| The Ballad of The Fearsome Fish. |
Mar 12, 2007 8:03 am
2829 Views | Tom took a trip, what a trip Tom took
And the trip Tom took was this
He trekked all the way to Timbuktu
To catch a fearsome fish.
Now the fearsome fish measured fifteen feet
With teeth as sharp as steel
And it lived at the bottom of the bottomest hole
At the bottom of the deep dark sea.
But Tom had a plan, a cleversome plan
As sly as a fox’s wink
You’ll see said Tom, I’ll catch that fish
As sure as a ship can sink.
For Tom knew a thing (a secret thing)
About the fearsome fish he sought
And it was how to catch a fish they said
That never could be caught.
The thing Tom knew in his heart of hearts
Is a thing all fish are told
That to be caught, a fearsome fish
Must cry a tear of gold.
Such a golden tear such fish will cry
Only once in all their lives
When sadness lies across their hearts
Like a heavy fresh-whet knife.
Tom’s line was as long as a lover’s sigh
His hook a barb of spite
And his bait was a sliver of dark despair
As dark as a piece of night.
He weighted his line with a thousand cares
And it sank to the bottom of the sea
Then wait did Tom for a thousand days
For a patient man was he.
A thousand times the fearsome fish
Passed over the baited hook
And a thousand times he swam on by
With nary a backward look.
But the dark despair had done its work
And chilled the ocean floor
Til the fish was struck with a clammy grief
That bit him to the core.
Then a golden tear did oil its way
From fish eye to fish gill
And far above Tom knew the time
Had come to make the kill.
The fish bit down on the barb of spite
And swallowed the dark despair
And Tom did heave with all his might
To bring that fish to air.
And to and fro, and fro and to
Both fought by sea and land
Til the fearsome fish lay gulping air
Upon the burning sand.
As Tom unsheathed his broad blade knife
And readied for the kill
The fish gasped Stop, pray stay your hand
And listen if you will.
Old was I when all the world
Was girdled by the sea
And old was I when trees and plants
First taught this world to breathe.
Older still was I when did my heirs
First crawl upon the earth
But I chose not to leave my home
The fastness of my birth.
Aeons passed and mountains reared
And the land it heaved and cracked
But I endured quite willingly
Because my heart was glad.
And glad I’ve been for as this world
Has turned so many times
I’ve thought more thoughts than ever has
The stripling human mind.
I’ve thought upon the moon and stars
Whose watery glow I’ve seen
And pondered long this thing called life
Whatever it may mean.
And glad I’ve been for I have come
To see that it is so
That life persists in spite of what
May come and what may go.
All things return from whence they came
And all things came from me
And I have seen all come and go
At the bottom of the sea.
But then you came and with your tricks
To death you’ve brought me near
For sadness now has gripped my heart
And I’ve shed a golden tear.
So hear me now o mortal man
Whose span of years is short
And think upon the words of one
Who in your power is caught.
The tale is in the telling, see
And not in how it ends
So if you’d spare my life for me
Then we could part as friends.
And think Tom did upon these words
That floundered on the sand
And a silver tear coursed from his eye
Even as he lowered his hand.
The tale is in the telling, true
Said Tom to the fearsome fish
And to end your tale here on this shore
Is not what I now wish.
A silver tear I’ve cried for you
Like the gold I made you weep
Such silver tears from pity spring
So this promise now I’ll keep.
I’ll spare your life o fearsome fish
For your story’s touched my heart
And I hope it will be as you’ve said
That now as friends we’ll part.
So Tom unhooked the barb of spite
And reeled in his line
And as the fish slipped out to sea
He spoke for one last time.
For this kind act forever friends
We two are from this day
And should you ever need my help
You must but only say.
So the fish was gone and Tom was left
On the sand and all alone
And he stared at the waves and the blazing sun
Then turned and headed home.
Tom took a trip, what a trip Tom took
And the trip Tom took was this
He trekked all the way from Timbuktu
Having spared the fearsome fish. | |
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23 Comments | |
| My New Bling |
Mar 1, 2007 10:17 am
3072 Views | 
incredible how the immature mind will find a way to warp and twist even the most well meaning of pointless inventions
and yes, I'm having a bad day | |
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14 Comments | |
| Dewi Sant |
Mar 1, 2007 8:08 am
2708 Views | In honour of Saint David's day (patron saint of Wales) here is the Welsh national anthem (without pronunciation guide)
Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi,
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri;
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mâd,
Dros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.
Gwlad, gwlad, pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad.
Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau.
Hen Gymru fynyddig, paradwys y bardd,
Pob dyffryn, pob clogwyn, i'm golwg sydd hardd;
Trwy deimlad gwladgarol, mor swynol yw si
Ei nentydd, afonydd, i mi.
Os treisiodd y gelyn fy ngwlad tan ei droed,
Mae hen iaith y Cymry mor fyw ag erioed,
Ni luddiwyd yr awen gan erchyll law brad,
Na thelyn berseiniol fy ngwlad.
And the translation
The land of my fathers is dear unto me,
Old land where the minstrels are honoured and free:
Its warring defenders, so gallant and brave,
For freedom their life's blood they gave
Land! Land! True I am to my land!
While seas secure,
this land so pure,
o may our old language endure.
O land of the mountains, the bard's paradise,
Whose precipice, valleys lone as the skies,
Green murmuring forest, far echoing flood
Fire the fancy and quicken the blood
For tho' the fierce foeman has ravaged your realm,
The old speech of Wales he cannot o'erwhelm,
Our passionate poets to silence command
Or banish the harp from this land. | |
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2 Comments | |
| Small comfort. |
Feb 27, 2007 4:24 am
2703 Views | I woke this morning
In a tumble of bedsheets
Tousled grin greeting
The sun’s wintry own
The day’s arms wide
As the horizon
And the street unfolding
Before me while I
Good morninged with the
Neighbours and bartered
An armchair for
A bookcase and on
Through the time-honoured
Swearing of the market
Insults flashing like sparks from
The knife-sharpening butchers
Then coffee sweetened by
The company of friends
And the laughtered dash
To the station to catch
The patient train.
And as I sat amongst
The schoolkids and
The sleepy migrant workers
This small piece
Of a small life
Gave me a soft small
Comfort. | |
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20 Comments | |
| The brutality of separation. |
Feb 19, 2007 3:49 am
2809 Views | The brutality of this separation
Is not measured in the miles
That stalk the violent distance between us.
It proclaims itself in every
Solitary heartbeat, in
The systole and diastole
Of loving and missing you.
But in the quiet clearing
Of your smile that
Graces the darkly wooded
Confines of my mind,
The universe folds around us
And all the injuries of exile
Fall uncounted and unseen at your approach. | |
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44 Comments | |
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| Hallmark Valentine |
Feb 13, 2007 2:12 pm
1892 Views | This is the general Valentine celebration.
Everyone is welcome to experience the saccharine sentiments within. | |
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7 Comments | |
