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The irony denounces the sane ones.

aphorism by Ramon Eder, translated by Dan Costinaş
Added by Dan Costinaş
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Telephone Conversation

Wednesday, January 23,2008
Week 10: Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka

Week 10 Dividing lines: Differences in Class, race, Gender and Ideology

Telephone Conversation
by Wole Soyinka

The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. 'Madam, ' I warned,
'I hate a wasted journey—I am African.'
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.
'HOW DARK? '... I had not misheard... 'ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK? ' Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis-
'ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT? ' Revelation came.
'You mean-like plain or milk chocolate? '
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. 'West African sepia'-and as afterthought,
'Down in my passport.' Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. 'WHAT'S THAT? ' conceding
'DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.' 'Like brunette.'
'THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT? ' 'Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blond. Friction, caused-

[...] Read more

poem by Tamilarasi Shalu
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Aladdin Sane

Watching him dash away, swinging an old bouquet - dead roses
Sake and strange divine uh-hu-hu-uh-hu-hu youll make it
Passionate bright young things, takes him away to war - dont fake it
Sadden glissando strings
Uh-hu-hu-uh-hu-hu - youll make it
Wholl love aladdin sane
Battle cries and champagne just in time for sunrise
Wholl love aladdin sane
Motor sensational, paris or maybe hell - (Im waiting)
Clutches of sad remains
Waits for aladdin sane - youll make it
Oooh wholl love aladdin sane
Millions weep a fountain, just in case of sunrise
Oooh wholl love aladdin sane
Well love aladdin sane
Love aladdin sane
Oooh wholl love aladdin sane
Millions weep a fountain, just in case of sunrise
Oooh wholl love aladdin sane
Well love aladdin sane
Well love aladdin sane
Oooh wholl love aladdin sane
Millions weep a fountain, just in case of sunrise
Oooh wholl love aladdin sane
Well love aladdin sane
Wholl love aladdin sane
See the lights shine oh so bright on broadway

song performed by David Bowie
Added by Lucian Velea
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Fruit Nut

Tending my fruit, tending my fruit
Ah youve got to have a hobby
A man must have a shed to keep him sane
Spraying my buds, spraying my buds
Got to keep away diseases
I mix the poisons and the wife dont complain
Some people say
That I am out of my tree
Or just a strawberry fool
Someday theyll see
til then Ill blow you a raspberry
cos apples and pears are me
So Im tending my fruit
And I dont give a hoot
cos it keeps me sane, it keeps me sane
Some people say
That I am out of my tree
Or just a strawberry fool
Someday theyll see
til then Ill blow you a raspberry
cos apples and pears are me
So Im tending my fruit, tending my fruit
Ah youve got to have a hobby
A man must have a shed to keep him sane
To keep him sane, to keep him sane, to keep him sane
Oh the wife cant complain
To keep him sane, to keep him sane, yeah keeps him sane
Yeah to keep him sane, to keep him sane, yeah it keeps him sane

song performed by Xtc
Added by Lucian Velea
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Fruit Nut

Tending my fruit, tending my fruit
Ah youve got to have a hobby
A man must have a shed to keep him sane
Spraying my buds, spraying my buds
Got to keep away diseases
I mix the poisons and the wife dont complain
Some people say
That I am out of my tree
Or just a strawberry fool
Someday theyll see
til then Ill blow you a raspberry
cos apples and pears are me
So Im tending my fruit
And I dont give a hoot
cos it keeps me sane, it keeps me sane
Some people say
That I am out of my tree
Or just a strawberry fool
Someday theyll see
til then Ill blow you a raspberry
cos apples and pears are me
So Im tending my fruit, tending my fruit
Ah youve got to have a hobby
A man must have a shed to keep him sane
To keep him sane, to keep him sane, to keep him sane
Oh the wife cant complain
To keep him sane, to keep him sane, yeah keeps him sane
Yeah to keep him sane, to keep him sane, yeah it keeps him sane

song performed by Xtc
Added by Lucian Velea
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Hate Stinger

