There are so many poetry lovers here I decided to open a place for us to share our own or others(Famous) poems for discussion. Perhaps you have learned of a poem or poet in school and would like to share for disussion. Song lyric/poems are also welcome.

Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

By William Ernest Henley

At the age of 12 Henley became a victim of tuberculosis of the bone. In spite of this, in 1867 he successfully passed the Oxford local examination as a senior student. His diseased foot had to be amputated directly below the knee; physicians announced the only way to save his life was to amputate the other. Henley persevered and survived with one foot intact. He was discharged in 1875, and was able to lead an active life for nearly 30 years despite his disability. With an artificial foot, he lived until the age of 54. "Invictus" was written from a hospital bed. From 'Wikipedia'

That's a really interesting poem, especially in light of Henley's biography. Tuberculosis is a very debilitating disease but as he said in the poem, he didn't let it affect his will to live.

A poem I really like is O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman. It was written in homage to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination in 1865.

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will.
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Powerful Mizzou, I was not familiar with that one. I forgot to mention I learned Invictus in the 6th grade. Never forgot it.

I pasting my squirrel poem here so it won't lost forever when the Revolution forum is removed.

Squirrels Are Pest

The squirrels jump around~
Jump around and round and round~ (and round)
Eating Papayas~
While Singing "Yayayas"~ (This one a star)
They ate everything even raw one~
Eat everything in a tonne~ (They didn't seem fat)
Throw half eaten berries~
Then fly towards the ferries~ (Flying squirrels)
Causing trouble~
Which in a force of double~ (Feel the force)
They even look like Darth Vader~
Boldly wield their light saber~ (my goodness)
They can be a serial killer~
Or will they be a serial healer?~ (Whatever)
The squirrel are a pest~
They are likely to be detest~
Their cuteness you can't resist~
Hug them they forced you, insist~
The squirrel are a pest~
They wanted to put you in a test~
Don't let them climb up your head~
Or they'll crack your skull and leave you dead~
They unite in one and in acorn~
They'll rain on you like a scorn~
Don't feel sad as if you're thorned~
Sound the horn~
And fight them back with a corn~

I'm pasting my squirrel poem too.

Whenever, wherever you see me I scurry,
And most of the time I am in a hurry
I admit that I do adore nuts,
But I hate things that eat me,like dogs(mutts)
And while I'm here I'm going to say,
That often I am for other animals their prey
And though they discovered me in a past age,
I'm still in movies like Ice Age
Many say that I am cute
And often they feed me bits of fruit
I come in many colours like grey and red,
Stories are written about me and told when children lie in their bed
And of course I have a bushy tail,
But sometimes to escape from danger I fail
Some call me rodents,some call me pests,
But right now I need a little rest
So after telling you all this I take a bow,
I've got to look for more nuts,so goodbye for now!
~Phoenixalia

@Phoenixalia and Kinnison - great viva la revolution poems both very different.

@Oracle and Mizzou - thanks for sharing.

I'm afraid I'm not talented enough to write my own poetry. But here's one of my favourites by William Wordsworth.

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars
that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.




I guess it is very sentimental poem but I love the fact that it is only through memory that he really appreciates what a beautiful sight he saw that day. I also like the rhythm in the poem. It helps that I love daffodills

I too love metered poetry Elm. I like the feel when a poem flows effortlessly and I find myself at the end of a picture painted with words, wanting more.

When I think of poems I loved to memorize or repeat - I loved the ones with a flow and rhythm to them. Xanadu is like that and I always feel the river very clearly as I say the words.

Xanadu - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree :
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round :
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree ;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
But oh ! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover !
A savage place ! as holy and enchanted
As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover !
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced :
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail :
And 'mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean :
And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war !


The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves ;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.

It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice !
A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw :
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight 'twould win me,

That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome ! those caves of ice !
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware ! Beware !
His flashing eyes, his floating hair !
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

Thank you ljspence, all I had ever heard was the opening stanza. That is beautiful.

@elm and ljspence
Such beautiful poems.

Ljspence - I like the rhythm and flow of the poem and it definitely brings up some powerful images in your mind as you read it. Like Oracle I'd only ever heard the start so thank you for sharing the full version.

Here's one of my favorite nursery rhymes, it can soothe you to sleep:

Moon Song
by Mildred Plew Meigs

Zoon, zoon, cuddle and croon--
Over the crinkling sea,
The moon man flings him an silvered net
Fashioned of moonbeams three.

And some folks say when the net lies long
And the midnight hour is ripe;
The moon man fishes for some old song
That fell from a sailor's pipe.

And some folks say that he fishes the bars
Down where the dead ships lie,
Looking for lost little baby stars
That slid from the slippery sky.

And the waves roll out and the waves roll in
And the nodding night wind blows,
But why the moon man fishes the sea
Only the moon man knows.

Zoon, zoon, net of the moon
Rides on the wrinkling sea;
Bright is the fret and shining wet,
Fashioned of moon beams three.

And some folks say when the great net gleams
And the waves are dusky blue,
The moon man fishes for two little dreams
He lost when the world was new.

And some folks say in the late night hours,
While the long fin-shadows slide,
The moon man fishes for cold sea flowers
Under the tumbling tide.

And the waves roll out and the waves roll in
And the gray gulls dip and doze,
But why the moon man fishes the sea
Only the moon man knows.

Zoon, zoon, cuddle and croon--
Over the crinkling sea,
The moon man flings him a slivered net
Fashioned of moon beams three.

And some folks say that he follows the flecks
Down where the last light flows,
Fishing for two round gold rimmed "specs"
That blew from the end of his nose.

And some folks say while the salt sea foams
And the silver net lines snare,
The moon man fishes for carven combs
That float from the mermaids' hair.

And the waves roll out and the waves roll in
And the nodding night wind blows,
But why the moon man fishes the sea
Only the moon man knows.


@Oracle & Mizzou - Invictus and O Captain!! My Captain!! are very powerful *tears in my eyes*

One Feather, I can understand why that was one of your favorites. It is delightful.

That's a lovely rhyme Onefeather thanks for sharing. When I was reading it I kept being reminded of one of my favourite nursery rhymes as a child called the "Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear, it must be all the references to the Moon. We had a beautiful illustrated book of it. I've put a wiki link below if you want to read it

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Owl_and_the_Pussycat

I was reminded of the same thing elm

@ Oracle

What's the use?
by Ogden Nash

Sure, deck your limbs in pants,
Yours are the limbs, my sweeting.
You look divine as you advance . . .
Have you seen yourself retreating?


Who likes Mr. Nash's humor?

One Feather I have loved Ogden Nash since I was a schoolgirl in the 60's

A Word to Husbands by Ogden Nash

To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.



The Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash

Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink,
And the little gray mouse, she called him Blink,
And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard.

@OneFeather & Oracle: Those are funny. I haven't heard them before.

haven't written poems in a while. Last one I wrote was about my sister being like a snail...hmm perhaps that's why she bopped me on the head that day. XD

Warped humor warning. I should be studying actually.

It was a dark moonless night
Well, more like half moonlight
Anyway, nothing felt right
Because there was a massive fright

Everyone ran
Because of the toilet clan

They made the water closets stank
Like that gobbling bank
who put the money into their tank
and punished everyone with a spank

But back to the messy situation
It rallied the nation
Against the evil potty station

So if one needs to invigorate the country again
In times of great strain
Remember it's not war but the leaky drain
That makes people bring in the chain
Of pain