Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
r Apr 2014
Led down from the tower
Head high and hands bound
Blindfold declined against the wall
Black square pinned to his heart
Eyes afire and shining proud
He sang...

He sang of Caruso, Townes Van Zandt
Pavarotti, Bocelli, Mercury,
Carreras, he sang of Antoine,
Of Sinatra, Lennon, Morrison, Redding
He sang and songbirds paused in flight
He sang like them all

He sang a song of himself
Of leaves of grass, of second comings
Of Byron, and Bharti, and Cummings
He sang of Neruda, and Plath, Tagore
Dickinson, Kamala Das and Naidu
Oh, he sang of them all

He sang of art and beauty
Of Mona Lisa and starry nights
Girls in green dresses and pearls
He sang of Van Gogh, of Picasso
Of Rembrandt, da Vinci
He sang of Michelangelo

He sang of sadness, pain
He sang of My Lai, Sand Creek
Of Guernica and Krystallnacht
He cried and sang of Wounded Knee
Of Katyn Forest, Sabra and Shatila
Oh, he wept as he sang

He sang of history and wonders
He sang of Olduvai and pyramids
Machu Picchu, Tikal, and Angkor Wat
He sang of a great wall, the Taj Mahal
Stonehenge, Easter Isle, Mesa Verde
His song took us to them all

He sang of courage
A song of Bunker Hill, Gettysburg
Of the Alamo, Normandy, Stalingrad
Of Lincoln, Guevara and Dr. King
He sang of Bolivar, Bhutto, Ghandi
He shamed us with their song

He sang his song...
As women sighed and peasants cried
He  sang until the rifles fired, he died
Songbirds fell from the sky
Soldiers broke their guns on stones
And marched into the deep blue sea.

r ~ 4/12/14
A Thomas Hawkins Aug 2010
WHAT IF TIME IS RUNNING OUT?

What if time is running out, there's so much I've yet to do
see the sunrise in the desert, watch it set from Kathmandu

Meditate in Angkor Wat, eat Sushi in Hong Kong
its been nearly 40 years now, you think she changed while I was gone

Scuba dive the Barrier Reef, go snowboarding and live
Make my peace with everyone, because there's nothing to forgive

Explore India like locals do, travel on top the train
armed with my black umbrella, just in case it starts to rain

Pay my parents back for everything, for all the love they shared
Find a way to tell them thank you, that does justice to how they cared

To show my son how much I love him, and how proud of him I am
and how that once scared little boy, has turned into a man.

Tell my sister she's the best there is, that I am proud of her
and ask for her forgiveness, that I was not the brother she deserved

So, what if time is running out, there's so much I haven't done
there's one more thing left on my list, to see if you're the one.
Sally A Bayan Jan 2017
(a temple complex)

The ruins seemed indomitable than ever,
the concrete walls looked like they'll survive
no matter what...
the tree trunks are gaining more layers
getting taller...wider...older,
aging doesn't seem to bother them
their spirits live on, and rule
generation after generation...
i believe, even the moat that surrounds,
and safeguards the temples,
has its own spirit as well...

my hands touched the concrete walls at Ta Prohm
all felt strong, and unconquerable,
and i thought of my own human walls
i have fought, i still fight...they must not crumble...
i struggle...so my walls wouldn't fall
when a huge steaming net of uncertainty
melts my confidence, and a strong fever enfolds me,
and possesses me...

i saw those monks, unburdened, seemingly bold
walking lightly, sweating, while their soft orange clothes,
moved with the gentle breeze that blew from the moat
cooling whoever,  whatever was about to implode...
i thought, the blending of the heat and cold
could delay, or counter the breaking of any wall...

during that moment of scorching heat,
anybody could've given in...the wind was so cool
i almost jumped into the King's Pool
The vast moat surrounding the temples
kept beckoning...to anyone, to me, to play the fool...


Sally


Copyright January 29, 2017
Rosalia Rosario A. Bayan
(lyrical outbursts while driving around... breathing high and low within, ...walking up and down, in and out, of the Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm temples...)
Sally A Bayan Jun 2019
(of Angkor Wat)



Two years after, i still think of that
forest, where an old temple stands...
most structures are carved with intricate
designs and images...architecture was
influenced by their Khmer culture...

posts, frames and doors are stilled,
statues are tight-lipped, like frozen
witnesses...drowning in the voices
and noises of flocks of tourists,
reminding me of the noise and confusion
of my daily existence....in my own world..

i went up and down many stairs, went through
doors within doors, i lost count, while catching  
my breath, wondered why there were just door
frames............silent walls, old posts, and old
trees gave a cold feel of a distant past......yet,
in my mind, an aura of magic and mystery
hovered upon the entire temple...as if ghosts
of wisdom, and lots of stories lay dormant,
imprisoned......within the structures...

two summers and monsoon seasons passed,
my thoughts on Angkor Wat, haunt me still,
and bring back my thoughts on those doors;

some doors on our paths are closed shut,
some are ajar...some open easily, but are
ignored, or feared...some, close too soon,
before we make our first step to enter...
some stay open, yet, we become complacent,
some, have no closures or finality...leaves
one in limbo....
how will we know if it's the last one for us?
how many doors more...for you? for me?
does death give an end to life's entrances?
........or, is it just a beginning?


Sally
© Rosalia Rosario A. Bayan
January 2017
(Angkor Wat is in Siem Reap, Cambodia)
Aidar Omar Apr 2022
If I was a king of Asia I would give you all the gold there is
But I'm not even prince of Persia, all I have is love and dreams
Let me show you land of legends, land of honeymoon and rising sun
I am not as rich as Ali Baba, but I promise we'll be having fun

I'll take you to Bali the gem of Java Sea
Then we'll go on to safari a little south of Abu Dhabi
I'll take you to Maldives to swim in coral reefs
We'll enjoy the sweet papaya on the islands of Pattaya

I'll show you lake Baikal, Tibet and Taj Mahal
We'll see Macao, Yokohama, Hanoi, Jeddah, Jaipur, Jakarta
I'll take you to Dubai, Dushanbe and Mumbai
We'll spend some starry nights in yurts near the city of Yakutsk

I’ll take you to Tashkent where melons got their scent
We will taste all sorts of apples in the city of Almaty
I’ll take you to Beirut we'll go nuts on dried fruits
And the coffee with vanilla we can try it in Manilla

I'll take you to Kashgar to shop at old bazaar
Then we'll fly a magic carpet to the markets of Qatar
We'll see ruins of Karakorum the old capital of Moguls
Then we'll go to Kathmandu and then Karachi and Kabul

We'll discover caves with treasures, make three wishes all at once
All at once will turn to a fairy tale, like in one and thousand nights
Let me show you feast of colors, take you cross the dunes in caravans
Even if I don't look like Alladin, I sure know a thing about romance

I'll take you to Taipei to see its lovely bay
We will sip on Coca Cola on the silky sands of Goa
I'll take you to Shanghai where towers touch the sky
And the best of architecture we will see in precious Petra

We'll go to Ashgabat, Bishkek, Busan, Baghdad
We will see Great Wall of China and Cambodian Angkor Wat
We'll see the Everest, mount Fuji, Gobi Desert
And it's certainly my pleasure to take you all around Asia!
This is lyrics to my latest single "Song of Asia" (check out on Spotify or Apple Music)
Aaron LaLux Aug 2017
She’s in Cambodia when she says,
“Company always matters,
but if it’s the wrong one,
I’d rather be on my own.”,

