Respect Poems
The British
by Benjamin Zephaniah
Take some Picts, Celts and Silures
And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.
Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.
Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,
......
The Poem Of Zuhair
by İbn Abî Sûlmâ Zuhayr
'Does the blackened ruin, situated in the stony ground between Durraj and Mutathallam, which did not speak to me, when addressed, belong to the abode of Ummi Awfa?
'And is it her dwelling at the two stony meadows, seeming as though they were the renewed tattoo marks in the sinews of the wrist?
'The wild cows and the white deer are wandering about there, one herd behind the other, while their young are springing up from every lying-down place.
'I stood again near it, (the encampment of the tribe of Awfa,) after an absence of twenty years, and with some efforts, I know her abode again after thinking awhile.
'I recognized the three stones blackened by fire at the place where the kettle used to be placed at night, and the trench round the encampment, which had not burst, like the source of a pool.
......
Dis Poetry
by Benjamin Zephaniah
Dis poetry is like a riddim dat drops
De tongue fires a riddim dat shoots like shots
Dis poetry is designed fe rantin
Dance hall style, big mouth chanting,
Dis poetry nar put yu to sleep
Preaching follow me
Like yu is blind sheep,
Dis poetry is not Party Political
Not designed fe dose who are critical.
Dis poetry is wid me when I gu to me bed
......
Beggar To Beggar Cried
by William Butler Yeats
'TIME to put off the world and go somewhere
And find my health again in the sea air,'
Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck,
'And make my soul before my pate is bare.-
'And get a comfortable wife and house
To rid me of the devil in my shoes,'
Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck,
'And the worse devil that is between my thighs.'
And though I'd marry with a comely lass,
She need not be too comely -- let it pass,'
......
Helen Of Troy Does Countertop Dancing
by Margaret Atwood
The world is full of women
who'd tell me I should be ashamed of myself
if they had the chance. Quit dancing.
Get some self-respect
and a day job.
Right. And minimum wage,
and varicose veins, just standing
in one place for eight hours
behind a glass counter
bundled up to the neck, instead of
......
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.
......
Onder de vleugels van stilte 02
by Mario Odekerken
Onder de vleugels van stilte
ademt de wereld trager.
Gedachten worden lichter
wanneer woorden verdwijnen.
Jouw aanwezigheid
weegt niets
en toch vult zij
elke ruimte in mij.
......
Onder de vleugels van stilte
by Mario Odekerken
Onder de vleugels van stilte
vinden onze zielen elkaar
zonder haast,
zonder vragen.
Liefde ademt daar
waar woorden tekortschieten.
Niet als bezit,
maar als aanwezigheid
die zichzelf herkent in de ander.
......
Beneath the wings of silence
by Mario Odekerken
Beneath the wings of silence
our souls find one another
without haste,
without question.
Love breathes
where words fall short.
Not as possession,
but as presence-
recognizing itself in the other.
......
Unter den Flügeln der Stille
by Mario Odekerken
Unter den Flügeln der Stille
finden sich unsere Seelen
ohne Eile,
ohne Fragen.
Die Liebe atmet
wo Worte versagen.
Nicht als Besitz,
sondern als Gegenwart,
die sich im Anderen erkennt.
......
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Slava P, aka Maximus Decimus Meridius (3 poems about Respect)
October 31st, 1970 - Kyiv, Ukraine and since 1992 - New Jersey, USA -