One single line of poetry....

Do I dare
Disturb the universe?

Darkness outside. Inside, the radio's prayer -
Rockall. Malin. Dogger. Finisterre.

From Carol Ann Duffy 'Prayer'

Translated from Subh Milis by Seamus O'Neill

There was jam
On the doorhandle
But I pushed away the feelings
That rose up in me,
Because I thought of the day
That the doorhandle would be clean
And the little hand
Would be gone.

And from Padraig Pearse's The Wayfarer

"The beauty of this world has made me sad..."

I know not if there is a reason,
Why I am so sad of heart,
The legend of bygone ages,
Haunts me and will not depart

(Heinrich Himmel, Lorelei)

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies
(Byron)

Ain't I a Woman!

Sojourner Truth...a freed slave, very powerful poem.

O Western Wind when wilt thou blow, that the small rain down can rain?

I have loved the stars too fondly to fearful of the night
Sarah Williams

Another Yeats fan here:

"But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you
And loved the sorrows of your changing face"

Just squeaks in as one line, if we're very generous:

The question, O me! so sad, recurring - What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here - that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.

Walt Whitman: O me! O Life!

I also love Tim Minchin for his cleverness and optimism. From Storm:

Isn't this enough?
Just this world?

Just this beautiful, complex, wonderfully unfathomable, natural world?

Probably been quoted before as I haven't rtft but

"I thank whatever gods there be,
for my unconquerable soul."

Henley's Invictus

Unconquerable soul. That no matter what happens in my life, or in this world, I still remain me, who I am. That there is a part of me that is untouched and unconquered by events or people I have no control over.

"Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine"
(Cargoes by John Masefield)

I first heard it when I was about 10 and was enthralled by all of the lovely new words and imagery, and the contrast through the verses.

"Something there is that doesn't love a wall"

Mending Wall by Robert Frost.

A poem that we studied at school many moons ago. Barriers will fall eventually.

HEDGEHOG WITH AN ANSWERPHONE

I’m a hedgehog with an answerphone
I record the important things that matter
Please get to the point dear caller
Be concise leave your message don’t chatter

I find life can be so demanding
You are all in such a hurry
What’s not done today gets done tomorrow
Time should we no reason to worry

I venture out across the plains
On a journey with no start or end time
I observe and enjoy without clockwatching
I just know when it’s dark it’s bedtime

I will listen to your message
And take heed of what you say
But dear friend nothing is really urgent
So I just take life day by day

Are you picking up my vibe
Do you see from where I’m comming
Rushing around opens up no advantage
Walking is far more beneficial than running

Take in your surroundings
Appreciate mother earth
Exhale your daily stress
Enjoy life for what it’s worth

Hine sight is a word that should not exist
Regret an emotion we should never feel
For now is the only time we live in
Yesterday is gone and tomorrow can never be real

So think carefully what message to leave
And doesn’t really need to be left
For you have now just lost these few minutes
You’re a victim of wasted time theft

There is no need to prioritise
We do not need to make lists
Don’t be guilty of over analysing
Life is life it just exists

So if there’s one thing I impart on you
It’s the need to open your mind
You only need to look properly
To discover what you need to find

I’m a hedgehog with an answerphone
Do you understand the message you have heard
It’s my outlook on life that is important
And not the hedgehog answerphone concept cos that’s absurd

As reality is only what we perceive
We must explore our imagination the best we can
Beep Beep my message tape is full
So I leave you to become a more contented woman or man

Some wonderful poems here, can I add:

The war won't end for at least two years
But we've got stacks of men... I'm blind with tears

• Sassoon

It's a fact the whole world knows
That pobbles are happier without their toes!

• Lear

Beware of the Cubs of a stranger
For though they are little and fubsy
Maybe the bear is their mother!

• Kipling (my mum used to say this to me!)

hi all, I am lucky enough to be a home husband with two girls of 4 and 22 months and found the time to write some poetry for them during their early years, can anyone suggest a forum for these poems?

Better off dead than giving in, not taking what you want. - Stealing by Carol Ann Duffy

She hears me strike the board and say
That she is under ban
Of all good men and women,
Being mentioned with a man
That has the worst of all bad names;
And thereupon replies
That his hair is beautiful,
Cold as the March wind his eyes.

WB Yeats

"Stands the Church clock at ten to three?
And is there honey still for tea?"

Grantchester - Rupert Brooks

"Matilda told such dreadful lies,
It made one gasp and stretch one's eyes"

Hillaire Belloc

"As I was going up the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there,
He wasn't there again today,
I wish that man would go away"

I love ee cummings:

'spring is like a perhaps hand which comes carefully out of nowhere'

Wonderful, also:

'in time of daffodils who know
the goal of living is to grow
forgetting why, remember how'

Love this thread :)

The grass below - above the vaulted sky

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each

Though I sang in my chains like the sea

Noone, not even the rain, has such small hands

EE Cummings

If you want me again look for me under your boot soles. Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass