Citatepedia^®.com

You know, one of the biggest thrills I have is when famous people recognize me from Taxi.

quote by Marilu Henner
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Early Morning Cold Taxi

3:36, its cold, I know Im growing old,
With lifes best side on the downward slope,
Its in my own hands, I know Ill cope,
My girls with me and all my friends can see.
Here I am again,
Early morning cold taxi.
Early morning cold taxi.
Done it before, do it again,
Know from experience its not in vain,
Shes the best Ive had, I cannot see, what someone else can do to me.
Its a long way home but loves so warm, youll see.
Here I am again,
Early morning cold taxi.
Early morning cold taxi.
Early morning cold taxi,
Each time I do it, I feel so down and out,
Early morning cold taxi,
though my mind thinks strange Ill keep on, no doubt.
3:36, its cold, I know Im growing old,
One day well be wed,
This I know for its what she said,
Then no more will my mind be uneasy.
Early morning cold taxi,
Each time I do it, I feel so down and out,
Early morning cold taxi,
though my mind thinks strange Ill keep on, no doubt.
3:36, its cold, I know Im growing old,
One day well be wed,
This I know for its what she said,
Then no more will my mind be uneasy.
Here I am again,
Early morning cold taxi.
Early morning cold taxi.

song performed by Who
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Taxi! Taxi!

The hands on the clock seem to stick to the face
But the seconds are turning to minutes
And minutes to days
I try not to look at the grin on its face
But I know that it knows that I gotta get out
Of this place
Time to close the day
Time to lock the door
Time to greet the street
Im so happy Im walking on air
People staring but I dont care
Taxi, call a taxi, yellow taxi, taxi taxi
Dont take the subway dont go that way
'snot a safe way dont go that way
Gotta cross town dont want trouble
Got to get there on the double
Shell be waiting Ill be running
Shell be thinking Im not coming
I cant wait to talk to you
Tell you what Id like to do
Well find a little restaurant
A little vino for the ambiance
In the candlelight were holding hands
Time flies when you really
Dont want it to
The waiters are staring at me
But Ive only got eyes for you
Leave us alone we dont wanna go home
Put your chairs on the tables
We can let ourselves out when youve gone
Time to take your home
Time to say goodnight
We dont wanna part
Lets be together tonight
Lets be together tonight
Taxi, call a taxi, yellow taxi, taxi taxi
Dont take the subway dont go that way
'snot a safe way well go our way
Gotta cross town back to my place
Pull the shades down screw the rat race
Were alone now undercover
Hang the sign out dont disturb
Now Im really close to you
Tell you what I want to do
I wanna take you to a tropical place
Beneath the stars Ill see the love in your face
In the pale moonlight
Were holding hands
Following the footprints in the sand
Its been a hell of a day in the city

[...] Read more

song performed by 10 Cc
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Too Blind To Recognize

Too blind to recognize.
No one really knew,
Who they saw on a regular basis.
And this was not encouraged,
To be expected to accept.
Yet discussing other people,
Was what they did best.
Too blind to recognize.

Too blind to recognize.
Disrespecting was all they knew.
And this they did with a full effect.
No one knew who did what.
Or who had experiences to share,
That would provide benefits all would get.
So no one saw to see to receive opportunities,
They would meet but too blind to recognize.

Too blind to recognize,
Gifts given as a prize!
Gifts given they should pride.

Too blind to recognize,
Gifts given as a prize!
Gifts given they should pride.

Just too blind to recognize.
Just too blind to recognize.
Just too blind to recognize...
Gifts given as a prize!
Gifts given they should pride.
Too blind to recognize.
Just too blind to recognize.
Too blind to recognize.
Just too blind to recognize...
Gifts given as a prize!
Gifts given they should pride.
Too blind to recognize.

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau, Saviour of Society

Epigraph

Υδραν φονεύσας, μυρίων τ᾽ ἄλλων πόνων
διῆλθον ἀγέλας . . .
τὸ λοίσθιον δὲ τόνδ᾽ ἔτλην τάλας πόνον,
. . . δῶμα θριγκῶσαι κακοῖς.

I slew the Hydra, and from labour pass'd
To labour — tribes of labours! Till, at last,
Attempting one more labour, in a trice,
Alack, with ills I crowned the edifice.

You have seen better days, dear? So have I —
And worse too, for they brought no such bud-mouth
As yours to lisp "You wish you knew me!" Well,
Wise men, 't is said, have sometimes wished the same,
And wished and had their trouble for their pains.
Suppose my Œdipus should lurk at last
Under a pork-pie hat and crinoline,
And, latish, pounce on Sphynx in Leicester Square?
Or likelier, what if Sphynx in wise old age,
Grown sick of snapping foolish people's heads,
And jealous for her riddle's proper rede, —
Jealous that the good trick which served the turn
Have justice rendered it, nor class one day
With friend Home's stilts and tongs and medium-ware,—
What if the once redoubted Sphynx, I say,
(Because night draws on, and the sands increase,
And desert-whispers grow a prophecy)
Tell all to Corinth of her own accord.
Bright Corinth, not dull Thebes, for Lais' sake,
Who finds me hardly grey, and likes my nose,
And thinks a man of sixty at the prime?
Good! It shall be! Revealment of myself!
But listen, for we must co-operate;
I don't drink tea: permit me the cigar!
First, how to make the matter plain, of course —
What was the law by which I lived. Let 's see:
Ay, we must take one instant of my life
Spent sitting by your side in this neat room:
Watch well the way I use it, and don't laugh!
Here's paper on the table, pen and ink:
Give me the soiled bit — not the pretty rose!
See! having sat an hour, I'm rested now,
Therefore want work: and spy no better work
For eye and hand and mind that guides them both,
During this instant, than to draw my pen
From blot One — thus — up, up to blot Two — thus —
Which I at last reach, thus, and here's my line
Five inches long and tolerably straight:

[...] Read more

poem by Robert Browning (1871)
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota

Well, I had two weeks of vacation time coming
After working all year down at big roys eating and plumbing
So one night when my family the I were gathered round the dinner table
I said, kids, if you could go anywhere in this great big world, now
Whered you like to go ta
They said, dad, we wanna see the biggest ball of twine in minnesota
They picked the biggest ball of twine in minnesota
So the very next day we loaded up the car
With potato skins and pickled weiners,
Crossword puzzles, spider-man comics, and mamas home made rhubarb pie
Pulled out of the driveway and the neighbors, they all waved good-bye
And so began our three day journey
We picked up a guy holding a sign that said twine ball or bust
He smelled real bad and he said his name was bernie
I put in a slim whitman tape, my wife put on a brand new hair net
Kids were in the back seat jumping up and down,
Yelling are we there yet?
And all of us were joined together in one common thought
As we rolled down the long and winding interstate in our 53 desoto
Were gonna see the biggest ball of twine in minnesota
Were headin for the biggest ball of twine in minnesota
Oh, we couldnt wait to get there
So we drove straight through for three whole days and nights
Of course, we stopped for more pickled weiners now and then
The scenery was just so pretty, boy I wish the kids couldve seen it
But you cant see out of the side of the car
Because the windows are completely covered
With the decals of all the place where weve already been
Theres elvis-o-rama, the tupperware museum,
The boll weevil monument, and cranberry world,
The shuffleboard hall of fame, poodle dog rock,
And the mecca of albino squirrels
Weve been to ghost towns, theme parks, wax museums,
And a place where you can drive through the middle of a tree
Weve seen alligator farms and tarantula ranches,
But theres still one thing we gotta see
Well, we crossed the state line about 6:39
And we saw a sign that said twine ball exit - 50 miles
Oh, the kids were so happy the started singing
99 bottles of beer on the wall for the 27th time that day
So, we pulled off the road at the last chance gas station
Got a few more pickled weiners and a diet chocolate soda
On our way to see the biggest ball of twine in minnesota
Were gonna see the biggest ball of tiwne in minnesota
Finally, at 7:37 early wednesday evening as the sun was setting
In the minnesota sky
Out in the distance, on the horizon, it appeared to me like a vision
Before my unbelieving eye
I parked the car and walked with awe-filled reverence towards that
Glorius huge majestic sphere

[...] Read more

song performed by Weird Al Yankovic
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Destination Moon

