Forgive Us!”
As they, the requiem mass, fail into temporal quietus
An image so fearfully dreadful
That no scarlet pen would ever tempt to bear
Only that a multitude, for a time, rests now unaware
So the earth for a thousand years can finally sleep
For all of the Shabbat’s she could not keep
And the shade maker, devoid of all light,
Whose silhouette brightens even the dark lantern
Is chained due to being alone
To ponder his haughty endeavors
For there exists not one living soul to sway
Only his creation of rubble, death, and miasmal decay

Tsel

[Shan]

Great poem, Tsel. You really have a way with words.
Thank you for sharing it with us.

Feel free to share any others that you have written or any favorites that you have by other poets.

Shan

[Shan]

did you know our English word poem comes from the Greek word translated "workmanship?"

No, I had no idea, Phil. Very interesting.

I wonder why the word workmmanship. Hmmmmm, wonder if it could be because the poem is the work of the poet.

You better not desert this thread Phil. I'll stop reading Naruto if you do. ;D

Seriously, maybe you will find something that you like that will strike an interest in reading more or maybe even to try writing your own.

Shan

[Shan]

Great Pedro. I will be looking forward to reading them.

Shan

[philster]

Here's a poem by Phil
Why is there a chill
In the dark wind
Sweeping the green land
I'll tell you why a chill
Bad indeed is a poem by Phil!

[Shan]

Hey at least you made a poem. I'm not sure I could even do that.

Shan

[Shan]

Here is another one that I like by Shel Silverstein

No Difference - Shel Silverstein

Small as a peanut,
Big as a giant,
We're all the same size
When we turn off the light.

Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We're all worth the same
When we turn off the light.

Red, black or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same
When we turn off the light.

So maybe the way
To make everything right
Is for God to just reach out
And turn off the light!

Enjoy.

Shan

[Dark Phoenix Rising]

Spring

It was a whisper throughout the land
That sent the shiver through the sand

To one t'was lost before all time
and listened to this merry rythme

Above, below and through she wove
little footsteps in her grove

Her tree, it beckoned home once more
to sleep again till frost doth thaw

Her friends of farie, fey and sprite
leave her now this very night

To slumber still she sleeps alone
Till hunters horn in spring is blown

Then she wakes and tired she lies
To see before her very eyes

The one who's beat she'd thought she'd lost
In the year before the frost

To her feet she jumps anew
to dance again her merry tune

In through the willow and out through the loch
He dances now and with her mock

The time between them sure and fast
even now it cannot last

The flowers bloom and still they view
The dancers now their merry hew

And once again this merry two
Join together in the dew

[Tsel]

DL did you write that poem?

I like it and how it rolls off of the tongue easily.

Tsel