Arts & Humanities

What's your favourite poem?

Arts & Humanities

Posted by: flyingace

19th Oct 2011 09:19pm

My is a soul touched by the spirit is like a tree touch by the sun, it sends forth its buds and leaves, its blossoms and its fruits, generous in its graditude.

Comments 20

Anonymous
  • 3rd Mar 2012 12:46pm

i am an old man a man of poo i did a wee on a guy named 2 i run around a bench and sat on it i am a man a man of it

paradox
  • 25th Nov 2011 01:12pm

Its me again flyingace, I'm not sure if this satirical, funny Poem will make it through the vetting process, but I think it's relevant to today's tax system. I love it!!!
>
> The Country was in a terrible state,
> As the Parliament sat for the Budget Debate.
> It was quite a few minutes before Gillard spoke,
> Then she said, 'Sex will cost you two bucks a poke,
> Whether your short, skinny or thick.
> A tax will be paid on the use of your prick'.
>
> Penny Wong rose and said 'Julia look here,
> Will this tax apply to those who are queer?'
> Greenie Bob Brown looked rather glum,
> 'May I be exempt, I only like bum.'
> Julia replied and sounded quite airy
> 'You'll pay double you dirty old fairy'
>
> Up rose Tony Abbott, to tremendous applause
> Grabbed Julie Bishop and ripped off her drawers
> He straddled across her and fucked her at will
> Then shouted to Gillard, 'Put that on the Bill'!
>
> Wayne Swan shouted, 'I think I'll resign,
> I haven't had sex for a very long time.
> I dream every night of a big juicy crutch,
> But two bucks a go .. that's too fucking much.'
>
> The House was in uproar, the fighting went on,
> Till Turnbull banged on the Bar with his dong,
> 'With a tax on a poke in the front and the back
> All we can do is have a good whack.'
> I disagree said Joyce with a leer,
> And stuck his big prick into Bob Katter's ear.
>
> The backbenchers came and the Cabinet went
> Rudd took his out and found it was bent.
> 'Look here', he cried as it swung in the air,
> 'For those who are bent a discount is fair.'
> So all checked their dicks, the Speaker was last,
> And in the excitement, the damn Bill was passed.
>
> So now in the beds of Australia at night,
> There's many a fanny that's closed up real tight.
> They're taxing our booze and taxing our smokes
> And now the bastards are taxing our pokes.
>
> If two bucks a head is the price we must pay
> It now with ourselves we find we must play
> To quench our frustrations we must have a wank
> And for the state of our Country - we've
Gillard to thank!

jatz50
  • 22nd Nov 2011 10:02pm

This poem is author unknown but it was written by a soldier. I have always loved this poem and actually have printed it up and laminated it. I hope you also enjoy it.

I’m Free

Don’t grieve for me now, I’m free,
I’m following the path God laid for me.

I took his hand when I heard him call,
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I found that place at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss –
Ah yes, these things, I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life was full, I savoured much –
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps, my time seemed all too brief,
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.

Life up your hearts and share with me,
God wanted me and set me free.


Author Unknown

Nefertari
  • 22nd Nov 2011 01:30pm

Hi all.....I have read some really lovely poems, but one of my favourite inspirational poems would have to be 'Desiderata' written by Max Ehrmann in 1927.. This is a very inspirational poem and when I feel a bit depressed I often read this . It is well worth a look to anyone who has not read it. As far as Australian poems go my favourites among these are just far too numerous to mention but I guess the most outstanding one would be 'My Country' written by 19yr old Dorothea MacKellar...this poem describes exactly how I feel about my homeland

Nefertari
  • 22nd Nov 2011 01:27pm

Hi all.....I have read some really lovely poems, but one of my favourite inspirational poems would have to be 'Desiderata' written by Max Ehrmann in 1927.. This is a very inspirational poem and when I feel a bit depressed I often read this . It is well worth a look to anyone who has not read it. As far as Australian poems go my favourites among these are just far too numerous to mention but I guess the most outstanding one would be 'My Country' written by 19yr old Dorothea MacKellar...this poem describes exactly how I feel about my homeland

trix56
  • 22nd Nov 2011 11:41am

Favourites change from day to day. Here's one:-

Out of the blackness
becomes blue
Light dawns on another day
Is it sunny skies I see ahead
Or just a fine mist of grey
It could be
any day
any day

GoBears
  • 21st Nov 2011 11:10pm

Hi flyingace. Lovely poem. I tend to like shorter poems like this because in a few words they can convey such a beautiful message. I've written a handful of short poems over the years and thought this topic was appropriate for me to share one of them and see what you think. My poems tend to be of a sombre theme like war and loss, but I'll share this one on drug addiction that I think the forum here might like. I've given up sharing them on online poetry sites because they all seem to be scams offering bogus prizes and competitions. lol, a lesson learnt fast there. ;) Anyway, this one is called:- Coloured Candy.

Pink, yellow, blue...candy,
Put them in your mouth,
Cause they look so dandy.

Wait a few minutes,
Soon you'll hit the deck,
It won't take long,
Just another sec.

Is that a fairy dragon?
Or a multi-coloured snake?
Wake up from your demise,
Your sanity is at stake.

Your head's a spinning top,
Your heart starts racing,
Make the call to stop,
It's your life you're wasting.

CAT17
  • 21st Nov 2011 07:32pm

Hi flyingrace! I love words and putting my thoughts down. You are right about the story tellers being so very important and where would we "modern" people be without the wonderful stories that have come down through the generations. I have started a journal which I hope will be read by my children to their children (when they are old enough) so they will know where they come from (at least from my side). Both my parents had already passed before my children were born, so I feel it is my duty (a pleasant one) to tell the family "story"

pietam6
  • 4th Nov 2011 11:18am

Poetry can be so empowering and inspiring. The quote used from 'Invicta' in the film of Nelson Madela's life which says "I am the captain of my destiny, I am the master of my soul", syas it all to me.

pietam6
  • 19th Nov 2011 08:15pm
Hi pietam6 the quote by Nelson Madela is a very powerful one and one I have liked for a very long time. It really explains us as humans and the fact that we have rights, but also we have...

Hi CAT17,
your mother sounds like a remarkable woman. Story tellers are very important, they keep our lives alight and our memories alive. I wish to have the ability to write also. My mother also was a storyteller and I found it endlessly fascinating. You are right about rights and responsibilties...very important we own both! Cornwell is a beautiful part of the world, and given to stories of all kinds. Don't know about your not having an ability to write...you seem to express yourself very well! My mother was a playwright...so she was very capable with words (something I also love). Language and the juidical use of words is so important!

CAT17
  • 19th Nov 2011 07:56pm
Poetry can be so empowering and inspiring. The quote used from 'Invicta' in the film of Nelson Madela's life which says "I am the captain of my destiny, I am the master of my soul", syas it all to...

Hi pietam6 the quote by Nelson Madela is a very powerful one and one I have liked for a very long time. It really explains us as humans and the fact that we have rights, but also we have responsibilities that come with those rights. My Mother wrote poetry (only published in local papers or mags) but she had a way with words. She is of Cornish decent and all the old folk lore tales she was told as a child she put them done in poetry form. As children she wrote poems about our cat and about places we had lived. I used to ask her where the words came from and she said she didn't know they were just there waiting to be put on paper. Do you write? I wish the ability had passed on to me, but alas no.

flyingace
  • 4th Nov 2011 02:13pm
Poetry can be so empowering and inspiring. The quote used from 'Invicta' in the film of Nelson Madela's life which says "I am the captain of my destiny, I am the master of my soul", syas it all to...

Hi pietam6, Yes I agee with you and its so beautiful thank you.

paradox
  • 21st Oct 2011 08:05pm

Hi there, I have numerous favourites but they are in my native language and lose meaning in translation. However I like what should be our national anthem as it describes what and who we are.




I came from the dream-time,
From the dusty red-soil plains.
I am the ancient heart,
The keeper of the flame.
I stood upon the rocky shores,
I watched the tall ships come,
For forty thousand years I've been
The first Australian.

I came upon the prison ship,
Bowed down by iron chains,
I fought the land, endured the lash,
And waited for the rains.
I'm a settler, I'm a farmer's wife
On a dry and barren run,
A convict, then a free man,
I became Australian.

I'm the daughter of a digger
Who sought the mother lode.
The girl became a woman
On the long and dusty road.
I'm a child of the Depression,
I saw the good times come,
I'm a bushie, I'm a battler,
I am Australian.

We are one, but we are many,
And from all the lands on earth we come.
We'll share a dream and sing with one voice,
"I am, you are, we are Australian"

I'm a teller of stories,
I'm a singer of songs,
I am Albert Namatjira
And I paint the ghostly gums.
I'm Clancy on his horse,
I'm Ned Kelly on the run,
I'm the one who waltzed Matilda,
I am Australian.

I'm the hot wind from the desert,
I'm the black soil of the plains,
I'm the mountains and the valleys,
I'm the drought and flooding rains.
I am the rock, I am the sky,
The rivers when they run,
The spirit of this great land,
I am Australian.

We are one, but we are many,
And from all the lands on earth we come.
We'll share a dream and sing with one voice,
"I am, you are, we are Australian."

"I am, you are, we are Australian."

MagicSilverWhite
  • 3rd Mar 2012 10:21am
Hi there, I have numerous favourites but they are in my native language and lose meaning in translation. However I like what should be our national anthem as it describes what and who we...

Agreed!

CAT17
  • 21st Nov 2011 06:41pm
Hi again CAT, I am also undecided about the 40 000 years, but I also am in two minds about the descendants of the first Australians. I have lived for nearly 45 years in the NT and have done a lot...

Hi there paradox! I agree that there are good amongst our indigenous people and would not deny that. However getting back to the 40,0000 years issue that came about by scientists or similar putting a date on the ochre paintings found in the caves. The thing is, ofcourse the ochre could be thousands of years old and there is no dispute in that claim, but to say the paintings were done then just does not make sense. Where did the aborignals live during the flood or the ice age (which scientists have agreed was around 10,000 years ago. Humans just have not lived on this earth that long. But ofcourse this is where many agree to disagree. This might get some replies to me!

paradox
  • 20th Nov 2011 01:16pm
Hi paradox one of the best written about Australia, except I don't say "40,000 years" that is not right, no one has lived in Australia for that long even though the Aboriginies are the first...

Hi again CAT, I am also undecided about the 40 000 years, but I also am in two minds about the descendants of the first Australians. I have lived for nearly 45 years in the NT and have done a lot of work in the bush. I had excellent relationships with Aboriginal people and some utterly bad ones. Unfortunately the bad experiences outweighed the good ones and feel that these drag down the rest.
However I would like to relate a short story regarding a kindness being repaid a hundred fold with an unforgettable experience. In the 1970's I was working (3 to 4 weeks at a time) in Arnhem-land near the East Alligator River and happened to pick up 10 or 12 Indigenous who's vehicle had broken down. Even tho it was cramped and hot in my 4x4 and a long way out of my way I drove them to their settlement. While there and in later days and weeks I was able to repair some of their dwellings that had fallen into disrepair. My builder/employer was quite helpful in this and I had something to do on my days off other than going fishing.
I was offered their full hospitality and invited by one of their elders to a guided tour of their lands. For anyone that has not been to the Sandstone country of Arnhem-land it is an opportunity missed. Anyway I was given a tour that I will never ever forget and shown secluded locations and cave paintings (no camera allowed) that are to this day not able to be accessed by uninitiated folk.
The country around there is amazing, sandstone cliffs of all shapes and sizes, secluded Billabongs and clear water streams. Idyllic camp areas that were still being used then and waterfalls that made you want to strip and dash under the curtain of water cascading down from the cliffs.
Although I eventually my visits to this community became less and less, I was always welcomed with open arms and invited to stay a little while. It is of course their traditional lands and protected under the Aboriginal Land rights act and is hopefully under management by the Elders of the tribe.

CAT17
  • 19th Nov 2011 08:01pm
Hi there, I have numerous favourites but they are in my native language and lose meaning in translation. However I like what should be our national anthem as it describes what and who we...

Hi paradox one of the best written about Australia, except I don't say "40,000 years" that is not right, no one has lived in Australia for that long even though the Aboriginies are the first Australians. Other than that mistake, I do love the words and yes it is a wonderful song.

flyingace
  • 22nd Oct 2011 12:51pm
hi flyingace, this poem is actually a song by The Seekers and is well known. look it up on Utube. I think it would make a good alternative anthem.

hi paradox, thanks I will look it up.

paradox
  • 21st Oct 2011 09:48pm
HI paradox and thanks for replying to my topic and that poem is great and it is alot better them mine

hi flyingace, this poem is actually a song by The Seekers and is well known. look it up on Utube. I think it would make a good alternative anthem.

flyingace
  • 21st Oct 2011 08:18pm
Hi there, I have numerous favourites but they are in my native language and lose meaning in translation. However I like what should be our national anthem as it describes what and who we...

HI paradox and thanks for replying to my topic and that poem is great and it is alot better them mine

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