Dont bother to call this room
Theres nobody here who can pick up
Or has stuff they need to talk about
And who wont be now
Checking out and flying
By rocket to the moon
By airplane to the rocket
By taxi to the airport
By front door to the taxi
By throwing back the blanket
Hanging down the legs
Thank you for the card with the cartoon nurse
But you see theres nothing wrong with me
You think, thats what you think.
Thats what they all say,
Before I blow you away
By rocket to the moon
By airplane to the rocket
By taxi to the airport
By front door to the taxi
By throwing back the blanket
Hanging down the legs
Soon the man who sweeps the room
Brings the secret telegram:
Commence official interplanetary exploration
Thank you for the card with the cartoon nurse
But you see theres nothing wrong with me
You think, thats what you think.
Thats what they all say,
Before I blow you away
By rocket to the moon
By airplane to the rocket
By taxi to the airport
By front door to the taxi
By throwing back the blanket
Hanging down the legs
By rocket to the moon
Crawl to the rocket
By coughing at the airport
By limping to the taxi
By throwing back the blanket
Hanging down the withered leg

song performed by They Might Be Giants
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Famous Groupies

All stand back, let the people see
Take a snap of the famous groupies for me
Behold the famous groupies
They are alike as two peas
And where the other goes, the other goes
But though the famous groupies
Are only paid in rupies
Nobody knows what the famous groupies know
And nobody goes where the famous groupies go
There was a bango player
Who kept an extra layer
Of dunlopillo mattress in his van
But when the famous groupies
Arived with their twin snoopies
Nobody saw which way the poor boy ran
Nobody does it like a famous groupie can
All stand back, let the people see
Take a snap of the famous groupies for me
There was a lead guitarist
Who lived in epping forest
And all he ever wanted was to blow
When the girls were with him
He never lost his rhythm
And nobody knows what the famous groupies know
Nobody goes where the famous groupies go
There was a classic story
Of a roadic nicknamed rory
Who used to practice voodoo on the side
When the famous twosome
Suggested something gruesome
All that they found was a crater two miles wide
Which left the music business absolutely horrified
Ladies and gentlemen, those magnificent examples of
Female pulchritude and luminosity, direct from their
Global perambulations to the very boards of this
Supremely magnificent proscenium arch - ladies and
Gentlemen; I give you famous groupies!

song performed by Paul McCartney
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Pastime of Pleasure : The First Part.

Here begynneth the passe tyme of pleasure.

Ryyght myghty prynce / & redoubted souerayne
Saylynge forthe well / in the shyppe of grace
Ouer the wawes / of this lyfe vncertayne
Ryght towarde heuen / to haue dwellynge place
Grace dothe you guyde / in euery doubtfull cace
Your gouernaunce / dothe euermore eschewe
The synne of slouthe / enemy to vertewe
Grace stereth well / the grace of god is grete
Whiche you hathe brought / to your ryall se
And in your ryght / it hath you surely sette
Aboue vs all / to haue the soueraynte
Whose worthy power / and regall dygnyte
All our rancour / and our debate and ceace
Hath to vs brought / bothe welthe reste and peace
Frome whome dyscendeth / by the ryghtfull lyne
Noble pryuce Henry / to succede the crowne
That in his youthe / dothe so clerely shyne
In euery vertu / castynge the vyce adowne
He shall of fame / attayne the hye renowne
No doubte but grace / shall hym well enclose
Whiche by trewe ryght / sprange of the reed rose
Your noble grace / and excellent hyenes
For to accepte / I beseche ryght humbly
This lytell boke / opprest with rudenes
Without rethorycke / or colour crafty
Nothynge I am / experte in poetry
As the monke of Bury / floure of eloquence
Whiche was in tyme / of grete excellence
Of your predecessour / the .v. kynge henry
Vnto whose grace / he dyde present
Ryght famous bokes / of parfyte memory
Of his faynynge with termes eloquent
Whose fatall fyccyons / are yet permanent
Grounded on reason / with clowdy fygures
He cloked the trouthe / of all his scryptures
The lyght of trouthe / I lacke connynge to cloke
To drawe a curtayne / I dare not to presume
Nor hyde my mater / with a mysty smoke
My rudenes connynge / dothe so sore cōsume
Yet as I maye / I shall blowe out a fume
To hyde my mynde / vnderneth a fable
By conuert colour / well and probable
Besechynge your grace / to pardon myne ignoraunce
Whiche this fayned fable / to eschewe ydlenesse
Hane so compyled / now without doubtaunce
For to present / to your hye worthynesse
To folowe the trace / and all the parfytenesse
Of my mayster Lydgate / with due exercyse

[...] Read more

poem by Stephen Hawes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Shes Famous Now

Ive got the measles and she got the mumps
Im sick of waiting by the door in case she comes home
You wont believe it but dont you want to know
I let her go but I cant let her go
I dont wanna hear it
Im singin too high tonight, Im gonna lose my voice
I heard her on the radio dont want to sing along, but Ive got no choice
She used to be my girl but now shes famous (shes famous now)
She used to be my girl but now she is famous (shes famous now)
She was just so sweet and now theyre fallin at her feet
She used to be my girl but now shes-
I eat the muscle and she eats the leaves
High cholesterol and heart disease yea
Youll never touch the way that I feel
Just for the record she got the deal
I dont wanna hear it
Im saying goodbye tonight, I just cant stand the noise
Shes signin autographs, dont wanna say I know her but Ive got no choice
She used to be my girl but now shes famous (shes famous now)
She used to be my girl but now shes famous (shes famous now)
She was just so sweet and now theyre fallin at her feet
She used to be my girl but now shes-
Well shes like me, just not as ugly
She used to be my girl but now shes famous (shes famous now)
She used to be my girl but now shes-
She was just so sweet
She was just so sweet
She was just so sweet and now theyre fallin at her feet
She used to be my girl but now shes-
Famous now

song performed by Reel Big Fish
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Bad n Ruin

(rod stewart, ian mclagan)
Mother dont you recognize your son, ooh hoo
Coming home, yeah yeah
Getting home, cause I failed you mother, hmm-mmm
Ill be there in the mornin
If you have me back
The rent up here is much too high
For a room without a tap
A room without a tap, hoo
Ill be early in the morning
And Ill find my way back home
Back home bad n ruin
With my tail between my legs
Tail between my legs
And Ill be so tired
Ill be so tired, now listen
Ill be early tomorrow morning
And Ill fall down off my plane
Dont be embarrassed mother
By your ugly worn-out son, hmm
Your ugly worn-out son.
So just let me warn you
Mother, you wont recognize me now
Mother, you wont recognize me now
Mother, you wont recognize me now, hoo
And Ill be down on cannon[? ] street
Passport in my hand
Should you could not recognize me
Ive heavily made-up eyes
Momma, you wont recognize me now
Brother, you wont recognize me now
Hello there
Sister, you wont recognize me now
Mother, you wont recognize me now
Ooh, hoo
So mother when youve seen me
Dont forget Im your boy too
I know my brother has done you proud
Hes one foot in the grave
Mother dont you recognize me now ?
Im a burglar in the first degree
But it dont seem to worry me
Ill be so tired, so tired
Ill be so tired, so tired
So tired

song performed by Rod Stewart
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Taxi Dancing

I think that its high time we had a talk
I think that were making a big mistake
Ive been feeling lately the magic is gone
Are we just together for convenience sake, baby
I dont believe it (feeling)
I dont think thats true (tied down)
Itll just pass if we allow it to (need to break free)
Its just a stage were going through (they say clean cuts)
I think youre just restless for something new (heal much faster)
Baby, feeling like we pay our dime
And all we get in return
Is a piece of each others time
Are we just taxi dancing
Lost somewhere in a slow dance for two
And the band that was playing
Has finally stopped playing our favorite song
Are we just taxi dancing
Youre paying for me and Im paying for you
And are we holding on to a feeling with desperation
Dont know if youre right
Dont know if youre wrong
Seems to me we havent danced for long
Dont make it hard (I wont)
Dont make it easy (hold you)
Well just walk away (if you)
At the end of the song (must go)
Baby, put one last nickel in the jukebox
Give that love we once felt
Just one final spin around
cause were just taxi dancing
Lost somewhere in a slow dance for two
And the band that was playing
Has finally stopped playing our favorite song
And were just dancing
And the band that was playing
Has finally stopped playing our favorite song
Are we just taxi dancing
Youre paying for me and Im paying for you
And are we holding on to each other in desperation
Taxi dancing

song performed by Rick Springfield
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Buster