For all of time we had a man
Who had a frozen heart
Hes standig on a hill
And sees the morning come
Fear and rage - destruction
He made a world of pain
Hate and sin - confession
He craved a senseless crime
cause hes a sane killer - he takes you by surprise
Hes a sane killer - stares into your eyes
Hes a hate stinger - nothing left to chance
Hes a sane killer - and hes the last to dance
Just in time he finds the way
To do without the lies
Its time to bruise and maim
Stripped of all disguise
Fear and rage - destruction
No warning or a sign
Hate and sin - confession
Hes deadly from behind
cause hes a sane killer - he takes you by surprise
Hes a sane killer - stares into your eyes
Hes a hate stinger - nothing left to chance
Hes a sane killer - and hes the last to dance
The devil rings - we pay the rent
The cruellest cut of all
We built the road he travelled on
The lessons come to call
So look for signs behind the eyes
Destructor of us all
Stands alone deathly still
The stealer has arrived
Fear and rage - destruction
He made a world of pain
Hate and sin - confession
He craved a senseless crime
cause hes a sane killer - he takes you by surprise
Hes a sane killer - stares into your eyes
Hes a hate stinger - nothing left to chance
Hes a sane killer - and hes the last to dance
cause hes a sane killer - he takes you by surprise
Hes a sane killer - stares into your eyes
Hes a hate stinger - nothing left to chance
Hes a sane killer - and hes the last to dance

song performed by U. D. O.
Added by Lucian Velea
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Extraordinary

You think that I go home at night
Take off my clothes, turn out the lights
But I burn letters that I write
To you, to make you love me
Yeah, I'd drive naked through the park
And run the stop sign in the dark
Stand in the street, yell out my heart
To you, to make you love me
I am extraordinary, if you'd ever get to know me
I am extraordinary, I am just your ordinary
Average every day sane psycho
Supergoddess
Average every day sane psycho
You may not believe in me
But I believe in you
So I still take the trash out
Does that make me too normal for you?
So dig a little deeper, cause
You still don't get it yet
See me lickin' my lips, need a primitive fix
And I'll make, I'll make you love me
I am extraordinary, if you'd ever get to know me
I am extraordinary, I am just your ordinary
Average every day sane psycho
Supergoddess
Average every day sane psycho
Supergoddess
See me jump through hoops for you
You stand there watching me performing
What exactly do you do?
Have you ever thought it's you that's boring?
Who the hell are you?
I am extraordinary, if you'd ever get to know me
I am extraordinary, I am just your ordinary
Average every day sane psycho
Supergoddess
Average every day sane psycho
Average every day sane psycho
Supergoddess
Average every day sane psycho
Average every day sane psycho
Supergoddess
Average every day sane psycho
Average every day sane psycho

song performed by Liz Phair
Added by Lucian Velea
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The Irony of Love

Irony is a literary or rhetorical device.
The essayist Henry Watson Fowler wrote:
“any definition of irony
—though hundreds might be given,
and very few of them would be accepted—
must include this,
that the surface meaning
and the underlying meaning of
what is said are not the same.'
He left out that any definition of
Irony must include that it is cruel.

I never understood
The meaning of irony
Or how cruel it can be,
Until you told me,
That though you may love me,
You find it difficult to
Hear the words
“I love you” from me.

You see, some three years ago
You jokingly said
'I love you' to me,
And I begged you
Never to utter those words again.
Not because I did not want to hear them,
But because they were difficult for me.
They carried heart-felt consequences
That I did not want to face.
So, I shut out my heart and followed my head.
And in life filled with so many regrets,
It was the biggest mistake I ever made.

The irony,
After some thousand days have past,
You uttered the same
Imprudent sentiment to me.
This sentiment is the definition of irony –
The surface meaning
And underlying meaning are not the same.
Because although I asked you not to say
“I love you”,
It is all I wanted to hear.

The cruelty,
That now that heaven has at last
Blessed, cursed me with
Clarity of the heart,
And I want to say what I mean

[...] Read more

poem by Hal Caufield
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Shock And Terror

the psychotic dress the senseless feature
it terrifies every living creature
predictability is wearing thin
groundbreaking practice for the preacher

clowns mortified by my expression
breathing new life into invention
and gagging the maggots with a weary hand
has failed to leave any impression

the shock and terror keeps me sane
the shock and terror keeps me sane
does anybody feel the same?
the shock and terror keeps me sane

up now for seven days and wired
the concept of sleep is way too tired
and I've dialed in a plan to reinstate
your sense of humor has expired

the shock and terror keeps me sane
the shock and terror keeps me sane
does anybody feel the same?
the shock and terror keeps me sane

song performed by Cky from Infiltrate - Destroy - Rebuild
Added by Lucian Velea
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Insomnia

Reading magazines and counting sheep to pass the time away
Hoping that tomorrows gonna bring a smile home again
Images of palm trees swaying in the wind on south beach
Takes me back to better days, summer days the everglades in june
My brain, my poor brain
My brain, my poor brain
Im drinking myself to sleep again, nightnurse pills to keep me sane
Drinking myself to sleep again, insomnia
Flying high in golden skies, Im flicking channels in my mind
Finding my utopia a different chapter in a book
Thinking back to younger days as I escape in coopers break
It takes me back to 84 the futures knocking at my door
My brain, my poor brain
My brain, my poor brain
Im drinking myself to sleep again, nightnurse pills to keep me sane
Drinking myself to sleep again, insomnia Im drinking myself to sleep again, nightnurse pills to keep me sane
Drinking myself to sleep again, insomnia
Turning off a switch inside me, leaving all the stress behind me
Flying over streams and houses, passing over the wye valley
It takes me back to 84 the futures knocking at my door
My brain, my poor brain
Im drinking myself to sleep again, nightnurse pills to keep me sane
Drinking myself to sleep again, insomnia Im drinking myself to sleep again, nightnurse pills to keep me sane
Drinking myself to sleep again, insomnia Im drinking myself to sleep again, nightnurse pills to keep me sane
Drinking myself to sleep again, insomnia.

song performed by Feeder
Added by Lucian Velea
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Blues Is a Losing Gain

Blues is a losing game to find one happy.
Blues is a losing gain to find the same people sane.
And...
Blues is a losing game,
To find one happy.
And blues is a losing gain...
To find the same people sane.

You nestle dreams,
To find them in delusion.
But you have no faith inside,
To get and go...
To leave.
Flee away from that concrete molding.

Blues is a losing game to find one happy.
Blues is a losing gain to find the same people sane
And...
Blues is a losing game,
To find one happy.
And blues is a losing gain...
To find the same people sane.

Your dreams are nestled inside...
Delusion.
And you still find holding on,
To your truth that has gone...
To delusions held onto.

Your dreams are nestled inside...
Delusion.
And you still find holding on,
To your truth that has gone,
To delusions held onto.

And,
Blues is a losing game.
And,
Blues is a losing game.
And,
Blues is a losing game.
To find one happy.
And blues is a losing gain...
To find the same people sane.
Blues is a losing gain...
To find the same people sane.

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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The Prisoner

A misfit who is old before his time
Poverty has turned him to crime
Boredom gives him too much time to think
He pours another drink.
(chorus)
A burning, bitter taste of irony
A prisoner in the land of the free.
He wonders why his landscape looks so strange
Burger bars are home on the range
An empty bottle falling from his hand
He does'nt understand.
(chorus)
A burning, bitter taste of irony
A prisoner in the land of the free.
A cork unlocks the door to other lands
Of battles won and destinies in hand
A half-remembered state of liquid dreams
Where things aren't what they seem.
(chorus)
A burning, bitter taste of irony
A prisoner in the land of the free.
A naked savage dressed in shirt and jeans
A burning, bitter taste of irony
A prisoner in the land of the free.
(chorus)
A burning, bitter taste of irony
A prisoner in the land of the free.

song performed by Ub40
Added by Lucian Velea
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Real art is without irony. Irony distances the author from his material. Irony is a product of something. It's not the reason for doing something. Irony is a cheap shot.

quote by Robert Altman
Added by Lucian Velea
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Justify

