True Poems, with a Morrissey flavour

[goinghome]

"When will the stream be aweary of flowing
Under my eye?
When will the wind be aweary of blowing
Over the sky?
When will the clouds be aweary of fleeting?
When will the heart be aweary of beating?
And nature die?
Never, oh! never, nothing will die;
The stream flows,
The wind blows,
The cloud fleets,
The heart beats,
Nothing will die.

Nothing will die;
All things will change
Thro' eternity.
'Tis the world's winter;
Autumn and summer
Are gone long ago;
Earth is dry to the centre,
But spring, a new comer,
A spring rich and strange,
Shall make the winds blow
Round and round,
Thro' and thro',
Here and there,
Till the air
And the ground
Shall be fill'd with life anew.

The world was never made;
It will change, but it will not fade.
So let the wind range;
For even and morn
Ever will be
Thro' eternity.
Nothing was born;
Nothing will die;
All things will change".
Alfred Lord Tennyson
View attachment 91196

This is just a perfect consoling choice for what's befallen folk

 

[Optimistic Fool]

Idk that this has a Morrissey flavour, I've been listening to a bit of the Razorcuts lately, rather, and this makes me think of this song , but I'll post it anyways
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whenever I think
That I’ve thought things through
It always seems to be
That I’ve spoken too soon
And I don’t know why
But I always do

I don’t know if it’s me
And the way that I think
Or if it’s just coincidence
Being cruel to me

Either way, I wish it'd stop
Cause it's embarrassing
And it looks like I'm indecisive
But really it's my heart
Suddenly in pain

I'm so confused
I don't know what about
I don't know what
I don't know what to do

I don't know who you are
Or what to do
Or what I am
And I need direction

I'm not too good
At giving myself discretion
I'm too impulsive
And selfish
And I need to know
What to do with the next one

With the next move
I need some help too
And after all this time
Am I drowning so soon?
I don't know why
But I'm so confused

I wish the world could break in half
Stop its cycle
And collide back to back
I wish it could stop
Turning the view
I wish it’d collide me
Right into you

 

[Optimistic Fool]

Here's one a little more Morrissey flavoured haha

No Friends
No friends
No friends

No friends
This reality has lived forever in my head

No friends
No friends

No friends
Is the melody played again and again

Friendless
Friendless

Friendless
Every day
This is the only thing
My heart knows how to say

Friendless
Friendless

Friendless
To the end
Forever, with the knowledge
That you have

No friends.

 

[goinghome]

Idk that this has a Morrissey flavour, I've been listening to a bit of the Razorcuts lately, rather, and this makes me think of this song , but I'll post it anyways
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whenever I think
That I’ve thought things through
It always seems to be
That I’ve spoken too soon
And I don’t know why
But I always do

I don’t know if it’s me
And the way that I think
Or if it’s just coincidence
Being cruel to me

Either way, I wish it'd stop
Cause it's embarrassing
And it looks like I'm indecisive
But really it's my heart
Suddenly in pain

I'm so confused
I don't know what about
I don't know what
I don't know what to do

I don't know who you are
Or what to do
Or what I am
And I need direction

I'm not too good
At giving myself discretion
I'm too impulsive
And selfish
And I need to know
What to do with the next one

With the next move
I need some help too
And after all this time
Am I drowning so soon?
I don't know why
But I'm so confused

I wish the world could break in half
Stop its cycle
And collide back to back
I wish it could stop
Turning the view
I wish it’d collide me
Right into you

Nice. So how do you interpret the Morrissey flavour of poems? Would it echo this insight about being sociable?
"But true sociability – the capacity to forge genuine connections with others – is almost never built up via anything cheerful. It is the result of making ourselves vulnerable before another human being: by revealing something that is broken, lost, confused, lonely and in pain within us. We build meaningful connections when we dare to exchange thoughts that might leave us open to humiliation and judgement; we make real friends through sharing in an uncensored and frank way a little of the agony and confusion of being alive..." - https://email.theschooloflife.com/6TU0-SKCT-48CDA2D9461AF2D43VF7RSFF050527BA2DA44E/cr.aspx

Here's a little Mozzerly verse.

Lullaby​

by Leonie Adams​

Hush, lullay.
Your treasures all
Encrust with rust,
Your trinket pleasures fall
To dust.

Beneath the sapphire arch,
Upon the grassy floor,
Is nothing more
To hold,
And play is over-old.
Your eyes
In sleepy fever gleam,
Their lids droop
To their dream.
You wander late alone,
The flesh frets on the bone,
Your love fails in your breast,
Here is the pillow.
Rest.

 

[Optimistic Fool]

Nice. So how do you interpret the Morrissey flavour of poems? Would it echo this insight about being sociable?
"But true sociability – the capacity to forge genuine connections with others – is almost never built up via anything cheerful. It is the result of making ourselves vulnerable before another human being: by revealing something that is broken, lost, confused, lonely and in pain within us. We build meaningful connections when we dare to exchange thoughts that might leave us open to humiliation and judgement; we make real friends through sharing in an uncensored and frank way a little of the agony and confusion of being alive..." - https://email.theschooloflife.com/6TU0-SKCT-48CDA2D9461AF2D43VF7RSFF050527BA2DA44E/cr.aspx

Here's a little Mozzerly verse.

Lullaby​

by Leonie Adams​

Hush, lullay.
Your treasures all
Encrust with rust,
Your trinket pleasures fall
To dust.

Beneath the sapphire arch,
Upon the grassy floor,
Is nothing more
To hold,
And play is over-old.
Your eyes
In sleepy fever gleam,
Their lids droop
To their dream.
You wander late alone,
The flesh frets on the bone,
Your love fails in your breast,
Here is the pillow.
Rest.

Lovely!!

I think of a Morrissey flavour as being a bit ‘realist’, and very, very, alone

 

[goinghome]

Realist and, if not alone, at least able to write from a solitary vantage point?

Hiroshima Child​

by Nazim Hikmet

I come and stand at every door
But none can hear my silent tread
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead for I am dead

I'm only seven though I died
In Hiroshima long ago
I'm seven now as I was then
When children die they do not grow

My hair was scorched by swirling flame
My eyes grew dim my eyes grew blind
Death came and turned my bones to dust
And that was scattered by the wind

I need no fruit I need no rice
I need no sweets nor even bread
I ask for nothing for myself
For I am dead for I am dead

All that I need is that for peace
You fight today you fight today
So that the children of this world
Can live and grow and laugh and play

 

[Lucifer Sam]

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Realist and, if not alone, at least able to write from a solitary vantage point?

Hiroshima Child​

by Nazim Hikmet

I come and stand at every door
But none can hear my silent tread
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead for I am dead

I'm only seven though I died
In Hiroshima long ago
I'm seven now as I was then
When children die they do not grow

My hair was scorched by swirling flame
My eyes grew dim my eyes grew blind
Death came and turned my bones to dust
And that was scattered by the wind

I need no fruit I need no rice
I need no sweets nor even bread
I ask for nothing for myself
For I am dead for I am dead

All that I need is that for peace
You fight today you fight today
So that the children of this world
Can live and grow and laugh and play

strange ending, no? Seems to be condoning and believing that war is still the way to peace, even though it is war that has killed this child.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

 

[Lucifer Sam]

strange ending, no? Seems to be condoning and believing that war is still the way to peace, even though it is war that has killed this child.

The way I read it is "fight for nuclear disarmament" or "fight against those who would bomb civilians." Not war per se, but as you point out, still a struggle. "Peace" is an impossible objective, and any poem or song that aims at it is going to be hideously pie-in-the-sky. Like Lennon's Imagine. I can't believe morons still sing and sway to that one. Beautiful melody, but some awful lyrics. And I like this Byrds song better for the music. Not that the poem is poor, but it just seems a forced fit into the drone/Eastern/psychedelia, which I think gets more mileage out of nonsense or wordplay or mystical goo-goo.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

The way I read it is "fight for nuclear disarmament"

Yeah, I know how it’s been read, and it makes sense to read the ending that way. But the way it’s written is what I’m questioning.

or "fight against those would bomb civilians." Not war per se, but as you point out, still a struggle. "Peace" is an impossible objective, and any poem or song that aims at it is going to be hideously pie-in-the-sky. Like Lennon's Imagine. I can't believe morons still sing and sway to that one. Beautiful melody, but some awful lyrics.

I don’t agree. Yeah there’s morons that just sing and sway. But imagine if some of those ‘pie in the sky’ lyrics were taken to heart and people actually lived them? would be revolutionary. No one’s brave enough.

And I like this Byrds song better for the music. Not that the poem is poor, but it just seems a forced fit into the drone/Eastern/psychedelia, which I think gets more mileage out of nonsense or wordplay or mystical goo-goo.

A reading of the poem over the Penderecki piece I think would have been stronger or at least more interesting. The Byrds meant well, though I’m not really a fan.

 

[Lucifer Sam]

I don’t agree. Yeah there’s morons that just sing and sway. But imagine if some of those ‘pie in the sky’ lyrics were taken to heart and people actually lived them? would be revolutionary. No one’s brave enough.

But the fact that no one is ever going to take those lyrics to heart and actually live them is what makes it pie-in-the-sky. Humans being intractably what they are, that song is a non-starter. Even if people get over their larger differences, they'll tear each other to pieces over micro-aggressions. One thing is for sure about Imagine: it doesn't have a Morrissey flavor.

