Dare to Be a Poet

i carry your heart with me

thL — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:26:09 +0000

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

by e.e. cummings

***This, quite possibly, is one of my favorite pieces of literature, ever!

Filed under: Others' Poetry

You Are What You Think

thL — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:53:19 +0000

As you think you travel,
as you love, you attract.

You are today where you thoughts have brought you;
you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.

You cannot escape the result of your thoughts.
but you can endure and lean, can accept and be glad.

You will realize the vision (not the idle wish) of your heart,
be it base or beautiful, or a mixture of both,
for you will always gravitate towards that which you
secretly most love.

In your hands will be placed the exact result of
your thoughts; you will receive that which you
earn, find no more, no less.

Whatever your present environment may be
you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts,
your wisdom, your ideal.

You will become as small as your controlling desire,
as great as your dominant aspiration.

— James Allen

Filed under: Others' Poetry

Enlacement

thL — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:51:14 +0000

Dans mes rêves, je t’embrasse fort,
si fort,
que mon coeur en est brisé de douleur.

Posted in My Poetry

The Affirming Flame

thL — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 06:27:43 +0000

Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.

~W.H. Auden, September 1, 1939

Posted in Others' Poetry

Always Learn Poems by Heart…

thL — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:39:13 +0000

My good friend Sameer posted a quote on his Tumblr today. It sounded familiar to me but I couldn’t remember where I’d heard it from. Finally, I realized that it’s from White Oleander, a novel by Janet Fitch. The words come from the main character’s mother Ingrid, a gifted poet who was sentenced to life in prison for committing murder. As charming a character as she is devastating, eloquent Ingrid makes us believe in the redemptive powers of art: