History Poems
Let It Enfold You
by Charles Bukowski
Either peace or happiness,
let it enfold you
when I was a young man
I felt these things were
dumb, unsophisticated.
I had bad blood, a twisted
mind, a precarious
upbringing.
......
We Refugees
by Benjamin Zephaniah
I come from a musical place
Where they shoot me for my song
And my brother has been tortured
By my brother in my land.
I come from a beautiful place
Where they hate my shade of skin
They don't like the way I pray
And they ban free poetry.
......
Still I Rise
by Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
......
The Interpretation Of Nature And
by Sir Francis Bacon
I.
MAN, being the servant and interpreter of Nature, can do and understand so much and so much only as he has observed in fact or in thought of the course of nature: beyond this he neither knows anything nor can do anything.
II.
Neither the naked hand nor the understanding left to itself can effect much. It is by instruments and helps that the work is done, which are as much wanted for the understanding as for the hand. And as the instruments of the hand either give motion or guide it, so the instruments of the mind supply either suggestions for the understanding or cautions.
III.
Human knowledge and human power meet in one; for where the cause is not known the effect cannot be produced. Nature to be commanded must be obeyed; and that which in contemplation is as the cause is in operation as the rule.
......
Baby's World
by Rabindranath Tagore
I wish I could take a quiet corner in the heart of my baby's very
own world.
I know it has stars that talk to him, and a sky that stoops
down to his face to amuse him with its silly clouds and rainbows.
Those who make believe to be dumb, and look as if they never
could move, come creeping to his window with their stories and with
trays crowded with bright toys.
I wish I could travel by the road that crosses baby's mind,
and out beyond all bounds;
Where messengers run errands for no cause between the kingdoms
......
On the Streets of Old London
by Mario Odekerken
Cobblestones remember
the weight of centuries-
boots,hooves,bare feet
all pressing stories
into the cracks.
Smoke curls from chimneys
like the ghosts of industry,
and the fog-
thick,yellow,and watching-
......
The Seven Wonders
by Mario Odekerken
The seven wonders stand,
silent witnesses to time,
stones and stories carved by hands long gone.
The Great Pyramid rises,
a triangle touching the sky,
enduring through desert,winds and sun.
The Hanging Gardens breathe,
lust with forgotten green,
......
D'Artagnan
by Mario Odekerken
Niet in Parijs,
niet in een duel bij dageraad,
maar hier,
aan de rand van Maastricht,
vond him zijn einde.
Tussen rook en kruit,
tussen bevelen en stilte
viel hij
zoals hij had geleefd-
......
Polsko,ziemio ojców naszych
by Mario Odekerken
"Ballade o duszy narodu"
Próbowali nas wymazać-
traktatami,czołgami,
ciszą,co miała zagłuszyć
nasze imię.
Ale my pamiętaliśmy.
W szeleście śniegu,
w krokach po brukowanych ruinach
szeptaliśmy:Polsko,ziemio ojców naszych,
......
I KNOW MY PEOPLE
by Eric Washington
I know my people.
I've seen their suffering and their tears,
Their anger and their fears.
I've seen them work amongst the mills,
In cotton and sugar fields.
Working with bleeding hands,
And refusing to give up then.
While tortured with whips and ropes,
And they still believe in hope.
I know my people.
......
