Your Favorite Poems

Selenay · 12-11-2009, 08:42 PM

A LITANY FOR SURVIVAL

For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children's mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours:

For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother's milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.

And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid

So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive

- Audre Lorde

violaine · 12-13-2009, 06:51 PM

Mists and Rains

Waning autumn, winter, mudbound spring -
I thank these somnolent seasons which I love
For offering to both my heart and mind
So vaperous a shroud, so vague a tomb.

Here on this huge plain where the wind perfects
A will of its own and the weathervane cries all night,
Now and not in the tepid days to come
My soul prefers to spread her raven wings.

Filled with dead and dying things, the heart
Itself is frozen fast, and best of all
- O queen of our climate, ashen time of year -

Your livid shadows never seem to change
Except on moonless nights when two by two
We rock our pain to sleep on a reckless bed.

--les fleurs du mal/charles baudelaire

12-11-2009, 08:42 PM	#1
Selenay Member How Do You Identify?: A soul for a compass and a heart for a pair of wings. Preferred Pronoun?: All I ask of living is to have no chains on me. Relationship Status: All I own are the strides I spend to the finish line. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Somewhere in between here and gone. Posts: 662 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 110 Thanked 1,447 Times in 369 Posts Rep Power: 6344716	A LITANY FOR SURVIVAL For those of us who live at the shoreline standing upon the constant edges of decision crucial and alone for those of us who cannot indulge the passing dreams of choice who love in doorways coming and going in the hours between dawns looking inward and outward at once before and after seeking a now that can breed futures like bread in our children's mouths so their dreams will not reflect the death of ours: For those of us who were imprinted with fear like a faint line in the center of our foreheads learning to be afraid with our mother's milk for by this weapon this illusion of some safety to be found the heavy-footed hoped to silence us For all of us this instant and this triumph We were never meant to survive. And when the sun rises we are afraid it might not remain when the sun sets we are afraid it might not rise in the morning when our stomachs are full we are afraid of indigestion when our stomachs are empty we are afraid we may never eat again when we are loved we are afraid love will vanish when we are alone we are afraid love will never return and when we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed but when we are silent we are still afraid So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive - Audre Lorde __________________ Two or three things I know for sure, And one is that I would rather go naked Than wear the coat the world has made for me.

12-13-2009, 06:51 PM	#2
violaine Timed Out How Do You Identify?: atypical Preferred Pronoun?: plague words and phrases Relationship Status: love wise guys of the avian world Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: wekiva springs basin Posts: 3,236 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,934 Thanked 3,293 Times in 1,301 Posts Rep Power: 0	parisian scenes Mists and Rains Waning autumn, winter, mudbound spring - I thank these somnolent seasons which I love For offering to both my heart and mind So vaperous a shroud, so vague a tomb. Here on this huge plain where the wind perfects A will of its own and the weathervane cries all night, Now and not in the tepid days to come My soul prefers to spread her raven wings. Filled with dead and dying things, the heart Itself is frozen fast, and best of all - O queen of our climate, ashen time of year - Your livid shadows never seem to change Except on moonless nights when two by two We rock our pain to sleep on a reckless bed. --les fleurs du mal/charles baudelaire