Alone"

by: Ambrose Bierce

In contact, lo! the flint and steel,
By sharp and flame, the thought reveal
That he the metal, she the stone,
Had cherished secretly alone.
"Freedom"
by: Ambrose Bierce
Freedom, as every schoolboy knows,
nce shrieked as !osciusko fell"
n every wind, indeed, that blows
I hear her yell.
#he screams whenever monarchs meet,
$nd parliaments as well,
To bind the chains about her feet
$nd toll her knell.
$nd when the sovereign people cast
The votes they cannot spell,
%pon the pestilential blast
Her clamors swell.
For all to whom the power&s given
To sway or to compel,
$mong themselves apportion Heaven
$nd give her Hell.
Passion
by: Charlotte Bronte
#'( have won a wild delight,
By daring wilder sorrow"
)ould I gain thy love to*night,
I&d ha+ard death to*morrow.
)ould the battle*struggle earn
ne kind glance from thine
eye,
How this withering heart would
burn,
The heady fight to try !
,elcome nights of broken sleep,
$nd days of carnage cold,
)ould I deem that thou wouldst
weep
To hear my perils told.
Tell me, if with wandering bands
I roam full far away,
,ilt thou, to those distant
lands,
In spirit ever stray -
,ild, long, a trumpet sounds
afar"
Bid mebid me go
,here #eik and Briton meet in
war,
n Indian #utle.&s flow.
Blood has dyed the #utle.&s
waves
,ith scarlet stain, I know"
Indus& borders yawn with graves,
/et, command me go !
Though rank and high the
holocaust
f nations, steams to heaven,
0lad I&d .oin the death*doomed
host,
,ere but the mandate given.
1assion&s strength should nerve
my arm,
Its ardour stir my life,
Till human force to that dread
charm
#hould yield and sink in wild
alarm,
2ike trees to tempest*strife.
If, hot from war, I seek thy
love,
3arest thou turn aside -
3arest thou, then, my fire
reprove,
By scorn, and maddening
pride -
4omy will shall yet control
Thy will, so high and free,
$nd love shall tame that haughty
soul
/estenderest love for me.
I&ll read my triumph in thine
eyes,
Behold, and prove the change"
Then leave, perchance, my noble
pri+e,
nce more in arms to range.
I&d die when all the foam is up,
The bright wine sparkling
high"
4or wait till in the e5hausted
cup
2ife&s dull dregs only lie.
Then 2ove thus crowned with
sweet reward,
Hope blest with fulness large,
I&d mount the saddle, draw the
sword,
$nd perish in the charge !
Life
by: Charlotte Bronte
2IF(, believe, is not a dream
#o dark as sages say"
ft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
#ometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all"
If the shower will make the roses
bloom,
why lament its fall -
6apidly, merrily,
2ife&s sunny hours flit by,
0ratefully, cheerily,
(n.oy them as they fly !
,hat though 3eath at times steps in
$nd calls our Best away -
,hat though sorrow seems to win,
&er hope, a heavy sway -
/et hope again elastic springs,
%ncon7uered, though she fell"
#till buoyant are her golden wings,
#till strong to bear us well.
'anfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
)an courage 7uell despair !
Parting
by: Charlotte Bronte
TH(6(&# no use in weeping,
Though we are condemned to part8
There&s such a thing as keeping
$ remembrance in one&s heart8
There&s such a thing as dwelling
n the thought ourselves have
nurs&d,
$nd with scorn and courage telling
The world to do its worst.
,e&ll not let its follies grieve
us,
,e&ll .ust take them as they come"
$nd then every day will leave us
$ merry laugh for home.
,hen we&ve left each friend and
brother,
,hen we&re parted wide and far,
,e will think of one another,
$s even better than we are.
(very glorious sight above us,
(very pleasant sight beneath,
,e&ll connect with those that love
us,
,hom we truly love till death !
In the evening, when we&re sitting
By the fire perchance alone,
Then shall heart with warm heart
meeting,
0ive responsive tone for tone.
,e can burst the bonds which chain
us,
,hich cold human hands have
wrought,
$nd where none shall dare restrain
us
,e can meet again, in thought.
#o there&s no use in weeping,
Bear a cheerful spirit still"
4ever doubt that Fate is keeping
Future good for present ill !
Regret (184!
by: Charlotte Bronte
LONG ago I wished to leave
9 The house where I was born" 9
2ong ago I used to grieve,
'y home seemed so forlorn.
In other years, its silent rooms
,ere filled with haunting fears"
4ow, their very memory comes
&ercharged with tender tears.
2ife and marriage I have known,
Things once deemed so bright"
4ow, how utterly is flown
(very ray of light !
&'id the unknown sea of life
I no blest isle have found"
$t last, through all its wild
wave&s strife,
'y bark is homeward bound.
Farewell, dark and rolling deep !
Farewell, foreign shore !
pen, in unclouded sweep,
Thou glorious realm before !
/et, though I had safely pass&d
That weary, ve5ed main,
ne loved voice, through surge and
blast,
)ould call me back again.