Yeah, oooh, yeah yeah yeah yeah, ohh
I'm standing in the club, doing my own thing
When you thought you would approach me (hey, hey)
Saying things that you shouldn't be
I'm not your average girl
You can't put your hands on this
So I move to my right
Stay out my sight
Ooh don't trip
So what's that scratching around here
Cos I feel a messy atmosphere
You never gonna get my love
Is that clear? (ooh yeah)
You can't creep up to me fool
I'm too focused to lose my cool
See you from a mile away, ohh
Chorus:
Buster trying to get his hands on me
Spinning a lie to get me in a taxi
No ****** in your sting (no!)
You ain't getting a thing (NO!)
Buster trying to some dirty
Trying to simulate a fantasy
Not that easy can't you understand (NO!)
I'll repeat it again (NO!)
A negative response is all that you're gonna get
But now I'm too turned off
You ain't gonna flip my switch
Cos I'm not your average girl
I'm not gonna take your game
So I move to the left
Shadow my step
Ain't got no shame
So what's that scratching around here
Cos I feel a messy atmosphere
Never gonna get my love
Is that clear? (ooh)
You can't creep up to me fool
I'm too focused to lose my cool
See you from a mile away, oohh
Chorus:
Buster trying to get his hands on me
Spinning a lie to get me in a taxi
No ****** in your sting (no!)
You ain't getting a thing (NO!)
Buster trying to some dirty
Trying to simulate a fantasy
Not that easy can't you understand (NO!)
Should I'll repeat it again (NO!)
Ice, cool I wanna melt you down

[...] Read more

song performed by Sugababes
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Taxis

The horse is used as a taxi in a certain land,
The donkey is used as a taxi in a certain land,
The camel is used as a taxi in a certain land,
The cow is used as a taxi in a certain land,
The elephant is used as a taxi in a certain land,
And of all the forms of taxis in this world!
But the animals had been very useful to mankind.

poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Famous Fable

The famous fable,
The famous table,
The famous stable,
The famous cable,
The famous babble,
The famous gable,
The famous parable,
The famous variable
The famous sable;
But, able to crown your love with my muse!
For, you are all that i need.

poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Geronimo

I'm feeling kind of wild I have burned down a house
The pleasure is mine it may be sick and may be wrong
That's why I did it all on my own
Pain in my mind is for no one to find
Geronimo, Geronimo
I'm the world famous Geronimo
Geronimo, Geronimo
I'm a world famous man
The world has gone mad and I'm being bad
To all the people that is feeling sad
Scalps on the wall are the trophies I've made
From all the people that stood in my way
Geronimo, Geronimo
I'm the world famous Geronimo
Geronimo, Geronimo
I'm a world famous man
Someone once said that I'm acting strange
That someone ain't living no more
People get scared when I'm passing by
I am the man who brings fear in Your eyes
Geronimo, Geronimo
I'm the world famous Geronimo
Geronimo, Geronimo
I'm a world famous man
My journey began on the day I was born
Ever since then I've been hunted by a man
With a rifle and star he may give me a scare
Someday I promise to cut of his scalp
Geronimo, Geronimo
I'm the world famous Geronimo
Geronimo, Geronimo
I'm a world famous man

song performed by Zonata
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

It's Not What You Think

Lee Thompson Young: Well saving is the game,
Silverstone is the name... Secret Agent Status...
Day starts early and he's on the move
He has to have breakfast in his dressing room
Knock, knock 5 minutes to chew
Go to make up then it's time to hear,
Take 1, take 2 everybody's telling him what to do
It's a great big price to pay to be the man
So listen to what I have to say
It's not what you think when you see him roll
In the limo down the street baby you should know
That everything that glitters..it ain't gold.
(he's the famous Jett Jackson)
It's not what you think cuz when he's all alone
Reminices 'bout the past and he finds himself
Trying to go back home.
(he's the famous Jett Jackson)
He thinks about what he used to be back home
Everything was quiet, nothing really going on
Talking to his peeps on the telephone
Now his life has changed nothing is the same
He took it to the next level, now he's gotta keep it all together
It's not what you think when you see him roll
In the limo down the street baby you should know
That everything that glitters..it ain't gold.
(he's the famous Jett Jackson)
It's not what you think cuz when he's all alone
Reminices 'bout the past and he finds himself
Trying to go back home.
(he's the famous Jett Jackson)
(RAP) Silverstone is the code name
and if saving the world was a basketball game
only the stakes were higher
The only difference between me and MJ would be that I haven't yet retired
(still in the game)
Articles and track team the way that I inspire
Villans and thugs for hire to run like somebody set their socks on fire
Evil doers know by now to say,"aww man he's cocked his eyebrow
This cat's about to say goodbye now find a place to lie down
Duck and cover cuz he's sharper than a diamond cutter
Slicker than a stick of butter",
But even the best of the best can't work alone
So as far as sidekicks go Hawk's is one of the nicest and
Artimus supplies us with expensive and high tech devices
But in comparison my lop-sided grin is still priceless
The best secret agent that mankind knows...it's no mystery
It's not what you think when you see him roll
In the limo down the street baby you should know
That everything that glitters..it ain't gold.
(he's the famous Jett Jackson)