To add justice,
I did not scream nor cry,
I instead called,
“Irony.”
Yes,
Irony.
The strange noun that bites and slaps when least expected.
So, to justify,
I called Irony.
I would like it to be shown, to the court at least, that I did nothing wrong,
nor nothing right.
I called his name,
when he was gone from sight.
I whispered my wisdom,
to a deaf and blind old fool,
I gave my only love,
To one who would never love at all.
So,
To justify,
I believe I did not lose,
I just didn't win.
That is often the case with irony.

poem by Kaitey Cat
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L'Héautontimorouménos (The Man Who Tortures Himself)

L'Héautontimorouménos
Je te frapperai sans colère
Et sans haine, comme un boucher,
Comme Moïse le rocher
Et je ferai de ta paupière,

Pour abreuver mon Saharah
Jaillir les eaux de la souffrance.
Mon désir gonflé d'espérance
Sur tes pleurs salés nagera

Comme un vaisseau qui prend le large,
Et dans mon coeur qu'ils soûleront
Tes chers sanglots retentiront
Comme un tambour qui bat la charge!
Ne suis-je pas un faux accord
Dans la divine symphonie,
Grâce à la vorace Ironie
Qui me secoue et qui me mord
Elle est dans ma voix, la criarde!
C'est tout mon sang ce poison noir!
Je suis le sinistre miroir
Où la mégère se regarde.

Je suis la plaie et le couteau!
Je suis le soufflet et la joue!
Je suis les membres et la roue,
Et la victime et le bourreau!

Je suis de mon coeur le vampire,
— Un de ces grands abandonnés
Au rire éternel condamnés
Et qui ne peuvent plus sourire!

The Man Who Tortures Himself

I shall strike you without anger
And without hate, like a butcher,
As Moses struck the rock!
And from your eyelids I shall make

The waters of suffering gush forth
To inundate my Sahara.
My desire swollen with hope
Will float upon your salty tears

Like a vessel which puts to sea,
And in my heart that they'll make drunk
Your beloved sobs will resound
Like a drum beating the charge!

[...] Read more

poem by Charles Baudelaire
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In Days to Come

IN DAYS TO COME

In days to come when, dumb, I’ll strum no more
rhymed witness to timed world where butterflies
still dance rare marbled patterns through fair skies -
when I’ll have sunk to rest unblessed before
enchantment fades – who’ll feel one penny poor?
Most, wor[l]dy-wise, ignore one poor demise,
for life continues as before - here lies
our irony, reflections poet pours
in [l]ink think themes on pixel pages’ scores
fade with ambitions one can’t realize,
when hopes unmet forget joy’s first surprise.
Self is both root and cause of fatal flaws.

My memory, wax candle w[e]aned from flame,
may shadow search vain answers to Life’s game.

20 May 2005 revised 16 November 2006 and 25 March 2009
robi03_1257_robi03_0000 SXX_DIZ

for previous versions see below variant of Unjaded Sparkle 6 July 1991

In Days to Come

In days to come when, dumb, I’ll bear no more
to Time rhymed witness, world where butterflies
still dance rare marbled patterns through fair skies -
when I’ll have sunk to rest twice blessed before
enchantment fades – who’ll feel one penny poor?
Most, wor[l]dy-wise, ignore one poor demise,
for life continues as before - here lies
our irony, reflections one would pour
in [l]ink think themes on pixel pages’ score
fade with ambitions one can’t realize,
when hopes unmet forget joy’s first surprise.
Within oneself is found the fatal flaw.

My memory - wax candle w[e]aned from flame,
while others, vain, search answers to Life’s game.

20 May 2005 and 16 November 2006 revised 23 November 2008
- for previous versions see below

In Days to Come

[...] Read more

poem by Jonathan Robin
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Withitness

Some people love the experimental in poetry
Poetry, in the experimental, love some people
Love poetry, experimental people. Some
Lovesome

Challenging all preconceptions
Preconceptions all challenging…
Preconceptions challenging all
All-challenging

Playing with outmoded language
Language playing outmoded
With playing language
Language-playing

But with an implicit social critique
Critique but social
An implicit but
Critique-implicit

In the spirit of post modern irony
Irony modern in spirit
Spirit in modern
Post-irony

Look Ma I can stand on my head
Stand Ma on head
Stand on my Ma I can
Can-head

All-challenging language-playing
Post-irony
Critique-implic it
Lovesome?

poem by Michael Shepherd
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Irony of Things

It is an irony to believe that Ayothya
Is the birth place of Rama, as by the time
When Rama lived around 1450 B.C.,
Aryans never crossed Punjab or beyond.

It is an irony to say that Mathura
Is the birth place of Krishna, as by the time
When Krishna lived around 900 B.C.,
Aryans never reached up to Mathura.

It is an irony to establish that Durga,
A Dravidian origin, fostered later by Aryans,
Is the destroyer of Sura padman,
An asura, a co-dravidian, among Dravidians.

It is an irony that the very Dravidian
Movement has landed in the hand of a Brahmin
And then at a hand who too had mortgaged the interest
To Aryan for sake of his dynasty.

poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
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Song: Spell Out The Blues

There's no-one who's better,
Better than you!
No ruthless go-getter,
With the dumb luck of youth.
There's no-one who's better,
Better than you!
A fashion trend setter,
Who's never uncouth.

My life's such a clutter,
But what can I do?
I've pulled down the shutters,
And choked off the view.
The world is a gutter,
A foul smelling brew.
And my writings still stutter,
To spell out the blues.
Spell out the blues!
They spell out the blues!
All the words that I splutter,
Spell out the blues!

There's no-one who's better,
Better than you!
I'm your prisoner in fetters,
Though you're never cruel.
There's no-one that's better,
Better than you!
No grudge or vendetta,
To play me the fool.

There's no-one who's better,
Better than you!
I am dry cheddar,
While you are just smooth.
There's no-one that's better,
Better than you!
You sent me those letters,
So I'd walk in your shoes.
Walk in your shoes!
Walk in your shoes!
I'd pound out the leather,
And walk in your shoes.

My fragile self shatters,
Yet you flatter me.
My attention is scattered,
I fall to my knee.
How can it matter,
If satyr I be?

[...] Read more

poem by David SmithWhite
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Twisted Words

We use words to our advantage, you and me
Calling ourselves crazy and sane alternately.
If crazy means crazy as we define it, we are sane definitely
But if sane is sane as the world describes it, we'll be crazy happily!

poem by Shipra Agarwal
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Love Is

Yeahh
Ooohh
Yeah yeah
Once there was a time love was just a myth
It just wasn't for real, didn't exist
Til the day you came into my life
You forced me to think twice
I didn't have too much, no I wasn't rich
Gave me belief someday I'd be more than this
That's why until this day I'm still your man
Cause you made me understand that
Love is kisses in a bean bag chair
The two of us but no one there
Love is the moment that I climb the stairs
To hold you in my arms after we make love
Love is waking up to see your face
Or kissing in the morning rain
Love is
The only thing that keeps me sane
At the end of the day is that I've got you
You're my secret place where I can be myself
You connect with me like nobody else
Even though our circumstances changed
Our love still remains
Meet me on the ground, still you help me fly
You taught me to be patient, I taught you to rely
So no matter what tomorrow brings
We got the simple things cause (noooo)
Love is kisses in a bean bag chair (bean bag chair)
The two of us but no one there (no one there)
Love is the moment that I climb the stairs (ohh)
To hold you in my arms after we make love
Love is waking up to see your face (ohh)
Or kissing in the morning rain
Love is
The only thing that keeps me sane (ohh)
At the end of the day is that I've got you
Love is
A Sunday morning with the blanket wrapped around your waist
Love is
The way your lips seem to curve
When you say my name (say my name ohh)
Love is
And when I'm stressing like the world's turning upside down
Girl it all makes sense when you're around
Love is kisses in a bean bag chair (yeah)
The two of us but no one there (making love is)
Love is the moment that I climb the stairs
To hold you in my arms after we make love
Love is waking up to see your face (yeah yeah yeah yeah)

[...] Read more

song performed by Backstreet Boys
Added by Lucian Velea
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