Though the soul&s bright morning
rose
&er 1aradise for me,
,illiam ! even from Heaven&s repose
I&d turn, invoked by thee !
#torm nor surge should e&er arrest
'y soul, e5ulting then8
$ll my heaven was once thy breast,
,ould it were mine again !
Remind "e #ot$ Remind "e
#ot
by: %eorge %ordon$ Lord Byron
6emind me not, remind me not,
f those beloved, those
vanish&d hours,
,hen all my soul was given
to thee"
Hours that may never be forgot,
Till Time unnerves our vital
powers,
$nd thou and I shall cease
to be.
)an I forget***canst thou forget,
,hen playing with thy golden
hair,
How 7uick thy fluttering
heart did move-
h! by my soul, I see thee yet,
With eyes so languid, breast so fair,
$nd lips, though silent,
breathing love.
,hen thus reclining on my breast,
Those eyes threw back a glance
so sweet,
$s half reproach&d yet
rais&d desire,
$nd still we near and nearer prest,
$nd still our glowing lips
would meet,
$s if in kisses to e5pire.
$nd then those pensive eyes would
close,
$nd bid their lids each other
seek,
:eiling the a+ure orbs
below"
,hile their long lashes& darken&d
gloss
#eem&d stealing o&er thy
brilliant cheek,
2ike raven&s plumage
smooth&d on snow.
I dreamt last night our love
return&d,
$nd, sooth to say, that very
dream
,as sweeter in its phantasy,
Than if for other hearts I burn&d,
For eyes that ne&er like thine
could beam
In 6apture&s wild reality.
Then tell me not, remind me not,
f hours which, though for ever
gone,
)an still a pleasing dream
restore,
Till Thou and I shall be forgot,
$nd senseless, as the
mouldering stone
,hich tells that we shall
be no more.
Peter Junker
LOVESICK
In Starbucks
A whale-sied !u" of !offee is #y e$!use
to kee" sitting in a hard !hair,
looking toward the glass door be!ause
of a feeling that you are looking for #e,
that you will guess where I a#, be!ause
your desire to find #e is so strong%
When you find #e, when I see your eyes,
I&ll be afraid to s"eak%
Professional hel" !alls this transferen!e,
fantasy, delusion, obsession%
'ut God is said to do (ust this for us)
*ind us out in our desire and fear%
+y !u" of e$!uses is e#"ty% I a# !aught
in #y idolatry of you like a hooked fish
with no heart left to fight%
Be With Me
at one hour before sunrise in the heart
of ,okyo, in the hotel where radio
snooe alar#s offer birdsong for those guests
whose #e#ories of !ountryside linger%
'e with #e on that low bed I re!all
as lonely at dusk, when the radio
offered !ri!kets and owlsong for #y soul,
a restless foreigner there on business%
'e where the !urtain !an&t avert the glow
of -hinagawa&s sear!hlights fro# our eyes%
Muse
If I forget you, who will #ake #e !hoose
#y words with su!h !are. I&# driving fro# work,
working the brake and the gas like a loo#
treadle) weaving nowhere, fearing so#eday
I&ll wake to find #yself arrayed in shroud%
,he stit!h of a #e#ory of beauty
is all the hint I have that in your ar#s
I was laid slain% 'ut now you&re on the la#
and I&# wra""ed u" in #yself in #y !ar
in #y ne!ktie fro# /er#es of Paris%
Impeachment
+y love, I e!ho what +a(ority
Leader Lott said when he said 0I don&t think
the !ir!u#stan!es now !all for so#ething
that anybody !ould inter"ret as
nothing % % % I think we have "assed the "oint where
we #ight wish this thing away%0 ,he leader&s
s"ee!h--the #ildest of alar#s--alar#ed #e
at #y #orning "a"er% I was !hewing
on a bagel after failing to slee",
wishing to inter"ret #y !o!k away%
14 Years
,he #ugs, all "ut-u"on inside their nook
are slowly losing their "erfe!t edges%
,he stoveto" rarely but 1ui!kly gets hot%
-o#e dishwater stands filing in the sink%
,he #arriage in its adoles!en!e looks
like so#ething bigger than the both of us%
Our love leans on the la#inate !ounter
near the !luster to#atoes, #aturing
with the last green bananas in the bun!h,
by this week&s bag of bargain sandwi!h loaf%
The Cold Front
Listen, I need to say so#ething about
love, and how it feels to break like a !loud
when "ressure ones #i$ it u" like brawlers,
"ushing you around fa#iliar lands!a"es
until at last you go s"iraling u",
far out of sight of all your old gutters%
In the !old, you find yourself to !ling to
and your self is too #u!h to bear% 2ou fall
dro" by dro" on whatever !han!e #atter
!ares or doesn&t !are to !at!h you% ,hat&s all%
Frosty the Snowman
A snow #an&s a vain thing% /e&s looking for
so#e"la!e to look--1ui!k--to see his silk hat,
his aristo!rat&s nose, his artfully
s!ul"ted body--1ui!k--before it&s all gone%
Where is that "olished brook i!e where he !an
see hi#self. /e&s a sorry Nar!issus,
without roots or guts, running
fro# the sun% Were he to "ause for the "at
of your #ittens, he #ight wee" and not sto"%
-o he runs, teasing the thaw, dro" by dro"%
nre!uited "ne
+y love is not a flower, but a tree
in flower, in s"ring, in ,allahassee
or ,alladega) the #agnolia, whose
thirsty, wandering roots suggest a tree
that ever wishes to be so#ewhere else,
whose evergreen leaves never lose their gloss,
who grows like a weed in negle!ted lots
yet in hothouses !hokes with non!halan!e,
whose snowy flowers beat all get out, whose
heady s!ent feeds #e le#on and a""le%
nre!uited Two
I !an tell you what flower I a# not)
Fritillaria imperialis
the e#"eror of the garden, taller
than the hya!inths or begonias,
orange with "ride and ri!h with the legend
of its hu#iliation) When 3hrist hung
fro# the 4o#an tree, the flowers below
bowed in sorrow, all but the e#"eror,
who was thereafter doo#ed to hang its loud
bell-like bloo#s) li#", abased, and ennobled%
To the Moon
I was unne!essary to you, yet
still you allowed #e to thrill as I wat!hed
your #oody rounds, radiant in blue #ist%
I&# unne!essary to 3hrist, who was
and is and will be with or without #e,
yet still "lies "oets% ,hus beauty !o##ands
its sub(e!ts% One night, in your glow,
so#ething told #e I&# unne!essary
to #y love% ,his is hard, hard to re"eat)
I&ve lost you #oon oh 3hrist #y love I&ve lost%
Withdrawal
-hakes"eare wasn&t afraid of the word, lust#
whi!h to hi# #eant an unsated !raving
for love or revenge or "ower, ani#al
nature unleashed, soul shaken to its roots,
but I&# not -hakes"eare, and if I lust for you
you won&t hear it fro# #e% I "resu#e you
"er!eive #y wit) for now, of !ourse, you&ll not
hear anything fro# #e% 2ou&re (ust a "ill
for #y #use, a slight girl with brown eyes who&ll
sing when love ends her nauseous, tre#or&d hell%
But Then $%ain
-o#eti#es I wish the !ruelty in #e
!ould be "urer, less i#bued with virtues
like !on!ern for you, !aution, !hastity
and a#nesia% I would send you e-#ails,
ten lines of vanity daily, to wit,
this fool "oetry that ro!ks #e slee"less)
ru##age sales of tarnished (ewelry, !lothes
gone velvety with wear, and unwound !lo!ks%
-o#eti#es I wish to #ake you "onder #e
#ore than I "onder you% ,hat&s !ruelty%
September# 1&&&
,hat was the su##er of earth1uakes% ,urkey,
Ar#enia, ,aiwan and +e$i!o
grew "oorer in lives% *ew wanted to see
their latest ruins--but the saints who did
"ro!lai#ed wonders% ,hat was the su##er
you found #e again after I left you
for dead to #y soul% ,he e#otional
te!toni!s do their work) when our latest kiss
draws #y li"s over the vale of your throat,
ages "ass in uns"eakable beauty%
"n My Commute
,here is a sign for a watering hole
on 4oswell 4oad) A golden fa!e says 0-#ile
Is Our +otto%0 I ought not, but I s#ile
and drift lanes, wondering, !ould this be our
#otto. And if so, !ould it #ake us laugh.
And if it did, would God&s ears turn red,
still ringing with our #ore so#ber #ottoes
"i!ked u" on roads whose signs we !ouldn&t read.
I want to sto" and lift a golden drink
for how the !urves of your s#ile drive #e so%
'o(e Matters
5oes it #atter. I don&t know if it does%
It&s like this) last night I "re"ared a feast,
gra"es and a""les, al#onds, figs and olives,
bread and two !heeses "i!ked for a #arriage
in our #ouths with the "erfe!t sweet 4iesling%
'ut you were too "reo!!u"ied--telling
#e you are surely not in love with #e
and lying on #y !hest, !las"ing #y hand--
to en(oy it% -o#eti#es love&s !raved like the
!ho!olate rugala!h I forgot to serve%
'o(e Matters# Finale
Our #andate has !hanged, #y love% 2our husband
even now is !li#bing into his tru!k,
his #ind filled with thoughts of his turtledove
!rou!hed above hi#, eyes s1ueeed tight% Isn&t it
interesting, all the things that we share.
'ut fa!ts being what they are, I a# loath
to bond with the #an beyond feeling your
tou!h in our res"e!tive waking drea#s% *ar
be it for #e to linger in love&s ar#s%
5o I #atter. I don&t know if I do%
)entleman in Waitin%
5oes it hurt. -o#e% 5oes it hurt. -o#e% 5oes it
hurt. 2es, but no #ore than laulite, a
blue ge#stone with a vitreous luster--
#eaning glassy looking--is #ade of glass
or hurts when the ge#!utter&s grinder #akes
it less to #ake it #ore% I #ust believe
that your leaving #e will have a kinder
"ur"ose than to "olish #y forfeiture)
Only if I die first will it be hell%
Love #e one hour before and I&ll die well%