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Old Heroes’ Graves by Caspar David Friedrich
~
Like a swallow flying in the distant sky,
My soul yearns to be free.
That someday freedom would be mine,
And I could be the true me.
_
Born with the heavy links we were bound,
Everywhere we are in chains.
Tell me where can real freedom be found,
That I may falsely hope in vain.
_
Maybe like the many things around us,
Our soul is not ours to master.
Look at how water quenches life’s thirst,
And animals die for our hunger.
_
The Earth smiles when the fated rain falls,
And grass sway in the winds.
As Gaea heeds nature’s desperate calls,
Balance will always seen.
_
Even if we were never born to be free and happy,
In our toils and chains we can still find beauty.
~
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Permanence
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Man and Woman Contemplating The Moon by Caspar David Friedrich
~
The things we hold so dear,
Have in reality no permanence.
Nothing is clean and clear,
And nothing makes a difference.
_
The moon and its pale affinity,
Are but a stark comparison of the night.
Alike a rose increases in beauty,
After the destruction of a cruel blight.
_
All things die slowly in time,
And our toils are but wasted effort.
Like the endless stairs we climb,
It is meaningless and without comfort.
_
In our mortal lives we obtain,
Seemingly unlimited possibilities.
And in our deaths we bargain,
Our souls to the fates and destinies.
_
What then is our life’s story,
But a long defeat and fruitless battle?
For we can’t see all eternity,
With these eyes so dim and so mortal.
_
Hence the song that drives us,
Is nothing but our passion and will.
Maybe it is a hidden curse,
A blessing and a dagger that kills.
_
With pride we call, in hope and in vanity,
And live we shall, till we lose our sanity.
~ESZ, James
~
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Dreams
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Cupid and Psyche by Pascal Simon
~
I turn and look back,
But I cannot remember.
The feelings I had,
When memories broke asunder.
_
Yet this music,
Echoes with remembrance.
A melody nostalgic,
Full of unknown resemblance.
_
I dream of you,
A light in the silent dark night.
Though I know not who,
You are my bright white light.
_
Now my greatest fear,
Is that you, I cannot remember.
As dreams blur and unclear,
Would fade away and disappear.
_
So I know in pain,
That you are my missing piece.
And when we meet again,
I would grant you a gentle kiss.
~ESZ, James
~
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Change

The Deer Park by Carl Frederic Aagaard
~
I tread with dread to forest glade,
And said with hate of how things are laid.
I told my soul to give up and fold,
For lo and behold, a line I cannot hold.
_
I pace with haste to an unknown place,
To which I found an open space.
Upfront was a well and above it a bell,
And I felt the urge to jump to hell.
_
But my eyes caught something small,
Beneath the sky it tried to stand tall.
A young fawn it was, curious and lost,
Looking at me with an unknown cause.
_
It was then I knew that I would find,
A way to change my stubborn mind.
For like the young fawn so wild and free,
Maybe I can change to be a better me.
~ESZ, James
~
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Hopes
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Moonrise Over the Sea by Caspar David Friedrich
~
As a bird flying against the winds and seasons,
I fly towards my promised heaven.
Accepting no rest, comfort or valid reasons,
I journey towards my Utopian haven.
_
As I look for clues in humanity’s brief histories,
I find no solace and no peace.
No period was without suffering and miseries,
And never did wars ever cease .
_
The skies were always red and full of darkness,
And the day is swallowed by the night.
As the raging minds of men bloom in madness,
Others were already in an outright fight.
_
I watched in horror from my window of grief,
My hopes lie in the horizon’s line.
As ashes rain down like autumn’s falling leaves,
My heart rings with a silent mind.
_
What reasons can explain these futile efforts,
Of men and their hidden designs.
I take a look at their cruel means and methods,
And faint before apocalyptic signs.
_
When innocence is turned into mindless power,
The world is engulfed in shadow.
And when the righteous and just, fear and cower,
Where then can we find hope’s meadow.
_
My heart’s sorrow is infinite as it is eternal,
For illusions have turned to reality.
As clockwork toys, we will march to our funeral,
As if pulled by lies, fate and destiny.
_
As the cicada leaves behind its useless shell,
We must leave behind our past.
For us to step up and ring hope’s hidden bell,
It takes actors from the whole cast.
_
We forget that like snow in the radiant sun,
Our lives are but a speck of sand.
And as free as birds fly and wild deers run,
Our choices are by our very hands.
_
We are like waves hitting shores of the coast,
As we repeat our many sins.
Yet in mortal pride so arrogantly we boast,
That we set sail with divine winds.
_
I bid humanity to ponder and remember,
Of how we do not stand alone.
Like grass we sway in the wind’s of September,
For our deeds others must atone.
_
Even if we live in lands distant and faraway,
Our deeds affect many others.
As a butterfly gently flaps its wings in May,
Elsewhere it causes natural disasters.
_
Always remember that not knowing changes nothing,
And as connected we are, we should all stop our fighting.
~ESZ. James
~
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A Brief Introduction of My Work « Mindstorm said
[...] Poetry Collections [...]
A Brief Introduction to my Essays « Eternity in an Hour said
[...] 10. Collections [...]