[...] Read more

song performed by Youngstown
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Your Biggest Mistake

What do you think inside your head
I want to know
Do you think this
Could end up breaking you
You life is a time bomb
Set to explode
You talk out your ass
And everyone knows
For once you should listen
Or care what i think
Or I'll be gone before you can blink
Everyones told you
Over and over again
You're making the biggest mistake of your life
Everyones told you
Everyone you left behind
You're making the biggest mistake of you life
Everyone knows that
Your afraid of missing out
And I know that its hard for you
To swallow down
The while world you've vreated
Is set to explode
You lie throught you teeth
And everyone knows
For once you should listen
Or care what I think
Or you'll stay stuck in the web your trapped in
Everyones told you
Over and over again
You're making the biggest mistake of your life
Everyoes told you
Everyone you left behind
You're making the biggest mistake of your life
Its a chance
You should take
And I know that its not
An easy one to make
You should trust the ones
That are closest to you
Everyones told you
Over and over again
You're making the biggest mistake of your life
Everyone told you
Everyone you left behind
You're making the biggest mistake of your life
(Your life)
The biggest mistake of your life

song performed by New Found Glory
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

VII. Pompilia

I am just seventeen years and five months old,
And, if I lived one day more, three full weeks;
'T is writ so in the church's register,
Lorenzo in Lucina, all my names
At length, so many names for one poor child,
—Francesca Camilla Vittoria Angela
Pompilia Comparini,—laughable!
Also 't is writ that I was married there
Four years ago: and they will add, I hope,
When they insert my death, a word or two,—
Omitting all about the mode of death,—
This, in its place, this which one cares to know,
That I had been a mother of a son
Exactly two weeks. It will be through grace
O' the Curate, not through any claim I have;
Because the boy was born at, so baptized
Close to, the Villa, in the proper church:
A pretty church, I say no word against,
Yet stranger-like,—while this Lorenzo seems
My own particular place, I always say.
I used to wonder, when I stood scarce high
As the bed here, what the marble lion meant,
With half his body rushing from the wall,
Eating the figure of a prostrate man—
(To the right, it is, of entry by the door)
An ominous sign to one baptized like me,
Married, and to be buried there, I hope.
And they should add, to have my life complete,
He is a boy and Gaetan by name—
Gaetano, for a reason,—if the friar
Don Celestine will ask this grace for me
Of Curate Ottoboni: he it was
Baptized me: he remembers my whole life
As I do his grey hair.

All these few things
I know are true,—will you remember them?
Because time flies. The surgeon cared for me,
To count my wounds,—twenty-two dagger-wounds,
Five deadly, but I do not suffer much—
Or too much pain,—and am to die to-night.

