Showing posts with label famous poems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label famous poems. Show all posts

Selected Poems of Ho Chi Minh

Selected Poems of Ho Chi Minh

 The Flute of the Fellow-Prisoner

Suddenly a flute sounds a nostalgic note;
Sadly the music rises, its tune is close to sobbing:
Over a thousand miles, across mountains and rivers,
Journey’s an aching grief. We seem to see a woman
Climbing a far off tower to watch for someone’s return. 

A COMRADES PAPER BLANKET

New books, old books,
the leaves all piled together.

A paper blanket
is better than no blanket.

You who sleep like princes,
sheltered from the cold,

Do you know how many men in prison
cannot sleep all night?

Autumn Night

In front of the gate, the guard stands with his rifle.
Above, untidy clouds are carrying away the moon.
The bed-bugs are swarming round like army-tanks on manoeuvres,
While the mosquitoes form squadrons, attacking like fighter-planes.

My heart travels a thousand li towards my native land.
My dream intertwines with sadness like a skein of a thousand threads.
Innocent, I have now endured a whole year in prison.
Using my tears for ink, I turn my thoughts into verses.

GOOD DAYS COMING

Everything changes, the wheel
of the law turns without pause.

After the rain, good weather.

In the wink of an eye

The universe throws off
its muddy cloths.

For ten thousand miles
the landscape

Spreads out like
a beautiful brocade.

Gentle sunshine.
Light breezes. Smiling flowers,

Hang in the trees, amongst the
sparkling leaves,

All the birds sing at once.
Men and animals rise up reborn.
What could be more natural?

After sorrow comes happiness.
And one after being released from prison.

Weird Al Yankovic Songs Lyrics - Eat It, You Dont Love Me Anymore, Word Crimes, Trapped in the Drive-Thru

 Eat It Song Lyrics
by: Weird Al Yankovic 

How come you're always such a fussy young man?Don't want no Captain Crunch, don't want no Raisin BranWell, don't you know that other kids are starving in Japan?So eat it, just eat it
Don't wanna argue, I don't wanna debateDon't wanna hear about what kinds of foods you hate (woo)You won't get no dessert 'til you clean off your plateSo eat it, don't you tell me you're full
Just eat it (eat it), eat it (eat it)
 Get yourself an egg and beat itHave some more chicken, have some more pieIt doesn't matter if it's boiled or friedJust eat it (eat it), just eat it (eat it) Just eat it (eat it), just eat it (eat it, woo)
 
Your table manners are a cryin' shameYou're playin' with your food, this ain't some kind of gameNow if you starve to death you'll just have yourself to blameSo eat it, just eat it
 You better listen, better do what you're told (woo)You haven't even touched your tuna casserole (ooh)You better chow down, or it's gonna get coldSo eat it, I don't care if you're full
Just eat it (eat it), eat it (eat it)
 Open up your mouth and feed itHave some more yogurt, have some more SpamIt doesn't matter if it's fresh or cannedJust eat it (eat it), eat it (eat it)
 Don't you make me repeat itHave a banana, have a whole bunchIt doesn't matter what you had for lunchJust eat it, eat it, eat it, eat itEat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Eat it (eat it), eat it (eat it)
 If it's getting cold, reheat itHave a big dinner, have a light snackIf you don't like it, you can't send it backJust eat it (ooh-hoo, eat it), eat it (eat it)
 Get yourself an egg and beat it (oh, Lord)Have some more chicken (ooh-hoo), have some more pie (ooh-hoo-hoo)It doesn't matter if it's boiled or fried
Just eat it (eat it), eat it (eat it)
 Don't you make me repeat it (oh, no)Have a banana, have a whole bunch (ooh-hoo-hoo)It doesn't matter what you had for lunch...
 

You Don't Love Me Anymore Lyrics
by: Weird Al Yankovic 
 

We've been together for so very longBut now things are changing, oh I wonder what's wrong?Seems you don't want me aroundThe passion is gone and the flame's died down

I guess I lost a little bit of self-esteemThat time that you made it with the whole hockey teamYou used to think I was niceNow you tell all your friends that I'm the Antichrist

Oh, why did you disconnect the brakes in my car?That kind of thing is hard to ignoreGot a funny feeling you don't love me anymore
 
I knew that we were having problems whenYou put those piranhas in my bathtub again
 You're still the light of my lifeOh darling, I'm beggin', won't you put down that knife?
 
You know, I even think it's kinda cute the wayYou poison my coffee just a little each dayI still remember the way that you laughedWhen you pushed me down that elevator shaft
 
Oh, if you don't mind me asking, what's this poisonous cobraDoing in my underwear drawer?Sometime I get to thinking you don't love me any more
 
You slammed my face down on the barbecue grillNow my scars are all healing, but my heart never willYou set my house on fire
 You pulled out my chest hairs with an old pair of pliers
Oh, you think I'm ugly and you say that I'm cheapYou shaved off my eyebrows while I was asleepYou drilled a hole in my headThen you dumped me in a drainage ditch and left me for dead
 
Oh, you know this really isn't like you at allYou never acted this way beforeHoney, something tells me you don't love me any more, oh no noGot a funny feeling you don't love me anymore

Word Crimes Lyrics
by: Weird Al Yankovic 

Everybody shut up, woo!Everyone listen up!Hey, hey, hey, uhHey, hey, hey
 
If you can't write in the proper wayIf you don't know how to conjugateMaybe you flunked that classAnd maybe now you findThat people mock you online
 
Okay, now here's the dealI'll try to educate yaGonna familiarizeYou with the nomenclatureYou'll learn the definitionsOf nouns and prepositionsLiteracy's your missionAnd that's why I think it's a
Good time
 To learn some grammarNow, did I stammerWork on that grammarYou should know whenIt's "less" or it's "fewer"Like people who wereNever raised in a sewer
I hate these word crimes
 Like I could care lessThat means you do care At least a little
 Don't be a moronYou'd better slow downAnd use the right pronoun
 Show the world you're no clownEverybody wise up!
 
Say you got an "I", "T"Followed by apostrophe, "s"Now what does that mean?You would not use "it's" in this caseAs a possessiveIt's a contraction
 What's a contraction?Well, it's the shortening of a word, or a group of wordsBy the omission of a sound or letter
 
Okay, now here's some notesSyntax you're always manglingNo "x" in "espresso"Your participle's danglin'
 But I don't want your dramaIf you really wannaLeave out that Oxford commaJust keep in mind
That "be", "see", "are", "you"Are words, not lettersGet it together
 Use your spellcheckerYou should neverWrite words using numbersUnless you're sevenOr your name is Prince
I hate these word crimes
 You really need aFull time proofreaderYou dumb mouth-breather
 Well, you should hireSome cunning linguistTo help you distinguishWhat is proper English
 
One thing I ask of youTime to learn your homophones is past dueLearn to diagram a sentence tooAlways say "to whom"Don't ever say "to who"
 And listen up when I tell you thisI hope you never use quotation marks for emphasisYou finished second gradeI hope you can tellIf you're doing good or doing well
 About better figure out the differenceIrony is not coincidenceAnd I thought that you'd gotten it through your skullWhat's figurative and what's literal Oh but, just now, you saidYou literally couldn't get out of bed
 That really makes me want to literallySmack a crowbar upside your stupid head
I read your e-mailIt's quite apparentYour grammar's errantYou're incoherent
 Saw your blog postIt's really fantasticThat was sarcastic (Oh, psych!)'Cause you write like a spastic
I hate these Word Crimes
 Your prose is dopeyThink you should onlyWrite in emojiOh, you're a lost causeGo back to pre-schoolGet out of the gene poolTry your best to not drool
 
Never mind I give upReally now I give upHey, hey, heyHey, hey, heyGo away!
 

Trapped in the Drive-Thru Lyrics
by: Weird Al Yankovic

Seven O'Clock in the eveningWatchin' somethin' stupid on TVI'm zoned out on the sofaWhen my wife comes in the room and sees me
And she says "is this 'Behind the Music'With Lynard Skynard?"And I say I don't know
 Say, it's gettin' late, watcha wanna do for dinner?
She says "I kinda had a big lunchSo I'm not super hungry"I said, well you know, baby, I'm not starvin' eitherBut I could eat"
 
She said "So whadya have in mind?"I said I don't know what about you?She said "I don't care, if you're hungry, let's eat"
 I said that's what we're gonna do!
But first you gotta tell meWhat it is you're hungry for!And she says "let me think,What's left in our refrigerator?"
 
I said well, there's tuna, I knowShe said "That went bad a week ago!"I said is the chili okay?She said "you finished that yesterday!"
 
I hopped up and I saidI don't know, do you want to get something delivered?She's like "why would I want to eat liver?I don't even like liver!"
I'm like no, I said 'delivered'She's like "I heard you say liver!"
 I'm like I should know what I saidShe's like "whatever, I just don't want any liver!"
Well I was gonna say somethingBut my cell phone started to ring
 Now who could be callin' me?Well I checked my caller ID
It was just cousin LarryCallin' for the third time today
 My wife said "Let it go to voicemail"I said okay
Where were we? Oh, Dinner, RightSo what do you want to do?
 She said "why don't you whip up something in the kitchen?"Yeah, I said why don't you?
And then she said "baby, can't we just go out to dinner, please?"
 I says noShe says "yes"I says noShe says "yes"I says noShe says "yes Oh, here's your keys"
 
I step a little bit closerSay okay, where ya want to go?She says "how about The Ivy?"I said yeah, well I don't know
I don't feel like gettin all dressed upAnd eatin' expensive food
 She's says "Olive Garden?"I say nah, I'm not in the mood
And Burrito King would make me gassyThere's no doubt
 She says "Just forget about it"I said no, I swear I'm gonna take you out!
Then I get an ideaI says I know what we'll do!
 She says "What?"I say, guess?She says "What?"I say we're goin' to the drive-thru!
 
So we head out the front doorOpen the garage doorThen I open the car doors
 And we get in those car doors
Put my key in the ignitionAnd then I turn it sidewaysThen we fasten our seat beltsAs we pull out the driveway
 
Then we drive to the drive-thruHeading off to the drive-thruWe're approaching the drive-thruGetting close to the drive-thru!
Almost there at the drive-thruNow we're here at the drive thruHere in line at the drive-thruDid I mention the drive-thru?
 
Well here we areIn the drive-thru line, me and herCars in front of us, cars in back of usAll just waiting to order
 
There's some idiot in a VolvoWith his brights on behind meI lean out the window and screamHey, Whatcha tryin to do, blind me?
 
My wife says "maybe we should parkWe could just go eat inside"I said I'm wearing bunny slippersSo I ain't leaving this ride

Now a woman on a speaker boxIs saying "Can I take your order, please?"I said yes indeed, you certainly can
 We'd like two hamburgers with onions and cheese
Then my wife says"Baby, hold on, I've changed my mind!I think I'm gonna have a chicken sandwichInstead, this time"
 
I said you always get a cheeseburger!She says "That's not what I'm hungry for"I put my head in my hands and screamed,I don't know who you are anymore!
 
The voice on the speaker says"I don't have all day!"I said, then, take our order,And we'll be on our way!
 
I wanna get a chicken sandwichAnd I want a cheeseburger, tooShe's like "you want onions on that?"I'm like, yeah, I already said that I do
 
Plus we need curly friesAnd don't you dare forget it!And two medium root beersNo, just one, we'll split it"
 
Then I said I'm guessing thatYou're probably not too brightSo read me back my orderLet's make sure you got it right

She says "one, you want a chicken sandwichTwo, you want a cheeseburgerThree, curly fries, and a large root beer"
 Stop, don't go no further!
I never ordered a large rootbeerI said medium, not large!
 Then she says "we're having a special,I supersized you at no charge"
"Oh" and that's allI could say, was "Oh"
 And she says "now there is something elseThat I really think you should know
You can have unlimited refillsFor just a quarter more"
 I say, great, except we're in the drive thruSo what would I want that for?
Then she says "Wait a minuteYour voice sounds so familiar hey, is this Paul?
 And my wife is all like "no, that ain't Paul,Now tell me, who's this Paul?
She says "Oh, he's just some guyWho goes to school with me
 I sat behind him last yearAnd I copied off him in Geometry
I said I know a guy named PaulHe used to be my plumberHe was prematurely bald
 And he moved to Pittsburgh last summer
He also had bladder problemsAnd a really bad infection on his toe
 And she said "Mister, please, you can stop right there,That's way more than I needed to know!"
And then we both were quietAnd things got real intense
 Then she says "next window please,That'll be five dollars and eighty two cents"
So we inched ahead in lineMoving painfully slowI got a little bored
 So I turned on the radio
Click, turned it offBecause my wife was getting a headacheSo we both just sat there quietlyFor her sake
 
