Man -- > Poem

[Man]

Poem



Lord Bateman
[This is a ludicrously corrupt abridgment of the ballad of Lord Beichan, a copy of which will be found inserted amongst the Early Ballads, An. Ed. p. 144. The following grotesque version was published several years ago by Tilt, London, and also, according to the title-page, by Mustapha Syried, Constantinople! under the title of The Loving Ballad of Lord Bateman. It is, however, the only ancient form in which the ballad has existed in print, and is one of the publications mentioned in Thackeray's Catalogue, see ante, p. 20. The air printed in Tilt's edition is the one to which the ballad is sung in the South of England, but it is totally different to the Northern tune, which has never been published.]

CONTINUATION


'She bids you send her a slice of bread,
And a bottle of the best wine;
And not forgetting the fair young lady
Who did release you when close confine.'

Lord Bateman he then in a passion flew,
And broke his sword in splinters three;
Saying, 'I will give all my father's riches
If Sophia has crossed the sea.'



CONTINUED BELOW !





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Lord Bateman
[This is a ludicrously corrupt abridgment of the ballad of Lord Beichan, a copy of which will be found inserted amongst the Early Ballads, An. Ed. p. 144. The following grotesque version was published several years ago by Tilt, London, and also, according to the title-page, by Mustapha Syried, Constantinople! under the title of The Loving Ballad of Lord Bateman. It is, however, the only ancient form in which the ballad has existed in print, and is one of the publications mentioned in Thackeray's Catalogue, see ante, p. 20. The air printed in Tilt's edition is the one to which the ballad is sung in the South of England, but it is totally different to the Northern tune, which has never been published.]

CONTINUATION


Then up spoke the young bride's mother,
Who never was heard to speak so free,
'You'll not forget my only daughter,
If Sophia has crossed the sea.'

'I own I made a bride of your daughter,
She's neither the better nor worse for me;
She came to me with her horse and saddle,
She may go back in her coach and three.'

Lord Bateman prepared another marriage,
And sang, with heart so full of glee,
I'll range no more in foreign countries,
Now since Sophia has crossed the sea.'





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood
[This ballad is of considerable antiquity, and no doubt much older than some of those inserted in the common Garlands. It appears to have escaped the notice of Ritson, Percy, and other collectors of Robin Hood ballads. The tune is given in Popular Music. An aged woman in Bermondsey, Surrey, from whose oral recitation the present version was taken down, said that she had often heard her grandmother sing it, and that it was never in print; but we have since met with several common stall copies. The subject is the same as that of the old ballad called Robin Hood Newly Revived; or, The Meeting and Fighting with his Cousin Scarlett.]

There chanced to be a pedlar bold,
A pedlar bold he chanced to be;
He rolled his pack all on his back,
And he came tripping o'er the lee.
Down, a down, a down, a down,
Down, a down, a down.

By chance he met two troublesome blades,
Two troublesome blades they chanced to be;
The one of them was bold Robin Hood,
And the other was Little John, so free.

'Oh! pedlar, pedlar, what is in thy pack,
Come speedilie and tell to me?'
'I've several suits of the gay green silks,
And silken bowstrings two or three.'


CONTINUED BELOW



--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood
[This ballad is of considerable antiquity, and no doubt much older than some of those inserted in the common Garlands. It appears to have escaped the notice of Ritson, Percy, and other collectors of Robin Hood ballads. The tune is given in Popular Music. An aged woman in Bermondsey, Surrey, from whose oral recitation the present version was taken down, said that she had often heard her grandmother sing it, and that it was never in print; but we have since met with several common stall copies. The subject is the same as that of the old ballad called Robin Hood Newly Revived; or, The Meeting and Fighting with his Cousin Scarlett.]


CONTINUATION


'If you have several suits of the gay green silk,
And silken bowstrings two or three,
Then it's by my body,' cries bittle John,
'One half your pack shall belong to me.'

Oh! nay, oh! nay,' says the pedlar bold,
'Oh! nay, oh! nay, that never can be,
For there's never a man from fair Nottingham
Can take one half my pack from me.'

Then the pedlar he pulled off his pack,
And put it a little below his knee,
Saying, 'If you do move me one perch from this,
My pack and all shall gang with thee.'



CONTINUED BELOW



--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood
[This ballad is of considerable antiquity, and no doubt much older than some of those inserted in the common Garlands. It appears to have escaped the notice of Ritson, Percy, and other collectors of Robin Hood ballads. The tune is given in Popular Music. An aged woman in Bermondsey, Surrey, from whose oral recitation the present version was taken down, said that she had often heard her grandmother sing it, and that it was never in print; but we have since met with several common stall copies. The subject is the same as that of the old ballad called Robin Hood Newly Revived; or, The Meeting and Fighting with his Cousin Scarlett.]


CONTINUATION


Then Little John he drew his sword;
The pedlar by his pack did stand;
They fought until they both did sweat,
Till he cried, 'Pedlar, pray hold your hand!'

Then Robin Hood he was standing by,
And he did laugh most heartilie,
Saying, 'I could find a man of a smaller scale,
Could thrash the pedlar, and also thee.'

'Go, you try, master,' says Little John,
'Go, you try, master, most speedilie,
Or by my body,' says Little John,
'I am sure this night you will not know me.'



CONTINUED BELOW



--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood
[This ballad is of considerable antiquity, and no doubt much older than some of those inserted in the common Garlands. It appears to have escaped the notice of Ritson, Percy, and other collectors of Robin Hood ballads. The tune is given in Popular Music. An aged woman in Bermondsey, Surrey, from whose oral recitation the present version was taken down, said that she had often heard her grandmother sing it, and that it was never in print; but we have since met with several common stall copies. The subject is the same as that of the old ballad called Robin Hood Newly Revived; or, The Meeting and Fighting with his Cousin Scarlett.]


CONTINUATION


Then Robin Hood he drew his sword,
And the pedlar by his pack did stand,
They fought till the blood in streams did flow,
Till he cried, 'Pedlar, pray hold your hand!'

'Pedlar, pedlar! what is thy name?
Come speedilie and tell to me.'
'My name! my name, I ne'er will tell,
Till both your names you have told to me.'

'The one of us is bold Robin Hood,
And the other Little John, so free.'
'Now,' says the pedlar, 'it lays to my good will,
Whether my name I chuse to tell to thee.



CONTINUED BELOW



--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood
[This ballad is of considerable antiquity, and no doubt much older than some of those inserted in the common Garlands. It appears to have escaped the notice of Ritson, Percy, and other collectors of Robin Hood ballads. The tune is given in Popular Music. An aged woman in Bermondsey, Surrey, from whose oral recitation the present version was taken down, said that she had often heard her grandmother sing it, and that it was never in print; but we have since met with several common stall copies. The subject is the same as that of the old ballad called Robin Hood Newly Revived; or, The Meeting and Fighting with his Cousin Scarlett.]


CONTINUATION


'I am Gamble Gold of the gay green woods,
And travelled far beyond the sea;
For killing a man in my father's land,
From my country I was forced to flee.'

'If you are Gamble Gold of the gay green woods,
And travelled far beyond the sea,
You are my mother's own sister's son;
What nearer cousins then can we be?'

They sheathed their swords with friendly words,
So merrily they did agree;
They went to a tavern and there they dined,
And bottles cracked most merrilie.




--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The Plain-Dealing Man
[The oldest copy of the Plain Dealing Man with which we have been able to meet is in black letter, printed by T. Vere at the sign 'Of the Angel without Newgate.' Vere was living in 1609.]

A crotchet comes into my mind
Concerning a proverb of old,
Plain dealing's a jewel most rare,
And more precious than silver or gold:
And therefore with patience give ear,
And listen to what here is penned,
These verses were written on purpose
The honest man's cause to defend.
For this I will make it appear,
And prove by experience I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.

Yet some are so impudent grown,
They'll domineer, vapour, and swagger,
And say that the plain-dealing man
Was born to die a beggar:
But men that are honestly given
Do such evil actions detest,
And every one that is well-minded
Will say that plain dealing is best.
For this I will make it appear,
And prove by experience I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.

For my part I am a poor man,
And sometimes scarce muster a shilling,
Yet to live upright in the world,
Heaven knows I am wondrous willing.
Although that my clothes be threadbare,
And my calling be simple and poor,
Yet will I endeavour myself
To keep off the wolf from the door.
For this I will make it appear,
And prove by experience I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.

And now, to be brief in discourse,
In plain terms I'll tell you my mind;
My qualities you shall all know,
And to what my humour's inclined:
I hate all dissembling base knaves
And pickthanks whoever they be,
And for painted-faced drabs, and such like,
They shall never get penny of me.
For this I will make it appear,
And prove by experience I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.


CONTINUED BELOW




--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The Plain-Dealing Man
[The oldest copy of the Plain Dealing Man with which we have been able to meet is in black letter, printed by T. Vere at the sign 'Of the Angel without Newgate.' Vere was living in 1609.]


CONTINUATION


Nor can I abide any tongues
That will prattle and prate against reason,
About that which doth not concern them;
Which thing is no better than treason.
Wherefore I'd wish all that do hear me
Not to meddle with matters of state,
Lest they be in question called for it,
And repent them when it is too late.
For this I will make it appear,
And prove by experience I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.

O fie upon spiteful neighbours,
Whose malicious humours are bent,
And do practise and strive every day
To wrong the poor innocent.
By means of such persons as they,
There hath many a good mother's son
Been utterly brought to decay,
Their wives and their children undone.
For this I will make it appear,
And prove by experience I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.

O fie upon forsworn knaves,
That do no conscience make
To swear and forswear themselves
At every third word they do speak:
So they may get profit and gain,
They care not what lies they do tell;
Such cursed dissemblers as they
Are worse than the devils of hell.
For this I will make it appear,
And prove by experience I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.

O fie upon greedy bribe takers,
'Tis pity they ever drew breath,
For they, like to base caterpillars,
Devour up the fruits of the earth.
They're apt to take money with both hands,
On one side and also the other,
And care not what men they undo,
Though it be their own father or brother.
Therefore I will make it appear,
And show very good reasons I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.

O fie upon cheaters and thieves,
That liveth by fraud and deceit;
The gallows do for such blades groan,
And the hangmen do for their clothes wait.
Though poverty be a disgrace,
And want is a pitiful grief,
'Tis better to go like a beggar
Than to ride in a cart like a thief.
For this I will make it appear,
And prove by experience I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.

And now let all honest men judge,
If such men as I have here named
For their wicked and impudent dealings,
Deserveth not much to be blamed.
And now here, before I conclude,
One item to the world I will give,
Which may direct some the right way,
And teach them the better to live.
For now I have made it appear,
And many men witness it can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man.

1. I' th' first place I'd wish you beware
What company you come in,
For those that are wicked themselves
May quickly tempt others to sin.

2. If youths be induced with wealth,
And have plenty of silver and gold,
I'd wish them keep something in store,
To comfort them when they are old.

3. I have known many young prodigals,
Which have wasted their money so fast,
That they have been driven in want,
And were forced to beg at the last.

4. I'd wish all men bear a good conscience,
And in all their actions be just;
For he's a false varlet indeed
That will not be true to his trust.

And now to conclude my new song,
And draw to a perfect conclusion,
I have told you what is in my mind,
And what is my [firm] resolution.
For this I have made it appear,
And prove by experience I can,
'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world
To be a plain-dealing man



--> Man

[Man]

Poem


Saturday At The Canal


I was hoping to be happy by seventeen.
School was a sharp check mark in the roll book,
An obnoxious tuba playing at noon because our team
Was going to win at night. The teachers were
Too close to dying to understand. The hallways
Stank of poor grades and unwashed hair. Thus,
A friend and I sat watching the water on Saturday,
Neither of us talking much, just warming ourselves
By hurling large rocks at the dusty ground
And feeling awful because San Francisco was a postcard
On a bedroom wall. We wanted to go there,
Hitchhike under the last migrating birds
And be with people who knew more than three chords
On a guitar. We didn't drink or smoke,
But our hair was shoulder length, wild when
The wind picked up and the shadows of
This loneliness gripped loose dirt. By bus or car,
By the sway of train over a long bridge,
We wanted to get out. The years froze
As we sat on the bank. Our eyes followed the water,
White-tipped but dark underneath, racing out of town.


By Gary Soto






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[Man]

Poem



A Grain Of Sand


If starry space no limit knows
And sun succeeds to sun,
There is no reason to suppose
Our earth the only one.
'Mid countless constellations cast
A million worlds may be,
With each a God to bless or blast
And steer to destiny.

Just think! A million gods or so
To guide each vital stream,
With over all to boss the show
A Deity supreme.
Such magnitudes oppress my mind;
From cosmic space it swings;
So ultimately glad to find
Relief in little things.

For look! Within my hollow hand,
While round the earth careens,
I hold a single grain of sand
And wonder what it means.
Ah! If I had the eyes to see,
And brain to understand,
I think Life's mystery might be
Solved in this grain of sand.






By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



A Hero


Three times I had the lust to kill,
To clutch a throat so young and fair,
And squeeze with all my might until
No breath of being lingered there.
Three times I drove the demon out,
Though on my brow was evil sweat. . . .
And yet I know beyond a doubt
He'll get me yet, he'll get me yet.

I know I'm mad, I ought to tell
The doctors, let them care for me,
Confine me in a padded cell
And never, never set me free;
But Oh how cruel that would be!
For I am young - and comely too . . .
Yet dim my demon I can see,
And there is but one thing to do.

Three times I beat the foul fiend back;
The fourth, I know he will prevail,
And so I'll seek the railway track
And lay my head upon the rail,
And sight the dark and distant train,
And hear its thunder louder roll,
Coming to crush my cursed brain . . .
Oh God, have mercy on my soul!






By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



A Little Prayer


Let us be thankful, Lord, for little things -
The song of birds, the rapture of the rose;
Cloud-dappled skies, the laugh of limpid springs,
Drowned sunbeams and the perfume April blows;
Bronze wheat a-shimmer, purple shade of trees -
Let us be thankful, Lord of Life, for these!

Let us be praiseful, Sire, for simple sights; -
The blue smoke curling from a fire of peat;
Keen stars a-frolicking on frosty nights,
Prismatic pigeons strutting in a street;
Daisies dew-diamonded in smiling sward -
For simple sights let us be praiseful, Lord!

Let us be grateful, God, for health serene,
The hope to do a kindly deed each day;
The faith of fellowship, a conscience clean,
The will to worship and the gift to pray;
For all of worth in us, of You a part,
Let us be grateful, God, with humble heart.








By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



A Lyric Day


I deem that there are lyric days
So ripe with radiance and cheer,
So rich with gratitude and praise
That they enrapture all the year.
And if there is a God b\above,
(As they would tell me in the Kirk,)
How he must look with pride and love
Upon his perfect handiwork!

To-day has been a lyric day
I hope I shall remember long,
Of meadow dance and roundelay,
Of woodland glee, of glow and song.
Such joy I saw in maidens eyes,
In mother gaze such tender bliss . . .
How earth would rival paradise
If every day could be like this!

Why die, say I? Let us live on
In lyric world of song and shine,
With ecstasy from dawn to dawn,
Until we greet the dawn Devine.
For I believe, with star and sun,
With peak and plain, with sea and sod,
Inextricably we are one,
Bound in the Wholeness - God.






By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



A Mediocre Man


I'm just a mediocre man
Of no high-brow pretence;
A comfortable life I plan
With care and commonsense.
I do the things most people do,
I echo what they say;
And through my morning paper view
The problems of the day.

No doubt you think I'm colourless,
Profoundly commonplace;
And yet I fancy, more or less,
I represent the race.
My name may stand for everyone,
At least for nine in ten,
For all in all the world is run
By mediocre men.

Of course you'll maybe not agree
That you are average,
And unlike ordinary me
You strut your little stage,
Well, you may even own a Bank,
And mighty mergers plan,
But Brother, doff your tile and thank
The Mediocre Man.









By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



A Plea


Why need we newer arms invent,
Poor peoples to destroy?
With what we have let's be content
And perfect their employ.
With weapons that may millions kill,
Why should we seek for more,
A brighter spate of blood to spill,
A deeper sea of gore?

The lurid blaze of atom light
Vast continents will blind,
And steep in centuries of night
Despairing humankind.
So let's be glad for gun and blade,
To fight with honest stuff:
Are tank, block-buster, hand-grenade
And napalm not enough?

Oh to go back a thousand years
When arrows winged their way,
When foemen fell upon the spears
And swords were swung to slay!
Behold! Belching in Heaven black
Mushrooms obscene!
Dear God, the brave days give us back,
When wars were clean!












By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A Pot Of Tea


You make it in your mess-tin by the brazier's rosy gleam;
You watch it cloud, then settle amber clear;
You lift it with your bay'nit, and you sniff the fragrant steam;
The very breath of it is ripe with cheer.
You're awful cold and dirty, and a-cursin' of your lot;
You scoff the blushin' 'alf of it, so rich and rippin' 'ot;
It bucks you up like anythink, just seems to touch the spot:
God bless the man that first discovered Tea!

Since I came out to fight in France, which ain't the other day,
I think I've drunk enough to float a barge;
All kinds of fancy foreign dope, from caffy and doo lay,
To rum they serves you out before a charge.
In back rooms of estaminays I've gurgled pints of cham;
I've swilled down mugs of cider till I've felt a bloomin' dam;
But 'struth! they all ain't in it with the vintage of Assam:
God bless the man that first invented Tea!

I think them lazy lumps o' gods wot kips on asphodel
Swigs nectar that's a flavour of Oolong;
I only wish them sons o' guns a-grillin' down in 'ell
Could 'ave their daily ration of Suchong.
Hurrah! I'm off to battle, which is 'ell and 'eaven too;
And if I don't give some poor bloke a sexton's job to do,
To-night, by Fritz's campfire, won't I 'ave a gorgeous brew
(For fightin' mustn't interfere with Tea).
To-night we'll all be tellin' of the Boches that we slew,
As we drink the giddy victory in Tea.











By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A Rolling Stone


There's sunshine in the heart of me,
My blood sings in the breeze;
The mountains are a part of me,
I'm fellow to the trees.
My golden youth I'm squandering,
Sun-libertine am I;
A-wandering, a-wandering,
Until the day I die.

I was once, I declare, a Stone-Age man,
And I roomed in the cool of a cave;
I have known, I will swear, in a new life-span,
The fret and the sweat of a slave:
For far over all that folks hold worth,
There lives and there leaps in me
A love of the lowly things of earth,
And a passion to be free.

To pitch my tent with no prosy plan,
To range and to change at will;
To mock at the mastership of man,
To seek Adventure's thrill.
Carefree to be, as a bird that sings;
To go my own sweet way;
To reck not at all what may befall,
But to live and to love each day.

To make my body a temple pure
Wherein I dwell serene;
To care for the things that shall endure,
The simple, sweet and clean.
To oust out envy and hate and rage,
To breathe with no alarm;
For Nature shall be my anchorage,
And none shall do me harm.

To shun all lures that debauch the soul,
The orgied rites of the rich;
To eat my crust as a rover must
With the rough-neck down in the ditch.
To trudge by his side whate'er betide;
To share his fire at night;
To call him friend to the long trail-end,
And to read his heart aright.

To scorn all strife, and to view all life
With the curious eyes of a child;
From the plangent sea to the prairie,
From the slum to the heart of the Wild.
From the red-rimmed star to the speck of sand,
From the vast to the greatly small;
For I know that the whole for good is planned,
And I want to see it all.

To see it all, the wide world-way,
From the fig-leaf belt to the Pole;
With never a one to say me nay,
And none to cramp my soul.
In belly-pinch I will pay the price,
But God! let me be free;
For once I know in the long ago,
They made a slave of me.

In a flannel shirt from earth's clean dirt,
Here, pal, is my calloused hand!
Oh, I love each day as a rover may,
Nor seek to understand.
To enjoy is good enough for me;
The gipsy of God am I;
Then here's a hail to each flaring dawn!
And here's a cheer to the night that's gone!
And may I go a-roaming on
Until the day I die!

Then every star shall sing to me
Its song of liberty;
And every morn shall bring to me
Its mandate to be free.
In every throbbing vein of me
I'll feel the vast Earth-call;
O body, heart and brain of me
Praise Him who made it all!












By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A Rusty Nail


I ran a nail into my hand,
The wound was hard to heal;
So bitter was the pain to stand
I thought how it would feel,
To have spikes thrust through hands and feet,
Impaled by hammer beat.

Then hoisted on a cross of oak
Against the sullen sky,
With all about the jeering follk
Who joyed to see me die;
Die hardly in insensate heat,
With bleeding hands and feet.

Yet was it not that day of Fate,
Of cruelty insane,
Climaxing centuries of hate
That woke our souls to pain!
And are we not the living seed
Of those who did the deed!

Of course, with thankful heart I know
We are not fiends as then;
And in a thousand years or so
We may be gentle men.
But it has cost a poisoned hand,
And pain beyond a cry,
To make me strangely understand
A Cross against the sky.





By Robert W. Service





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[Man]

Poem




A Snifter


After working hard all day
In the office,
How much worse on homeward way
My old cough is!
Barney's Bar is gaily lit,
Let me stop there;
Just to buck me up a bit
Have a drop there.

As I stand beside the screen
Hesitating,
I have thought of how Noreen
Will be waiting;
Baby Patsy in her lap
Gay and laughing,
While at Barney's foaming tap
I am quaffing.

Barney's Bar is mighty bright,
Looks so cheery.
Wonder what I'll drink tonight?
Gee! I'm weary.
Will I have Scotch or Rye?
Bourbon maybe . . .
Then I see with mental eye
Wife and baby.

So I say 'tis malted milk
I'll be skoffin';
Sooth my throttle sleek as silk,
Ease my coughin' . . .
Say, I love them two to death,
Sure they miss me:
With no whisky on my breath
How they'll kiss me!






By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A Song For Kilts


How grand the human race would be
If every man would wear a kilt,
A flirt of Tartan finery,
Instead of trousers, custom built!
Nay, do not think I speak to joke:
(You know I'm not that kind of man),
I am convinced that all men folk.
Should wear the costume of a Clan.

Imagine how it's braw and clean
As in the wind it flutters free;
And so conducive to hygiene
In its sublime simplicity.
No fool fly-buttons to adjust,--
Wi' shanks and maybe buttocks bare;
Oh chiels, just take my word on trust,
A bonny kilt's the only wear.

'Twill save a lot of siller too,
(And here a canny Scotsman speaks),
For one good kilt will wear you through
A half-a-dozen pairs of breeks.
And how it's healthy in the breeze!
And how it swings with saucy tilt!
How lassies love athletic knees
Below the waggle of a kilt!

True, I just wear one in my mind,
Since sent to school by Celtic aunts,
When girls would flip it up behind,
Until I begged for lowland pants.
But now none dare do that to me,
And so I sing with lyric lilt,--
How happier the world would be
If every male would wear a kilt!









By Robert W. Service





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[Man]

Poem




A Song Of Sixty-Five


Brave Thackeray has trolled of days when he was twenty-one,
And bounded up five flights of stairs, a gallant garreteer;
And yet again in mellow vein when youth was gaily run,
Has dipped his nose in Gascon wine, and told of Forty Year.
But if I worthy were to sing a richer, rarer time,
I'd tune my pipes before the fire and merrily I'd strive
To praise that age when prose again has given way to rhyme,
The Indian Summer days of life when I'll be Sixty-five;

For then my work will all be done, my voyaging be past,
And I'll have earned the right to rest where folding hills are green;
So in some glassy anchorage I'll make my cable fast, --
Oh, let the seas show all their teeth, I'll sit and smile serene.
The storm may bellow round the roof, I'll bide beside the fire,
And many a scene of sail and trail within the flame I'll see;
For I'll have worn away the spur of passion and desire. . . .
Oh yes, when I am Sixty-five, what peace will come to me.

I'll take my breakfast in my bed, I'll rise at half-past ten,
When all the world is nicely groomed and full of golden song;
I'll smoke a bit and joke a bit, and read the news, and then
I'll potter round my peach-trees till I hear the luncheon gong.
And after that I think I'll doze an hour, well, maybe two,
And then I'll show some kindred soul how well my roses thrive;
I'll do the things I never yet have found the time to do. . . .
Oh, won't I be the busy man when I am Sixty-five.

I'll revel in my library; I'll read De Morgan's books;
I'll grow so garrulous I fear you'll write me down a bore;
I'll watch the ways of ants and bees in quiet sunny nooks,
I'll understand Creation as I never did before.
When gossips round the tea-cups talk I'll listen to it all;
On smiling days some kindly friend will take me for a drive:
I'll own a shaggy collie dog that dashes to my call:
I'll celebrate my second youth when I am Sixty-five.

Ah, though I've twenty years to go, I see myself quite plain,
A wrinkling, twinkling, rosy-cheeked, benevolent old chap;
I think I'll wear a tartan shawl and lean upon a cane.
I hope that I'll have silver hair beneath a velvet cap.
I see my little grandchildren a-romping round my knee;
So gay the scene, I almost wish 'twould hasten to arrive.
Let others sing of Youth and Spring, still will it seem to me
The golden time's the olden time, some time round Sixty-five.











By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A Song Of Success


Ho! we were strong, we were swift, we were brave.
Youth was a challenge, and Life was a fight.
All that was best in us gladly we gave,
Sprang from the rally, and leapt for the height.
Smiling is Love in a foam of Spring flowers:
Harden our hearts to him -- on let us press!
Oh, what a triumph and pride shall be ours!
See where it beacons, the star of success!

Cares seem to crowd on us -- so much to do;
New fields to conquer, and time's on the wing.
Grey hairs are showing, a wrinkle or two;
Somehow our footstep is losing its spring.
Pleasure's forsaken us, Love ceased to smile;
Youth has been funeralled; Age travels fast.
Sometimes we wonder: is it worth while?
There! we have gained to the summit at last.

Aye, we have triumphed! Now must we haste,
Revel in victory . . . why! what is wrong?
Life's choicest vintage is flat to the taste --
Are we too late? Have we laboured too long?
Wealth, power, fame we hold . . . ah! but the truth:
Would we not give this vain glory of ours
For one mad, glad year of glorious youth,
Life in the Springtide, and Love in the flowers.







By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A Song Of Suicide


Deeming that I were better dead,
"How shall I kill myself?" I said.
Thus mooning by the river Seine
I sought extinction without pain,
When on a bridge I saw a flash
Of lingerie and heard a splash . . .
So as I am a swimmer stout
I plunged and pulled the poor wretch out.

The female that I saved? Ah yes,
To yield the Morgue of one corpse the less,
Apart from all heroic action,
Gave me a moral satisfaction.
was she an old and withered hag,
Too tired of life to long to lag?
Ah no, she was so young and fair
I fell in love with her right there.

And when she took me to her attic
Her gratitude was most emphatic.
A sweet and simple girl she proved,
Distraught because the man she loved
In battle his life-blood had shed . . .
So I, too, told her of my dead,
The girl who in a garret grey
Had coughed and coughed her life away.

Thus as we sought our griefs to smother,
With kisses we consoled each other . . .
And there's the ending of my story;
It wasn't grim, it wasn't gory.
For comforted were hearts forlorn,
And from black sorrow joy was born:
So may our dead dears be forgiving,
And bless the rapture of the living.










By Robert W. Service





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A very touching tale indeed
with moral for us all to heed.
Although it seems you can't go on.
The darkest hour's before the dawn.
But dawn will come and in the light
The future may come into sight
and then quite unexpectedly
You're right back where you want to be.



By Robert Hann














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A Song Of The Sandbags


No, Bill, I'm not a-spooning out no patriotic tosh
(The cove be'ind the sandbags ain't a death-or-glory cuss).
And though I strafes 'em good and 'ard I doesn't 'ate the Boche,
I guess they're mostly decent, just the same as most of us.
I guess they loves their 'omes and kids as much as you or me;
And just the same as you or me they'd rather shake than fight;
And if we'd 'appened to be born at Berlin-on-the-Spree,
We'd be out there with 'Ans and Fritz, dead sure that we was right.

A-standin' up to the sandbags
It's funny the thoughts wot come;
Starin' into the darkness,
'Earin' the bullets 'um;
(Zing! Zip! Ping! Rip!
'ark 'ow the bullets 'um!)
A-leanin' against the sandbags
Wiv me rifle under me ear,
Oh, I've 'ad more thoughts on a sentry-go
Than I used to 'ave in a year.

I wonder, Bill, if 'Ans and Fritz is wonderin' like me
Wot's at the bottom of it all? Wot all the slaughter's for?
'E thinks 'e's right (of course 'e ain't) but this we both agree,
If them as made it 'ad to fight, there wouldn't be no war.
If them as lies in feather beds while we kips in the mud;
If them as makes their fortoons while we fights for 'em like 'ell;
If them as slings their pot of ink just 'ad to sling their blood:
By Crust! I'm thinkin' there 'ud be another tale to tell.

Shiverin' up to the sandbags,
With a hicicle 'stead of a spine,
Don't it seem funny the things you think
'Ere in the firin' line:
(Whee! Whut! Ziz! Zut!
Lord! 'ow the bullets whine!)
Hunkerin' down when a star-shell
Cracks in a sputter of light,
You can jaw to yer soul by the sandbags
Most any old time o' night.

They talks o' England's glory and a-'oldin' of our trade,
Of Empire and 'igh destiny until we're fair flim-flammed;
But if it's for the likes o' that that bloody war is made,
Then wot I say is: Empire and 'igh destiny be damned!
There's only one good cause, Bill, for poor blokes like us to fight:
That's self-defence, for 'earth and 'ome, and them that bears our name;
And that's wot I'm a-doin' by the sandbags 'ere to-night. . . .
But Fritz out there will tell you 'e's a-doin' of the same.

Starin' over the sandbags,
Sick of the 'ole damn thing;
Firin' to keep meself awake,
'Earin' the bullets sing.
(Hiss! Twang! Tsing! Pang!
Saucy the bullets sing.)
Dreamin' 'ere by the sandbags
Of a day when war will cease,
When 'Ans and Fritz and Bill and me
Will clink our mugs in fraternity,
And the Brotherhood of Labour will be
The Brotherhood of Peace.






By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





A Song Of Winter Weather


It isn't the foe that we fear;
It isn't the bullets that whine;
It isn't the business career
Of a shell, or the bust of a mine;
It isn't the snipers who seek
To nip our young hopes in the bud:
No, it isn't the guns,
And it isn't the Huns --
It's the MUD,
MUD,
MUD.

It isn't the melee we mind.
That often is rather good fun.
It isn't the shrapnel we find
Obtrusive when rained by the ton;
It isn't the bounce of the bombs
That gives us a positive pain:
It's the strafing we get
When the weather is wet --
It's the RAIN,
RAIN,
RAIN.

It isn't because we lack grit
We shrink from the horrors of war.
We don't mind the battle a bit;
In fact that is what we are for;
It isn't the rum-jars and things
Make us wish we were back in the fold:
It's the fingers that freeze
In the boreal breeze --
It's the COLD,
COLD,
COLD.

Oh, the rain, the mud, and the cold,
The cold, the mud, and the rain;
With weather at zero it's hard for a hero
From language that's rude to refrain.
With porridgy muck to the knees,
With sky that's a-pouring a flood,
Sure the worst of our foes
Are the pains and the woes
Of the RAIN,
THE COLD,
AND THE MUD.






By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A Verseman's Apology


Alas! I am only a rhymer,
I don't know the meaning of Art;
But I learned in my little school primer
To love Eugene Field and Bret Harte.
I hailed Hoosier Ryley with pleasure,
To John Hay I took off my hat;
These fellows were right to my measure,
And I've never gone higher than that.

The Classics! Well, most of them bore me,
The Moderns I don't understand;
But I keep Burns, my kinsman before me,
And Kipling, my friend, is at hand.
They taught me my trade as I know it,
Yet though at their feet I have sat,
For God-sake don't call me a poet,
For I've never been guilty of that.

A rhyme-rustler, rugged and shameless,
A Bab Balladeer on the loose;
Of saccarine sonnets I'm blameless,
My model has been - Mother Goose.
And I fancy my grave-digger griping
As he gives my last lodging a pat:
"This guy wrote McGrew;
'Twas the best he could do" . . .
So I'll go to my maker with that.







By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A Year Ago


I'm sitting by the fire tonight,
The cat purrs on the rug;
The room's abrim with rosy light,
Suavely soft and snug;
And safe and warm from dark and storm
It's cosiness I hug.

Then petulant the window pane
Quakes in the tempest moan,
And cries: "Forlornly in the rain
There starkly streams a stone,
Where one so dear who shared your cheer
Now lies alone, alone.

Go forth! Go forth into the gale
And pass and hour in prayer;
This night of sorrow do not fail
The one you deemed so fair,
The girl below the bitter snow
Who died your child to bear."

So wails the wind, yet here I sit
Beside the ember's glow;
My grog is hot, my pipe is lit,
And loth am I to go
To her who died a ten-month bride,
Only a year ago.

To-day we weep: each morrow is
A littling of regret;
The saddest part of sorrow is
That we in time forget . . .
Christ! Let me go to graveyard woe,--
Yea, I will sorrow yet.







By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Abandoned Dog


They dumped it on the lonely road,
Then like a streak they sped;
And as along the way I strode
I thought that it was dead:
And then I saw that yelping pup
Rise, race to catch them up.

You know how silly wee dogs are.
It thought they were in fun.
Trying to overtake their car
I saw it run and run:
But as they faster, faster went,
It stumbled, sore and spent.

I found it prone upon the way;
Of life was little token.
As limply in the dust it lay
I thought its heart was broken:
Then one dim eye it opened and
It sought to like my hand.

Of course I took it gently up
And brought it to my wife
Who loves all dogs, and now that pup
Shares in our happy life:
Yet how I curse the useless who
Its good luck never knew!








By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Accordion


Some carol of the banjo, to its measure keeping time;
Of viol or of lute some make a song.
My battered old accordion, you're worthy of a rhyme,
You've been my friend and comforter so long.
Round half the world I've trotted you, a dozen years or more;
You've given heaps of people lots of fun;
You've set a host of happy feet a-tapping on the floor . . .
Alas! your dancing days are nearly done.

I've played you from the palm-belt to the suburbs of the Pole;
From the silver-tipped sierras to the sea.
The gay and gilded cabin and the grimy glory-hole
Have echoed to your impish melody.
I've hushed you in the dug-out when the trench was stiff with dead;
I've lulled you by the coral-laced lagoon;
I've packed you on a camel from the dung-fire on the bled,
To the hell-for-breakfast Mountains of the Moon.

I've ground you to the shanty men, a-whooping heel and toe,
And the hula-hula graces in the glade.
I've swung you in the igloo to the lousy Esquimau,
And the Haussa at a hundred in the shade.
The Nigger on the levee, and the Dinka by the Nile
have shuffled to your insolent appeal.
I've rocked with glee the chimpanzee, and mocked the crocodile,
And shocked the pompous penquin and the seal.

I've set the yokels singing in a little Surrey pub,
Apaches swinging in a Belville bar.
I've played an obligato to the tom-tom's rub-a-dub,
And the throb of Andalusian guitar.
From the Horn to Honolulu, from the Cape to Kalamazoo,
From Wick to Wicklow, Samarkand to Spain,
You've roughed it with my kilt-bag like a comrade tried and true. . . .
Old pal! We'll never hit the trail again.

Oh I know you're cheap and vulgar, you're an instrumental crime.
In drawing-rooms you haven't got a show.
You're a musical abortion, you're the voice of grit and grime,
You're the spokesman of the lowly and the low.
You're a democratic devil, you're the darling of the mob;
You're a wheezy, breezy blasted bit of glee.
You're the headache of the high-bow, you're the horror of the snob,
but you're worth your weight in ruddy gold to me.

For you've chided me in weakness and you've cheered me in defeat;
You've been an anodyne in hours of pain;
And when the slugging jolts of life have jarred me off my feet,
You've ragged me back into the ring again.
I'll never go to Heaven, for I know I am not fit,
The golden harps of harmony to swell;
But with asbestos bellows, if the devil will permit,
I'll swing you to the fork-tailed imps of Hell.

Yes, I'll hank you, and I'll spank you,
And I'll everlasting yank you
To the cinder-swinging satellites of Hell.












By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Adoption


Because I was a woman lone
And had of friends so few,
I made two little ones my own,
Whose parents no one knew;
Unwanted foundlings of the night,
Left at the convent door,
Whose tiny hands in piteous plight
Seemed to implore.

By Deed to them I gave my name,
And never will they know
That from the evil slums they came,
Two waifs of want and woe;
I fostered them with love and care
As if they were my own:
Now John, my son, is tall and fair,
And dark is Joan.

My boy's a member of the Bar,
My girl a nurse serene;
Yet when I think of what they are
And what they might have been,
With shuddering I glimpse a hell
Of black and bitter fruit . . .
Where John might be a criminal,
And Joan--a prostitute.













By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Adventure


Out of the wood my White Knight came:
His eyes were bright with a bitter flame,
As I clung to his stirrup leather;
For I was only a dreaming lad,
Yet oh, what a wonderful faith I had!
And the song in my heart was never so glad,
As we took to the trail together.

"Friends and lovers, good-bye," I said;
Never once did I turn my head,
Though wickedly wild the weather
min were the rover's rags and scars,
And the rover's bed beneath the stars,
But never the shadow of prison bars,
As we ranged the world together.

Dreary and darkling was the trail,
But my Knight was clad in a gleaming mail,
And he plucked from his plume a feather.
And oh how foolishly proud was I!
"I'll wear it," I told him, "till I die;
Freemen we'll be of sea and sky,
To the ends of the earth together."

Yet now I know by my failing breath
I'm ripe for the last adventure, Death,
And I've reached the end of my tether:
But my Knight of the shining mail is there,
And his eyes are bright and he bids me dare:
So into the Dark let's boldly fare,
Into the Dark . . . together.









By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Afternoon Tea


As I was saying . . . (No, thank you; I never take cream with my tea;
Cows weren't allowed in the trenches -- got out of the habit, y'see.)
As I was saying, our Colonel leaped up like a youngster of ten:
"Come on, lads!" he shouts, "and we'll show 'em," and he sprang to the head of the men.
Then some bally thing seemed to trip him, and he fell on his face with a slam. . . .
Oh, he died like a true British soldier, and the last word he uttered was "Damn!"
And hang it! I loved the old fellow, and something just burst in my brain,
And I cared no more for the bullets than I would for a shower of rain.
'Twas an awf'ly funny sensation (I say, this is jolly nice tea);
I felt as if something had broken; by gad! I was suddenly free.
Free for a glorified moment, beyond regulations and laws,
Free just to wallow in slaughter, as the chap of the Stone Age was.

So on I went joyously nursing a Berserker rage of my own,
And though all my chaps were behind me, feeling most frightf'ly alone;
With the bullets and shells ding-donging, and the "krock" and the swish of the shrap;
And I found myself humming "Ben Bolt" . . . (Will you pass me the sugar, old chap?
Two lumps, please). . . . What was I saying? Oh yes, the jolly old dash;
We simply ripped through the barrage, and on with a roar and a crash.
My fellows -- Old Nick couldn't stop 'em. On, on they went with a yell,
Till they tripped on the Boches' sand-bags, -- nothing much left to tell:
A trench so tattered and battered that even a rat couldn't live;
Some corpses tangled and mangled, wire you could pass through a sieve.

The jolly old guns had bilked us, cheated us out of our show,
And my fellows were simply yearning for a red mix-up with the foe.
So I shouted to them to follow, and on we went roaring again,
Battle-tuned and exultant, on in the leaden rain.
Then all at once a machine gun barks from a bit of a bank,
And our Major roars in a fury: "We've got to take it on flank."
He was running like fire to lead us, when down like a stone he comes,
As full of "typewriter" bullets as a pudding is full of plums.
So I took his job and we got 'em. . . . By gad! we got 'em like rats;
Down in a deep shell-crater we fought like Kilkenny cats.
'Twas pleasant just for a moment to be sheltered and out of range,
With someone you saw to go for -- it made an agreeable change.

And the Boches that missed my bullets, my chaps gave a bayonet jolt,
And all the time, I remember, I whistled and hummed "Ben Bolt".
Well, that little job was over, so hell for leather we ran,
On to the second line trenches, -- that's where the fun began.
For though we had strafed 'em like fury, there still were some Boches about,
And my fellows, teeth set and eyes glaring, like terriers routed 'em out.
Then I stumbled on one of their dug-outs, and I shouted: "Is anyone there?"
And a voice, "Yes, one; but I'm wounded," came faint up the narrow stair;
And my man was descending before me, when sudden a cry! a shot!
(I say, this cake is delicious. You make it yourself, do you not?)
My man? Oh, they killed the poor devil; for if there was one there was ten;
So after I'd bombed 'em sufficient I went down at the head of my men,
And four tried to sneak from a bunk-hole, but we cornered the rotters all right;
I'd rather not go into details, 'twas messy that bit of the fight.

But all of it's beastly messy; let's talk of pleasanter things:
The skirts that the girls are wearing, ridiculous fluffy things,
So short that they show. . . . Oh, hang it! Well, if I must, I must.
We cleaned out the second trench line, bomb and bayonet thrust;
And on we went to the third one, quite calloused to crumping by now;
And some of our fellows who'd passed us were making a deuce of a row;
And my chaps -- well, I just couldn't hold 'em; (It's strange how it is with gore;
In some ways it's just like whiskey: if you taste it you must have more.)
Their eyes were like beacons of battle; by gad, sir! they COULDN'T be calmed,
So I headed 'em bang for the bomb-belt, racing like billy-be-damned.
Oh, it didn't take long to arrive there, those who arrived at all;
The machine guns were certainly chronic, the shindy enough to appal.
Oh yes, I omitted to tell you, I'd wounds on the chest and the head,
And my shirt was torn to a gun-rag, and my face blood-gummy and red.

I'm thinking I looked like a madman; I fancy I felt one too,
Half naked and swinging a rifle. . . . God! what a glorious "do".
As I sit here in old Piccadilly, sipping my afternoon tea,
I see a blind, bullet-chipped devil, and it's hard to believe that it's me;
I see a wild, war-damaged demon, smashing out left and right,
And humming "Ben Bolt" rather loudly, and hugely enjoying the fight.
And as for my men, may God bless 'em! I've loved 'em ever since then:
They fought like the shining angels; they're the pick o' the land, my men.
And the trench was a reeking shambles, not a Boche to be seen alive --
So I thought; but on rounding a traverse I came on a covey of five;
And four of 'em threw up their flippers, but the fifth chap, a sergeant, was game,
And though I'd a bomb and revolver he came at me just the same.
A sporty thing that, I tell you; I just couldn't blow him to hell,
So I swung to the point of his jaw-bone, and down like a ninepin he fell.
And then when I'd brought him to reason, he wasn't half bad, that Hun;
He bandaged my head and my short-rib as well as the Doc could have done.
So back I went with my Boches, as gay as a two-year-old colt,
And it suddenly struck me as rummy, I still was a-humming "Ben Bolt".
And now, by Jove! how I've bored you. You've just let me babble away;
Let's talk of the things that matter -- your car or the newest play. . . .








By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Agnostic


The chapel looms against the sky,
Above the vine-clad shelves,
And as the peasants pass it by
They cross themselves.
But I alone, I grieve to state,
Lack sentiment divine:
A citified sophisticate,
I make no sign.

Their gesture may a habit be,
Mechanic in a sense,
Yet somehow it awakes in me
Strange reverence.
And though from ignorance it stem,
Somehow I deeply grieve,
And wish down in my heart like them
I could believe.

Suppose a cottage I should buy,
And little patch of vine,
With pure and humble spirit I
Might make the Sign.
Aye, though I godless way I go,
And sceptic in my trend,
A faith in something I don't know
Might save me in the end.










By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Agnostic Apology


I am a stout materialist;
With abstract terms I can't agree,
And so I've made a little list
Of words that don't make sense to me.
To fool my reason I refuse,
For honest thinking is my goal;
And that is why I rarely use
Vague words like Soul.

In terms of matter I am sure
This world of our can be defined;
And so with theories obscure
I will not mystify my mind;
And though I use it more or less,
Describing alcoholic scenes,
I do not know, I must confess,
What Spirit means.

When I survey this cosmic scene,
The term "Creator" seems absurd;
The Universe has always been,
Creation never has occurred.
But in my Lexicon of Doubt
It strikes me definitely odd,
One word I never dare to flout,
One syllable the mountains shout,
Three letters that the stars spell out:
GOD.










By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Alias Bill


We bore him to his boneyard lot
One afternoon at three;
The clergyman was on the spot
To earn his modest fee.
We sprinkled on his coffin ld
The customary loam,
And so old Bill was snugly slid
To his last home.

A lonesome celebate we thought,
For close as clam was he;
We never guessed that he had got
A lawful family,
Till lo! we saw a gorgeous wreath
Reposing on his bier,
With on a scarlet scroll beneath:
"To Father Dear."

He ordered it hisself, they said,
Before he had to go.
His folks don't know that he is dead -
Maybe they'll never know.
His step was frail, his hair was grey,
But though his sight was dim,
He liked to kid hisself that they
Still thought of him.

Maybe they did: we never knew,
And he would never tell;
Perhaps their hearts were broken too -
His was, I think . . . Ah well,
We left him in the boneyard lot
With none to shed a tear,
And just a wreath, the one he bought:

"To Father Dear."








By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Allouette


Singing larks I saw for sale -
(Ah! the pain of it)
Plucked and ready to impale
On a roasting spit;
Happy larks that summer-long
Stormed the radiant sky,
Adoration in their song . . .
Packed to make a pie.>

Hark! from springs of joy unseen
Spray their jewelled notes.
Tangle them in nets of green,
Twist their lyric throats;
Clip their wings and string them tight,
Stab them with a skewer,
All to tempt the apptite
Of the epicure.

Shade of Shelley! Come not nigh
This accursèd spot,
Where for sixpence one can buy
Skylarks for the pot;
Dante, paint a blacker hell,
Plunge in deeper darks
Wretches who can slay and sell
Sunny-hearted larks.

You who eat, you are the worst:
By internal pains,
May you ever be accurst
Who pluck these poor remains.
But for you wingèd joy would soar
To heaven from the sod:
In ecstasy a lark would pour
Its gratitude to God.





By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Alpine Holiday


He took the grade in second - quite a climb,
Dizzy and dangerous, yet how sublime!
The road went up and up; it curved around
The mountain and the gorge grew more profound.
He drove serenely, with no hint of haste;
And then she felt his arm go round her waist.

She shrank: she did not know him very well,
Being like her a guest at the hotel.
Nice, but a Frenchman. On his driving hand
He wore like benedicks a golden band . . .
Well, how could she with grace refuse a drive
So grand it made glad to be alive?

Yet now she heard him whisper in her ear:
"Don't be afraid. With one hand I can steer,
With one arm hold you . . . Oh what perfect bliss!
Darling, please don't refuse me just one kiss.
Here, nigh to Heaven, let is us rest awhile . . .
Nay, don't resist - give me your lips, your smile . . ."

So there in that remote and dizzy place
He wrestled with her for a moment's space,
Hearing her cry: "Oh please, please let me go!
Let me get out . . . You brute, release me! No, no,
NO!"
. . . In that ravine was found their burnt-out car -
Their bodies trapped and crisped into a char.






By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Amateur Poet


You see that sheaf of slender books
Upon the topmost shelf,
At which no browser ever looks,
Because they're by . . . myself;
They're neatly bound in navy blue,
But no one ever heeds;
Their print is clear and candid too,
Yet no one ever reads.

Poor wistful books! How much they cost
To me in time and gold!
I count them now as labour lost,
For none I ever sold;
No copy could I give away,
For all my friends would shrink,
And look at me as if to say:
"What waste of printer's ink!"

And as I gaze at them on high,
Although my eyes are sad,
I cannot help but breathe a sigh
To think what joy I had -
What ecstasy as I would seek
To make my rhyme come right,
And find at last the phrase unique
Flash fulgent in my sight.

Maybe that rapture was my gain
Far more than cheap success;
So I'll forget my striving vain,
And blot out bitterness.
Oh records of my radiant youth,
No broken heart I'll rue,
For all my best of love and truth
Is there, alive in you.









By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Ambition


They brought the mighty chief to town;
They showed him strange, unwonted sights;
Yet as he wandered up and down,
He seemed to scorn their vain delights.
His face was grim, his eye lacked fire,
As one who mourns a glory dead;
And when they sought his heart's desire:
"Me like'um tooth same gold," he said.

A dental place they quickly found.
He neither moaned nor moved his head.
They pulled his teeth so white and sound;
They put in teeth of gold instead.
Oh, never saw I man so gay!
His very being seemed to swell:
"Ha! ha!" he cried, "Now Injun say
Me heap big chief, me look like hell."










By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




An Epicure


Should you preserve white mice in honey
Don't use imported ones from China,
For though they cost you less in money
You'll find the Japanese ones finer.
But if Chinese, stuff them with spice,
Which certainly improves their savour,
And though the Canton mice are nice,
The Pekinese have finer flavour.

If you should pickle bracken shoots
The way the wily Japanese do,
Be sure to pluck then young - what suits
Our Eastern taste may fail to please you.
And as for nettles, cook them well;
To eat them raw may give you skin-itch;
But if you boil them for a spell
They taste almost as good as spinach.

So Reader, if you chance to be
Of Oriental food a lover,
And care to share a meal with me,
I'll add the addled eggs of plover;
And gaily I will welcome you
To lunch within an arbour sunny,
On nettle broth and bracken stew.
And nice white mice, conserved in honey.




By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




An Old Story


(Retold in Rhyme)

They threw him in a prison cell;
He moaned upon his bed.
And when he crept from coils of hell:
"Last night you killed," they said.

"last night in drunken rage you slew
A being brave with breath;
A radiant soul, because of you
Lies dark in death."

"last night I killed," he moaned distraught,
"When I was wild with wine;
I slew, and I remember naught . . .
O Mother, Mother mine!

"To what unbridled rage may lead
You taught me at your knew.
Why did I not your warning heed . . .
And now - the gallows tree.

"O Mother, Mother, come to me,
For I am sore distrest,
And I would kneel beside your knee
And weep upon your breast. . . ."

They stared at him; their lips were dumb,
Their eyes tear filled;
Then spoke the Priest: "She cannot come . . .
'Twas she you killed."



By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





An Olive Fire


An olive fire's a lovely thing;
Somehow it makes me think of Spring
As in my grate it over-spills
With dancing flames like daffodils.
They flirt and frolic, twist and twine,
The brassy fire-irons wink and shine. . . .
Leap gold, you flamelets! Laugh and sing:
An olive fire's a lovely thing.

An olive fire's a household shrine:
A crusty loaf, a jug of wine,
An apple and a chunk of cheese -
Oh I could be content with these.
But if my curse of oil is there,
To fry a fresh-caught fish, I swear
I do not envy any king,
As sitting by my hearth I sing:
An olive fire's a lovely thing.

When old and worn, of life I tire,
I'll sit before an olive fire,
And watch the feather ash like snow
As softly as a rose heart glow;
The tawny roots will loose their hoard
Of sunbeams centuries have stored,
And flames like yellow chicken's cheep,
Till in my heart Peace is so deep:
With hands prayer-clasped I sleep . . . and sleep.




By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Annuitant


Oh I am neither rich nor poor,
No worker I dispoil;
Yet I am glad to be secure
From servitude and toil.
For with my lifelong savings I
Have bought annuity;
And so unto the day I die
I'll have my toast and tea.

When on the hob the kettle sings
I'll make an amber brew,
And crunch my toast and think of things
I do not have to do.
In dressing-gown and deep arm-chair
I'll give the fire a poke;
Then worlds away from cark and care
I'll smoke and smoke and smoke.

For I believe the very best
Of Being is the last;
And I will crown with silver zest
My patience in the past.
Since compensation is the law
Of life it's up to me
To round the century and draw
My Life Annuity.



By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Ant Hill


Black ants have made a musty mound
My purple pine tree under,
And I am often to be found,
Regarding it with wonder.
Yet as I watch, somehow it;s odd,
Above their busy striving
I feel like an ironic god
Surveying human striving.
Then one day came my serving maid,
And just in time I caught her,
For on each lusty arm she weighed
A pail of boiling water.
She said with glee: "When this I spill,
Of life they'll soon be lacking."
Said I: "If even one you kill,
You bitch! I'll send you packing."

Just think - ten thousand eager lives
In that toil-worn upcasting,
Their homes, their babies and their wives
Destroyed in one fell blasting!
Imagine that swift-scalding hell! . . .
And though, mayhap, it seems a
Fantastic, far-fetched parallel -
Remember . . . Hiroshima.





By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Anti-Profanity


I do not swear because I am
A sweet and sober guy;
I cannot vent a single damn
However hard I try.
And in viruperative way,
Though I recall it well,
I never, never, never say
A naughty word like hell.

To rouse my wrath you need not try,
I'm milder than a lamb;
However you may rile me I
Refuse to say: Goddam!
In circumstances fury-fraught
My tongue is always civil,
And though you goad me I will not
Consign you to the divvle.

An no, I never, never swear;
Profanity don't pay;
To cuss won't get you anywhere,
(And neither will to pray.)
And so all blasphemy I stem.
When milk of kindness curds:
But though I never utter them -
Gosh! how I know the words.








By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Armistice Day (1953)


Don't jeer because we celebrate
Armistice Day,
Though thirty years of sorry fate
Have passed away.
Though still we gaurd the Sacred Flame,
And fly the Flag,
That World War Two with grief and shame
Revealed--a rag.

For France cannot defend to-day
Her native land;
And she is far to proud to pray
For helping hand.
Aye, though she stands amid the Free,
In love with life,
No more her soil will shambles be
In world-war strife.

Still we who tend the deathless Flame
Of Verdun speak;
It is our glory and our shame,
For we are weak.
We have too much of blood and blight
To answer for . . .
No, France will never, never fight
Another war!








By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Artist


He gave a picture exhibition,
Hiring a little empty shop.
Above its window: FREE ADMISSION
Cajoled the passers-by to stop;
Just to admire - no need to purchase,
Although his price might have been low:
But no proud artist ever urges
Potential buyers at his show.

Of course he badly needed money,
But more he needed moral aid.
Some people thought his pictures funny,
Too ultra-modern, I'm afraid.
His painting was experimental,
Which no poor artist can afford-
That is, if he would pay the rental
And guarantee his roof and board.

And so some came and saw and sniggered,
And some a puzzled brow would crease;
And some objected: "Well, I'm jiggered!"
What price Picasso and Matisse?
The artist sensitively quivered,
And stifled many a bitter sigh,
But day by day his hopes were shivered
For no one ever sought to buy.

And then he had a brilliant notion:
Half of his daubs he labeled: SOLD.
And lo! he viewed with queer emotion
A public keen and far from cold.
Then (strange it is beyond the telling),
He saw the people round him press:
His paintings went - they still are selling...
Well, nothing succeeds like success.










By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Aspiration


When I was daft (as urchins are),
And full if fairy lore,
I aimed an arrow at a star
And hit - the barnyard door.

I've shot at heaps of stars since then,
but always it's the same -
A barnyard door has mocked me when
Uranus was my aim.

So, I'll shoot starward as of yore,
Though wide my arrows fall;
I'd rather hit a big barn door
Then never aim at all.










By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




At Eighty Years


As nothingness draws near
How I can see
Inexorably clear
My vanity.
My sum of worthiness
Always so small,
Dwindles from less to less
To none at all.

As grisly destiny
Claims me at last,
How grievous seem to me
Sins of my past!
How keen a conscience edge
Can come to be!
How pitiless the dredge
Of memory!

Ye proud ones of the earth
Who count your gains,
What cherish you of worth
For all your pains?
E'er death shall slam the door,
Will you, like me,
Face fate and count the score--
FUTILITY.













By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




At San Sebastian


The Countess sprawled beside the sea
As naked a she well could be;
Indeed her only garments were
A "G" string and a brassière
Her washerwoman was amazed,
And at the lady gazed and gazed, -
From billowy-bosom swell
To navel like a pink sea shell.

The Countess has of robes three score,
She doffs and leaves them on the floor;
She changes gowns ten times a ay,
Her chambermaid puts them away.
"How funny!" thinks the washer-wife;
"I've toiled and toiled throughout my life,
And only have, to hide my skin,
This old rag that I'm standing in."

The Countess never toiled at all;
She begged for coin when she was small,
And later, in the ancient fashion,
In gay resorts she peddled passion.|
But now to noble rank arrived,
(Tom wed the old Count she contrived)
Her youthful lover, lounging there,
Is hirsute as a teddy-bear.

The Countess will be honoured when
She dies past three-score years and ten.
The washer-women will wear out
With labour fifty years about . . .
Yet as the two look at each other
The Countess thinks: "So was my mother;
And washer-wife to live and die,
But for God's grace so would be I."
















By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





At The Golden Pig


Where once with lads I scoffed my beer
The landlord's lass I've wed.
Now I am lord and master here;--
Thank God! the old man's dead.
I stand behind a blooming bar
With belly like a tub,
And pals say, seeing my cigar:
'Bill's wed a pub.'

I wonder now if I did well,
My freedom for to lose;
Knowing my wife is fly as hell
I mind my 'Ps' and 'Qs'.
Oh what a fuss she made because
I tweaked the barmaid's bub:
Alas! a sorry day it was
I wed a pub.

Fat landlord of the Golden Pig,
They call me 'mister' now;
And many a mug of beer I swig,
Yet don't get gay, somehow.
So farmer fellows, lean and clean
Who sweat to earn your grub,
Although you haven't got a bean:
Don't wed a pub.



















By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





At The Parade


I cannot flap a flag
Or beat a drum;
Behind the mob I lag
With larynx dumb;
Alas! I fear I'm not
A Patriot.

With acrid eyes I see
The soul of things;
And equal unto me
Are cooks and kings;
I would not cross the street
A duke to meet.

Oh curse me for a fool
To be so proud;
To stand so still and cool
Amid the crowd.
For President or Peer
God, let me cheer!

But no, despite the glee
My heart is cold;
I think that it may be
Because I'm old;
I'm dumb where millions yell . . .
Oh what the hell!













By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem





At Thirty-Five


Three score and ten, the psalmist saith,
And half my course is well-nigh run;
I've had my flout at dusty death,
I've had my whack of feast and fun.
I've mocked at those who prate and preach;
I've laughed with any man alive;
But now with sobered heart I reach
The Great Divide of Thirty-five.

And looking back I must confess
I've little cause to feel elate.
I've played the mummer more or less;
I fumbled fortune, flouted fate.
I've vastly dreamed and little done;
I've idly watched my brothers strive:
Oh, I have loitered in the sun
By primrose paths to Thirty-five!

And those who matched me in the race,
Well, some are out and trampled down;
The others jog with sober pace;
Yet one wins delicate renown.
O midnight feast and famished dawn!
O gay, hard life, with hope alive!
O golden youth, forever gone,
How sweet you seem at Thirty-five!

Each of our lives is just a book
As absolute as Holy Writ;
We humbly read, and may not look
Ahead, nor change one word of it.
And here are joys and here are pains;
And here we fail and here we thrive;
O wondrous volume! what remains
When we reach chapter Thirty-five?

The very best, I dare to hope,
Ere Fate writes Finis to the tome;
A wiser head, a wider scope,
And for the gipsy heart, a home;
A songful home, with loved ones near,
With joy, with sunshine all alive:
Watch me grow younger every year --
Old Age! thy name is Thirty-five!















By Robert W. Service














--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Nirmal Hridaya...


The words... I grope for them,

I grope for those incomplete expressions…

Incomplete… for they cannot express

That special feeling,

One that springs from a heart

That empathizes with their plight,

A heart yet so very full of wonder and delight,



A heart…

That shares the twinkle

In those elderly eyes,

That stands by that flickering light,

By that candle melting away in time

Burning as brightly as it can

Before… it’s time,



A heart…

That helps the light survive,

The light of a life

Now in the second innings,

A life inscribed

On the unread epitaph…



A heart…

That seeks the wisdom pearls,

That seeks the experience in those eyes,

That revels in their affection and love,

A heart that seeks the pure contentment

Of reaching out to those in need…



A dance, a song, some talk,

Some nails polished…

Some affection and some care,

Some hope…

And some moments

Extraordinaire…









By Ravi Kunj














--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The things I love with a passion

I rock and roll with passion
I talk out my soul with a passion

I eat good food with passion
I defeat bad mood with a passion

I sleep well with passion
I weep hell with a passion

I dream endlessly with passion
I gleam ceaselessly with a passion

I aim for money with passion
I do the same for honey with a passion

I listen carefully with passion
I glisten dutifully with a passion

I search for fame with passion
I research to blame with a passion

I walk everyday with passion
I talk and play with a passion

I embrace life with passion
I face nightlife with a passion

I laugh out with passion
I chaffe about with a passion

I cook with others with passion
I look at mothers with a passion

I touch gently with passion
I clutch tightly with a passion

I work hard with a passion
I rock mad with a passion

I gear up goals with passion
I stir up roles with a passion

I make friends with passion
I take weekends with a passion

I love kissing with passion
I love teasing with a passion

I make love with passion
I take from above with a passion

If push comes to shove
Label me old fashioned
For these are things I caption
In life with all my passion


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The Truth about Life

The struggle goes on
Whichever direction you turn
There is no excluded section where you can run

The truth about life
Is merely to survive
From the moment you arrive
In birth, to the end of death


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The truth in you

I seek the truth in you
The weak lie is not you
So speak up, yes you

The truth hurts but it works
The truth simplifies and dignifies
The truth sooths preserving your youth

I ask the truth of you
Cry now, take a tissue
So speak up, yes you

The truth signifies and modifies
The truth is within and the best way to begin
The truth is a good start especially for sweethearts

I need the truth of you
Simply choose your venue
So speak up, yes you

The truth to any degree
Is a starting point to be free
Just like one and two make three
So speak up, yes you
If you agree

By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The wind will blow where and when it wants to blow

The wind will blow where and when it wants to blow
Sweeping along devastation or prosperity along its path
Todays sorrow, tomorrows horrow or perhaps a loving hero
But you! Have been swept here to occupy my lonely heart

You are that gentle flowing breeze
You are a warm summers tease
There's room in my heart for you to squeeze
And do to me amorously as you please

The wind will blow where and when it wants to blow
Sometimes springing up nice surprises to be exact
Please stop contemplating on what may follow
Let us begin the getting-to-know each other for a start

You are that preserving cherubic smell
Evidently airing my inner senses quite well
It is completely difficult for me to tell
Why your scent stimulates all my bodily cells

Sweet and sour with you, we could shower
By the hour blessed with our loving power,
Together we can flourish as we flower
For the wind has blown to us love that is ours

The wind will blow where and when it wants to blow
Hold tight; split us not apart as we about start
I know your spirits are low, you want to go slow
Assuring yourself before you set upon my fragile heart

If we postpone, I have this inclination
The wind will head towards another direction
Without hesitation and any apparent indication
Leaving behind no room for further investigation

The wind will blow where and when it wants to blow
You need to catch what it is about to throw
No one can predict what may be about to follow
But true love itself in time will grow not go

You are that pacifying touch
A mild soothing winter’s scotch
That warms a throat so much
Change the gears on your clutch
While we sit back and watch
As we sow seeds of affection
In these perfect conditions without friction

Remember, remember!
The wind will blow where and when it wants to blow




By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The world today

The world today is great
Recording the highest record of birthrates
Full of endless queues
Full of endless news
A variety of ample opportunities
As technology gives birth to more industries

The world today is unpredictable
Everything is no longer stable
Change is understandable
Change is inevitable

The world today is a safer place to live
The world today has beautiful gifts to give

The world today is sometimes mad
The world today is sometimes sad

The world today is more at peace
The world today has fewer diseases

And in the world today there is hope
For countries to rapidly develop
Especially in the eastern world
With influences from the western world

The world today we must treasure
Put in place appropriate measures
To control overpopulation
Create more occupations
Address global pollution
Before we reach the inevitable stage of world destruction


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Think Again!

When you hold your head up high
I see it in your eyes
You want to say goodbye

Your ego persuades you to
embark on this smoky trip
If only you know how I feel
Your selfishness I spelt
While the ice awaits to melt
Be careful you might slip
They shall all weep

Why wash away on me now
Tears of sorrow
When there is always tomorrow

Narrow roads
Wrong paths
Why take away
What’s not yours

Think again
While it rains
Think again
You can still control your brain
from going completely insane

Think again about a white dove
Think again about all the love
That is still out there
Waiting to be showered on you
I truly care


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



This is a warning

Warning! warning! warning!
This is a warning
Stop me from yawning

There is no smoke
Without a choke

There is no secret
Without a regret

You can not be strong
If you've never been wrong

Anything ever hot
Brings upon hurt

This is a warning
Stop me from yawning

Unfailed prevention
Prevails redemption
Avoid temptation

Beware of those who are nice
So say the experienced wise
Everything comes with a price

This is a warning
Stop me from yawning

Run, have fun
While there is still sun!


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



This is called Love!

If our love is born as a beautiful born baby
I will cradle it gently like a mature lady
I'll respect as if a gentleman in disguise
Whose love ain't stamped with a price

So do you want me?
Do you want me?
Utter it loud,
If you really want me

I'll fly across the seven skies
To intoxicate you with my love
I'll love you like no other
Flabbergast you beyond wonder
I’ll walk from one country to another
Swim endless flowing rivers

I'll send you tantalizing infinite kisses
And torture you with loving touches
I’ll send you my love in one piece
Or in amorous fragmented pieces

Just make your wish!
Do you want me?
Utter it loud,
If you really want me

Call out my name
If you feel the same
In all sincerity
Believe in destiny
This is called love

I can’t bear this separation
I’ll plot the longitude &magnitude
Of your location
Just to enjoy some loving duration
With you!

Specify your need
Feed it with a kiss
Call it monumental madness
Call it momentary gladness
So do you want me?
Do you want me?
Whisper it out loud,
This is called love


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



This pride of mine

Is it my absurd pride,
Which countenanced you to take off and run?

Is it my rainbow pride,
Which made you flee to the searing sun?

I beg of you
Stop! Think twice
A little pride is better than nice.
That is a saying plausibly far from wise!

If your love could fall once more out of the sky
This pride of mine I throw out amply to the sea
I tell no lie and I speak no lies
This pride of mine, I’ll give to another for free

For years and years
I have chewed over on my pride
Crying out inside beclouded tears
Our love went down with a dingy backslide

But! But!
This pride of mine was too blind to see
Sometimes it draws out the beauty in me
Sometimes it sheds out the ugly in me
Like leaves falling off once a blossoming tree

This pride of mine
Needs to resign

This pride of mine
Isn’t sweeter than wine

But! But!
If your love could fall once more out of the sky
This pride of mine I throw out amply to the sea
I promise to be humble, humble and humble
For upon your type of love I may never stumble!


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Thoughts

Thoughts
Sounds of raindrops
In the stillness of a winter night
How does anyone have foresight
Tired swollen eyes
In complete emptiness a body lies
Creating a wilderness of thoughts

Occasional sounds of a car passing by
Interrupt the flow of the nights dream
Innocent thoughts
Spurn from the womb
To mould a man from a woman

Mystified power
Unexplained energy
Unconventional thinking
Giving birth to what is called instinct

A change of destiny
Chanced by thoughts
When at the break of dawn
The minds meet and comprehend unspoken words

Silent thoughts
No one can hear
Your mysterious moment
Only you can bear
It’s your need to be free
To be at peace with oneself

Silent thoughts
A secret moment
To indulge into wishful thinking
Then champion the process into creative thinking
To see how events can be influenced



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Tiger in the wood

There is a tiger in the woods
With such an attitude

There is a tiger in the woods
Do not stay out there in the nude

There is a tiger in the woods
Alternating between humble and rude

There is a tiger in the woods
Looking for its prey, so pray
Soon will be injurious what was once good
Ready and steady he sets about to slay
The brave who protrude along his way

There is a tiger in the wood
Thinking about you as food
A known serial killer
Seeking a bestial thriller

There is a tiger in the wood
Whose beautiful stripes, I conclude
Put you off guard. Understood?
Such display, I call the tiger’s interlude.



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



To write

To write
is to feel
To feel
is to heal
To heal
is to reveal
instead of conceal
While you stand still.



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Today

Today
My alarm clock failed to ring

Today
Yoo-Hoo, The clock did not sing

Today
The trains made me get to work late
I was left staring at their shut gates

Today
I found myself exceedingly alone
Shivering in the flat cold to the bone

Today
My lover called and I got ditched
I really thought we’re going to get hitched

Today
I stank dreadfully; I did not have a shower
The sad news drained me of my will power

Today
I counted my pennies in twos and fours
My pockets were empty and poor
All the food I ate was bitter and sour

Today
All the programmes on TV were boring
Repetitious episodes had been reoccurring
I couldn’t go out as the rain was pouring

Today
In-between my thighs, I kept feeling horny
That tingly-tingly feel was not at all funny

Today
I read the newspaper without focus
Wondering what was the entire fuss
About sleeping with one’s boss
A whole page dedicated to it, was the loss

Today
I listened to some sad love songs
Speculating where I had done wrong
Next time, yes! I am going to be strong

Today
I fantasised about my next affair
Detailing it in my head with care
Another tragedy I simply cannot bear

Today
I sang, spoke and smiled
Whilst I had my nails filed

Today
I made positive future plans
I am my own number one fan
Of many visions, I am the woman!
Also by definition, I am the woman!

Today
I passed life’s challenge
Having my hearty revenge
I went off to bed felicitous
Every today is always joyous!



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Today I shop

Yesterday I shopped
For something new
Today I shop
Just to find you

Hop, hop and I hop
From shop to shop

They say love is for free
So I say between you and me
There are no guarantees
I will not charge you a fee

Love has its price tag
Who else I nag
Can kiss you better than me?
Who else I nag
Can touch you better than me?

For if kisses and touches have no value
We all need to take time and review
Why love is something we relentlessly pursue

I, the highest bidder
Request you to consider
My demand for your time
Which I know to be sublime

Today I shop
Just to find you
Tomorrow I shop
To make a down payment on you, my sweetie

You are such a rare commodity
In this beautiful city
And whilst they say
Many fishes in the sea!
You happen to be the only kind of your specie

Hop, hop and I hop
From shop to shop

Oppose not this dramatical assignment
I compose with lyrical bombardments
Rather than redeem myself as a flop
I will shop
Spend over the top
Shop and search till I drop
Just to make you mine in time! !



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Today I will read

Tap me not on my shoulder
Today I will read
For there is the urgent need
to explore words being soldered
into blissful compact sentences
as my reading commences

Today I will read
In no chronological order
something immoderately ordinary
Consulting the Oxford dictionary
If and when necessary

Today I will read
Knowledge is power and wisdom
a substitute for boredom
Knowledge is a curse
when words used tend to slip off course

In moments of seeking
the understanding of definitions
I will scamper through publications
of columns in newspapers
Absorb the skeptical illustrations
Learn more about this nation
As I feed my own imagination

Today I will read
a book or a novel
I will read articles
and the contents of scripts
doing my research while I search
for the truth
even if its minute

Today I will read
Separating quality from quantity
as I delve into topics
in my encyclopedia
Tap me not on my shoulder
whether you are younger or older
For Today I will read !!


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Today is just another day

Today is just another day
Of highs and lows
When the winds blow and the waters flow

Today is just another day
A day to make amends and new friends
For there will come a time it will all end

Today is just another day
We eat and go to work
Some seat and wait for luck
Others cheat giving the sweet talk

Today is just another day
Where we must live for tomorrow
Or give in to everlasting sorrow

Today is just another day
We breathe in the same air
Trying to invent new ideas
Exhibiting passionate care or fear

Today is just another day
While some of us delight in joy
Others will find a way to deploy
Tools to destroy the moments we enjoy

Today is no different from yesterday
Technology the only change in the game
The people are still the same
Looking for one to take on the blame
Always worshipping those with a name
Broken hearts and love keep alive the dying flame

Today is just another day
It will fade away
Quickly into yesterday
Tomorrow then gladly will become today!



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Todays visit! ! !

In sunshine, winter or in rain
Today visits me once again

Today is my best friend
Always with me right to the very end

Today’s visit
Is as habitually the same
It is always an erratic game
Of ups and downs
Of smiles and frowns
Of highs and lows
Of “Hellos” and “Byes”

Today I treasure
With paramount pleasure
Today’s visit
I cannot comparatively measure



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Together I gather

Together I gather
We can achieve the impossible
Our strength will never be feeble
All our voices will be heard
And our thoughts will be fed
Through a single channel

Together I gather
If we work as a team
We can achieve all our dreams
Draw up from our thoughts, some warm steam
Reality will only look us in the face and beam

Together we can separate
The weeds of wrong from right
Be strong and stand up in the darkness or the light

Come take a walk with me
It is already very clear for me to see,
Isolation is not the way forward
Motivation and inspiration is a wonderful product
Of togetherness

Together I gather
We can build a nation of love
While the Lord watches from above
Every road that is bent with a curve
Shall be straightened by us

Together we shall conquer
One at a time
In the right order

Together never stays young
But is always formidably strong
Hence together I want to walk with you
Without bypassing any queues
My only hope is you feel the same way too



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




True love never dies

Fiddle the riddle
Wiggle with the riddle

For true love never dies
Except those empty white lies

Love never says goodbye
It just flies
Low and high

Fiddle the riddle
Wiggle with the riddle
Perhaps you can unfold
The puzzle of true love not told

The love I know may sometimes fizzle
Then sparkle with the eye of a twinkle
After wear out like an ageless wrinkle
So I hear your cry and with you I sigh

True love itself never dies
True love never says goodbye
True love never tells a lie
True love never asks the reason why
It just flies and flies and flies and flies
Or it flies past you by



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Trust me!

A relationship will crumble into dust
For any loving couple without trust

'Trust me' she said
Only trust was not implanted in his head
'Trust me' she said
But every time he felt another was in her bed
'Trust me' she said
With them only days away from being newly wed

Each minute her phone rang
'Trust me baby' she sang
Placing down the phone with a bang

With each 'Where were you? ' question
'Trust me baby', was all she would mention
With each 'Who were you with? ' question
'Trust me', was her mode of explanation

And his expression!
Was not one of passion!
But of a man on a mission
To make a certain decision

'My friend relax', so his friend said
'Your face looks taxed, trust her', the friend said
Listen I think you need to readjust
Equip yourself with some trust
Or end up hating each other with utter disgust

Then his phone rang
Then his phone sang
It was his woman asking him where he was
Should he answer or should he hang

‘Baby trust me’, he said
Or this feeling I have for you will oxidize and rust
‘Baby trust me’, he said
Before our relationship goes bust

Today, Today, between the two
There is trust
They’ve found again what they once lost

By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Unripe Apples don't fall

Take time to prepare
and develop your idea
Norture it with care

This is my call
Unripe Apples don't fall
Unless you shake the tree
Standing tall

A bitter fruits taste
Only goes to waste
Like a rotten Apple
Down to the core

Try to dedicate
Think Straight
Proceed with emotions
Before your new introduction
An Apple has five seeds
Clear out all the weeds

This is my call
Unripe Apples don't fall
Unless you shake the tree
Standing tall




By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Up! Education

Education is important
Right from when an infant

Education is not about college
It entails a wider range of knowledge
Supplying a market of skills shortage

Education is great
It creates and decides upon ones fate
Never leave it too late

Education makes it a priority
To provide you with opportunities

So I say
OK! Up! Education
Feed the Nations
Up! Education

Education is in abundance
A constituent of importance
As we humans advance
It offers us life’s insurance

Education is the key to set you free
From joblessness condemnation

Education is the key to flee
From endless financial frustration

Education provides you with ammunition
To tackle any country, state or nation

Education gives you immunisation
Against surviving global frustration

Education relieves you
From absurd ignorance

Education exempts you and me
From parental allowance
For most adults
It is usually a concerning disturbance

So I say
OK! Up! Education
Feed the Nations
Up! Education

I take my time to stress once more
It is the path to successes door
Education is a treasure
One cannot significantly measure
By only your life’s attended lectures

Education is power
Your immediate answer
To questions that remain unanswered

Education is for all
Embrace it or fall

Education provides options
And sets the motion
In life for you to function

So I say
OK! Up! Education
Feed the Nations
Up! Education
Education is the name of the game


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Vanishing Dreams

Vanishing Dreams
Fading away quietly into empty streams

Hold on tight
Shed some light
Wet your apetite
Do not let them slip away
Or they start to lose their colour
day by day, year by year
Right into thin air

There you stand
You seem to have forgotten
Once when you were a little boy
Building castles of dreams with joy

There you now stand
You front, inspired by fustration
Surrounded by countless restrictions

Vanishing Dreams
Fading away quietly into empty streams

It is easy to give in without a bother
Lose your freedom in a common fashioned order
While your dreams vanish one after the other
Our sons and daughters
are still cradling them
Nurturing their stems
On their own conditions and terms

So hold on tight
Wet your apetite
Make your dreams come true
While there is still light




By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Wandering Justice

Wandering Justice
O! Dear, have I hit a miss?
With wandering justice

When society systems fail
And someone goes to jail
Without any chance of bail
Or ever setting out again on sea to sail
For something they did not do; it is a sad tale

When there is war instead of peace
And dignified people are looking for ass to kiss
Where is justice?

Countries are suffering in health and poverty
Whilst others are enjoying wealth and property
Where is justice?

O! Dear, have I hit a miss?
With wandering justice

When someone you love
Is taken away to the skies above
Where is the justice?

When you read endlessly to take exams
Another passes it with some fraudulent scam
Where is the justice?

When all your life you work so hard
Doesn’t it get you viciously mad?
When the jackpot hits another who is bad
Where is the justice?

When life takes away your child
Because you ignored health symptoms as mild
Where is the justice?

At work when your original innovations
Reward your boss with a standing ovation
Followed by a double or triple promotion
And all you get from the boss is a caution
Where is the justice?

When living a healthy life is nothing but a trick
As destiny picks on you for the sake of a kick
With illnesses for the unhealthy and the weak
All the same you are the one who ends up sick
Where is the justice?

O! Dear, have I hit a miss?
With wandering justice
Fair for all is what I call justice
Moments of rewarding bliss

When a man plants his seeds
Creating numerous mouths to feed
And he provides them with all their needs
I call it Justice!

When you work hard
Indulging in good not bad
And life rewards make you so glad
I call it Justice!

Yet justice often wanders away
Before you have your chance of say
When it wanders, the price is often high to pay

O! Dear, have I hit a miss?
With wandering justice
As it leaves behind a trail of flaws
That is not within the confinement of fair law!


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Warriors

Warriors
Horses and warriors
Shields and amour
Fighting for a cause
Avoiding as much loss

Shedding blood is a must
Battles must be fought and won on the battlefield
How many men will be killed?
For a country
For a nation
For self belief

Spears and shields
Tools of war
Making history
Alliance and victory

A treasured sword
Held by a courageous man
Known by his name as warrior
Failure is not an option
A countries pride is at stake

Bows and arrows
Fighting for a name
Decorated with strings of fame
A man must do what he must
Even if it is for a mediocre cause

Now wars are won and fought with guns
The true warriors are the thinkers and not the fighters
The true warrior is not the man who dies
But the one who stays alive
The one who can plan and strategise
Analyse and fantasies a vision which is bound to come true


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Weep not, Brokenhearted

Let's attempt to foil
A possible emotional turmoil
Our tempers have been set to boil

Shame! You blame
The very existence of my name
For the aftermath of our fun game
I feel the same, I feel the same

Weep not, Brokenhearted
Weep! Weep! Not

You insisted you wanted only fun
Today you talk of me as if a con
Now that your heart is worn and torn

Weep not, Brokenhearted
Weep! Weep! Not

I thought fun for a couple of days
After we’ll go our separate ways
I simply cannot understand
How I have led you astray

You said the words, you needed fun, you were bored

Weep not, Brokenhearted
Weep! Weep! Not

Once you sung the words to your song
I locked my heart with a key
Threw it away, so of you I would be free



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



What I want to be

When I grow up
I want to be, I want to be

I want to be an optician
Look into peoples eyes
Detect when they tell lies

I want to be an a technician
First break all things apart
Then repair all broken parts

I want to be a princess
I shall have not the type of distress
That is imposed upon a mistress!

I want to be a mathematician
Calculate the time a person turns up late
Calculate the amount of time I have to wait

I want to live life like a footballer
Rather than read like a scholar
Better to kick about to earn the dollar

I want to be an actress
So I will never have to earn less
Without the need to learn any form of gratefulness

I want to be a politician
Tell them what they want to hear
Introduce and Induce some fear then finally show some care

I want to be an accountant
You see money is important
It is easier than trading like a merchant
Or making money by being pregnant

I want to be a preacher
Instead of being a teacher
After all the former is usually richer

I want to be, I want to be
I want to be a doctor
For then I can score
With anyone I fancy who knocks on my door

By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



What is loss?

I resent
What loss represents
I resent
What great loss presents

So what’s the fuss about loss?

Waiting!
Debating!
Contemplating!

What is loss?
Something you care about
Taken away from you by force
Creating total unforgivable chaos

Thinking!
Blinking!
Seeking!

What is loss
It is a minus instead of a plus
Hence the unmistakable fuss
Death and sickness build up great grief
Loss brings despair instead of relief
And in loss itself I have no belief

I resent
What loss represents
I resent
What great loss presents

Loss! An inequitable cause
Thrown on you without a toss
So you become very cross
Because in your life you realize, you are never the only boss



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



What is music to you?

Music is freedom that relentlessly exists
Freedom of speech
Freedom of thought
Freedom of creativity
Freedom of imagination

Music is ever soothingly healing
A bombardment of on-going expression of feelings
Music is a tool of unity
Always bringing people together as family
Hence be described as a mentor of spirituality

Music is magic
Performing its tricks
With sweet instrumental tones and lyrics

Music is emotionally captivating
Music is positively distracting
Music is a form of beautiful art
Passed on as a message on a public stage

Music is as powerful as water
Flowing in and out of generations
Trapped ever so often only by its own enormous power

Music is an angel
Singing out from the skies as she flies
Music is love
Music is the food of all moods
Music is perfect and it is good for you




By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




What is my destiny?

What is my destiny?
What is your destiny?
Can it be changed at all?
Or is it another hallucination
A figment of our imagination,
of what life should hold in stock for us

If destiny would walk our paths
I would say to destiny
Why have you come all this way, just to lead us astray?




By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




What is poetry?

What is poetry?
I say it is mega-magnetic fun
When words play and tend to run
It is mega-magnetic fun
Yes mega-magnetic fun

When readers show they are appreciative
Of playful words which are narrative
I say it is mega-magnetic fun

When readers have come & gone
And all the votes have been cast and drawn
I say it is mega-magnetic fun

When writers become inventive
With or without any material incentive
I say it is mega-magnetic fun

That is what poetry is about
It is mega-magnetic fun




By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




What is trust?

T - Truth
R - Respect
U - Unity
S - Sincerity
T - Togetherness


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



What’s on your mind?

What’s on your mind?
Mr. Gentleman

You slowly take away my rights
Like a slow poison
Hoping I will not give a fight
I can see without a light
Even in the black darkness of the night

What’s on your mind?
My dear

You ponder thoughtfully away
Almost every single day
How to get rid of me in your play
Trying to frustrate me
Sadly you underrate me
Attempting absurdly to captivate me
With your charming sweet lies
But your deception shows in your eyes

What’s on your mind?
I ask you

You look as though, full of fear
Perhaps you are horrified
At your own wicked ideas
Scenarios playing out inwards
Common attributes of a coward

What’s on your mind?
I say to you
Your face looks already troubled
Before you undertake your actions
Pretending you are worried
About my possible reactions

What’s on your mind?

I have no fear
I am ready and steady to prepare
For the battle of minds
This battle will be one of a kind


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



When a woman changes!

Change!
Change is inevitable in our lives
As a woman ages
So she changes

But when a woman changes her identity,
Her very own self
All in the name of love,
Behold!
All hell is set loose!

Even to herself, she becomes
The strange stranger of strangeness!


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



When I dream!

When I dream
I dream out my fears
Hoping that reality is near
So I can lure it to my lair
Then feed on my needs as need be

When I dream
I dream of love and power
Taking a cold shower
And ruling the world from a tower
Always looking up, never lower

But dreams come true
Oh! Yes they do
And dreams can quickly vanish into thin air
As they become as obsolete as stale beer

So when I dream
I dream about fighting the freezing cold with fire
I dream about aiming higher to grasp my desires
I dream of ways to inspire myself
By sweetly toiling out till I tire
Many a dream of mine are unwritten songs
To which I've known the words all along
Often I dream of places where I should belong

Sometimes my dreams are messages
Gobbled up in visual categorized stages
That is unexplainable and strange

When I dream
I dream about the impossible
And how to enable it
Without the obvious obstacles
It’s only then I realize that a dream is capable
Of becoming true for either me or you
Yet the reality of it all is
Then a dream is no longer a dream!


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



When is blood thicker or weaker?

Blood is thicker than water
Where family is involved

Blood is weaker than water
When family has dissolved



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



When the dog barks

When the dog barks
Don’t crack, I remark
Watch your back
Maybe it is about to attack

A dog is commonly your loyal slave
But your master when it is brave
It can be your best friend
It can be your worst enemy

When the dog barks
Get ready on your mark
It senses you in the dark

When the dog barks
And you don’t talk back
It will sense the courage you lack

When the dog barks
You may need to give it a whack
To set it on the right track
Before it embarks
On a mission with its mates in a pack

When the dog bites
You must put up a fight

When the dog bites
Think hard, do what is right

When the dog whines
Even you should know it’s not fine



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



When the wind blows

When the wind blows in autumn
Falling leaves are the outcome
As the trees become lonesome
Naked without leaves
But with the believe
Again to become wholesome

When the wind blows in winter
It welcomes a chilling breeze
With it comes the familiar freeze
Everything becomes cheaper
Activities decrease, the only increase
Are the utility bills

When the wind blows in spring
Plants spring back to life
All natural life awakens and sings
With the honeybees buzzing and cheering
The wind begins to show signs of caring
For it is awaiting summer and preparing
Whilst gently airing

When the wind blows in summer
Its power is less fierce and dimmer
Like a beginner of a swimmer
The winds touch is a lot calmer
As it turns on its gentle charmer
Allowing us to get carried away
On the hot beaches as dreamers

To a winters wind
They say no, no, no
To a summers wind
They say blow, blow, blow



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Where is your trust?

Hey you, how dare you doubt me?
Like a blind man who cannot see

Hey you, where is the trust?
Why have you set it aside to rust?

Where is that faith?
Can it be retrieved?
Or is it too late?
O You, You once believed, you once believed!

Have I not done plenty to earn your trust?
Why have you set it aside to rust?
You look upon me with apparent disgust
What has become of you to readjust?

You used to trust me, I used to trust you
Forthwith we belong to two opposite sides
The only thing about you that was ever true
Is it is in your distasteful nature to backslide

So hey you, where is the trust?
Don't speak!
Don't speak!
Forthwith I know now why it has been laid to rust!



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Where was father?

Quick to flatter without falter
Spreading out his seeds with speed
Leading mother to the altar
Declining to take on his role and lead
When it was time to fulfill my needs

Where was father when I needed him most?
It hurts to hear others speak of fathers and boast

Where was father when I needed him most?
I gathered he cowardly conceded his post

Where was father when I needed him most?
Did he set off for greener grasses by the coast?

We speak of fathers and mothers
We seek in no chronological order
Their guidance and support
As we learn back and forth

Where was father when I needed him most?
He abandoned his bedpost and left us to roast

Where was father when I needed him most?
It mattered to me to have him as a family host

He should have been
My personal mentor!
My cherished educator!
My inflexible motivator!
My life striving navigator!

Shall I put up a glass and shamefully toast?
To a man who stayed clear of being my guidepost

Where was father when I needed him most?
Without remorse I desire to bury his ghost




By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Where was your love?

Where was your love?
When I needed your love
Where were your hugs?
When I was soaked in my sobs

Where was your love?
When I needed your love
Yours was never near
Nor were your wandering ears
As you were hardly ever there

I will rather talk about this now than later
A fire can be quenched by not only water
People speak of no smoke without a fire
I speak of hate born not just by greedy desire

You haunt me, a ghost from the past to boast
Where was your love when I needed your love?
Where were you friend when I need you most?
You gave me the shoulder along with the shove

Where was your love?
When I needed your love
Where was your care?
When I cried rainy tears

With shattered dreams on broken wings
Where was your love when I needed your love?
When I lost the will to sing a simple octave
What mattered to you were your lousy flings

With a thin line between love and hate
My dear old friend, my dear old mate
Let me be clear and completely straight
Love has disappeared at a very fast rate



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Why America? Why not America?

Why America?
Vast amount of lands and musical bands,
Filled with mountains and beach of sands
Why not America?

Why America?
Blessed with beautiful and hot chicks
Tourists scramble to travel and take a little peak
Why not America?

Why America?
Leaders of numerous wars
Leaving countries bitterly sore!
Why not America?

Why America?
After generations of history after history
Strong leaders only provide victory
Why not America?

Why America?
The continent of endless variety of lyrical music
Where you find many guys with amazing physiques
Why not America?

Why America?
Major instigators of peace
The worldly global police
Why not America?

Why America?
The master of English literature
Surrounded by perfect earthly nature
Why not America?

Why America?
With the highest number of inventors
Making our lives a continuous adventure
Why not America?

Why America?
You tell me!
Why not America
Don’t ask me!


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Why commit suicide?

Why commit suicide?
Don’t tie yourself with a rope
With life, there is always hope
With life, there is always scope

Why commit suicide?
For you there is no roller coaster life ride
Your heart is filled with an empty hole so wide
Don’t put yourself on fire and fry
With life, you can still make an effort and try
Please leave us not with a permanent goodbye

Why commit suicide?
Believe me when I say ‘You are not alone’
Many out there are shivering cold to the bone
Express your feelings to someone on the phone
Full of debt
Never properly slept
Always sadly wept
Wish you had something wonderful
You could have treasured and kept
Unsucessfuly with exams
After hectic midnight crams
Who gives a damn!

You are not alone!
You are not alone!

So you feel so empty inside
You are full of egoistical pride
To admit the thought of a suicide tide
Love has never even been on your side
Believe me when I say ‘You are not alone’
With life, there is no stone
That you cannot eventually overthrow
To reclaim your rightful throne
So why commit suicide?

By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Will you be my friend?

Will you be my friend?

Will you be my friend?
In a gentle manner he asks
Will you be my friend?
Or is that too much of a task?

Many a time when feeling lonely
I long to be loved
Welcomed and made to feel homely

A friend I need
One who can share my joys
Friendship I seek, and not to destroy

A friend I need
Someone not afraid to tell me off
When ever I am wrong
Instead encourage me to be strong

Someone who can
Life my spirits when I am down
Not look upon me with a frown

Will you be my friend?
In a gentle manner he asks
Will you be my friend?
Or is that too much of a task?

‘Why me’ she curiously asks
I’m no beauty behind my mask

And he replies, ’ Because you are so gentle’
Patiently understanding and simple

You exhibit utmost kindness
The title friendship goddess
Is yours, if I am honest with gladness
You display compassion and intelligence
You never judge and there is no pretence
My life with you will make a difference

We rhyme together in towns
And joke around like clowns
When we talk on the phone
I merrily feel not alone
You shine like the sun and are fun
You are always there with support
Continuously making sacrificial efforts

Well then, I am already your friend
She says, ‘unless you want our friendship to end.


By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Without love

I know it may sound insane
Now I dream of you without pain
Time has past
Extremely fast

Love has no boundaries
Love is fantastic
Love is a mystery
Love is romantic

Love is real
Love is intense
Love can heal
Love is romance

I know it may sound insane
I am feeling you once again
You left me feeling wanting
With your teasing and flaunting

Love is kind
Love is divine
Love unwinds
Love is sunshine

Love forgives
Love is nice
Love is positive
Love is sacrifice
Love is massive
Love is compromise

I know it may sound insane
You still remain and rain in my brain
With our experience in my collection
I can make the necessary corrections
You are a moment I wish
Once more to cherish

Love is great even when late
Love is sweet when complete
Love can forgive whatever it receives
Love is a blessing, always refreshing
Love is supreme but can be extreme
Love comes at a price If you are not wise
Love is unselfish, It only tends to nourish
Love always flourishes tending not to perish
Love from the heart never departs or breaks apart

I know it may sound insane
But I hope our paths meet again
I speak neither French nor Spanish
Yet memories of you are not tarnished
My senses have been trained
All is not lost in vain

Love is strong
Love is old and young
Love is the sound of a melodious song
Love is the gentle language of the tongue

I know it may sound insane
That about love I complain
Love never did me no wrong
Without love I am far from strong!

Love has no pride painting a humble ride
Love is life, in different forms it arrives
Love is an unspoken promise
Between two of unity and peace

By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Without women

Today a daughter and a princess
Tomorrow a mother or a mistress

Up! Up! Up! Women
Stop! Stop! Stop! Women
Perhaps true, perhaps true

Women are amazing creatures
Moulded with dazzling features
Women are an object of mystery
Have their own place in history

Women are great
They make the best dates
Except when they turn up very late

Without women
What will become of us?
No more noises on the bus
No one to make all the fuss

Without women
What will become of men?
Who will teach them,
How to behave and learn?

Women are the spicy ingredient of romance
Women are the juicy parent of importance
Women are a heavenly treasure
The epitome of human pleasure

Up! Up! Up! Women
Stop! Stop! Stop! Women
Perhaps true, perhaps true

Without women
Would this earth have survived?

Without women
Imagine how many will feel deprived

Women are simply delicious
Beware they can be serious
Especially when suspicious
And turn to Mrs Vicious

Women are priceless
Without women
Life will be without spice
Simply lifeless




By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem






WOMEN

W – Wonderful, witty and wise
O – Obligated obedience applies
M – Mysterious to be precise
E - Elegance with a price
N – Naughty but nice




By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Work! Work! And Reap!

Work! Work! Work! And Reap!
Work! Work! Work! And Sleep!

Everyday most of we work
Some of us love to work
Some of us just want to rock
Some of us want to lie on a beach or take a walk
If we had our way, we could spend all day and talk

But work we all must
Or our lifestyles will go bust!
We may then have to readjust
To unacceptable standards of living in disgust

Work! Work! Work! And Reap!
Work! Work! Work! And Sleep!

We all have different professions
Some of us have silent confessions
We fancy someone at work with an obsession
Work is then fun with a passion until confusion

Work! Work! Work! And Reap!
Work! Work! Work! And Sleep!

There are jobs that are monotonous
The atmosphere is negatively outrageous
Nothing in the air signifies hilarious
Every single person is always very serious

Sometimes played at work
Is the kind of politics
That makes one quite sick
This is where the strong kick
Kick hardest the backside of the weak

But work we all must
Or our lifestyles will go bust!
As we find ourselves lost
And then try hard to readjust

So do we swallow?
Or is fighting back shallow
Will it leave in your pocket a dent that is hollow?
Or produce a scene labeled horror
Enough to leave you in tears of sorrow

I don't have all the answers
I know work is a living cancer
People at work ought to be a little nicer
Everyone needs to make a living including a dancer!



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



World cup - Touch the screen

If the England team is handled by Hope, O Well
With all their talent even she would do so well

This is no phoney
It is all about the guy called Rooney

Sixty Seconds for footballs James Bond
Focus on his leg, his ligament may bond
England needs him I beg
But not without his two intact legs
We need him, this message to all I send
With or without his spend-spend girlfriend

Sixty Seconds
May make that difference
His skills are as rare as diamond
This is spoken without any pretence

Touch that Television screen
This world cup England must win

World cup thousand and six
England, Great England
He is the inevitable fix!
A hero on any soil or sand!

Touch that Television screen
This world cup England must win

If you believe
In football miracles
England will receive
It is that simple

Get off your seats
Let your power make him fit
Although it takes a team to achieve a dream
Touch that screen, Touch that screen
This world cup England must win! !



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



World Cup 2006

Zidane, Zidane
Is still the man!
Thierry Henry,
Hurry, Hurry

Roberto, Ronaldo, Ronaldino
Seemed to have forgotten the lingo

In the beginning they all said Brazil
Whilst they played their first game
Most played with piddling zeal
Predictions made only upon their name

The host country Germany
Displayed a talent of many
Their expressive style, worth every penny
They played with a lot of wit
And their strikers’ chest stuck out fit

Let me not be cynical
About a country like Portugal
They passed beautifully rhythmical
Their tackles and dribbles were lyrical
But their talented midfielder
Was not a natural goal yielder
Perhaps I can scribble
He was in good in a dribble

England, England, I wish they could understand
Previously there was all the fuss about a striker’s foot
I would have told the coach to give that player the boot
On International level for a player to get a red card
Is an unforgivable mistake deemed as classically mad!

The football players for Ghana
Conducted themselves in such a manner
That made us all proud of Africa
And South America
Can say the same for Argentina
After being hailed on by Maradonna

To Mexico
I say fantastico!

And the romantic country France
They have shown the importance
Of playing solidly as a team
To achieve a golden dream

Who would have guessed Italy?
With all the hype about match fixes
But football is not chess or monopoly
This was World Cup thousand and six

They completely
Dominated the Game
Hence Italy
Have regained their fame!

World Cup two thousand and six
I assure you was no fix



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Yesterdays Love

Yesterday love felt fantastically right
He killed it as the clocks struck midnight

Now he wants to be friends
Play a game of pretend

Sweet yesterdays love
Todays love came late
Tomorrow will be a sad never-ending wait

Yesterdays love was strong
As romantic as a sweet classical song
No indication of darkness in the passing light
He killed the love as the clocks struck midnight

Now he is the perfect stranger
Operating again as a lone ranger

Sweet yesterdays love
Todays love came late
Tomorrow will be a sad never-ending wait



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



You lost me!

You lost me by the sea
Huge waves came crashing down
One by One

Signals were already showing
in red and white and glowing
Your strokes stopped following
the right path

I felt we could swim the distance
together in advance
I thought we did not need
any kind of reassurance
Somewhere along the way
We must have lost our balance

You lost me
Once you tried to conceal
your love for me which was real

Your frequent kisses started slowing
Slowing down
Slowing down

Once a love story and talk of the town
Everything came crashing down
Crashing down
Crashing down
Our love will never be the same
This is no longer a game

You lost me
Can't you see
What was once meant to be
The only key to my heart
Is now lost forever at sea



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



You wander as a lonely

Each day you wake up with a frown
Rumours keep spreading around town
That you’re suffering a mental breakdown

A solitary walk you walk
A lonely talk you talk
As you wander as a lonely

You wander as a lonely at night
You wander as a lonely on sight
You wander as a lonely at day
You wander as a lonely and pray
You wander as a lonely each day

Slow down, slow down
Shut down, shut down
Shutdown the lonely before you drown

Embrace your friends with warmth
They can give you assistance
Deliver you from your lonely existence
You keep fighting love
Bending it around like a curve
With your glowering face
Reserving only a lonely place,
Halting happiness to arrive in your life

Do you ever stop to wonder?
Do you ever stop to ponder?
Are you the reason for the lonely blunders?

Slow down, slow down
Shut down, shut down
Remove from your head that lonely crown

You wander endlessly as a lonely
Searching for a spot called homely
But your face is missing that vital smile called lovely



By Sylvia Chidi





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



When we met


When I first saw you
Nothing else was heard
You were all I saw
A few seconds was all it took
From then on I wished that you would be by my side
in the dark at night
And the way you looked at me
Was enough to know
that you wouldn’t leave me
And as we were standing there,
you filled up my frozen heart
Warmed it up, melting it
and fixed it

Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



When you're by my side


Lead me into your light
I don’t want to think
I just want to feel

You take my hand
And press it to your heart

Your touch makes me feel weak and yet again strong
I’m ready to take on the world again
Nothing to worry about anymore…

The world is fading
Now it’s just you and me




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Will I always be here?


Will I always be here?
Waiting, wanting
Time stops…
And I will wait
Only you exist here
I’m lying here
Innocence still intact
Feeling like your slave
Will I always be here?
Living as you own me
Living just by the sight of you
The touch of you
Passion burns inside of me
Will you be here when the clock starts to tick again?






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Without you


I long to be close to you
If I can’t the world seems nothing
Without you I’m feeling so hopelessly lost
I only want to be in your light,
It warms my heart
When I’m in your arms I feel save
The world disappears,
There is only you and me
But when I’m alone there is nothing
Nothing… to feel
No one to love
Never let me go
Stay with me until the end of times




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




World full of nothing


Nowhere to be found
Nowhere to be heard
No one that reaches out
In this world full of nothing
Close your eyes
Feel the tears stream down your face
Let the sounds die
Feel your emptiness
that feeds your soul with darkness
Let yourself slip away
It’s easy, just believe it al
In this world full of nothing
The phone never rings
It’s just you and the world outside
The empty world
With nothing but you and your despair






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Would it be


Would it be strange if I said you have a beautiful smile?
Would it make sense if I wished that you are mine?
Would it be different if I said you are special?
Would it make sense that I want to stroke your hair?
Would it be weird if we walked hand in hand?

Is it wrong that I think about you all the time?
Is it sick that I think about you that way?

What will they say when they know about me and my feelings?
What will they think?

Will they think that it’s not right and dirty that I see you in another light?
Will they be scared when they know that I’m in love with you?
Will they reject me for just being the way I am?

Would everything be alright in the end?






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




You found me


Let me keep this feeling forever
The feeling that words can’t really describe
A feeling that goes deeper than anything has ever done before

No mistake,
No coincidence…

You found me,
When it got too dark
When fear was all I was feeling,
When I was so numb,
When I didn’t believe in true love anymore…

You found me,
You made me see a light on my dark road
The light I was looking for all those years
I ran to the light and I opened up my heart

Now you’re by my side,
my light,
That is so beautiful and warm,
it fills my heart everytime with so much love…
So much love,
for you…

You found me…
And I’ll never leave your side





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




You took my heart


Well here I am again left by you.
All alone in the cold.
With nowhere to go,
since you’ve took my heart away.
My happiness lies in your hands now,
since you’ve got my heart.
Please don’t break it, don’t throw it away
but handle it with care.
And maybe someday you will love me….







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




You're not here


What is it with you?
Why do I need you?
All I ever really wanted was some peace in myself
But since you came into my life
I’ve lost my head
And a war is raging in my heart
You’re not here by my side
I wish a thousand wishes
For you to be my angel
Send from heaven
To bring the peace
But you’re not here
The spitfires come crashing down
The machine guns are loaded
The firing pierces through me
Explosions fill my senses
And you’re not here
I can’t stand this emotional violence
I should leave in silence







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




You've let me down


I was your doll
You pulled my strings
I could only follow
Feeling helplessly
Didn’t know what I was doing
You were the only thing inside of me
But you dropped me
Cut my strings
Let me lying in the dirt
Feeling used
Only entertainment to you
You've let me down









Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




When I'm alone


When I’m alone and I miss you so
There’s nothing in the world that can make me feel better
I never needed anyone like this before
I want to hold you forever and a day
You are the one I need by my side
No matter what others might say or think
You’re my only one
My sky gets dark when you leave
The sun fades away in an instant
And there’s only me and this lonely feeling that’s slowly eating me up
My heart cries out for you
I’m so afraid to be alone
I miss you with all my heart and soul
Don’t go away
Love come back this way
Because I need you so much










Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Wash me clean


I loathed myself for so long
I'm more lost in this plot than ever
Let this hour quickly pass me by
Make me forget the tormenting of my soul
So at the end of the day
See me back at the shore
And set me free as I drown myself in the void
and allow my soul to be devoured by the hungry sea
as the waves make me part of the universe












Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Walking away from...


Walking away from nothing

Running from the one person which I cared about
I didn’t say a word
I just ran away with your name on my lips
Tears in my eyes

All the what ifs circling through my mind
I cried in silence
Wishing I could get one chance to love you

Walking away from everything




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Walking away


Guess I was there again
There at a point were it got too much to take again
Now I’m standing here with tears in my eyes
Ready to escape the heartache and my tortured mind
Escape to find what I’m looking for
What I’m looking for is not here…
It’s only there in my dreams
My dreams are my saviour in my dark days
Now I start walking
Walking away to find my dreams




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Understand me


See my true form
Not the theatrical version
I’ve stripped down my armour of happiness
Now I stand here, with nowhere to hide
Understand me
Don’t deny me anymore
Accept my points of view
Keep me out of reach from the shade
Don’t let me hide in this armour anymore
Feel me, believe me
Understand me






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Unclear


Everything’s unclear
Where’s the road leading?
Is there any sincerity left?
Fake smiles for miles
Feeling the judging in their eyes
Call me morbid, call me a freak
It’s still not clear to me why
I’m left here all alone
Hopelessly, desperately
Looking for the path that’s still unclear
No comments from the somebodies






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Ultimate confession time


Some say I’m crazy
Maybe they are right
I lost my goal in life
I choke behind my smile
I’m scared of all the changes
I can’t look people straight into the eye
Because it makes me uncomfortable when they look at me
Then I feel even uglier and more insecure
I’m afraid to end up all alone
With no one to love
And no one to love me back
And sometimes for a very,
very brief moment I think of killing myself
I am depressed
I am sad
I am lost
But hey; I will smile at all those people
Smile till my jaws hurt
Saying that I’m alright
But I know my mask can easily break…..





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Turning back to myself


Sitting in the dark
Staring out my window
To the dark sky filled with stars
I’m wishing and wishing on those stars
To get some peace in my mind

Once I was sane
Now it’s the same s.o.s over and over again
Once again I turn away
I can’t stand it….
Broken fortunes
Broken dreams
****ed up thoughts
But I’m the same underneath somewhere

God it’s tearing me apart
I can’t stand it….
My good fortune is away oh so far away
Filled with despair
I look to the dark sky
Wishing I was myself again

I want to turn back to myself
And not be this pathetic waist of space
I want to be strong
I want to be happy
To turn back to myself
That’s all I wish for




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Tomorrow


Tomorrow another day
New chances, a new day
Forgetting stupid thoughts of yesterday
One step closer to the future
What will destiny bring me tomorrow?
Maybe tomorrow
I will be lucky
Maybe tomorrow
I will be happy
Maybe tomorrow
I will fall in love
Maybe tomorrow….
Tomorrow could be the day



Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Together


Stop running
Look at me
Don’t be scared
Save your tears and give them all to me
I’ll take the pain for you
Just take my hand and follow me
We’ll make all your fears disappear
Tell me your dreams
and we’ll make them come true
If only you have faith in both of us





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem






To the person I love to hate


You’re the only one I can’t place
In these thoughts of mine

You’re my sun, you’re my darkness
I will never let you down
although you’ve let me down
I want to make you happy when your feeling down
I want to protect you against the cruelness of the world
I want…
I don’t know what I want anymore

Whether I want it or not you always can get to me
You can confuse me, make me sad, make me smile
Make me happy, make me angry

It scares me that you seem to have such a great influence on me





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem


To see myself


I took away my blindfold
As I looked in the mirror
I only saw my empty reflection
Full of desperation,
With nothing left to believe in
The scars covering my wrists
I looked harder, examining my face
As I flinched away,
I covered my eyes,
I hit the floor…



Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


Three words


Three words
Still unsaid
In oblivion I want to be
But my heart beats faster every time I see you
I feel out of place when I can’t talk to you
Spending my hours with you in my mind,
In my heart, in my soul
Oh how could I need you this much?
How can I tell you?
Dare I?
Or will I be the one that keeps away
In fear of your rejection?
Three words
I want to speak
But my lips won’t move
My voice cracks
And nothing can’t come out
But in my heart
There are only three words:
I love you




Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


This life of mine


I want an own opinion
A mind of my own
I want to express my feelings and thoughts
And not repressing myself anymore
I don’t want to be insecure anymore
I want to be strong
I want to be selfish and not excuse myself for saying: “no”
I want to live for myself and not for others anymore
Because I’m the only one who is living this life
So why shouldn’t I be happy if I can
After all:
I’m the only one who can make this life of mine work!



Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


There for you


She was rising high
But she tumbled down her rainbow
She tried to be with them but she always ended up in the dark
Time after time she asked herself if this was it
There was nothing but you… standing all alone
I looked at you… from a distance
Saw your pain, felt your bitterness
I was there for you
I was your guardian angel
I protected you, loved you and helped you to ease your pain
She felt that this wasn’t her world
And she knew that she belonged in the shadows of the night
Couldn’t change your mind about that
No matter how hard I tried…
But I will always be your shadow in your darkness
And I will never let you down
Because you're here in my heart





Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The yearning


Like a meteorite
You crashed into my soul
What can I do?
When I close my eyes it's you I see
And no one else…
You're in my head
I'm falling down to the floor
Begging for more…
What can I say?
As you standing over me
I'm reaching out,
With your reflection still on my eyes
You fade away…







Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The worst day


I still remember it, like it was just yesterday…
I walked all alone down the beach
Hearing the seagulls screech
The waves of the ocean came crashing onto the shore
Lifting the weight of the world on my shoulders
A storm was growing
Clouds became oh so dark and threatening
Following me
There was only me out there beneath the horizon
It was the worst day ever
A black day
Never felt so terribly alone
Where was God when I needed him the most?






Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The walls between us


Massive concrete,
I put my hand against it
Reaching out for your warmth
I put my ear against it
trying to hear your whisper my name
You're so near, yet so far
Feeling so detached...
I kneel before the wall
How can I break it down?









Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The train is coming


I’m lying tied to the rails
In the distance I can hear the train coming…
I feel the vibrating of the rails
It’s getting nearer and nearer
And I know, I can sense that you’re on it
Smiling,
Cause you were the one who got me here
Tied to the rails
Waiting for the wheels
To crush my already bruised heart











Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The things you said


I heard it from my friends
About the things you said
It felt like a knife twisting and turning
In my heart
A pain so sharp
You betrayed my trust
Never felt so low about myself,
I got so carried away with you
Now you’ve brought me right back down to earth
I heard it from my friends
About the things you said
Never felt so disappointed
Your lies
Bring tears to my eyes
Never felt so stupid
I trusted you
The things you said still linger
Leaving me scarred
Did you ever really loved me?









Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The scream


Here comes the rain again
Bringing back the dark
Bringing back all those memories
Leaving me forever lost
Illusions that make me wanna cry
I just can’t take all this
Things don’t ever go my way
The constant pressure I’m under
It’s driving me insane
There is the silence again
I want to scream so I can break that horrifying silence
I’m now standing blindfolded in a corner
Waiting for the death blow
What do I have to do?
What’s it gonna be?
I try to speak
But the words won’t come
I’m in chains, I struggle to get away
But I’m stuck again, stuck in my mind there in the corner
I open my mouth
My scream gets lost in the night…











Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The play


I played my part in the play of today
All the seats were taken
But in the shadows I crawl away from the spotlights
Wanting to break
Finding a way out of all this
Always searching
I’ll sent you a message from my heart
Will you receive it?
Hope finds me, while the fires are burning in my heart
As I wait, the days seem endlessly
I am breaking apart, where are you?
I want to cry out, don’t want to be on that stage
Without you…













Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The mist


The mist between us, leaves us undefined
You’re silhouette is untouchable for me
My vision is blurred with tears
With all my heart I just want you to see me
But patience is the only option I can subscribe to
The waiting, the longing, the wanting,
the insecurity, the imagining, the wishing
has only just began,
and the mist grows more solid every minute…















Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The games we play


Can you forgive me?
For not understanding your ways
Maybe it’s just a game we play
And maybe it’s just all in my imagination
But sometimes when I’m alone I still think about you
I think about how it could have been
But it’s no good anymore…
Cause you’re not there anymore
And I’m tired of living a lie














Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The Fall


My sky is dark again
I’m tired of looking for sympathy
Tired of my life
Tired of this mad world
I want to leave this place
Just leave it all behind
I want to reach for a sunset
I want to reach for the stars in the sky
I just long to be in the diamond sky at night
I long for just that something more
Where is the life that I recognize?
I have to try to forget
Find a new occupation
I just got to leave this place
And head back to the future again
And get that one foot out of the past
That’s when I turn to say goodbye
And take the fall
















Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem


The empty world


At this holy hour
I’ve lost my faith
Dreams crashing into dust
The armies marching in
Their guns pointing at me
Russian roulette
I slip away
Dreamlessly I went into
An empty world









Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The days of my life


New day
Felt so low
My head bowed down
Wiping away a tear
Should’ve stayed in bed
I walk alone in fear
The life that I live
Never seems to get me anywhere but dead

The night
I felt better in the darkness of the night
I close my eyes
And got hope again

The next day
The day I tried to live
Had my head held high
I saw it in the sky
I heard it in the wind
Seize the day
Sunlight reached my soul
The wind in my hair
The sun on my skin
Telling me that I was alive again

Today
The day I stepped out of the past
And felt alive again


Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The Chance


She looked into my eyes
And asked: Do you feel the same?
I froze, my heart missed a beat
I was stunned to finally hear her say those words
I had longed for all that time
For a moment I didn’t know what to say
But I felt the same and I was happy

I lost that feeling
That lovely feeling
Do we ever have the chance again?
The chance to dance again
The chance to be together again
To walk hand in hand in the moonlight
Is it too late?
Is it too late for that romance again?

Do you still love me?
You looked at me
With no more than sympathy
You lost that feeling
Could you still love me?

You said goodbye
You took my heart away when you left
The door slammed behind you
We will never have the chance again

Nothing really ends
At least in my mind it didn’t really end
Because my mind is filled with thoughts of you and me
And of what our love was and what our love could be

You’re only a memory now
A memory to cherish
A memory to be sad about
And I will never have the chance again




Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



The bridges are burning


I’m watching the fire
Unable to get back or forwards
The wheel stopped turning
And I’m still on the otherside
While the midnight was on your side
I was drawing away from the light
But daytime will hunt me as I stand here
No one is here, no one was waiting
And now the bridges are burning
Fire reflecting in my eyes, and heart
The cruelty of this situation hits me
No one here, no one was ever here
While the bridges are burning




Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



That one star


I was walking
Walking for miles
I was lost without you
I walked and walked
Following a shadow
Your shadow
You were slipping away from me
I started to run
I called out for you
I came nearer
You stopped and turned and looked at me
I startled
My mouth was dry
I couldn’t say anything
Then you turned and ran away from me again
I fell down in the grass
I’m lying here, looking at the sky full of stars
I think back of the way we were
I smile
I think about that one time
that we were lying together in the grass
I held you in my arms
your head rested on my shoulder
and we looked at the stars
Making our wishes on a shooting star
I wished that I would never lose you,
my brightest star in heaven
Now I’m still looking for you,
My only star





Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Tears fall


Bound to the ground
Where I don’t want to be
It’s bringing me down
I hear the beating of my hollow heart
I’m standing here again
Lost in the crowd
Tears are falling down on the pavement
I close my eyes
Smelling my own fear
Trying to crack a smile
About this wicked situation
But it doesn’t work
I’m crying
Drowning in my tears of sorrow








Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Suicidal dream


There it is hiding in a dark corner
Looking at me, creeping, coming closer and closer
I can feel the cold again
I shiver and shake
Now I’m still far from heaven
And to the fires of hell
I see a chance to keep on going
But I can’t reach it
I never could
The rope gets tighter now
Around my neck
Gasping for my breath
Choking
The cold reaches me
Then the darkness
Will there be a light at the end of the tunnel?









Melissa Koeman





--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Stupid words


Today we talked
Talked about things
That didn’t mean anything to me
But it’s so much easier to talk about nothing
Than talk about something
The things I really wanted to say I kept inside
How could I tell you the truth?
That you mean more to me than anything or anyone else right now?
Stupid words are easier and so much safer
I panicked and I left
Leaving you thinking I was just in a bad mood
But there was so much more
That I couldn’t say









Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Stay who you are


Your sad eyes
Staring into the darkness
You’re leading yourself into the void
Feeling your pain in my soul

Don’t go on like this
Don’t listen to the crowd
Stay out of reach from their words
That sting like knifes in your back

Just stay who you are
Don’t let them change you
Listen to your heart

Stay who you are for me,
You perfect one










Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Static


Static in my head
I don’t know what to feel
My words are lost somewhere
I’m unable to speak my mind
And I don’t know how to act
This static in my head
Restrains me from happiness
Lost in this world,
Listening to the static
Trying to feel
To figure out what I’m supposed to do
Static in my heart
I’m off the air




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Somewhere different from here


Somewhere different from here
Where lives are not lost
Where the shadows will truly disappear in the sunlight
There will be no pain,
No exclusion,
No fear
I just think of somewhere different from here
A place where you’ll always be by my side
Where we can be safe
And where I can hold your hand without faces turning
Will you fly with me to the promised land?
Somewhere different from here…




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Silence is golden?


Again hurt by words
Stupid words… that didn’t make sense
Maybe I should’ve thought: whatever, I don’t care
But I couldn’t because in fact it did hurt me like hell
Those words broke my heart
Why do people which I care about and love say such things?
Saying things without thinking first?
If only they knew the truth about me….
I know they would keep their mouth shut then
At least I know now how they really feel about it
But why was I again such a hypocrite for laughing along
and not saying anything?
Should I be silent?
Silence is golden… some say…
But against what price?



Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Silence


Remarks:
“You’re quiet, I don’t hear you, is there something wrong? ”
Just let me be
I don’t care to explain my ways, to them
Should I tell:
I’m just scared,
Scared of making a fool of myself,
Being laughed at?
I just can’t
Just let me live
In silence






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



She’s lost control


The look in her eyes shows it all
She’s lost control
She doesn’t know what to do
Or how to react
And how to get attention

She said I’ve lost control again
She didn’t know who she had become
It frightened her to death
She couldn’t pretend anymore
She smashed the mirror
And cried out loud I’ve lost control again
Her hands bleeding
Her eyes filled with rage and fear
Looking up at me
She collapsed to the ground
She’s lost control again
I thought she died…
She’d lost control again

When the darkness broke in
She broke down
And lost control again
Crying out for help yet again
But I couldn’t handle it anymore
Her moods got to much for me
I was sick of being fooled around
Sick of forgiving her
Sick of the way she treated me like dirt

I didn’t know what to say or what to do
I decided to walk away and let it all be






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Save me from reality


Reality struck me down
and again crushed my dreams.
Saw you standing in the distance.
Your cold wind blows through the wasteland,
called my heart.
You don’t care about me.
You will never be a friend of mine
and you will certainly never be my lover.
It doesn’t matter how hard I wish for that to happen,
because in reality I know that it is not meant to be.
When you say a friendly hello to me,
you just say that out of politeness.
I can see that in your eyes
and then I just know that you aren’t sincere.
At those moments I feel so alone and lost
and it hurts me that of all people you don’t like me.
Because I couldn’t care less about
all the other ****ing people in the world.
I only care about you and your opinion.
Because all I want in my life is you…
Can’t someone save me from this reality?




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Roller coaster


My life,
It goes up and down just like a roller coaster
Once I’m up, I crash down
I’m standing on the ground
I look up to the roller coaster
Wondering why I’m still down here
And not high up in the sky
Riding in the roller coaster
No I’m still down here
Looking at the people in the roller coaster
That are having fun high up there
And I’m still down here
As I look up to the roller coaster that keeps going up
The ruins of my crash surround me




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Right now


Self destructive is what I am

Living in my own little fantasy world is what I do

Scared is how I feel







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Promises


From now on, I want to look myself straight in the eye
Knowing I will do my best
My best for something I haven’t got
I’m not letting it get away that easily anymore
I’ll give a hundred percent
I won’t let myself slip
I won’t be the scared dead beat
I’ll be strong
I won’t let them get me down
I swear… I swear
Please believe me









Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Prejudice


I can see the judgement in their eyes
Feel their eyes burning
Maybe I’m just paranoid but
I feel that I’m being caged in their thoughts
I don’t wanna be labelled
Don’t wanna be a girl in a cage anymore
I want to be free
Free from their believes, their lies
I’m not gonna hide anymore
And if they don’t like it
I couldn’t care less
Just go to hell
I’m gonna break these chains
And spit in their faces
And be free









Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Passing of the times


Looking at the sky
And saw the clouds rapidly passing by
The world spins and spins
Round and round
Over and over again
Time passes in a blink of an eye
Nothing lasts forever
The good moments seem to short
The bad moments seem way to long
Then time suddenly stops
And the world stops spinning
All those hours of pain and darkness
It seems an endless story
It holds you in its iron grip
It keeps you chained
When will it all be better?
Time heals all wounds…
Isn’t that what they always say?
But then time doesn’t pass so rapidly by anymore
It’s creeping and creeping….
The world stops
And you are stuck in a loop
Hoping that time passes by faster then it ever did before








Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Out of touch


Confused


All messed up
Looking for a safe ground to stand on
Self-indulgence has reached it’s top
My mask is breaking
My fake smile is fading
I feel the life pouring out of me
Apathy is taking me over
Where is my heaven?
Everything seems too black
Seems too weird, seems untrue










Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Other Half


All else fades away,

When you’re on my mind
And in my heart
I never knew it could be like this,
That I would find someone that could took my breath away
Someone that could make me feel alive again
But at the same so vulnerable
You’ve got the power to make me feel all this,
Now that you’ve touched my heart and conquered my soul
I’ve reached myself again,
Found that missing part that I’ve lost a long time ago,
My other half…







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Now that you're here


It was so dark and cold
In my black and white world
Nothing grew there, it was all dead
The curtains were closed for so long
The door to my heart locked tight
But then you came into my world
With a rainbow of colors
You changed my world
When you laughed that smile of yours
It went straight to my heart
It lives inside
And the lock jumped open
I never felt a wind that was so warm
The sun shined through and melted the frozen land
Roses blossomed for you and me
Now that you’re here
It’s all so much brighter and floating with colors
That I’ve never seen before
Now that you’re here
My heart and soul are alive again
And calling out for you,
The one that made me see that without love life is nothing…



Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Nothing’s impossible


Just give me a reason
Give me a sign
I need a miracle to help me now
I still believe in love
Nothing’s impossible

How did I get here?
So far apart from you
So far away of reason
So far away of love
Tonight

If you’re here
I know that even the stars would look brighter
If only you were here
I would be whole again
Nothing’s impossible

Now I’m looking up to the sky
Wishing on a falling star
That nothing’s impossible
Tonight





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Nothing ever changes


Nothing ever changes
It all seems to last for ages
Me losing my mind again
Unbalanced running through the world
It all seems the same
I’m in the basement
All alone sitting in the dark
You’re in the sky
Just dropp on by
And maybe bring a change
Some joy in my life
Nothing ever changes
It all seems to last forever
That goddamn feeling of being lost
Falling apart
Start again, over and over
Nothing ever changes
It all seems to last forever






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Not alone


No call, no email
No book, no movie, no poem
No coffee, no massage
No one that says: Hey come on, keep your head held high!

No flowers, no photograph
No song, no letter, no company
No mother, no preacher
No one to turn to when it all goes downhill again

No kiss, no love
No friend, no brother, no neighbour
No sunshine, no light
No one to love and to comfort me in these dark days

But the thing I want the most right now;
Is someone that would sing to me:
You are not alone

Not alone
Not alone
Not alone

Someone that sings:
You are not alone




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Never alone


I don’t want to be lonely
So take me in your arms
Hold me tight
So that I can feel you heart beating
Faster and
Faster…
It sings to me a timeless lovesong
And then I know,
in your arms is where I belong
Never let me go,
because I never ever want to be alone again





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Never again


It’s time now to face the truth
Keep your promises to yourself
Never again
I swore that time after time
Never again
Oh hell no I wouldn’t take you back
Never again
I was waiting for you
Never again
You really blew it this time
I gave in again
Please take my pain
Strange love
You’ve got a place in my heart
I don’t want you there
Never again





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





My star


Lift me up

So that I can touch you
I’m reaching higher and higher
And as I’m up here in the clouds,
Shine on me majestically
Blind me with your light
Be my guide through the darkness
Never let me down…








Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





My darkest hour


It all doesn’t seem to matter anymore
And it doesn’t seem right
I’m lost forever
Lonely days are passing me by
Dreams faded away like a rainbow
Maybe I’m dead now
I still reach out for a ray of light
But the sun is still lost in the clouds
Now there is only darkness…
Can’t seem to find myself again
I cry here alone at night
I’m scared now
Scared of the darkness that’s surrounding me
Scared of the untold secrets
Scared of myself
This is the darkest hour





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





My confusion


It gets more confusing everyday
Nothing feels right
Don’t know what to believe anymore
Don’t know if I should care anymore
Sometimes I wonder who I really am
I see myself in the mirror
But the reflection is empty…
I’m tired of living in my own world
Tired off it all
I am silent all these years
Silent about my confusion and sadness
I just cannot explain these feelings
But they get to me every time
I build a wall around me to keep people outside
Created a world within myself
But there’s no place where I can hide
The reality always catches up with me
Sometimes I hope that this is just all a dream
And that I wake up someday





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





My conclusion


Thought I knew myself well
That was a slight miscalculation
I look in the mirror
Seeing myself stare back
I don’t want to look in the mirror
It’s too confronting
Seeing a girl that’s unhappy with whom she is
A girl that doesn’t know herself
Seeing a girl that’s looking for answers
A girl that’s still pretending
I’m just an empty girl
Caged in her own irrational mind
My final conclusion
I learned that I’m a liar




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





My Angel


My angel
How beautiful you are…
Eyes with an indefinable colour,
which one can drown in
Your halo glowing like the moon,
silver wings spread
Your smile that can light up a room
A soul that can bring a change to the world
Keep me safe from harm
Protect me against all the violence
Let their words fade out
Wrap your beautiful wings around me
Make me forget all my sins
Let my troubles melt away in your light
Don’t let me fall in the downward spiral
Be mine, and I’ll hold on
Because you’re my angel send from above







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Mind games


There was a time that I trusted you
You were my star in heaven
I always treated you right
I was honest
You just laughed
With that sick grin on your face
I should have hated you
but instead you made me feel blue
I was your clown again
You can be oh so nice to me
The next day you ignore me again
And you threat me like dirt
That makes me feel like I mean nothing to you
And that I was wrong about you from the beginning
I am just looking for another you
Now my heart is bitter
I’ve got to be strong
And just try to get you out of my system
And stop the mind games that you always seem to play with me






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Make me alive again


Your ghost still lingers trough my heart
A feeling of emptiness sets in
I can feel it surround me
Take hold of me
The loneliness is making my heart shrink
To nothing more than a marble
Without any feeling
I’m about to crack
Without your love
You were like my drug
Just prop me up with another pill
Make me alive again
Touch me, kiss me, love me
And I will be strong
Ready to take on the whole world









Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Make belief


What do you do when your world grows dark?
When there’re more obstacles on your way
than you can handle?
If there’s more insecurity than is right for you?

You make your own little world
A world for yourself

Where everything is possible
Where you’re not a nobody
Where there is love and understanding
Where you’ll be accepted for who you are
Where there’s no hate no fear

But everyone in their right mind knows
This will never happen
But one can dream, one can imagine…



Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Make me alive again


Your ghost still lingers trough my heart
A feeling of emptiness sets in
I can feel it surround me
Take hold of me
The loneliness is making my heart shrink
To nothing more than a marble
Without any feeling
I’m about to crack
Without your love
You were like my drug
Just prop me up with another pill
Make me alive again
Touch me, kiss me, love me
And I will be strong
Ready to take on the whole world



Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Make belief


What do you do when your world grows dark?
When there’re more obstacles on your way
than you can handle?
If there’s more insecurity than is right for you?

You make your own little world
A world for yourself

Where everything is possible
Where you’re not a nobody
Where there is love and understanding
Where you’ll be accepted for who you are
Where there’s no hate no fear

But everyone in their right mind knows
This will never happen
But one can dream, one can imagine…






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Love isn’t forever


Maybe I could just pretend that you love me
You come walking by
My eyes follow you
Desperately I’m trying to reach you
Trying to get your attention
Oh god: why do I need you to love me?
Why are you my angel?
Why are you my hero?
Why do I adore you?
I’m still mad about you
But love isn’t forever








Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Lost myself again


Looking for a person that isn’t me
Maybe I should accept that I am who I am
And that I cannot change myself
Not change my miserable self
Just see that I need some help
Help for something that might never be better
I lost myself again…
Forcing myself to be someone I’m not
God sometimes I hate myself
For doing the things I do




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Look into me


Look at me as I speak my prayers
See my expression… feel my words in your heart
Just feel it all, like I feel it…
Like a ray of light coming out of the clouds
Like a rainbow in the shade of the gray skies
Like thunderbolt that shakes up the earth…
Just feel me… see me… look into my soul
Give me what I need, give me what I want
Look into my heart…





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Live to die


I looked up to the sky and wondered
“Why is I? ”
Why am I here?
I still had the feeling that there was missing so much
So will I also be lonely up there?
Up there with the lord
Now I’m standing here by the river
I look into the water and wonder
“Why do we die? ”
Maybe we just live to die
I throw my pain in the river
Washing away my gloom
Wishing to be send straight to heaven
But for now I’m still down here
Following the road that was made for me
By the rules of fate
But when I die I hope my life was worth living for







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Light up my world


Again I go unnoticed
You are a shadow in my imagination
Waiting to step into my light
So put on the searchlights
Light up the sky
Wash away the darkness
That’s been here for so long
I can hear you, yet I can’t see you
I can’t seem to reach you
Oh just give me your attention
And show me the pleasure of
Watching the sunrise together







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Last shove


I lie on the floor
Refusing to open my eyes
Oh honey give me that last shove
Push me into danger

I lie on the floor
Watching at the sky
Can’t escape from you
You,
The only one who can make me
And break me….

Thought I was over you
But the thoughts of you still hunt me

I pray:
Please don’t step over my line
Don’t step over my body

But you did…

So now I lie here on the floor…
Waiting for you
To give me the last shove
That last push into the abyss







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem






Keeping myself awake


I lie here awake at night
Staring to the ceiling
Counting the sheep
It’s almost morning now
And I’m still wide awake
Thinking…
And thinking
Worrying about what’s to come
Thinking about the past
Things that I would’ve done different
I keep myself awake
And my insomnia lingers in the darkness of the night






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem






Just to feel a little love


Apathetic lying in bed all morning
A sense of emptiness surrounds me
Stupid ideals
Feeling useless
Smoking the pain away
Living from evening to evening
Thinking, thinking… feeling frustrated
About life in general
Just to feel a little love from someone
Would feel so good right now
Maybe it’s not the answer
But it would make my life more bearable









Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem






It's so much beauty


I can find it…
In the stars,
In a moonlit sky,
In the snow that falls,
In a sunset,
In a field full of flowers,
In the morning when the birds are singing their songs,
In the sky that’s coloured with rainbows,
In a moment where I can be my true self,
In watching a great film,
In a song,
In having a good time with a friend,
In a memory,
In your smile,
In the time I spend with you…
Then I realize myself,
It’s so much beauty
It can make one cry







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem







It’s here


It’s in the tears in my eyes
It’s in the blood that’s pumping through my veins
It’s in the beating of my broken heart
It’s in the blueness in my soul
It’s in the songs on the radio
It’s in the rain that falls
It’s in my sad and dark mood
It’s now in the voices in my head
It’s….
It’s….
It’s you





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




It’s a question of trust


You stand in front of me
With your eyes fixed on mine
You reach to take away my mask
I flinch away
Not knowing if I can trust you
You come nearer again
I can feel your breath on my skin
Your fingers stroke my hair
Suddenly a moment of weakness comes over me
I fall down
And you catch me like you did so many times before





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





It seems…


It seems like yesterday
when you said goodbye
when you left me broken

It seems so far away
When you said: I need your love

It seems like it never happened....







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




It resonates


It resonates
Now that it has found me
No way back, no return
I kissed it all goodbye
I only want to dream
Lay down beside you
Listen to your breathing
Nothing in this darkness
But you and me
It resonates
Time stands still
Finally I can inhale again
I can see again
The colors more vivid than ever
It resonates
Your love
It resonates









Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





It means nothing


A warm and beautiful day
It means nothing
Fields full of flowers that blossom
It means nothing
A sunset that is so wonderful,
that you wish it’d go one forever
It means nothing
The sound of the raging sea,
wave after wave
It means nothing
Birds that sing their songs
It means nothing
A great movie or a beautiful moving song
It means nothing

It means nothing,
When you’re not by my side











Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





In my dreams


I search the whole wicked world for you
Travelling through cities,
Crossing roads,
Sailing the oceans,
Flying over mountains,
I run through the storm screaming your name,
With my heart in my hands
I’ll slay dragons for you
Or fight the devil
I’ll be your hero when the night ends…
I run and run, feeling so desperate to be by your side
And at last I will find you there,
In an idyllic meadow with the most beautiful flowers,
Where there is always music in the air
And when I finally reach you
I whisper that nothing will hurt you in my dream
And that I’ll always be here
You hold me tight and you kiss me so softly
At that moment,
We will love each other as forever…













Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




If you would be mine


I had my doubts girl but now I know that
I'm in love with something real
If I you would be mine…
You would be the star in my sky
A star that would twinkle bright
So bright that my life would just light up
Your light would chase all my darkness away
Tenderly I would kiss you
And ask you please be the one I need the most
In my dreams I see you, hear you and feel you
Only then your mine
At those moments I don’t want to come down
Back down to the ground
Never wake again…
Cause my dreams are always wrong















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




I walk alone


I walk alone
Alone on this empty road
With no one to follow
No one to take my hand
And lead me to paradise
I walk in the shadow
Lost on my way
With an ink black ocean in my heart
And clouds of thunder raining in my head










Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




I miss you


I miss you

;)

Yet I can never forgive you
Why is my heart still aching for
Something I never had?
Take me back to yesterday
When everything was still ok
When I was still thinking the world off you
And when I thought that you were special
I will have to stop remember
And I have to start facing the truth
Facing the untold secrets
Yet I will miss you










Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




I like it here can I stay?


Never felt at home here in this hellhole
Called reality
It seems the stranger is always me
Looking down on the rest of the popular crowd
I feel left out
I pretend not too
It is all far too overwhelming
So I hide under my rock
Looking from a safe distance
To the “normal” people
God I hate that feeling!
So I always block out all the negative
I live my life in my imagination
Here no one hurts me
Here no one looks down on you
Here I am not judged
I like it here can I stay?











Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




I Feel for you


Do you see me?
Do you hear me?
I want you to look at me
Give me your attention
Show me your true self
Give me your soul






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Help me find the way


There’s a pain in my heart
An aching to be free
I’m falling down on my knees
Praying for deliverance
Cary me away
Further and further
To the sun
Take me higher
Higher to the sky
Never let me down again
And help me find my way
Help me unlock these chains
And open my heart and mind
Send me on my way to heaven
Where the water is calm
Where there are no clouds
Where everything’s alright
Just help me find the way
To be free from myself








Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Far too long


Far too long
Chasing you
I travelled the whole world
Looking for you
Reaching out for your hand
But the ship has sailed
And I am standing at the shore
Fighting my tears
You never looked back at me
I felt so stupid
For letting you get to me
And I hate the way
I can’t hate you
Far too long
Chasing someone that couldn’t care less











Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Faith and devotion


Our devotion follows an endless path
It lingers through the dark forests of our hearts
We’ve seen the light
Oh it’s glowing, so bright and warm
We run through the trees
To catch it and to never ever let it go
We’ll make our path clear, pave it through the darkness
Our faith will guide us
And we won’t get lost anymore in the dark
We’ll keep each other from losing our way
As long as we can hold each others hand,
We will shine for eternity













Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Don't let them bury the light


The curtains closed
All the doors are locked
The flickering of a light
With your ear to the wall
Listening to the emptiness
Not a soul on that otherside

The world is dead to you
The people are one threatening mass
Waiting with their torches
To burn it all down
To bury you with all your haloes
Prejudice triumphs
They will never comprehend
And you gave up
Gave up on mankind,
that put you and your inner world to a shame

Don’t let them bury the light
Let the halo shine
Fight them with whatever you can find
Get up,
Pull that trigger,
pick that apple
Make your paradise

Bring me your light
Then I bring you my love





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Does this darkness have a name?




The insecurity
The longing
The waiting
The questions
The bullet passed me by
By just an inch
Still I wonder why
And so I remain where I always was
Here in my little cocoon
Waiting to be born again
Only then I can leave it all behind
Then, only then I will be able to see again





Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem






Do something that matters


I want to be free
I want to know everything
I want to feel it all
I just want to feel alive and do something that matters
Find a job, choose a career, buy a house, drive a car, have a family?
Does those things really matter anyhow?
Is that life?
Let me do something that matters…
So take my hand and let us leave all those foggy notions behind
Let’s see the sunrise,
lie underneath the stars,
be free,
and feel loved…






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem






Damage done


It happened in just 1 minute
Some twisted fate shook up my life
I said my goodbyes a thousand times in my head
But it was too late already
Doomed?
Is that what you can call it?
Bad luck?
Karma?
An answer never came
It’s just
The story of my life






Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem






Crucify myself


Will I ever learn?
Am I just a masochist?
Looking for some pain?
I said too much
I opened my heart again
You’ve got the key to my heart
And you damn well know that
Nothing I do is good enough for you
I crucify myself
Please pull the nails out of my body
But you just stand there
Laughing about my struggling in your web
I pray that this is not really happening…
But it is
You don’t care for me
Why do I crucify myself?




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Come back to me


I need protection
Arms that hold me tight
Come back for me
Believe in me
I need you to hold me tight,
To take away my blindfold,
To untangle me from these bandages
So you can heal the scars underneath
To make me see that this world isn’t useless







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Closing time


Shutting the door
Removing the welcome mat
Putting my walls back up
Closing my curtains
Blowing out the candle
Just to sit in the darkness again
My darkness that seems so much safer
Blocking each and everyone again
It’s easier than feeling something








Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Change it all


Change myself
Turn my life upside down
No more insecurity
Brave is what I long to be
I just want to be cool
I want to be loved,
I want to be popular,
I don’t wanna be that weird depressed girl anymore,
Don't wanna be a scared deadbeat anymore,
I want to repair the mistakes I’ve made
I want to live my life
Not watch it behind the glass
I want to break it, smashing it,
Until I bleed
Just to know I’m still alive,
To feel again,
like I once did
I just want to change it all










Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Can't figure it out


I’m sick of being your fool
Time after time you wrap me round your finger
Every time I ask myself why do I let that happen?
Why do I still care for you?
Why do I want to be your friend?
Can’t figure what it is
I just don’t understand
You’ve got me all confused
Can’t figure what it is…













Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem







Broken heart


Today the darkness sets in
My heart blackened
And broke in two
Who can save me from myself
Why am I so self destructive?
The pain came over me sharp as the sting of a knife
Give me some meds
To make me numb
To make me dumb
To save me from myself
The world threw me away today
And I’m standing here on the edge
With my broken heart
Screaming my guts out














Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Black


Black, a colour
Black, like ink
Black, how I’m dressed
Black, makes the soul forget
Black, makes the heart feel dead
Black, the way I feel on the inside
Black, a state of mind
















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Being myself again


I realized that I wasn’t myself anymore
The world was passing me by
I lost myself in misconceptions
Lost myself in strange illusions
It felt like I was on the outside looking in
And I couldn’t reach myself
Nothing felt right
And still it doesn’t feel right for 100 percent
I want to get back to being myself again
But can I go back to being my old self?
Did I change?
Maybe I lived a lie all that time that I was my “old self”
And I can't go back to “being myself again”
Now I still remain in the search of myself
In search of my identity...
















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Be my saviour


I run like hell
Seeing nothing anymore
Tears blur my vision
There is nowhere to hide
Nowhere to run
I feel the heat of the fire
Breathing on my neck
I can’t get back
I can’t get away
No fire department to call
Baby will you try to find me?
Then I will be alright
Then I will be out of reach of the flames
Don’t you turn your back on me
Because then the fire will finally breathe me in
Leaving me as ashes to ashes
So will you be there
And be my saviour?

















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem



Alone with my solitude


I was standing at the edge
Looking at the city lights
Wondering if it would hurt more
To jump or just to live
I felt the cold of the wind
I saw the moon
And I was wondering where you fit in all of this
The truth hit me hard this time
And is still hunting for more
Just to say your name
Is pain
You are just one piece of this wicked puzzle
Called my life
Every day, every night
Just a pain to me
And now I’m standing here
Alone with my solitude
Wondering if I should make the jump
















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




All you need


All you need
I can see it in your eyes
All you need
Your not getting it
All you need
Your teardrops fall
All you need
It’s not there….
All you need
The truth has come to you
Life is gone
You realize you will never get it
If you come closer
I’ll show you how it feels….
Just come closer
And I’ll give you what you need
And I’ll show you how it feels
How it feels to be loved
Just come closer
And I’ll show you how it feels
How it feels to be appreciated
Hold on tight
And just come closer
Don’t fall down
And I will give you all you need
Stay alive my love
And never give up the fight

















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




All I want


All I want is one chance

One day
One night
One chance to spend one day with you
One chance to show you that we’re so alike
One chance to show you how much I care for you
One day to make you see that I love you
One kiss to prove that we’re more than just friends
One night to hold you tight
One chance to make you mine












Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




All I have feared



A weird feeling has taken me over
I look at the world around me in confusion
Where did it all go wrong?
I think this will be my final hour
The sky turns to scarlet
Faces turn to me
I hear them laugh
Now the fear comes and grabs me by the throat
I’m waiting
To be swallowed
Is this the final judgment?
Through my tears I see you
But I can’t seem to reach you
Now I’m lost in the crowd
Slowly I drown with you in my heart








Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Acceptance


The judgement in your eyes makes me feel weak
What can I say, what can I do
To bring you a different view?
I know it’s hard, but please try to see it through my eyes
But you flinch away, laughing…
with a puzzled expression on your face
There’s a serious complication in our relationship
But we both don’t want to acknowledge it
We’re not looking in each others eyes
When another nasty comment comes out of your mouth
I pretend that I don’t care
But the only thing I care about is your acceptance










Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Accept my love


There is a sound in the dark
You’re coming nearer
I can’t see you
Only hear and feel
Like a dream
A sensation so intense
I feel your warmth
I’m shaking from the closeness of you
My heart feels for you
A passion that burns inside of me
A love that is growing
I reach out my hand
Please accept my love












Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A world where...


I was standing on the street
I saw all those people walking by
Some of them out to buy something
Others rushing of to their work
Suddenly I just didn’t get it anymore
Why? Is that all there is?
Buying ourselves happy, working, making as much money as we can?
We’ve got everything we need
What else do we need?
But people always want more
More, bigger and faster
Apathy has taken us over
Nobody seems to care anymore
It’s just a mad world
Do I want to be a part of this world?
A world where people die of hunger
and in the meanwhile we have all the food there is?
A world where forests and all off mother natures creations are cut or shot down?
A world where….
I could go on for ages but I won’t
Because it’s no use
I can’t change the world… but I can try to make a difference!




Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem




A special place


I wish I could create this special place for you
For you
A place where your thoughts can be quiet
Where you can be yourself
A place where no one will judge you
A place where your innocence is precious and pure
And forever hold in a pool of gold
Instead of a pool of gloom
I want to make you feel good again
Alive again, want to see that light in your eyes again
Want to see your beautiful smile
So I will create a special place for you
But remember,
you’ve always got a special place in my heart







Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





A second letter to my heart


Dear heart,

I’m sorry
I did it again
She came in the backdoor
But I was the one who left the door unlocked
I’m ashamed now, for breaking my promise
Now I’ve hurt you again
I don’t know how to make it up
I try to push her away
I just have to try harder….









Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





A mirage


I trick myself
Sinking into my little make believes
Maybe you’re one of them
I’m not sure yet
But I can’t resist you
Although you’re maybe just a mirage
I care about you,
deeper than I want to realise myself
Although you’re maybe just a mirage
Sometimes I just ignore those nagging thoughts
And I picture you in front of me
Saying my name, taking my hand
Kissing me, saying that you love me
Visions of you and me
In the light of love
Just a mirage
In my world full of nothing













Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





A little piece of heaven


You see the thing in me that others couldn’t see
Let me keep this feeling forever
The feeling that words can’t really describe
A feeling that goes deeper than anything has ever done
You’re my perfect angel
A little piece of heaven
Something so delicate, so beautiful
You’re there for me when things get tough
Listening to me, when there’s no one else to listen
You’re the one who makes me smile
The one that can make me happy,
when it all comes tumbling down
The one who makes me see and makes me try again
You’re my little piece of heaven,
The one that I love with all my heart…















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





A letter to my heart


Dear heart,
I won’t let you break anymore
This time I will play it safe
I won’t let anybody inside
No friends, no family
And I won’t let love come knocking on my door again
It’ll be me this time
Just me
So you can’t get hurt that way


















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





A day without thoughts


I wish that there would be a day
That I wouldn’t feel all confused
I’m falling deeper… and deeper
Into my own thoughts
I built a wall around myself
Pushing people away
I don’t wanna talk about it
I don’t think it would help me…
I wish for a day without thoughts
God, sometimes I wish for it all to end…



















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





A cry for help


I’m sitting here sometimes all alone
At midnight behind my computer
Writing, shedding my tears
Writing my dark poetry
Writing my cries for help
Waiting for a response
On my cry for help




















Melissa Koeman






--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Pretty Girl


Pretty girl, who is to blame
Frightened girl, they don’t know her name
Saddened girl, who cries at night
Distant girl, who’s out of sight
Psycho girl, with scars on her wrists
Fairytale girl, who don’t exist
Silent girl, without a name
Ignored girl, who’s filled with shame
Faking girl, with plastic smiles
Freakish girl, from a thousand miles
Emotionless girl, cant feel much pain
Darkened girl, who brings the rain
Crying girl, tears start to flood
Psychotic girl, who drains her blood
Hated girl, who no one loves
Such a weak girl, who’s no longer though
Angry girl, there is no cure
Happy girl, she is no more
Hidden girl, she covers her scars
Prisoned girl, lived behind her life’s bars
Crazy girl, who bleeds so much
Lonely girl, who’s out of touch
Stupid girl, who no one likes
Beaten girl, who always fights
Pretty girl, don’t give up now
Suicide girl, there’s someway, somehow
Scared girl, don’t be afraid
Distant girl, don’t go away
Morbid girl, don’t die tonight
Worried girl, it'll be alright
Stoner girl, tonight she'll smoke her sorrow
Alcoholic girl, she'll drink tomorrow
Furious girl, who has no more faith
Depressed girl, who cries and aches
Fallen girl, with broken wings
Disturbed girl, fell off the swing
Pretty girl, you are my friend
Aching girl, just try to mend
Ugly girl, not like before
Beautiful girl, she is no more
Pretty girl, who made her life end
Pretty girl...no...not again...



Ashleigh Gaffney








--> Man

[Man]

Poem




God, A Poem


A nasty surprise in a sandwich,
A drawing-pin caught in your sock,
The limpest of shakes from a hand which
You'd thought would be firm as a rock,

A serious mistake in a nightie,
A grave disappointment all round
Is all that you'll get from th'Almighty,
Is all that you'll get underground.

Oh he said: 'If you lay off the crumpet
I'll see you alright in the end.
Just hang on until the last trumpet.
Have faith in me, chum-I'm your friend.'

But if you remind him, he'll tell you:
'I'm sorry, I must have been pissed-
Though your name rings a sort of a bell. You
Should have guessed that I do not exist.

'I didn't exist at Creation,
I didn't exist at the Flood,
And I won't be around for Salvation
To sort out the sheep from the cud-

'Or whatever the phrase is. The fact is
In soteriological terms
I'm a crude existential malpractice
And you are a diet of worms.

'You're a nasty surprise in a sandwich.
You're a drawing-pin caught in my sock.
You're the limpest of shakes from a hand which
I'd have thought would be firm as a rock,

'You're a serious mistake in a nightie,
You're a grave disappointment all round-
That's all you are, ' says th'Almighty,
'And that's all that you'll be underground.'




James Fenton










--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Please Stop


Please stop, look at what you are doing
You must know this isn’t right
Please stop, don’t carry on
I'm too weak now to fight

A sick feeling in my stomach
A pleasing look on my face
I beg you not to
As my heart begins to race

Tears rolling down my cheeks
My body is all tense
You must know I don’t like it
Where’s your common sense

I said stop, please I said no
What more can I do
I'm just a kid, you’re an adult
I'm not as strong as you

Pain runs through my body
I start to scream out
Your hands find my mouth
Keeps me from trying to shout

You still don’t stop
You just keep going on
It seems like forever
But it could have been that long

I can’t believe this is happening
This is my worst fear
Yet you still don’t stop
Even with more of my tears

You’ve ruined my whole life
Just by doing that
I cant even say what it is
I'm too ashamed to admit it

Please stop, look at what you’re doing
You must know this isn’t right
Please stop, don’t carry on
I can no longer fight



Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Never apart


I made you something everyday
That came from the bottom of my heart
And I hope we can always say
We will never be apart





Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem




My Pillow


Smashing my head into my pillow
No one hears my cries
Smashing my head into my pillow
Because inside, my soul dies

Screaming into my pillow
Exhausted and worthless, but sill in pain
Screaming into my pillow
But I know I have nothing to gain

Crying into my pillow
Like it’s some kind of game
Crying into my pillow
Do you have any shame?

Punching my pillow
Because I picture your face
Punching my pillow
You’re such a disgrace

Grasping my pillow
As I life it in the air
Grasping my pillow
Wait daddy, that’s not fair

You punch me in the face
As tears begin to roll down
You punch me in the face
This smile, you turned into a frown

Where is my pillow
You have helped me so
Where is my pillow
But now it’s time for me to go








Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem





My Mirrors Past


I look into the mirror
and stare at this face.
Life has gotten dearer.
Time has left its trace.

What happened to the innocence?
Where is that youthful glow?
This isn't the mirror I saw myself in
So many years ago.

Innocence became reality.
Youth gave way to mature
Now I wish I had the mirror
I looked into before.

Mirrors show an image
We may not want to see.
The way we are today.
How we used to be.

Remember while you're looking.
The reflection doesn't last.
Just think of how it was
When you looked In Mirrors Past.








Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Mirror Image


Who's that girl there I see?
She's looking back at me.
I see she's not happy but
Don't know why, who is she?

I see her here every day,
I think she's lost her way
But no one will venture to
Help because she won't say.

Nobody else sees the tears,
The lying smile hides her fears;
The confusion screaming in
Her head no one else hears.

I leave her then, go to bed,
Lie down and pray in my head,
There's nothing more I can do
Send some help' I said.

He was watching, he knew,
He always knows what to do.
I feel Him say through the night,
'Don't worry, I love you! '

I awake feeling his grace,
I see her in the same place,
But something is different,
A real smile's on her face.











Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Look At Me


Look at my eye
See the tear
See the fear.

Look at my face
See the confusion
See the unease.

Look at my heart
See the trouble
See the rip.

Look at my wrists
See the scars
See the helplessness.

Look at my mind
See the lack of trust
See the pain.

Look at my feet
See the bruises
See the journeys toil.

Look at my smile
See where it has gone
See the frown that
has replaced it.






Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Life Is Kind Of Like The Ocean


Life is kind of like the ocean
You can see how it starts, but not the way it ends
So let’s just take things as they come to us
And be happy we’re best friends

Let us learn from each other
We can help each other grow
And let us always be there for one another
At times we are feeling low

May we always be able to put a smile
On each others faces and a twinkle in our eyes
And let us never forget all the good times
Like watching shooting stars fall from the skies

The laughs just keep on coming
Nothing can ever take that away
Because they start from the inside
And get deeper everyday

They make us stronger
As they bring us closer together
They always make our days brighter
No matter the weather

Just the sound of you laugh
And the sight of your smile
Makes every risky minute
Worth the while

A moment where nothing else matters
And a chance to be free
All the rest fades away
And it’s just you and me

We can just walk together
To the beautiful place
Side by side
With that look upon our face

The look
That says it all
The one that reaches out
And will never let us fall

I see the truth in your eyes
They’re so honest and true
They tell me everything
And there is nothing you can do

You can’t fool me
Because it’s not your story to tell
It’s straight from you heart
And I know it so well

Your heart is so honest
Caring and pure
The only thing that can never lie to you
This I know for sure

You know, it always makes you wonder
Day in and day out
How two different hearts can understand
What the other is about

When your heart skips, I can feel it
When it’s sad, mine is too
And if it ever feels empty or alone
Always know that I am here for you

So best friends it is
Now and forever
That’s the best feeling there is
Nothing could be better
No, not ever








Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem





Lay Down


While I lay down to sleep
That is when I think
About how my father was never there
And how he would never care
That was then and this is now
But still it’s frustrating to bare

Please go on with your life
Like you’ve always done
Just forget that I ever existed
And then I can have fun










Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem






Just Like You


You look at me from across this place
I'm laughing along with a smile on my face
But it’s painted on if you could only see
Because this is the person I didn't want to be

You have it all
You’re one of the few
You have it all
I want to be just like you

Your laugh is real
Your smile is true
If I could only feel
What its like to be you

I see a father
How he loves you so
I see a mother
Who will never let you go
I see a brother
Who is always there for you
Then I see me
And all the hell I put you through












Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem




Jordyn Bonanni


You look at me
From across this place,
Laughing along
With a smile on my face.

It’s painted on
If you could only see,
Because this isn’t the person
That I want to be.

She has it all
She’s one of the few,
She has it all
I just want to be like you.

You laugh
Is real,
Your smile
Is true.
If I could only feel,
What its like to be you.

I see a father,
How he loves you so.
I see a mother,
Who will never let you go.
I see a brother,
Who is always there for you.
I look in the mirror,
Oh how I would like to be you.

You are a dream,
That for me came true.
Oh and Jordyn Bonanni,
I love you ♥












Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem




It happens


Harsh words and violent blows
Hidden secrets nobody knows
Eyes are open, hands are fisted
Deep inside I'm warped and twisted

So many tricks, so many lies
Too many whens, too many whys
Nobody's special, nobody's gifted
I'm just me, warped and twisted

Sleeping awake; choking on a dream
Listening loudly to a silent scream
Call my mind, the number's unlisted
Lost in someone so warped and twisted

On my knees, alive but dead
Looking at invisible blood I've bled
I'm not gone, my mind has drifted
Don't expect much, I'm warped and twisted

Burnt out, wasted, empty, and hollow
Today's just yesterday's tomorrow
The sun died out, the ashes sifted
I'm still here, warped and twisted














Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem



In My Pocket


I wrote you a note
And stuck it in my pocket
My mom washed my jeans
And I thought I lost it

So I wrote you another one
And now I have two
Now all I have to do
Is wait until I can give it to you




Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem



I'm Sorry


Everything you said and did was right for me,
I can’t discern why I failed to see.
Your disciplinary action was your patter of correction,
Could it have been that I felt guilt and contrition?

I now thank you for holding me in your hands,
You love and wisdom multiplied into many grains of sand.
You taught me the difference between right and wrong,
I understood your heartfelt lullaby and song.

We went through trouble and trauma together,
But I still called you mom
Out of great appreciation of one another

We went through the phase of insecurity,
This was the breaking point to tranquility.
I was registered and restricted,
My foolish action of opposition got me convicted.

I am so so sorry mom
For inflecting on you such sorrow and pain,
Please show compassion and forgive me
For I deeply declare a sincere apology

Sometimes I wondered and worried, can we ever work it out?
You then reminded me you were a seed and I was your sprout,
I registered a feeling that we were incomplete,
I yet had not realized how hard you worked for me to eat.

Now I'm proud to say, me and my mom have reconciled,
I could raise my head high and say, “I am a gifted child.”






Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem



If One Day You Weren't There


I don’t always how you that I love you
I don’t always show you how much I care
But I just don’t know how I’d cope
If one day you weren’t there

I know I can be independent
Defiant to the end
And I know that a lot of the time
I must drive you around the bend

Sometimes I talk in a very strange way
I can’t understand you I hear you say
I can’t help it that you don’t speak like me
Maybe you should trying listening more carefully

I don’t always give you tea in a cup
And I certainly don’t know when to shut up
I'm quick to point out your faults too
Nevertheless I’d be lost without you







Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem




I Was Sitting Here Thinking


I was sitting here thinking
Of the words I wanted to say
But they just wouldn’t come out right
So I found a different way

I got a piece of paper
And I wrote this poem for you
But there’s no way to thank you
For everything you do

For always being nice to me
And staying by my side
For helping fix my problems
And never leaving me behind

For accepting my thoughts and feelings
Though you do not understand
For never giving up on me
And being my best friend

For making me laugh
And letting me cry
And saying you’d miss me
If I were to die

Everything you mean to me
You could never know
In all the ways you’ve changed my life
I could never show

The way you take care of me
You’re my shinning star
And though it’s so incredible
That’s just the way you are

Before this gets too sentimental
It’s time for me to go
But before I leave this ink-filled page
There’s one thing you should know

As long as we are living
No matter when or where
If you ever need me
Just call and I will be there

I’ll climb a thousand mountains
And swim a thousand seas
Anything to be there
Because you’ve always been there for me









Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man

[Man]

Poem





I Remember The Days


I remember the days
When we were so young
Singing songs
And having some fun

As I sat up in my room
With nothing better to do
I wrote you a letter
And sang some tunes

Worry free
And pain free
Life as we knew it
Came [was] so easy

I remember these days
As if they were yesterday
I want to go back
But I want to stay

You are there
And I am here
Why cant you
Just be with me







Ashleigh Gaffney









--> Man