|
|
Introduction
Throughout my life, I have enjoyed writing poems. My favorite type are love poems, but I have written many other types as well. Like Robert Frost, I also prefer the traditional styles of rhyme, iamb, and meter and only occationally enjoy free verse. What you are about to read will be a collection of poems and stories, some written by me, others not. I hope you have as much fun reading them as I did writing them.
In my writing style, I take each line as it comes and will usually use different methods of rhyme for each poem.
Some readers have compared my work to riddles. I leave you free to interpret my work in any way you wish. Some lines have hidden meaning and others are there because I like how they sound with the poem. You are completely open to think whatever you wish about my lines. My interpretations and meanings are mine alone, and you have no need to know them because I believe telling you would affect your own opinions.
Some of my favorite poems I did not write but will still place here just because I enjoy them tremendously. The authors will be listed with the poems. Any poem that does not have an author line was written by me.
Almost all the stories written here were not written by me, but I like them nonetheless. They, too, will have a by line if not by me. I placed the poems first while the stories are at the bottom. (I apologize as the font is giving me trouble and being inconsistent every time I attempt to edit this page.)
Any poems or stories written by me, you are free to use only as long as I retain credit and you acknowledge that it was my work. The other stuff I don't care whether you use or not, but I would have no idea about the legality of that. Go to the freeservers website at www.freeservers.com to see their copyright policies. Enjoy!
|
|
|
A Changing Man Nothing seems more right In time or space today
Than your own heart's delight
Your happiness, your way.
Then changed have I become
To satisfy your needs.
The beat of my own drum
To your words now it heeds.
But underneath my shell
Rebellion lays in wait
For that sweet day in Hell
When there is ice to skate.
A Winter Night
The crisp night air
Can bring its share
Of worries and of strife
But we can care
So sweetly there
I love you, my dear wife.
So that is when
We both begin
To cuddle by the fire
And warm your chin
Against my skin
As quietly we tire.
So do not weep
But fall asleep
In loving arms instead.
So soundly sleep
So very deep;
I'll carry you to bed.
Across the Shining Land of Free
Across the shining land of free
And home of brave, I give to thee
My heart and soul to do with as
You please; to give you all it has
To give is all it wants to do,
And even though it has but few
Materials to give, it will
Lend all its hope and peace until
The end of time when even those
Who live forever will impose
Upon themselves the limits of
Mortality seen not in love;
That is the reason we can go
Forever past the bounds to show
That even care and kindness build
Eternity with joy is filled.
Adoration
This poem I write is just for you
And you know who you are.
Forever will our love ensue;
We'll never wander far.
Be Yourself
Go look upon the greatest book in all the world for thee
And you will find the greatest sights in all the world to see.
But left unseen the greatest treasure in the world for thee
Is what you want with all your heart and all your soul to be.
Blessings
As you go on your merry way
It is for you that I will pray
For God to go with you today.
May He before you, always go
So that the path to you He'll show,
And may behind you He go, too,
To strengthen and encourage you.
Beside you while you walk, He'll lend
A hand and always be your friend.
From Heaven He'll watch over you
And be a guide in all you do.
His comforting will never cease
For from within, He'll give you peace.
As you go on your merry way
It is for you that I will pray
For God to go with you today. |
Currents of Confusion Can be what may when comes the day In tempest or in calm.
Then fades away what was to say
Was written on my palm.
Little dwells in inky knells
Though but for that which art.
Came from the swells in hottest hells
To blacken whitest heart.
Young may be, yet still to see
Life's sorrows through its pain.
No one can feel as free with me
While locked with ball and chain.
So do not stay; be on your way
With worries close behind
For here I'll lay to hold at bay
The beast of troubled mind.
Explaining Myself
These oozing thoughts that plague my mind,
The proper words I cannot find
To justify my grief.
So when I do collect my thoughts
From these abandoned, vacant lots,
I'll try to keep it brief.
Foreclosure
Come take my car, my house, my life;
I will not stop you now.
Attack me in my time of strife;
All this I will allow.
Though I've done nothing wrong at all,
Arrest me if you must,
And you may kick me when I fall
And let my body turn to dust.
I ask a small and simple thing:
Please spare my only love
From all Your wrath and all Your pain;
It's her I'm thinking of.
Please bless her in her house, her life;
Your strength can help her now
To guide her in all times of strife:
For her I'll pray, if You'll allow.
Gentle Light of Fading Day
We've sadly gone and parted ways
We know we've both seen better days
Before we cried so many tears.
For once we said that thru the years
Our love would never fail
Through tempest strong and stormy hail.
You said that things might not work out
I passed to you my fading doubt,
My worries planted in your heart.
And so I thought that from the start
Not you nor I would come this far...
...And now that love's an unseen star.
Gentle Sight
Gentle sight of my affection
Parchment spells your plight's perfection
Unto another, thine own direction
For him, not me, thine own election.
Gentle sight of light and wonder
I ask so sweet, what was my blunder
And from your box you peer down under
To see me and decree your thunder.
So calmly will I stride away
Within mine eye shines light of dismay
Trudging unceasingly on my poor way
Gentle sight of fading day.
In Sickness, Not in Health
Life goes on, or so it's said,
When all is gone and life seems dead.
Loneliness will often take
The constant bliss or turn it fake.
Sadness swells down deep inside.
It takes your thrills and makes you hide.
Malady, unkindly got
Will hold from me that which was sought.
Living breath will gasp for air
One day when death approaches near.
A remedy, in one place found:
Within her heart where love is bound.
Then to the grave, no looking back
Will me you save, or shall I pack?
A final wave...for whom I lack.
|
|
|
|
Infinite Enticement My will for you Has grown into
A craving strong and hard.
Pursue, I will
For you until
You will let down your guard.
But never break
There's more at stake
Than my own plain desire.
If you give in
I will not win.
It's more fun to conspire.
So chased you'll be
Eternally
Relentlessly pursued
The joy I feel
Within my zeal
Is as a love imbued.
Infinitely Enticing
A time ago
When I first tried
To win you for myself
I asked of you
A simple thing:
Accept me not yourself.
Yet here we are
Together now;
I asked and you did not
We would get dull
And bored through time.
At least, that's what I thought
But now I find
The work involved
To keep you in my hold
Is just as fun
As it was then,
My feelings, just as bold.
To win your heart
Took work by me
And unrelenting care
Yet harder still
The work will be
To keep us as a pair.
This work I like
And work will show
The love I feel inside
And never will
I strike a blow
With my own foolish pride.
You are my sweet,
My princess pure
Until the end of time
Your safety and
Your happiness
In my heart always prime.
Just to Write
I write for fun
Beneath the Tuscan sun
To no one
In particular but me.
Then sit and think
While I turn pink
And give a blink
To the colors that I see.
So let me bear
My own despair
To sit and stare
At what I wear
When in this chair
While I don't even give a care.
Libertarianism
Every day of my existence, I'm told to be my own
And every day that passes by, I learn from what I'm shown
So many people say that we must not conform.
Think off the box and out of sight of what we call the norm.
Now gaze upon our sweet society
And ponder on what now can never be.
There are those that push to seek our path and those who tear it down
For what we come to know as right and wrong
Was formed by our sweet society.
Our laws are too constricting for the open-minded men.
Our regulations restrain us from what we could have been.
For even those around us, encouraging our flight
Are there to pull us down again when we fly out of sight.
Our rules contain our actions, and so our individuality.
Let people make their own mistakes if we could just be free.
We were born into our lifestyle with neither choice nor care.
Why does our government contain us now that we are all aware?
Though we're naive with inexperience, even parents understand
That children will not learn until they're forced to take a stand.
So in what we call America, let freedom reign throughout the land!
Living Kindness
Though I shall pass this way but once
And never come again
The many lives that I affect
Will echo all I've been.
Which people did I help in life
When things weren't all that good?
For whom did I not care at all
And left them where they stood?
Of all the people that I met
So very long ago
Which ones have I remembered well
And which ones don't I know?
What will they say when I away
To distant lands unknown?
What have I done to change their lives?
What kindness have I shown?
Will people tell a tragic tale
Of me to all they meet
Or will they find that I've been kind
When pleasantly we greet?
Did I improve a single life
Or did I make it worse?
What will they say when comes the day
They're staring at my hearse?
If at The Gates I have to face
My life before my eyes
Will I be given passage in
Or will me they despise?
A selfish care will bring despair
When back this way I tread.
True charity with honesty
Will brighten hearts instead.
Kindness shown is kindness grown
In human heart and soul
Kindness passed makes kindness last
To fill the world up full.
Condemn nor criticize will I
Nor in my pride complain
A hostile rage will it entice,
My efforts gone in vain.
An arrogance will build a fence
Between the world and me
For every friend that I have known
Liked my humility.
To those that strike me on my cheek
I turn the other, too.
With humble words I turn and speak,
"A kind g'day to you."
Should any person take my cloak
And place it in their sack
I will not stop him taking, too,
My tunic from my back.
So all the good that I have done
And any kindness shown
To many generations still
My healing words are blown.
Though I shall pass this way but once
And never come again,
I've done so much for hearts I touch;
I'm proud of what I've been.
Made For Each Other
Upon the earth there has to be
A single girl meant just for me,
And even though that's very rare
That rarity cannot compare
To when not only she's for me
But also I was meant to be
For her, as well, upon the earth. |
Missing You I heard your voice the other night: A whisper in the dark,
But you were plainly out of sight;
The noise was just a lark.
No matter what I do or say
I always think of you,
And though I've not seen you today,
I can't wait 'til I do!
These endless thoughts, this teeming blur
That blocks my mind again
Will fill me with a love so pure
That my heart is in pain.
So though you are not here with me,
You have not left my side
I'll never cease, as you can see
By love, I will abide.
Mute
This silence I have grown to like
This silence that I learned in fright.
It closed my mouth and shut me up
It put me where I now am stuck:
Between this hard place and a rock,
Between these things where I cannot
Remove my silent attitude.
Remove me, please, I beg of you!
My Love, My Princess
On this, the day of your first week with me
A step upon the staircase loving you
And as we climb those stairs of life we'll see
The heights we rose in moments when we grew.
Sometimes we climb and yet sometimes we fall
Sometimes we move at even just a crawl
But with me there your step will never fail
And only with support can we prevail.
The goal upon the peak so far away
Is but a blur in my poor distant view
Yet on the path with you I want to stay
And walk the trail to destiny we drew.
If we sprint there, we stumble on the ground
But rise too slow, and it will not be found.
So walk with me in patience for the end
And climb each step with all the time we spend.
Within our peaceful cabin in the wood
We lay down by the fire in harmony
To talk of the events within out life
And be a soothing comforter in strife.
Or on the porch we sit in love and sway
Or cuddle on the swing while hand in hand
To watch the evening glow at end of day
And feel that we're alone in all the land.
The sparks from nowhere seem to rise up high
And burst in colors all across the sky
Then at each other we gaze eye to eye
And in the love we kiss and heave a sigh.
My smile upon you likes to make you blush.
Your royal laughter fills me warm inside
That's when my face with blood begins to flush
And I feel glad that you are by my side.
"So come with glee across the sea with me
To take a trip upon a ship," I quip.
We live and learn, for love we yearn, in turn
For we are bound and we are wound around.
The love of all my life, my heart and soul
With you to anywhere I love to stroll
Though silent you may stay in what I do
I must confess, Princess, that I Love You!
Our Ballad
Through life I went
So quite content
To spend it all alone.
I dared try not
To take a shot
At loving someone else.
Then you came here
So very near
To walk before my eyes
And spoke so sweet
I had to meet
This angel in disguise.
I took my chance
To ask to dance
The courtship we all know
Because I knew
That it was you
Whom I could not let go.
Together still
I know we will
With God's support succeed.
The dice I rolled
As by you strolled;
I'm glad that you agreed.
We're full of love:
A picture of
A romance strong and true
And thus I say
All night and day
I always will love you!
Paradise
Whenever I sit down to face
My clear and empty head
My thoughts drift off to just one place
The place where me you led.
The gentle garden of your mind,
The place where one would only find
A choir of angels singing well
And your sweet grace with them to dwell.
For fonder things I cannot think
And with a stare I never blink
To watch you frolic to and fro
Or in a gentle boat I'd row
Across the lake in paradise
To meet the girl as sweet as spice
In all the ancient foreign lands
Beneath the waves, above the sands.
Then day to dusk to fill the sky
With stars we may together spy
To dare to dream and pray to hope
Perhaps someday we can elope.
So when I see that inner place,
That place where me you led,
I ponder on your dearest face:
An image in my head.
Perceptions
The area of what there is, and was, and is to be
Is as it always was including that of you and me.
