Weekly Contest
Classic poem of the day
God made the country, and man made the town.
What wonder then that health and virtue, gifts
That can alone make sweet the bitter draught
That life holds out to all, should most abound
And least be threaten'd in the fields and groves?
Possess ye, therefore, ye, who, borne about
In chariots and sedans, know no fatigue
But that of idleness, and taste no scenes
But such as art contrives, possess ye still
Your element; there only can ye shine;
There only mind's like yours can do no harm.
Our groves were planted to console at noon
The pensive wanderer in their shades. At eve
The moonbeam, sliding softly in between
The sleeping leaves, is all the light they wish,
Birds warbling all the music. We can spare
The splendour of your lamps; they but eclipse
Our softer satellite. Your songs confound
Our more harmonious notes: the thrush departs
Scar'd, and th' offended nightingale is mute.
There is a public mischief in your mirth;
It plagues your country. Folly such as yours,
Grac'd with a sword, and worthier of a fan,
Has made, which enemies could ne'er have done,
Our arch of empire, steadfast but for you,
A multilated structure, soon to fall.
member poem of the day
You
I know you.
You need something to believe in.
No.
You want something to believe in.
There is only yourself and the swollen paste of the world
smeared against a broken window pane.
You grope in darkness, but cut your finger,
bleeding despondency.
I wish I could give you something to believe in.
I wish I could give you myself.
I wish I could promise, if you believe in me,
I would never let you down.
But you deserve more than me.
You deserve more than my heart broken and taped back together
with the spare ends left behind on the roll.
You deserve more than my worn-out body
exhausted from sleepless, tear-soaked nights.
If every heart comes with a price tag,
mine is worth pennies floating in a shopping mall.
You deserve love like
priceless pearls swimming in seas of silver.
If only I could give you forgiveness, compassion, closure,
freedom from your guilt, your pain, your burdens.
If only I could kiss your lips and grant you peace,
hold you in my arms and dispel your fears.
I know you
like I know my own soul.
I see my pain reflected in your eyes.
If only I could give you what I cannot give myself.