Oh how good God is that my babe was born,
—Better than born, baptized and hid away
Before this happened, safe from being hurt!
That had been sin God could not well forgive:
He was too young to smile and save himself.
When they took two days after he was born,
My babe away from me to be baptized
And hidden awhile, for fear his foe should find,—

[...] Read more

poem by Robert Browning from The Ring and the Book
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Iliad: Book 2

Now the other gods and the armed warriors on the plain slept
soundly, but Jove was wakeful, for he was thinking how to do honour to
Achilles, and destroyed much people at the ships of the Achaeans. In
the end he deemed it would be best to send a lying dream to King
Agamemnon; so he called one to him and said to it, "Lying Dream, go to
the ships of the Achaeans, into the tent of Agamemnon, and say to
him word to word as I now bid you. Tell him to get the Achaeans
instantly under arms, for he shall take Troy. There are no longer
divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them to her own
mind, and woe betides the Trojans."
The dream went when it had heard its message, and soon reached the
ships of the Achaeans. It sought Agamemnon son of Atreus and found him
in his tent, wrapped in a profound slumber. It hovered over his head
in the likeness of Nestor, son of Neleus, whom Agamemnon honoured
above all his councillors, and said:-
"You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one who has the welfare of his
host and so much other care upon his shoulders should dock his
sleep. Hear me at once, for I come as a messenger from Jove, who,
though he be not near, yet takes thought for you and pities you. He
bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you shall take
Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has
brought them over to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans at
the hands of Jove. Remember this, and when you wake see that it does
not escape you."
The dream then left him, and he thought of things that were,
surely not to be accomplished. He thought that on that same day he was
to take the city of Priam, but he little knew what was in the mind
of Jove, who had many another hard-fought fight in store alike for
Danaans and Trojans. Then presently he woke, with the divine message
still ringing in his ears; so he sat upright, and put on his soft
shirt so fair and new, and over this his heavy cloak. He bound his
sandals on to his comely feet, and slung his silver-studded sword
about his shoulders; then he took the imperishable staff of his
father, and sallied forth to the ships of the Achaeans.
The goddess Dawn now wended her way to vast Olympus that she might
herald day to Jove and to the other immortals, and Agamemnon sent
the criers round to call the people in assembly; so they called them
and the people gathered thereon. But first he summoned a meeting of
the elders at the ship of Nestor king of Pylos, and when they were
assembled he laid a cunning counsel before them.
"My friends," said he, "I have had a dream from heaven in the dead
of night, and its face and figure resembled none but Nestor's. It
hovered over my head and said, 'You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one
who has the welfare of his host and so much other care upon his
shoulders should dock his sleep. Hear me at once, for I am a messenger
from Jove, who, though he be not near, yet takes thought for you and
pities you. He bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you
shall take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the
gods; Juno has brought them over to her own mind, and woe betides
the Trojans at the hands of Jove. Remember this.' The dream then

[...] Read more

poem by Homer, translated by Samuel Butler
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Our biggest fish

When in the halcyon days of old, I was a little tyke,
I used to fish in pickerel ponds for minnows and the like;
And oh, the bitter sadness with which my soul was fraught
When I rambled home at nightfall with the puny string I'd caught!
And, oh, the indignation and the valor I'd display
When I claimed that all the biggest fish I'd caught had got away!

Sometimes it was the rusty hooks, sometimes the fragile lines,
And many times the treacherous reeds would foil my just designs;
But whether hooks or lines or reeds were actually to blame,
I kept right on at losing all the monsters just the same--
I never lost a little fish--yes, I am free to say
It always was the biggest fish I caught that got away.

And so it was, when later on, I felt ambition pass
From callow minnow joys to nobler greed for pike and bass;
I found it quite convenient, when the beauties wouldn't bite
And I returned all bootless from the watery chase at night,
To feign a cheery aspect and recount in accents gay
How the biggest fish that I had caught had somehow got away.

And really, fish look bigger than they are before they are before they're
caught--
When the pole is bent into a bow and the slender line is taut,
When a fellow feels his heart rise up like a doughnut in his throat
And he lunges in a frenzy up and down the leaky boat!
Oh, you who've been a-fishing will indorse me when I say
That it always is the biggest fish you catch that gets away!

'T 'is even so in other things--yes, in our greedy eyes
The biggest boon is some elusive, never-captured prize;
We angle for the honors and the sweets of human life--
Like fishermen we brave the seas that roll in endless strife;

And then at last, when all is done and we are spent and gray,
We own the biggest fish we've caught are those that got away.

I would not have it otherwise; 't is better there should be
Much bigger fish than I have caught a-swimming in the sea;
For now some worthier one than I may angle for that game--
May by his arts entice, entrap, and comprehend the same;
Which, having done, perchance he'll bless the man who's proud to say
That the biggest fish he ever caught were those that got away.

poem by Eugene Field
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!