Poetry - Your choices, likes and those that move you

Goober

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Poetry - This thread is for poems. I enjoy poems but know very little about poetry. So please share your favorite poems here for the rest of us to enjoy.
Thank you
 

TenPenny

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Jun 9, 2004
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Location, Location
(Please excuse the terrible line numbering)


1 On wan dark night on Lac St. Pierre,
2 De win' she blow, blow, blow,
3 An' de crew of de wood scow "Julie Plante"
4 Got scar't an' run below—
5 For de win' she blow lak hurricane,
6 Bimeby she blow some more,
7 An' de scow bus' up on Lac St. Pierre
8 Wan arpent from de shore.

9 De captinne walk on de fronte deck,
10 An' walk de hin' deck too—
11 He call de crew from up de hole,
12 He call de cook also.
13 De cook she 's name was Rosie,
14 She come from Montreal,
15 Was chambre maid on lumber barge,
16 On de Grande Lachine Canal.

17 De win' she blow from nor' -eas' -wes',--
18 De sout' win' she blow too,
19 W'en Rosie cry, "Mon cher captinne,
20 Mon cher, w'at I shall do ?"
21 Den de captinne t'row de beeg ankerre,
22 But still de scow she dreef,
23 De crew he can't pass on de shore,
24 Becos' he los' hees skeef.

25 De night was dark lak wan black cat,
26 De wave run high an' fas',
27 W'en de captinne tak' de Rosie girl
28 An' tie her to de mas'.
29 Den he also tak' de [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]life[/COLOR] preserve,
30 An' jomp off on de lak',
31 An' say, "Good-bye, ma Rosie dear,
32 I go drown for your sak'."

33 Nex' morning very early
34 'Bout ha'f-pas' two—t'ree—four—
35 De captinne—scow—an' de poor Rosie
36 Was corpses on de shore,
37 For de win' she blow lak hurricane,
38 Bimeby she blow some more,
39 An' de scow bus' up on Lac St. Pierre,
40 Wan arpent from de shore.

MORAL

41 Now all good wood scow sailor man
42 Tak' warning by dat storm
43 An' go an' marry some nice French girl
44 An' leev on wan beeg farm.
45 De win' can blow lak hurricane
46 An' s'pose she blow some more,
47 You can't get drown on Lac St. Pierre
48 So long you stay on shore.


William Henry Drummond </B>
[/COLOR]
 

Goober

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Jan 23, 2009
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You may talk o' gin and beer
When you're quartered safe out 'ere,
An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it;
But when it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water,
An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.
Now in Injia's sunny clime,
Where I used to spend my time
A-servin' of 'Er Majesty the Queen,
Of all them blackfaced crew
The finest man I knew
Was our regimental bhisti, Gunga Din.
He was "Din! Din! Din!
You limpin' lump o' brick-dust, Gunga Din!
Hi! slippery hitherao!
Water, get it! Panee lao!
You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din."

The uniform 'e wore
Was nothin' much before,
An' rather less than 'arf o' that be'ind,
For a piece o' twisty rag
An' a goatskin water-bag
Was all the field-equipment 'e could find.
When the sweatin' troop-train lay
In a sidin' through the day,
Where the 'eat would make your bloomin' eyebrows crawl,
We shouted "Harry By!"
Till our throats were bricky-dry,
Then we wopped 'im 'cause 'e couldn't serve us all.
It was "Din! Din! Din!
You 'eathen, where the mischief 'ave you been?
You put some juldee in it
Or I'll marrow you this minute
If you don't fill up my helmet, Gunga Din!"

'E would dot an' carry one
Till the longest day was done;
An' 'e didn't seem to know the use o' fear.
If we charged or broke or cut,
You could bet your bloomin' nut,
'E'd be waitin' fifty paces right flank rear.
With 'is mussick on 'is back,
'E would skip with our attack,
An' watch us till the bugles made "Retire",
An' for all 'is dirty 'ide
'E was white, clear white, inside
When 'e went to tend the wounded under fire!
It was "Din! Din! Din!"
With the bullets kickin' dust-spots on the green.
When the cartridges ran out,
You could hear the front-files shout,
"Hi! ammunition-mules an' Gunga Din!"

I shan't forgit the night
When I dropped be'ind the fight
With a bullet where my belt-plate should 'a' been.
I was chokin' mad with thirst,
An' the man that spied me first
Was our good old grinnin', gruntin' Gunga Din.
'E lifted up my 'ead,
An' he plugged me where I bled,
An' 'e guv me 'arf-a-pint o' water-green:
It was crawlin' and it stunk,
But of all the drinks I've drunk,
I'm gratefullest to one from Gunga Din.
It was "Din! Din! Din!
'Ere's a beggar with a bullet through 'is spleen;
'E's chawin' up the ground,
An' 'e's kickin' all around:
For Gawd's sake git the water, Gunga Din!"

'E carried me away
To where a dooli lay,
An' a bullet come an' drilled the beggar clean.
'E put me safe inside,
An' just before 'e died,
"I 'ope you liked your drink", sez Gunga Din.
So I'll meet 'im later on
At the place where 'e is gone --
Where it's always double drill and no canteen;
'E'll be squattin' on the coals
Givin' drink to poor damned souls,
An' I'll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!
Yes, Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Though I've belted you and flayed you,
By the livin' Gawd that made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!


Gunga Din poem - Rudyard Kipling
 

Spade

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Nov 18, 2008
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The Tyger, William Blake, 1784
 

Goober

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Jan 23, 2009
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The Cremation Of Sam McGee by Robert William Service

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.
Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows.
He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;
Though he'd often say in his homely way that he'd "sooner live in hell".

On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson trail.
Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn't see;
It wasn't much fun, but the only one to whimper was Sam McGee.

And that very night, as we lay packed tight in our robes beneath the snow,
And the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead were dancing heel and toe,
He turned to me, and "Cap," says he, "I'll cash in this trip, I guess;
And if I do, I'm asking that you won't refuse my last request."

Well, he seemed so low that I couldn't say no; then he says with a sort of moan:
"It's the cursed cold, and it's got right hold till I'm chilled clean through to the bone.
Yet 'tain't being dead -- it's my awful dread of the icy grave that pains;
So I want you to swear that, foul or fair, you'll cremate my last remains."

A pal's last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;
And we started on at the streak of dawn; but God! he looked ghastly pale.
He crouched on the sleigh, and he raved all day of his home in Tennessee;
And before nightfall a corpse was all that was left of Sam McGee.

There wasn't a breath in that land of death, and I hurried, horror-driven,
With a corpse half hid that I couldn't get rid, because of a promise given;
It was lashed to the sleigh, and it seemed to say:
"You may tax your brawn and brains,
But you promised true, and it's up to you to cremate those last remains."

Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.
In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load.
In the long, long night, by the lone firelight, while the huskies, round in a ring,
Howled out their woes to the homeless snows -- O God! how I loathed the thing.

And every day that quiet clay seemed to heavy and heavier grow;
And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low;
The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;
And I'd often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.

Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and a derelict there lay;
It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the "Alice May".
And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum;
Then "Here," said I, with a sudden cry, "is my cre-ma-tor-eum."

Some planks I tore from the cabin floor, and I lit the boiler fire;
Some coal I found that was lying around, and I heaped the fuel higher;
The flames just soared, and the furnace roared -- such a blaze you seldom see;
And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and I stuffed in Sam McGee.

Then I made a hike, for I didn't like to hear him sizzle so;
And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and the wind began to blow.
It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I don't know why;
And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.

I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: "I'll just take a peep inside.
I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked"; . . . then the door I opened wide.

And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: "Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm --
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it's the first time I've been warm."

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.
 

Spade

Ace Poster
Nov 18, 2008
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One of my favourites is Earle Birney's Ellesmere Land. Cannot be reproduced here because of copyright restrictions. But, find it; a joy!
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
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Location, Location
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

Like many before me, I stood on the marge of Lake Lebarge and recited that poem.

It was fun.
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
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The Dying Of Pere Pierre by John McCrae
". . . with two other priests; the same night he died,
and was buried by the shores of the lake that bears his name."
Chronicle.



"Nay, grieve not that ye can no honour give
To these poor bones that presently must be
But carrion; since I have sought to live
Upon God's earth, as He hath guided me,
I shall not lack! Where would ye have me lie?
High heaven is higher than cathedral nave:
Do men paint chancels fairer than the sky?"
Beside the darkened lake they made his grave,
Below the altar of the hills; and night
Swung incense clouds of mist in creeping lines
That twisted through the tree-trunks, where the light
Groped through the arches of the silent pines:
And he, beside the lonely path he trod,
Lay, tombed in splendour, in the House of God.
 

L Gilbert

Winterized
Nov 30, 2006
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the-brights.net
I like Limericks and Haiku. Wifey's the one that likes Keats, Shelley, Burns, Longfellow, Byron, etc.

If you catch a Chinchilla in Chile
And cut off its beard, willy-nilly
You can honestly say
That you have just made
A Chilean Chinchilla's chin chilly.

There once was a mathematician
Who preferred an exotic position.
'Twas the joy of his life
to achieve with his wife
topologically complex coition.
 

shadowshiv

Dark Overlord
May 29, 2007
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While I am not a huge fan of poetry, I enjoy reading the poems created by people I know. My cousin Dean's poem about my late Uncle Tim, and the poems that Karrie posts here are ones that I have enjoyed reading(even though the subject matter was sad).:)

The Tyger, William Blake, 1784

I enjoy this poem as well, and it has been used in numerous forms of entertainment. It has been used in an Amazing Spider Man storyline, and it has also played a huge part in the television series The Mentalist(Red John uses it).
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
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Quick change, Goober?

On the road to self improvement. I enjoy coming up with threads and the responses that help me see things in a different light.

This thread I am sure I will enjoy immensely and assist me on my travel thru life.

And yes I am proud of our Canadian Poets and Kipling is one I do enjoy and many believe him an apologist for British Empire, of which I disagree. Kipling was a man with so much talent. I look forward to reading about Whitmnan and others.

Poetry can like music move the heart but more so, change how you look upon life as demonstrated in Courage by Service.

So I am waiting to be taught and learn, I am sure I will not only enjoy but grow as well.

I thank everyone for their contributions to this thread.
 

shadowshiv

Dark Overlord
May 29, 2007
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A quick note to everyone posting in this thread(or any other thread). If you notice the colour of the thread being wonky(for example, the posts are now blue instead of the normal black on this current page), please click on the 'separator' button and choose the black option before typing. Your post will then revert back to the normal colour scheme again. Thank you.

 

Johnnny

Frontiersman
Jun 8, 2007
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Third rock from the Sun
My old neighbours son who is much older than me always had a few poems he would say when you was drunk or tried to make me laugh...

Farty marty had a party
everyone was there
Tuity fruity let out a beauty
and everyone went out for air

I had a little dog and his name was jack
he went for a **** on the railroad track
the train came by
and the **** flew high
and hit the conductor right in the eye

When i was once young and had no sense
i once pissed on an electric fence
it shocked my dick and shocked my balls
and made me **** my coveralls

If i die bury me
nail my balls to a cherry tree
if they rot dont blame me
blame that ****ing cherry tree
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
I had a little dog and his name was jack
he went for a **** on the railroad track
the train came by
and the **** flew high
and hit the conductor right in the eye

Ah, that would be a Limerick. My Father (and most of his Brothers)
where former military men, so when the rum came out, we heard
many Limericks when they forgot the children still had ears.:lol:

There was an old lady from Reeds
Who swallowed a packet of seeds
Potatoes and grass
Grew out'a her ass
And she couldn't see the damn thing for weeds
 

Spade

Ace Poster
Nov 18, 2008
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There was a young man from Madras
Whose balls were made out of brass.
In stormy weather
They clanged together,
And sparks shot out of his ass!

A couple of generations ago, and earlier, children growing up on the Prairies had a culture of their own- their own games, songs, myths, and poetry. The girls shouted skipping rhymes; the boys poems of sex, bodily function, and race. Most of these are lost.
 

Mowich

Hall of Fame Member
Dec 25, 2005
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Eagle Creek
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.



From the Wasteland by TS Eliot​
 

talloola

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 14, 2006
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Vancouver Island
If you should go before me, dear, walk slowly

Down the ways of death, well-worn and wide,

For I would want to overtake you quickly

And see the journey's ending by your side.

_________________________________________________________________________

My true love hath my heart, and I have his

By just exchange one for another given:

I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss,

There never was a better bargain driven.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
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There once was a man from Nantucket
Whose dick was so long he could suck it.
And he said with a grin
As he wiped off his chin,
"If my ear were a ****, I would **** it."

:lol: