Today's poet

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stef F

I watched Much Ado About Nothing last night and enjoyed this. I thought I'd share it with you :)

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never:
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more of ditties no moe,
Of dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leavy:
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny

---

Nice one Stef, 'Hey nonny nonny' reminds me of Blackadder:D

Cheers Stef! I now have a couple mantras to help with life's little ups and downs...one is 'when you are chewing on life's gristle, give a little whistle' and the other will be 'Hey nonny nonny no!'

Anymore folks?!:D

'Stick with it, work hard and don't quit'
And a favourite of mine that my mate came out with after his first 100 mile bike ride that nearly killed him: 'Keep smiling, it's better than shopping with the wife':)

Life's a bitch, and then you die :cool:

A colleague told me this many years ago and I suppose to an extent it's true

Morning all!

Tought I'd kick off Holocaust memorial day with an offering from one of my favourite authors.

The Survivor


Once more he sees his companions' faces
Livid in the first faint light,
Gray with cement dust,
Nebulous in the mist,
Tinged with death in their uneasy sleep.
At night, under the heavy burden
Of their dreams, their jaws move,
Chewing a non-existant turnip.
'Stand back, leave me alone, submerged people,
Go away. I haven't dispossessed anyone,
Haven't usurped anyone's bread.
No one died in my place. No one.
Go back into your mist.
It's not my fault if I live and breathe,
Eat, drink, sleep and put on clothes.'

Primo Levi


maybe today I'll not whinge about my niggling injuries.

The nightingale has a lyre of gold,
The lark's is a claion call,
And the blackbird plays but a boxwood flute,
But I love him most of all.

For his song is all the joy of life,
And we in the mad, spring weather,
We two have listened 'til he sang,
Our hearts and lips together.

William Henley

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stef F

I watched Much Ado About Nothing last night and enjoyed this. I thought I'd share it with you :)

---

You can't beat a bit of Billy boy :)

One of those sections learned parrot fashion at school but that you only really understand much later in life (just a bit depressing so sorry for that :rolleyes: )

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing." — Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alf

You can't beat a bit of Billy boy :)

One of those sections learned parrot fashion at school but that you only really understand much later in life (just a bit depressing so sorry for that :rolleyes: )

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing." — Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)

---

Actually i have just read Derby Tup's "Life is a bitch then you die" which sort of sums the above up nicely :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Old Whippet

Morning all!

Tought I'd kick off Holocaust memorial day with an offering from one of my favourite authors.

The Survivor


Once more he sees his companions' faces
Livid in the first faint light,
Gray with cement dust,
Nebulous in the mist,
Tinged with death in their uneasy sleep.
At night, under the heavy burden
Of their dreams, their jaws move,
Chewing a non-existant turnip.
'Stand back, leave me alone, submerged people,
Go away. I haven't dispossessed anyone,
Haven't usurped anyone's bread.
No one died in my place. No one.
Go back into your mist.
It's not my fault if I live and breathe,
Eat, drink, sleep and put on clothes.'

Primo Levi


maybe today I'll not whinge about my niggling injuries.

---

Thanks for this OW. I had no idea it was Holocaust memorial day today but then I am not even sure what day it is let alone the date. The poem has some really stark and moving imagery.

Cheers Alf, DT and Merry for your gritty glimpses of realism.

My shopping trips are rare and short and they follow this formula:

2 shops:1cafe

Life is a bitch and then you die...depends on how hard your life is and your attitude I guess. It must be like that for some people who have to struggle everyday to stay alive, fed, free, unharmed. I feel very fortunate that if I died tomorrow I can honestly say my life had its challenges but so many great experiences and memories and I loved it for all its sad times and happy times.

It Takes One Minute...

...for life
to depart.

One minute
for pleasure to snap
and sink to gloom.

One minute
to tumble down
the deep ravine
of darness, fear
uncertainty and perplexity.

In each minute
the universe whirls
and
one minute has grown.

devadatchan

(I think that could be about survival...)

I've always taken the 'life's a bitch...' thing in a kind of philosophical shrug of the shoulders, 'tell me something I don't know', kind of a way

My colleague had another one, 'life's like a brown paperbag full of sh1t. It's okay until the bottom falls out of it!' ;):D

Life is a tragedy when seen in close up,but a comedy in long shot.

Charlie Chaplin.

All a matter of perspective i suppose.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Derby Tup

I've always taken the 'life's a bitch...' thing in a kind of philosophical shrug of the shoulders, 'tell me something I don't know', kind of a way

My colleague had another one, 'life's like a brown paperbag full of sh1t. It's okay until the bottom falls out of it!' ;):D

---

Ha ha...that is grim but funny. I like your attitude DT.:)

To misquote Forrest: "life is like a box a chocolates...which has been mislabelled, it is never holds exactly what you expect it to but sometimes the flavours are better than you could have dreamed and sometimes they take your fillings out".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tri-mind

Life is a tragedy when seen in close up,but a comedy in long shot.

Charlie Chaplin.

All a matter of perspective i suppose.

---

Now that is good!!!
My awful Indian epic 40hour train journey has now turned into an hallucinogenic comedy in the retelling but at the time it felt like hell on earth (the toilet was my refuge which says how bad it was).

Was it type high or type low Hes ?. The toilet that is.

Reveille
Primo Levi

In the brutal nights we used to dream
Dense violent dreams,
Dreamed with soul and body:
To return; to eat; to tell the story.
Until the dawn command
Sounded brief, low
'Wstawac'
And the heart cracked in the breast.

Now we have found our homes again,
Our bellies are full,
We're through telling the story.
It's time. Soon we'll hear again
The strange command:
'Wstawac'
eamed with soul and body:
To return; to eat; to tell the story.
Until the dawn command
Sounded brief, low
'Wstawac'
And the heart cracked in the breast.

Now we have found our homes again,
Our bellies are full,
We're through telling the story.
It's time. Soon we'll hear again
The strange command:
'Wstawac'

-------------------
OW good to be reminded of the importance of today, good choice of poem.

http://www.diis.dk/sw13037.asp

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hes

Now that is good!!!
My awful Indian epic 40hour train journey has now turned into an hallucinogenic comedy in the retelling but at the time it felt like hell on earth (the toilet was my refuge which says how bad it was).

---

"Life is a s**t sandwich
the more bread you have
the less s**t you eat!"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tri-mind

Was it type high or type low Hes ?. The toilet that is.

---

A squatter. It was the only place I could get any peace and quiet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by freckle

Reveille
Primo Levi

In the brutal nights we used to dream
Dense violent dreams,
Dreamed with soul and body:
To return; to eat; to tell the story.
Until the dawn command
Sounded brief, low
'Wstawac'
And the heart cracked in the breast.

Now we have found our homes again,
Our bellies are full,
We're through telling the story.
It's time. Soon we'll hear again
The strange command:
'Wstawac'
eamed with soul and body:
To return; to eat; to tell the story.
Until the dawn command
Sounded brief, low
'Wstawac'
And the heart cracked in the breast.

Now we have found our homes again,
Our bellies are full,
We're through telling the story.
It's time. Soon we'll hear again
The strange command:
'Wstawac'

-------------------
OW good to be reminded of the importance of today, good choice of poem.

http://www.diis.dk/sw13037.asp

---

Thanks for this Freckle. Along with OWs it is a poignant reminder of how much so many have suffered and how fortunate we are.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hes

Cheers Alf, DT and Merry for your gritty glimpses of realism.

My shopping trips are rare and short and they follow this formula:

2 shops:1cafe

Life is a bitch and then you die...depends on how hard your life is and your attitude I guess. It must be like that for some people who have to struggle everyday to stay alive, fed, free, unharmed. I feel very fortunate that if I died tomorrow I can honestly say my life had its challenges but so many great experiences and memories and I loved it for all its sad times and happy times.

---

2 Shops 1 Cafe, my kind of women:cool:
Taken from the book 'That Others May Live' By Senior Master Sergeant Jack Brehm about the lives of US Air Force Pararescue men.
'I've always had this idea that when we die and meet our maker, God will ask us one question. He'll say, "So-how was it?" If you answer, "Wow, what a ride" he'll welcome you with open arms, but if you complain about all the unfair events that might have caused you an unjust amount of pain, you'll get sent back because you missed the main drift. Life is good. There are bad things in the world. There are situations where you might find yourself out of control or in dire straights, but even then, there is good. It may be hard to find, but it's there'
Another thought by another Pararescue man on his job: 'Maybe you die-so what? At least you died doing something worthwhile'
Live your life as full as you possibly can and don't have any regrets when the time comes to leave.......except, maybe, that you never won the lottery:rolleyes::D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Derby Tup

Life's a bitch, and then you die :cool:

A colleague told me this many years ago and I suppose to an extent it's true

---

Mate of mine from my army days used to say 'Life's a bitch then you marry one' Funny thing is, he'd never been married:confused::D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by freckle

"Life is a s**t sandwich
the more bread you have
the less s**t you eat!"

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hes

A squatter. It was the only place I could get any peace and quiet.

---

You two ladies have a way with words:D

I suppose thats better than the normal type as any waste just leaves the train rather than hanging about in the toilet itself. And lets face it that is not a smell to be faced with in hot weather. Yuk.

A few years back I took my daughter with me to watch 'The Tempest' at The Crucible in Sheffield. Derek Jacobi gave a great performance as Prospero and this is probably our favourite passage from that play.

You do look, my son, in a moved sort,
As if you were dismay'd. Be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

—Act IV, sc. i

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Derby Tup

Life's a bitch, and then you die :cool:

A colleague told me this many years ago and I suppose to an extent it's true

---

I prefer:

Life is what you make it :cool:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alf

A few years back I took my daughter with me to watch 'The Tempest' at The Crucible in Sheffield. Derek Jacobi gave a great performance as Prospero and this is probably our favourite passage from that play.

You do look, my son, in a moved sort,
As if you were dismay'd. Be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

—Act IV, sc. i

---

Nice one Alf.

Reading the last few posts I'm unsure whether we're heading for a philosophical night, about life and endings, or one about excrement. Perhaps they're all one and the same???:D

I'm off for the evening run now but will return with great anticipation, which ever direction :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stef F

I prefer:

Life is what you make it :cool:

---

Life is indeed what you make it Stef ;):)

I have made my peace with god. It is man i have the conflict with.

Here is one for Hess.

Hares at Play
By John Clare

The birds are gone to bed the cows are still
And sheep lie panting on each old molehill
And underneath the willow’s grey-green bough
Like toil a-resting lies the fallow plough
The timid hares throw daylight fears away
On the lane road to dust and dance and play
Then dabble in the grain by nought deterred
To lick the dew-fall from the barley's beard
Then out they start again and round the hill
Like happy thoughts – dance – squat – and loiter still
Till milking maidens in the early morn
Jingle their yokes and start them in the corn
Through well-known beaten paths each nimbling hare
Starts quick as fear - and seeks its hidden lair

Did you manage to tame your hare last night or was it jugged?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tri-mind

I have made my peace with god. It is man i have the conflict with.

---

Understand mate, i don't believe in him and won't till i see him in person, got a few questions for him then;)
I still like the quote from the book though and have no problem with people who do believe, each to their own.

Ne'er mind the hare, what about poor old Molehill! :eek::D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by XRunner

Here is one for Hess.

Hares at Play
By John Clare

The birds are gone to bed the cows are still
And sheep lie panting on each old molehill
And underneath the willow’s grey-green bough
Like toil a-resting lies the fallow plough
The timid hares throw daylight fears away
On the lane road to dust and dance and play
Then dabble in the grain by nought deterred
To lick the dew-fall from the barley's beard
Then out they start again and round the hill
Like happy thoughts – dance – squat – and loiter still
Till milking maidens in the early morn
Jingle their yokes and start them in the corn
Through well-known beaten paths each nimbling hare
Starts quick as fear - and seeks its hidden lair

Did you manage to tame your hare last night or was it jugged?

---

Thanks XRunner that's lovely. I tamed one of my hares but two got away. At least the customer will get his print. Tonight my problem is my trusty steed...damn motorbike headlamp blew and there are no spares to be had in my neck of the woods. I am stranded at home whilst everyone at harriers does a timetrial. Am spitting feathers!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alf

A few years back I took my daughter with me to watch 'The Tempest' at The Crucible in Sheffield. Derek Jacobi gave a great performance as Prospero and this is probably our favourite passage from that play.

You do look, my son, in a moved sort,
As if you were dismay'd. Be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

—Act IV, sc. i

---

I have really enjoyed this and the other bard stuff that you and stef have posted...i also really really like jacobi, can anyone else remember him in a sereies on tv (probs over 20 years ago now) called life of pie, i have dim and distant memories of it being great...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hes

Thanks XRunner that's lovely. I tamed one of my hares but two got away. At least the customer will get his print. Tonight my problem is my trusty steed...damn motorbike headlamp blew and there are no spares to be had in my neck of the woods. I am stranded at home whilst everyone at harriers does a timetrial. Am spitting feathers!

---

Oh no Hes what a bummer!.....well you will have to make up for the disappointment with lots of quality poetry!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tri-mind

I suppose thats better than the normal type as any waste just leaves the train rather than hanging about in the toilet itself. And lets face it that is not a smell to be faced with in hot weather. Yuk.

---

Just for Mossy's sake I'll briefly continue this train of thought (excuse the pun). The style of the privy was fine it was the general poor aim of the passengers that made the place abhorrent. Unfortunately, open sewers and the accompanying smell (and vision) are something you just have to get used to when travelling in India (or Tibet and China for that matter). It is a small price to pay for being in incredible places and I have trained for it by going to Glastonbury Festival.;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by freckle

Oh no Hes what a bummer!.....well you will have to make up for the disappointment with lots of quality poetry!

---

Hi Freckle...I will indeed, that's enough of me talking s**t!;) I have been enjoying the Shakespeare too. I don't remember the life of pie but I do remember Cadfael and he was brilliant in that.

Vision
Thomas Hardy

That mirror
Which makes of men a transparency,
Who holds that mirror
And bids us such a breast-bare spectacle see
Of you and me?

That mirror
Whose magic penetrates like a dart,
Who lifts that mirror
And throws our mind back on us, and our heart,
until we start?

That mirror
Works well in these night hours of ache;
Why in that mirror
Are tincts we never see ourselves once take
When the world is awake?

That mirror
Can test each mortal when unaware;
Yea, that strange mirror
May catch his last thoughts, whole life foul or fair,
Glassing it -- where?

Toxic Ape

What right has man to destroy this place,
His cement and metal grotesques in our face,
Toxic ape shitting in his own nest,
Whilst all the while killing the rest.

There'll be nothing here but water filled with waste,
Oceans barren acid killed and overfished and overfaced,
It may be to late to avoid destruction and change this all,
I hope i'm not the only one that sees our decline and fall.

So we the naked ape you see may have to start again,
Brought about by our greed we have caused too much pain,
If this happens then so be it the stories will survive,
So it will never happen again and the planet will be alive.

By Matt Harmston

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hes

Hi Freckle...I will indeed, that's enough of me talking s**t!;) I have been enjoying the Shakespeare too. I don't remember the life of pie but I do remember Cadfael and he was brilliant in that.

---

Aw that's right!....i found this clip of a young jacobi reciting hamlet!.....................ding dong! (apologies!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-elDeJaPWGg

To be, or not to be: that is the question:Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;No more; and by a sleep to say we endThe heart-ache and the thousand natural shocksThat flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummationDevoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;For in that sleep of death what dreams may comeWhen we have shuffled off this mortal coil,Must give us pause: there's the respectThat makes calamity of so long life;For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,The insolence of office and the spurnsThat patient merit of the unworthy takes,When he himself might his quietus makeWith a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,To grunt and sweat under a weary life,But that the dread of something after death,The undiscover'd country from whose bournNo traveller returns, puzzles the willAnd makes us rather bear those ills we haveThan fly to others that we know not of?Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;And thus the native hue of resolutionIs sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,And enterprises of great pith and momentWith this regard their currents turn awry,And lose the name of action. - Soft you now!The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisonsBe all my sins remember'd.

Ps I would love to be referred to as a nymph, imagine?