Respect Poems
Wij eisen de nacht op
by Mario Odekerken
Wij eisen de nacht op.
Niet als een verzoek,
maar als een recht.
Zodra de zon zakt,
veranderen onze lichamen
in voorzorgsmaatregelen.
Sleutels tussen vingers,
namen op apps,
blikken over schouders
......
Explanation Of An Antique Gem
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
A YOUNG fig-tree its form lifts high
Within a beauteous garden;
And see, a goat is sitting by.
As if he were its warden.
But oh, Quirites, how one errs!
The tree is guarded badly;
......
A Dream
by Robert Burns
Guid-Mornin' to our Majesty!
May Heaven augment your blisses
On ev'ry new birth-day ye see,
A humble poet wishes.
My bardship here, at your Levee
On sic a day as this is,
Is sure an uncouth sight to see,
Amang thae birth-day dresses
Sae fine this day.
......
A New Temperance Poem, In Memory Of My Departed Parents, Who Were Sober Living & God Fearing People
by William Topaz McGonagall
My parents were sober living, and often did pray
For their family to abstain from intoxicating drink alway;
Because they knew it would lead them astray
Which no God fearing man will dare to gainsay.
Some people do say that God made strong drink,
But he is not so cruel I think;
To lay a stumbling block in his children's way,
And then punish them for going astray.
......
A Poet's Voice Xv
by Khalil Gibran
Part One
The power of charity sows deep in my heart, and I reap and gather the wheat in bundles and give them to the hungry.
My soul gives life to the grapevine and I press its bunches and give the juice to the thirsty.
Heaven fills my lamp with oil and I place it at my window to direct the stranger through the dark.
I do all these things because I live in them; and if destiny should tie my hands and prevent me from so doing, then death would be my only desire. For I am a poet, and if I cannot give, I shall refuse to receive.
Humanity rages like a tempest, but I sigh in silence for I know the storm must pass away while a sigh goes to God.
......
Your promise became meaningless
by Mario Odekerken
Your promise became meaningless,
like echoes fading in an empty room.
Once,they held weight,
now they drift
unnoticed
through the quiet
between us.
Wij eisen de nacht op
by Mario Odekerken
Wij eisen de nacht op.
Niet als een verzoek,
maar als een recht.
Zodra de zon zakt,
veranderen onze lichamen
in voorzorgsmaatregelen.
Sleutels tussen vingers,
namen op apps,
blikken over schouders
......
Ode aan de Limburgers
by Mario Odekerken
Jullie dragen het land in zachtheid,
met een tongval die zingt,
zelfs in alledaagse woorden.
Tussen heuvels en boomgaarden
staan jullie met beide voeten
in grond die altijd vruchtbaar lijkt,
niet alleen voor wijn en graan,
maar ook voor gastvrijheid.
......
Om jou
by Mario Odekerken
Om jou draai my gedagtes
soos wind om 'n stil boom,
nie om te breek nie,
maar om teenwoordig te wees.
Ek kyk na jou
soos water kyk na lig,
nie om dit vas te hou nie,
maar om dit te weerkaats.
......
If ever we meet again
by Mario Odekerken
Do not speak.
Let the silence carry all that time could not.
Look at me like you remember-
not the end,
but the beginning.
If ever we meet again,
let it be as two storms passing,
recognizing the wind in one another.
No apologies.
......
-
Slava P, aka Maximus Decimus Meridius (3 poems about Respect)
October 31st, 1970 - Kyiv, Ukraine and since 1992 - New Jersey, USA -