Unfortunately all of that was made in destiny
And plans of future happenings our eyes can never see.
So go we on our way, through life day after day
The game of time we play, its forces held at bay
Their forces grew and grew. Our wall they're walking through.
The line that once we drew with will is gone now, too.
Our death is guaranteed at end of life.
The only point in living, ending strife
To die and hope that there's an afterlife
We must improve the quality of life.
Be confident and show no fear.
The unknown future will be here.
Our destiny will never veer,
But knowing not makes living dear.
My outlook I can change
My life will rearrange
My choice, bizarrely strange
My life I will derange
My strength renewed
My goals pursued
My methods crude
My changing feud.
And still
I will
Live on
Until
My ends are met in full.
My ends are met in full.
|
|
|
|
Perplexing Poetry My meaningless messages might mean much,
Seem sights, and smells, and sounds, and such,
Living lives, and learning from low,
I sigh and I climb my bright night sky high.
Oh me, oh my! I test and try
'Til thorns in the thicket thread through me
And under my blunder, I peer from asunder and wonder
Why riddles run rampant in rhyme.
When are all my lines out of time?
Reluctant Commencement
Lovely lady living well
Emotions in me rise and swell
But thee I cannot ever tell.
The days will pass since we first met
And always will I be in debt
Because your grace I can't forget.
Arrogance, oh can it be?
Not with lack of vanity
And that I did not ever see.
At least, not when you were with me.
You always held my sanity
Which is why I desire thee.
Through chance we met and time we part
Will leave a void within my heart
Perhaps that's why I never start.
Self-Gratification
I write to write for those who read
To read my work and judge.
And even though they criticize,
I will not hold a grudge.
Still free in form and right in rhyme,
My work will please them not.
But persevere I will until
I've pleased myself in thought.
Sonnet #2
The golden sun each morning comes to rise
And wash away the soot of fading night
By then the thought of that which I despise
Is over the horizon, out of sight.
Then thoughts of bliss and joy fill up the morn.
Prepared to take the coming day ahead.
Put on new clothing I have never worn
Rehearsing all the words I will have said.
Now to her residence I will proceed
With courtesy and honor as my guide
Her voiceless eyes my mind attempts to read
The moment when the gem will be applied.
A silent air when she looks up at me,
Please wish me luck as I get on one knee...
Sonnet #4
An everyday routine continues on
With neither care nor worry in the way
Each moment's length is not so very long
And fills the minutes in the boring day.
If I should ever think about my task
It would defeat the purpose of routine
Because I would be tempted then to ask
Why do I go each moment still unseen?
So read the paper and to work I go
To do what I have done for all of time
Still knowing not which day would change your view
And interrupt the order in your flow.
What will disturb the pattern of your rhyme?
Will you be ready when you hear your cue?
Sonnet #5
This paper sitting blank in front of me
Is but a hollow tree. But if I stare
Upon its lines, the wonders that I see
Come pouring from my mind so I can share
My thoughts and dreams with all who care to hear.
But if I were to say these words aloud,
The time that it would take to say the sheer
Immensity with which I was endowed
Would equal, no, surpass the endless bounds
Of human evolutionary time.
And when I sit to hear the dulcet sounds
That came from me to make such pretty rhyme,
I feel that everything which I despise
Is gone, and I have won the greatest prize. |
Soothing Sounds I strike a chord when I am bored I brighten up and I'm restored
Within a song I play not long
I find a peace so sweet and strong
And what I play repeats each day
And yet it sooths in calming way
I like to sing for words can bring
A joy found not in gem or ring
That melody! That wondrous glee
That music here can give to me
Is, as you see, my ecstasy.
The Power Within Us All
Blandly blowing dismal droughts our way.
Who are we to say why that may be?
Let's go to future finds in Florida
And get the sun of whom they call it "we."
For whence did "we" display
His bright eternal light called day?
And whence did "we" only show
His radiance upon the moon aglow?
That's where you'll find eternal peace and rest
Living better than any one on earth.
A stilling calm that hides the sins of man
A stilling calm that does whate'er it can.
Let's find that calm and keep it for ourselves.
And share it not with those who've helped us so
We humans here on greedy Earth do dwell
To take from all and live our lives to show.
It's here on Earth you'll find that sweet perfume
Of lust and greed that show their evil face
In every man and child now faced with doom
And every heretic in sin's tight loom.
For there in space, the purity of man
Is just the same as anywhere you go
It's nothing not with God in heart and hand
And in our attitudes that sin will show
All we've done corrupting other men
And displaying all we've ever been.
A single way to cleanse your soul
Is all we need to save what we call hope
That word called "Love" displayed with human affection
Is more powerful than any inoculation
More potent still than all of God's creation.
It's in the human will and only there
That one can find this tenderness and care
But most who dwell in humble mansion homes
And in the shack that wobbles on the shore
Find not that place within themselves
To help and care for others like themselves.
Love will find
And Love will bind
For Love is kind
In Lovely mind
Love is fine
And Love can twine
For Love to shine
In "Love," not "mine."
Love until
You're feeling still
And lost your will to live.
Love until
Your corpse has nil
Within it left to give.
It's only then:
The time that's when
The world with Love will fill.
To Justify the Means
For fairer friends
The beauty bends
Perceptions in the Light.
Let darkness spawn
'For darkness dawn,
Preventing eye's deception.
Black and blind
Now clear in mind
To comprehend the day
Understand
Throughout the land,
This is the only way.
To Pray Upon a Star
How can I gaze upon a star
Alone at night when I know where you are:
So peacefully asleep in bed
Where you can rest your weary head.
But I went for a drive one eve
Without you by my side
And as I look upon that star,
In God I must confide:
I love this girl with all my heart;
I miss her so when we're apart
I write about her when she's gone
To clean the stalls and mow the lawn.
So why is it I pray we'll be
Together for eternity?
The answer is so plain to see:
We love so uncontrollably.
I pray I may, I pray I might,
I pray upon that star tonight
That our love continue on
With our fire burning strong.
But as I see that star above,
Rememb'ring my astronomy;
I grin and nod ironically...
That "star" is Venus: god of love...
Transfixed
Within the deep recesses of my mind:
The image of a girl so sweet and kind
Will be the only thing that you can find
Within the deep recesses of my mind.
Forever in that mind is only her.
Surpassing beauty and great joy, her lure;
I cannot get her out, of that I'm sure.
Forever in that mind is only her.
Try or Die
A starlit glisten in your eye.
In me your stare will purify.
Don't stop to think and wonder why.
Act quickly and don't be shy
Or all is lost and you will die
A lonely coward in the sky
Because you would not even try.
A starlit glisten in your eye.
|
|
|
|
(untitled) When troubled by the tasks of life Or bothered by a world of strife
Then turn to me and you will see
Your life in immortality
If you would only give a smile
And feel the joy for all the while
You will feel better with me in
The world where you will always win.
(untitled)
Come chat with me
In ole Paris
And, "C'est la vie,"
C'est que j'ai dit.
Viens maintenant
Rapidement
Ce bon matin
Avec moi.
(untitled)
Returning your kisses,
I hear all your wishes
Of our future life.
You will be my wife.
We do discuss it.
Wherever we'll get,
We will make it through
Because I love you.
"My darling and dear,"
I say back to you,
Because I did hear,
I know we will, too,
Be always great friends
With never an end!
Warrior's End
Grungy coat on elder's back
He sets it high upon the rack
And seats himself at table one
No longer does he have much fun
A lonely man gone past his prime
Watching death approach with time
Gone of long are days of old
All that's sung in stories told
In bars alone by scop or bard
Lazing there with liquor's guard.
Western Brawl
On a lonely street one night
One other soul in sight
Preparing for a midnight fight
Under glowing moonlight.
A grunt and a growl came from their mouths
Hungry wolves howl
Children start to bawl
As the men begin their brawl.
The wranglers were a drinkin'
Their hearts a heavy beatin'
Neither thought of cheatin'
The other of his pride.
More at stake than life
Revenge that's full of strife.
An anger causing death
Impaling through the chest
His spirit put to rest.
Murder in the air
A family in despair
Citizens who care
"The killer's hidin' there!"
Homicide a felony
A corresponding penalty
Worryin' no more
The hangman's noose in store
Final words are said
The innocent, now, is dead.
What Do I Know?
I say to you, my friends and foes
Whate'er I think which no one knows... |
When Once I Saw Upon the Ground When once I saw upon the ground A bright and pretty flower found
And thought I might upon the way
Pick it up the for you today;
But then again, on second thought,
If I should prick it from its spot
The beauty that intended shown
For years within this blossom grown
Would wilt and die and fade away
And in my mind, that death would say,
"I care not for your life at all,"
Which for you I would never call,
But there instead I let it dwell
Within the ground where it stays well
And bless it so that all can see
The endless life I wish for thee
And every flower that I've found
And left it sitting in the ground
Has reproduced and more there grew
Are all a tribute just for you.
When Twice I Saw Upon The Ground
No more do we in earnest say
How much we love and care today
For once we did, but now we don't
Cause once we would, but now we won't.
I found upon the ground this morn
A garden grove of flowers born
And thought upon a single day
When I thought I had found my way:
I blessed a single bud that grew
And would not pick it, just for you.
That endless love that I had shown
Is now a field in beauty grown.
That single tear still on my cheek
Encumbers me when I am weak,
For every day I dream of you:
The joyful girl that once I knew.
Why Are Roses Red?
"Roses are red
Violets are blue"
These lines have been said
For too long to you.
Convention is heard
Again in this form
Needs changed to absurd,
Naught in calm,
More in storm.
Your fragrance fills my rivers full
Of kindness and of care.
Is that the reason I feel glad
To see you standing there?
Your fragrance fills my rivers full
With blessings that you share.
Is that the reason you look like
An angel standing there?
Your fragrance fills my rivers full
With loveliness each day.
Is that the reason I can't help
To stop and look your way?
The rush that fills, exciting
Though glance be uninviting
The fragrance of your sighting:
An angel standing there.
Why I Like to Write
I write because I like to write
Upon this page in front of me,
For nothing more than that.
So when you ask me why I write
The simple lines you see,
I merely grin and tip my hat;
It's common courtesy.
Wife's Serenade
In chance
Romance
Heart's dance
Beguiling
Sweet smiling
Love filing
I, abiding
My soul's guiding,
Find you hiding
Glowing ray of sun
I know you're the one
My own honeybun.
Your gaze makes me quiver
Your touch makes me shiver
A generous giver
Of love on this night
Of comfort in fright
Of endless delight.
Equal in life
With me in strife
Enchanting wife.
Forever
And ever
Not sever
Us two
"I do,"
My love.
Your Lovingkindness
Dedicated With Love for [my ex girlfriend]
It is my plan
Though knowing not how
To win your sweet hand
If you will allow.
Brushing your hair
With such gentle care
Gives me satisfaction
In such simple action.
When you're not in view,
In gaze nor in sight
Yet thinking of you
At day or in night
When you speak with me
My soul jumps with glee.
In rapture of voice,
I find there's no choice.
Trying for perfection
I dare not have a chance.
That's why I fear rejection
In our playful romance.
Don't tempt me and then turn your back
Don't criticize me where I lack.
It's simply you that's my desire
In running for you, I'll never tire.
I will catch you if I can
Just please don't ask me how.
The fairest girl in all the land
I'll love, if you'll allow.
|
|
|
|
"Ode to Spot"
by Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Felis Cattus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature.
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations:
A singular development of cat communication
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential in your acrobatic talents;
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance
And when not being utilized to aide in locomotion,
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotions.
Oh, Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
Connotes a fairly well-developed cognitive array,
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.
"The Road Not Taken"
by 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 saved 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.
"The Creamation of Sam McGee
by Robert W. Service
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated San McGee.
Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.
Why he left his home in the south to roam 'round the pole, God only knows.
He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;
Though he'd often say in his homely way that "he'd sooner live in hell."
On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson trail.
Talk of your cold! Through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn't see;
It wasn't much fun, but the only one to whimper was San McGee.
And that very night, as we lay packed tight in our robes beneath the snow,
And the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead were dancing heel and toe,
He turned to me, and "Cap," says he, "I'll cash in this trip, I guess;
And if I do, I'm asking that you won't refuse my last request."
Well, he seemed so low that I couldn't say no; then he says with a sort of moan:
"It's the cursed cold, and it's got right hold till I'm chilled clean through to the bone.
Yet 'taint being dead--it's my awful dread of the icy grave that pains;
So I want you to swear that, foul or fair, you'll cremate my last remains."
A pal's last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;
And we started on at the streak of dawn; but God! He looked ghastly pale.
He crouched on that sleigh, and he raved all day of his home in Tennessee;
And before night fall a corpse was all that was left of Sam McGee.
There wasn't a breath in that land of death, and I hurried, horror-driven,
With a corpse half hid that I couldn't get rid, because of a promise given;
It was lashed to the sleigh, and it seemed to say: "You may tax your brawn and brains,
But you promised true, and it's up to you to cremate those last remains."
Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.
In the days to come, though my lips were numb, in my heart how I cursed that load.
In the long, long night, by the lone firelight, while the huskies, round in a ring,
Howled out their woes to the homeless snows -- O God! How I loathed the thing.
And every day that quiet clay seemed to heavy and heavier grow;
And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low;
The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;
And I'd often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.
Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and in a derelict there lay;
It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the "Alice May."
And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum;
Then "Here," said I, with a sudden cry, "is my cre-ma-tor-eum."
Some planks I tore from the cabin floor, and I lit the boiler fire;
Some coal I found that was lying around, and I heaped the fuel higher;
The flames just soared, and the furnace roared -- such a blaze you seldom see;
And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and I stuffed in Sam McGee.
Then I made a hike, for I didn't like to hear him sizzle so;
And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and the wind began to blow.
It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I don't know why;
And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.
I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: "I'll j ust take a peep inside.
I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked; "...then the door I opened wide.
And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: "Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm --
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it's the first time I've been warm."
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.
"Dr. Seuss Explains Computers"
author unknown
If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
And the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
And the access of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
Then the socket packet pocket has an error to report.
If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash
And the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash;
And your data is corrupted 'cuz the index doesn't hash,
then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna crash!
If the label on the cable on the table at your house
Says the network is connected to the button on your mouse,
But your packets want to tunnel to another protocol
That's repeatedly rejectected by the printer down the hall,
And your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss,
So your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse;
Then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang
'Cuz sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang!
When the copy of your floppy's getting sloppy in the disk
And the microcode instructions cause unnecessary risk
Then you'll have to flash the memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM.
Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your mom.
|
|
"Footprints"
(author unknown)
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the sky, flashed scenes from his life. For each
scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
one belonged to him, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of his life flashed before
him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his
life there was only one set of foorprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned
the Lord about it. Lord, you said that once I decided
to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I
have noticed that during the most troublesome times
in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't
understand why when I needed you most
you would leave me.
The Lord replied. My precious, precious child. I love
you, and I would never leave you during your times
of trial and suffering. When you see only one set of
footprints, it was then that I carried you.
The Room...
By Brian Moore
In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I have liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in detail my memory couldn't match.
A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.
A file named "Friends" was next to one-marked "Friends I have betrayed," The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I have Read", "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed At." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've yelled at my brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents.
Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.
When I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I have watched," I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.
When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it. Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot.
Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With. The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand. And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him.
No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes.
Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.
Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. "No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, and so alive.
The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards.
I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."
I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door.
There were still cards to be written.
(on a friend's MSN profile)
A girl asked a guy if she was pretty, if he would be with her forever, and if he would cry if she left. He said no. As she left crying he grabbed her arm and said, "You're not pretty, you're beautiful! I don't want to be with you forever, I need to be with you forever! And I would die if you left!"
Story of Pi converted from the Poe poem.
(found on the internet)
Poe, E.
Near a Raven
Midnights so dreary, tired and weary.
Silently pondering volumes extolling all by-now obsolete lore.
During my rather long nap - the weirdest tap!
An ominous vibrating sound disturbing my chamber's antedoor.
"This", I whispered quietly, "I ignore".
Perfectly, the intellect remembers: the ghostly fires, a glittering ember.
Inflamed by lightning's outbursts, windows cast penumbras upon this floor.
Sorrowful, as one mistreated, unhappy thoughts I heeded:
That inimitable lesson in elegance - Lenore -
Is delighting, exciting...nevermore.
Ominously, curtains parted (my serenity outsmarted),
And fear overcame my being - the fear of "forevermore".
Fearful foreboding abided, selfish sentiment confided,
As I said, "Methinks mysterious traveler knocks afore.
A man is visiting, of age threescore."
Taking little time, briskly addressing something: "Sir," (robustly)
"Tell what source originates clamorous noise afore?
Disturbing sleep unkindly, is it you a-tapping, so slyly?
Why, devil incarnate!--" Here completely unveiled I my antedoor--
Just darkness, I ascertained - nothing more.
While surrounded by darkness then, I persevered to clearly comprehend.
I perceived the weirdest dream...of everlasting "nevermores".
Quite, quite, quick nocturnal doubts fled - such relief! - as my intellect said,
(Desiring, imagining still) that perchance the apparition was uttering a whispered "Lenore".
This only, as evermore.
Silently, I reinforced, remaining anxious, quite scared, afraid,
While intrusive tap did then come thrice - O, so stronger than sounded afore.
"Surely" (said silently) "it was the banging, clanging window lattice."
Glancing out, I quaked, upset by horrors hereinbefore,
Perceiving: a "nevermore".
Completely disturbed, I said, "Utter, please, what prevails ahead.
Repose, relief, cessation, or but more dreary 'nevermores'?"
The bird intruded thence - O, irritation ever since! -
Then sat on Pallas' pallid bust, watching me (I sat not, therefore),
And stated "nevermores".
Bemused by raven's dissonance, my soul exclaimed, "I seek intelligence;
Explain thy purpose, or soon cease intoning forlorn 'nevermores'!"
"Nevermores", winged corvus proclaimed - thusly was a raven named?
Actually maintain a surname, upon Pluvious seashore?
I heard an oppressive "nevermore".
My sentiments extremely pained, to perceive an utterance so plain,
Most interested, mystified, a meaning I hoped for.
"Surely," said the raven's watcher, "separate discourse is wiser.
Therefore, liberation I'll obtain, retreating heretofore -
Eliminating all the 'nevermores' ".
Still, the detestable raven just remained, unmoving, on sculptured bust.
Always saying "never" (by a red chamber's door).
A poor, tender heartache maven - a sorrowful bird - a raven!
O, I wished thoroughly, forthwith, that he'd fly heretofore.
Still sitting, he recited "nevermores".
The raven's dirge induced alarm - "nevermore" quite wearisome.
I meditated: "Might its utterances summarize of a calamity before?"
O, a sadness was manifest - a sorrowful cry of unrest;
"O," I thought sincerely, "it's a melancholy great - furthermore,
Removing doubt, this explains 'nevermores' ".
Seizing just that moment to sit - closely, carefully, advancing beside it,
Sinking down, intrigued, where velvet cushion lay afore.
A creature, midnight-black, watched there - it studied my soul, unawares.
Wherefore, explanations my insight entreated for.
Silently, I pondered the "nevermores".
"Disentangle, nefarious bird! Disengage - I am disturbed!"
Intently its eye burned, raising the cry within my core.
"That delectable Lenore - whose velvet pillow this was, heretofore,
Departed thence, unsettling my consciousness therefore.
She's returning - that maiden - aye, nevermore."
Since, to me, that thought was madness, I renounced continuing sadness.
Continuing on, I soundly, adamantly forswore:
"Wretch," (addressing blackbird only) "fly swiftly - emancipate me!"
"Respite, respite, detestable raven - and discharge me, I implore!"
A ghostly answer of: "nevermore".
" 'Tis a prophet? Wraith? Strange devil? Or the ultimate evil?"
"Answer, tempter-sent creature!", I inquired, like before.
"Forlorn, though firmly undaunted, with 'nevermores' quite indoctrinated,
Is everything depressing, generating great sorrow evermore?
I am subdued!", I then swore.
In answer, the raven turned - relentless distress it spurned.
"Comfort, surcease, quiet, silence!" - pleaded I for.
"Will my (abusive raven!) sorrows persist unabated?
Nevermore Lenore respondeth?", adamantly I encored.
The appeal was ignored.
"O, satanic inferno's denizen -- go!", I said boldly, standing then.
"Take henceforth loathsome "nevermores" - O, to an ugly Plutonian shore!
Let nary one expression, O bird, remain still here, replacing mirth.
Promptly leave and retreat!", I resolutely swore.
Blackbird's riposte: "nevermore".
So he sitteth, observing always, perching ominously on these doorways.
Squatting on the stony bust so untroubled, O therefore.
Suffering stark raven's conversings, so I am condemned, subserving,
To a nightmare cursed, containing miseries galore.
Thus henceforth, I'll rise (from a darkness, a grave) -- nevermore!
-- Original: E. Poe
|
|
|
