Literature and Poetry

#76
#76
"I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." - Robert A. Heinlein, from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
 
#77
#77
A few years back, my Dad suffered cardiac arrest and was in a coma for about 4 days. He was so out of it for days after that, but we knew he was getting back to normal when he could recite his favorite poem:

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
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When he got done he asked, "why was I saying that?"
 
#78
#78
n_huffhines said:
"I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." - Robert A. Heinlein, from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
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I really like that man. Pretty quote.
 
#79
#79
Beans
Beans
Good for thine heart
The more thou doth eat them
The more thou doth fart
 
#81
#81
A handful from the Laureate of Lowlife - Charles Bukowski

We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.

Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.

The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it - basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.

An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.

I don't hate people. I just feel better when they aren't around.

To do a dull thing with style-now that's what I call art.

If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose.

You begin saving the world by saving one man at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics.

Genius might be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way.

Bad taste creates many more millionaires than good taste.
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#83
#83
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've not winced nor cried aloud,
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloodied 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

This is one of only a couple poems I still remember. It was my favorite until i came to know the Lord. Now, I know it to be false...in that i am neither in charge of my fate, nor the owner of my soul. It is still very well written, and speaks to the unbreakable human spirit...the stubborn inner strength that separates the strong man from the weak. A man is as capable as he believes himself to be many times, and often much stronger than he ever imagined when the "fell clutch of circumstance" demands it.
 
#84
#84
marcusluvsvols said:
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've not winced nor cried aloud,
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloodied 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

This is one of only a couple poems I still remember. It was my favorite until i came to know the Lord. Now, I know it to be false...in that i am neither in charge of my fate, nor the owner of my soul. It is still very well written, and speaks to the unbreakable human spirit...the stubborn inner strength that separates the strong man from the weak. A man is as capable as he believes himself to be many times, and often much stronger than he ever imagined when the "fell clutch of circumstance" demands it.
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Ehhh, maybe the Lord wants you to take a little ownership.
 
#85
#85
pismonque said:
Ehhh, maybe the Lord wants you to take a little ownership.
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The illusion of "control" that you think you have over your fate or anyone else's will be removed when the doctors give your child up for dead, or your seemingly healthy just retired dad is eaten alive by cancer and gone in 9 short weeks. I have lived through both. I can assure you, I didnt "own" any control over any of it. God saw fit to save my daughter, she is perfectly healthy, bright,and beautiful. He decided to take my dad in the blink of an eye. We control very, very little that actually matters. Guess it depends on what matters to you.
 
#86
#86
marcusluvsvols said:
The illusion of "control" that you think you have over your fate or anyone else's will be removed when the doctors give your child up for dead, or your seemingly healthy just retired dad is eaten alive by cancer and gone in 9 short weeks. I have lived through both. I can assure you, I didnt "own" any control over any of it. God saw fit to save my daughter, she is perfectly healthy, bright,and beautiful. He decided to take my dad in the blink of an eye. We control very, very little that actually matters. Guess it depends on what matters to you.
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I don't want to derail this thread but I should tell you where my comment came from. And for what it's worth, I meant it a good bit more lighthearted than it came across.

First of all, I'm sorry about your dad and very very happy about your daughter. I lost my mom last year to cancer and I can still remember the terror of being in the NICU with my baby girl several years ago (she's great now), although it sounds like your girl's condition was more dire. I'm not comparing, just saying I have at least an inkling of empathy.

I have a sore spot with my dad in that he's always been a "the Lord will take care of me" type, to a fault. I remember being frustrated that he wouldn't get a colonoscopy because it's such an easy step in preventing colon cancer, and he said, "Well, I trust the Lord will take care of things." Drove me nuts. I said, "Don't you think maybe the Lord wants you to make just a little bit of effort on your end?"

I know, not the same thing you're talking about, but that's what my earlier post was based on. I think the belief that God has ultimate control over everything should not be an abdication of the responsibility to take personal control and ownership of your own life, to the extent you can.

Hope you find peace regarding your dad, brother.
 
#87
#87
If we want to post song lyrics...

"Baby, baby... wouldn't y'know
Because you ain't ever had love
so what would you know
what a little love can do"
 
#88
#88
"When I get out of here
I'm going to feel real fine
When I get out of here
I'm going to lose my mind
I'm going to get real high
I'm going to get real low
I'm going to take it fast
And then I take it slow
I'm going to get you there
And then I'll bring you back
I got the Holy Spirit
Breathing down my neck
I'm going to climb the walls
I'm going to swim the moat
I've got God the father
Jumping down my throat
I've got the Virgin Mary
Naked on my bed
And I got sweet Lord Jesus
Living in my head"

-BJM

aka best band ever
 
#89
#89
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
 
#90
#90
DinkinFlicka said:
"When I get out of here
I'm going to feel real fine
When I get out of here
I'm going to lose my mind
I'm going to get real high
I'm going to get real low
I'm going to take it fast
And then I take it slow
I'm going to get you there
And then I'll bring you back
I got the Holy Spirit
Breathing down my neck
I'm going to climb the walls
I'm going to swim the moat
I've got God the father
Jumping down my throat
I've got the Virgin Mary
Naked on my bed
And I got sweet Lord Jesus
Living in my head"

-BJM

aka best band ever
Click to expand...

Brian Jonestown Massacre?
 
#91
#91
bignewt said:
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Click to expand...


Iron Maiden?
 
#93
#93
pismonque said:
I don't want to derail this thread but I should tell you where my comment came from. And for what it's worth, I meant it a good bit more lighthearted than it came across.

First of all, I'm sorry about your dad and very very happy about your daughter. I lost my mom last year to cancer and I can still remember the terror of being in the NICU with my baby girl several years ago (she's great now), although it sounds like your girl's condition was more dire. I'm not comparing, just saying I have at least an inkling of empathy.

I have a sore spot with my dad in that he's always been a "the Lord will take care of me" type, to a fault. I remember being frustrated that he wouldn't get a colonoscopy because it's such an easy step in preventing colon cancer, and he said, "Well, I trust the Lord will take care of things." Drove me nuts. I said, "Don't you think maybe the Lord wants you to make just a little bit of effort on your end?"

I know, not the same thing you're talking about, but that's what my earlier post was based on. I think the belief that God has ultimate control over everything should not be an abdication of the responsibility to take personal control and ownership of your own life, to the extent you can.

Hope you find peace regarding your dad, brother.
Click to expand...

I hope my post didnt come across as smug? Or I'll tempered or anything like that, my brother. Thank you for the well thought out and kind post, I am sorry cancer took your mom, as well as my dad. Last year my 25 year old lil brother put a pistol in his mouth, and the very next day my dad was diagnosed. I had to stand in for my dad as my little bro received full military honors on base at the funeral. My dad went in the hospital in ktown, and never came back out. I hate cancer. I agree with you also about the responsibility to take care of ourselves best we can. We owe to the few people who love us to do so...thank you again for the kind words. The last year of my life has really hammered home how short life is, and how small we are as humans. Wish you the best in all your pursuits.
 
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