What those in power do to you
Reminds us at a glance
How humans hate each others guts
And show it given a chance.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

But the fact that no one is ever going to take those lyrics to heart and actually live them is what makes it pie-in-the-sky. Humans being intractably what they are, that song is a non-starter. Even if people get over their larger differences, they'll tear each other to pieces over micro-aggressions.

But, imagine if we could take them to heart.

Imagining could be enough, if everyone somehow did so? revolutionary.

For you see, everything starts with a thought.
So, which thoughts do you choose?

One thing is for sure about Imagine: it doesn't have a Morrissey flavor.

What those in power do to you
Reminds us at a glance
How humans hate each others guts
And show it given a chance.

Yes, M is pointing out how it is. Lennon is pointing out how it could be. I know which one I choose.

 

[YourArse'n'All]

Countless lives inhabit us.​

Countless lives inhabit us.
I don’t know, when I think or feel,
Who it is that thinks or feels.
I am merely the place
Where things are thought or felt.

I have more than just one soul.
There are more I’s than I myself.
I exist, nevertheless,
Indifferent to them all.
I silence them: I speak.

The crossing urges of what
I feel or do not feel
Struggle in who I am, but I
Ignore them. They dictate nothing
To the I I know: I write.

by Fernando Pessoa
© Translation: 1998, Richard Zenith
From: Fernando Pessoa & Co. – Selected Poems
Publisher: Grove Press, New York, 1998

Beautiful.

 

[YourArse'n'All]

Since Morrissey's lyrics tend to be poetic and thoughtful, how about sharing verses like that here?

To start, does this one make the grade?

[Like a white stone]​

Anna Akhmatova - 1889-1966


Like a white stone deep in a draw-well lying,
As hard and clear, a memory lies in me.
I cannot strive nor have I heart for striving:
It is such pain and yet such ecstasy.
It seems to me that someone looking closely
Into my eyes would see it, patent, pale.
And, seeing, would grow sadder and more thoughtful
Than one who listens to a bitter tale.
The ancient gods changed men to things, but left them
A consciousness that smoldered endlessly,
That splendid sorrows might endure forever.
And you are changed into a memory.
- https://poets.org/poem/white-stone

What a lovely thread. Think the words of this one really hits home.

 

[YourArse'n'All]

 

[Lucifer Sam]

For you see, everything starts with a thought.
So, which thoughts do you choose?

Yes, M is pointing out how it is. Lennon is pointing out how it could be. I know which one I choose.

There are some thoughts that can't be chosen. I can't chose to think a utopia is possible. "Maybe in the next world."

I guess our disagreement here just comes down to our personal intuitions. I think the way things are is why Lennon's vision can never be. I do say he's a dreamer. I can't find it on YouTube, but you've probably seen the Imagine: John Lennon movie where there's an early studio session and he drops his voice and speak-sings "but I'm not the only one" in a throaty bass and it sounds really cool. It's a great song but I'm sorry, the lyrics do embarrass me.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

.

There are some thoughts that can't be chosen. I can't chose to think a utopia is possible. "Maybe in the next world."

Yes, it’s not easy. But, changing one’s mind, changes one’s world. It’s of course easier to remain unchanged. And when we’re on our deathbeds we’ll wonder why we never tried, but of course then it’ll be too late.

I guess our disagreement here just comes down to our personal intuitions. I think the way things are is why Lennon's vision can never be. I do say he's a dreamer. I can't find it on YouTube, but you've probably seen the Imagine: John Lennon movie where there's an early studio session and he drops his voice and speak-sings "but I'm not the only one" in a throaty bass and it sounds really cool. It's a great song but I'm sorry, the lyrics do embarrass me.

It’s a bit defeatist, but ok. Yes I’m familiar with that film, it is a cool moment, Elvis like in a way. No need to feel embarrassed, you didn’t write the lyric, nor are you being forced to believe in the song, to open your mind and try another way of being.

 

[Optimistic Fool]

Realist and, if not alone, at least able to write from a solitary vantage point?

Yes! Actually I wrote a very Morrissey like poem about 2 years ago, and then for some reason threw it out. Don't know why…

Hiroshima Child
by Nazim Hikmet

I come and stand at every door
But none can hear my silent tread
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead for I am dead

I'm only seven though I died
In Hiroshima long ago
I'm seven now as I was then
When children die they do not grow

My hair was scorched by swirling flame
My eyes grew dim my eyes grew blind
Death came and turned my bones to dust
And that was scattered by the wind

I need no fruit I need no rice
I need no sweets nor even bread
I ask for nothing for myself
For I am dead for I am dead

All that I need is that for peace
You fight today you fight today
So that the children of this world
Can live and grow and laugh and play

I made that one ^

Love the poem you posted : )

 

[Optimistic Fool]

'There's always the sun…' (Stranglers)