Poetry and quotable quotes

[bwv 1080]

My Wife wrote a poem on Chris Cornell's death pieced together from fan comments on YouTube

LAST SHOW



Such a waste
So sad
Being held down
By some intense pressure
Jaws grinding hard and eyes pinned
Going through the motions
Strangely inconsistent
The pain that caused the noose
Why great people fall to Earth
Enter into glory
Clearly something is wrong
Holy shit
Rest in peace
Too soon for me to watch
Maybe next week



http://unlostjournal.com/last-show/

[North Star]

Where the mountain meets the sea
Where the bird flies to its nest with a bee
Where the flowers grow on beaches
Where the snowfall seldom reaches
There I wish you'd live with me
discovering together how happy life can be.

~ ~ ~



Throughout the day, sunlight traces
The shapes in this room, and faces
Run through my mind – they all answer to your name:
Smiling, crying, silly faces, all of them the same,
And all of them changing, as the room in sunlight:
soft smiles of dawn change to laughter, shining bright
in the afternoon, lingering, softening before the night,
And disappearing in the dark – but your shadow is light.

[NikF]

Oh my. Heartfelt indeed.
Good on ya and thanks for posting that, North Star.

[Ken B]

Michael Crichton

Like a bearded nut in robes on the sidewalk proclaiming the end of the world is near, the media is just doing what makes it feel good, not reporting hard facts. We need to start seeing the media as a bearded nut on the sidewalk, shouting out false fears. It's not sensible to listen to it.

From 2002

[Florestan]

Child of the pure unclouded brow
And dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet, and I and thou
Are half a life asunder,
Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy-tale.


I have not seen thy sunny face,
Nor heard thy silver laughter;
No thought of me shall find a place
In thy young life's hereafter——
Enough that now thou wilt not fail
To listen to my fairy-tale.


A tale begun in other days,
When summer suns were glowing——
A simple chime, that served to time
The rhythm of our rowing——
Whose echoes live in memory yet,
Though envious years would say 'forget.'


Come, hearken then, ere voice of dread,
With bitter tidings laden,
Shall summon to unwelcome bed
A melancholy maiden!
We are but older children, dear,
Who fret to find our bedtime near.


Without, the frost, the blinding snow.
The storm-wind's moody madness——
Within, the firelight's ruddy glow.
And childhood's nest of gladness.
The magic words shall hold thee fast:
Thou shalt not heed the raving blast.


And though the shadow of a sigh
May tremble through the story,
For 'happy summer days' gone by,
And vanish'd summer glory——
It shall not touch with breath of bale
The pleasance of our fairy-tale.

Lewis Carroll - Preface to Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

[Karl Henning]

Michael Crichton

From 2002

Similar criticisms were in the air in the early '70s.

"...the media is just doing what makes it feel good" is a peculiar pathetic fallacy, isn't it?  Maybe Crichton just wrote that to make himself feel good   0:)

[nodogen]

In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

- Orwell.

[nodogen]

Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

- Orwell.

[nodogen]

The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.

- Orwell.

[Karl Henning]

Alas, that these are so very timely in the US.

[nodogen]

Alas, that these are so very timely in the US.

Hopefully enough citizens are waking up to the dangers of the path commenced upon; and can respond accordingly.

[Ken B]

Freddie DeBoer

Contemporary political culture is an autoimmune disorder.

Freddie DeBoer

You simply cannot say, in polite society, "basic fairness requires us to avoid a rush to judgment and to give people the right to respond to accusations." To do so gets you lumped in with the criminals. Like a friend of mine said, "the only acceptable reaction to an accusation is enthusiastic and unqualified acceptance."

Usually I find DeBoer over the top. Not feeling that way today.
Both quotes from https://medium.com/@freddiedeboer/planet-of-cops-8917cfc01fc9

[Jaakko Keskinen]

"It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but that you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it." Arthur Conan Doyle

[Mirror Image]

"I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." - Edgar Allan Poe

[Jaakko Keskinen]

http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/ch.html

Goethe's theory of the constitution of colours of the spectrum has not proved to be an unsatisfactory theory, rather it really isn't a theory at all. Nothing can be predicted with it. It is, rather a vague schematic outline of the sort we find in James's psychology. Nor is there any experimentum crucis which could decide for or against the theory.
— Ludwig Wittgenstein

I know this is an old post but I have to point out that "Theory of colours" is bit of a mistranslation, the word "Lehre" translates in english more correctly as  "doctrine" rather than "theory". Although the point still stands that the entire work is complete (well-written) nonsense.

[Ken B]

You gotta feel for the Pope, tripping over all those abused kids as he lunges for a mic to talk about U.S. border policy.

Anonymous

[Florestan]

Thanks to immersing myself in Nikolai Medtner's music and thoughts I discovered this marvelous poem by Mikhail Lermontov.

The Angel

Across the dark sky came the angel in flight
Who sang a soft song through the night.
And stars and the moon and the clouds in their throng
Gave ear to that heavenly song.

He sang of immaculate spirits that move
In bliss in the Heavenly Grove,
He sang of the Lord of All Things, every phrase
Unfeigned in that purest of praise.

He bore in his arms a young soul toward its birth,
To sorrow and tears of this earth.
And in that young soul the great sound of his song
Remained without words now, but strong.

And long did it languish on earth in its time
Replete with a yearning sublime,
A soul that knew tones of the heavenly race
No dull tune of earth could replace.

(Transl. by A. Z. Foreman)

[EddieRUKiddingVarese]

 Herman's Hermits laid the groundwork, prepared the foundation, carried the bricks and mortar, measured (twice) and cut (once) the woodwork, painted the walls, planted the landscaping, cut the grass, shoveled the snow, and did all of the heavy lifting for all of the other pop stars who followed in their tracks...

No Herman's Hermits - No Frank Sinatra

No Herman's Hermits - No Maria Callas

No Herman's Hermits - No Elvis Presley

No Herman's Hermits - No Bob Dylan

No Herman's Hermits - No Beatles

No Herman's Hermits - No Madonna

No Herman's Hermits - No Dexys Midnight Runners - No Culture Club - No Nena (99 Luftballons)

Now that I've settled that to everyone's satisfaction, let's move on, eh?

End of story...

[Jaakko Keskinen]

The following lines are by Shakespeare (in case the name "Iago" doesn't make that obvious  )

Brabantio: "Thou art a villain."
Iago: You are--a senator.

[Iota]

My turn to be brave. My writings are deeply emotional as I'm sure every writers are. This particular poem was written some time ago, during a very hard time in my life. It's one of my favorites.  The focus was the feeling rather than form....


The Pit

Swirling black
Hungry
For me
Once I am in
There's no going back
I reach out
But there's no one there
To save me from myself
Strength to save myself
I am at a lack
But in this Pit there is light
Light I can feel
But cannot yet see
As I careen into this Pit
Falling like a stone
I find my reason
I find it and take it back
The Pit is my constant companion
Always at my side
Taunting and threatening
This ride I am on
Seems to never end
Yet somehow I arise again
To face the darkness
Looking for the light
Feeling it
Yet never seeing
But I will go on
Arising from the Pit like the Phoenix
From these ashes I will find the light



~Reena

Sorry you've left the forum, Erinofskye. I found that stirring.