Then I looked at herAnd she looked back at meAnd I said umm,I think you have somethin'g in your teeth
 
She turned away from meAnd then turned back and said "did I get it?"I said yeah well, I mean, most of itBut hey, ya know, don't sweat it
 
Then she said "how about now?"I said yeah, almostThere's still a little bit thereBut don't worry, it's probably just a piece of toast"
 
Now we're at the pay windowOr whatever you call itPut my hand in my pocketI can't believe there's no wallet!
 
And the lady at the window's like,"Well, well, well, that'll be five eighty two"I turn around to my wife, and sayHow much have you got on you?
She just rolls her eyes and says"I'll pay for this, I guess"
 So she reaches into her purseAnd pulls out the American Express
I hand it to the ladyAnd she says "oh, dearIt's gotta be cash only
 We don't take credit cards here"
I took back the card and said
 Gee, really? Well that sucksAnd that's when I found outMy wife was only carrying three bucks
 
I said I thought you wereGoing to hit the ATM todayShe says "I never got around to itSo where's your wallet anyway?
 
And I said never mind,Just help me to find some changeNow the lady at the windowIs lookin' at me kinda strange
And she says "Mister, please,We gotta move this line along"
 I said now hold your stinking horses lady,We won't be long
So, we looked around inside the glove-boxAnd check the mat beneath my feetI found a nickel in the ashtrayAnd a couple pennies and a dime in the space between he seats
 
Before long I had a little pileOf coins of every sortThe lady counts it up and says"You're still about a dollar short"
And now my woman's got this weird lookFrozen on her faceShe screams, "you knowI wasn't even really hungry in the first place"
 
And so I turned aroundTo the cashier againI shrugged and said okayForget the chicken sandwich then
 
So I pick up my changePick up my receiptAnd I drive to the pickup windowMan, I just can't wait to eat
 
And now we see this acne riddenKid about sixteenWearing a dorky name tag that says"Hello, my name is Eugene"
 
And he hands me a paper bagI look him in the eyesAnd I say to him, hey, Eugene,Could I get some ketchup for my fries?
 
Well he looks at meAnd I look at himAnd he looks at meAnd I look at him
And he looks at meAnd I look at him
 And he says "I'm sorryWhat did you want again?"
I say ketchup!
 And he says "oh yeah, that's rightI just spaced out there for a secondI'm really kind of burnt tonight"
And then he hands me the ketchup
 And now we're finally driving awayAnd the food is driving me madWith its intoxicating bouquet
 
I'm starving to deathBy the time we pull up at the traffic lightI say, baby, gimme that burger,I just gotta have a bite!
 
So she reaches in the bagAnd pulls out the burgerAnd she hands me the burgerAnd I pick up the burger
And then I unwrap the paperI bite into those bunsAnd I just can't believe itThey forgot the onions!

 

Protest by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

  Protest
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox 

To sin by silence, when we should protest,
Makes cowards out of men. The human race
Has climbed on protest. Had no voice been raised

Against injustice, ignorance, and lust,

The inquisition yet would serve the law,
And guillotines decide our least disputes.

The few who dare, must speak and speak again
To right the wrongs of many. Speech, thank God,
No vested power in this great day and land
Can gag or throttle. Press and voice may cry
Loud disapproval of existing ills;

May criticise oppression and condemn
The lawlessness of wealth-protecting laws
That let the children and childbearers toil
To purchase ease for idle millionaires.

Therefore I do protest against the boast
Of independence in this mighty land.
Call no chain strong, which holds one rusted link.
Call no land free, that holds one fettered slave.

Until the manacled slim wrists of babes
Are loosed to toss in childish sport and glee,
Until the mother bears no burden, save

The precious one beneath her heart, until
God’s soil is rescued from the clutch of greed
And given back to labor, let no man
Call this the land of freedom.

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love and The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd

The  first poem is written in 1599 and the second poem, which is a reply to the first is written in 1600.

The Passionate Shepherd to his Love
by: Christopher Marlowe

Come live with me, and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove

That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,

Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

 

And we will sit upon rocks,

Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,

By shallow rivers, to whose falls

Melodious birds sing madrigals.

 

And I will make thee beds of roses

And a thousand fragrant posies,

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle,

Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle.

 

A gown made of the finest wool

Which from our pretty lambs we pull,

Fair lined slippers for the cold,

With buckles of the purest gold.

 

A belt of straw and ivy buds,

With coral clasps and amber studs,

And if these pleasures may thee move,

Come live with me, and be my love.

 

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing

For thy delight each May morning.

If these delights thy mind may move,

Then live with me, and be my love.


The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd
by Sir Walter Raleigh

If all the world and love were young,

And truth in every Shepherd’s tongue,

These pretty pleasures might me move,

To live with thee, and be thy love.

 

Time drives the flocks from field to fold,

When Rivers rage and Rocks grow cold,

And Philomel becometh dumb,

The rest complains of cares to come.

 

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields,

To wayward winter reckoning yields,

A honey tongue, a heart of gall,

Is fancy’s spring, but sorrow’s fall.

 

Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of Roses,

Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies

Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten:

In folly ripe, in reason rotten.

 

Thy belt of straw and Ivy buds,

The Coral clasps and amber studs,

All these in me no means can move

To come to thee and be thy love.

 

But could youth last, and love still breed,

Had joys no date, nor age no need,

Then these delights my mind might move

To live with thee, and be thy love.

 

 

 

Precepts for Young and Old by Henry William Bidwell

 Precepts for Young and Old
by H. W. Bidwell

I’d like to speak a word to you, my pretty, careless child!
I’d learn the spell that daily lures you ’midst the blossoms wild,
I’d join you and the butterflies with which you sport and play,
As innocent, as beautiful, as fairy-like as they.
I’d like to scan the purity that halos your fair brow,
To fathom all the gentle thoughts that through your bosom flow—
But oh! the wish is doubly vain, ’tis not for heart like mine
To enter that pure heaven which forms the fairy land of thine. 


I’d like to speak a word with you, my timid blushing maid—
Pausing at every step you take as if you were afraid!
As if by instinct you foresaw the weeds of woe and strife,
That grow up in the pathway of your unseen future life.
Oh! happy, ten times happy, were you could you shun the wild
And rugged waste; and turning back for ever, be a child.
You cannot! then I’d say to you, retain as best you may
The pure and holy freshness of your childhood’s cloudless day!

 

I’d like to speak a word with you, my bold and wayward youth!
I’d counsel you to cherish in your heart the love of truth;’


I’d caution you ’gainst wantonness and arrogance and pride,
And bid you fear your passions more than all the world beside.
I’d have you honour age whose precepts now you hear with scorn,
Remember! we were men, my boy, long, long ere you were born,
Have trodden long ago the path which you have yet to tread,
And now bequeath experience which may serve you when we’re dead.

I’d like to speak a word with you, brave sir, in manhood’s prime!
The world seems now your heritage, and ’tis so—for a time.
Aspire! for ’tis your birthright, but remember while you mount
You’re but a steward and some day must yield up your account.
You’re wealthy!—turn not from the poor! they share your right to live,
Or God would not have made them:—as you’ve received, so give;
Nor like the unjust creditor, seize all man’s laws allow,
You will need mercy at the last, see that you mete it now!

I’d speak to you, grey-headed man! now tottering at death’s door,
Gazing on life’s red page, by sin and sorrow blotted o’er.
How wistfully you eye that past you never may recall,
And wish, since life must end like this, you’d never lived at all.
Oh! look to Him whom you despised, while ’twas your lot to live;
Remember! mercy is His will; His first wish to forgive.
Haste! for that dark door opens! be saved while yet you may!
Alas! that it should close again, and you should pass away.

Grahamstown, October 1, 1863.