I’m in California when I say,
“I feel exactly the same way.”,

we’re on opposite sides of the world,
she’s at Angkor Wat just in from Dubai,
and I’m at home in Hollywood,
well not my home exactly just the place where I currently lie,

or rather the place where I lay,
because there are no lies here,
not between her and I,
because we’re,

two Stars shooting through the Infinite Sky,

and I want to fly to her right now,
I want to leave this city,
I want to be there,
with her at Angkor amongst all it’s ancient reliefs,

but alas,
we all have our lives,
different paths,
even when it’s led by the same guiding Light,

and I wonder if I’ll ever see her again,
at least I wonder if I’ll ever see her again in this life,

and I don’t know why I write,
I swear to God I don’t know even when I say I do,
because all I’ve ever gotten from these writings,
was all these cliches that I find in me and in you,

sounding like a cheesy pop song,
sounding like the voice of reason when everything’s gone wrong,
sounding like a lost Soul traveling the open road out here all alone,
leaving behind nothing but some faded memories and the words in these poems,

and when I hear her voice,
or rather read her text from my phone,
I get the feeling that as alone as I may be,
in that moment I am everything except for alone,

so when I get that call,
I know she feels exactly the same way,
and that’s exactly why,
I always listen when she explains,

she’s in Cambodia when she says,
“Company always matters,
but if it’s the wrong one,
I’d rather be on my own.”,

I’m in California when I say,
“I feel exactly the same way.”…

∆ Aaron LA Lux ∆

author of multiple best selling poetry books
Esz-Pe-Bea Jul 2014
Michelangelo from marble made man,
Beyond Perfection.
An Ultimate image,
as Apollo's Earthrise on Luna,
or Showcase #4.
Germany has it's Beatles,
Just as Liverpool does too,
And I've seen pictures of a wall that stretches the length of China.


Pyramids rise out of the Deserts of Egypt,
The Jungles of the Aztecs,
and the Mountains of the Mayans.
A Colosseum still stands in Rome,
And every temple envy's the ones in Angkor Wot


For every age a legend.
For every actor a role.
For every writer a story,
and painter a painting,
and general a battle,
and architect a structure.
Wright and Wolfe and
Orwell and Wells and
Kafka and Kubrick and
Lenin and Lennon and McCartney
and MacArthur and Patton
and Plato and Dvořák.


There is a perfect apple pie in every mother's mind.
A perfect game in every pitcher's eye.
A work of art around every corner,
Stuck to refrigerators,
And tucked away underneath children sized beds.
Hanging in every high-school hallway,
Spray painted on every highway overpass.
A Planet-wide gallery
as simple as a finger-painting,
As grand as that canyon out in Arizona.
A world full of masterpieces...


But for me...


Only you...


Only you.
Sophia Granada Jun 2015
Someday when you want to find me
Look for someone whose patron is inborn adversity.
I will be Angkor Wat whose foundation rots,
And the temple still stands.
Look in the oasis for an arrogant rider,
Whose horse strives to throw her off at every turn,
Yet she is still clinging on,
And thinks herself a rider of Dragons and scaly lizards.
In the reflections on the surface of her eyes,
I will be there right now,
And she will be a different human,
The kind of icon I always thought I would become.
Look for the specter of madness and fatigue,
There you will find my fully-fledged self.
When we look at babies
And tell them they will grow into beautiful young women
We don't even know what we're saying.
aviisevil Apr 2019
across the mountains and high seas
i want to travel as far as the moon can see
and still a little more to numb my thirst
as far above the sun as below the dusk

until the night howls and winter combusts
all around the spring singing of hurt
until the autumn grows loud enough to rust
until the day burns and stars submerge

wandering down the ways uphill a bliss
where mermaids drown and the gods sit
somewhere far where the flowers hiss
and all the pieces are where they fit

there where the clowns cry and live
from nowhere to across all the towns

carrying not an ounce of pain or a crown
in temples of Angkor with nothing to give

at the end of a rainbow and rain profound
the hollow windows and barren grounds
from rotten whispers and forgotten blitz
where demons prowl and angels ****

very depth of hell and under the ground
i'll travel as deep as a melancholic sound
under my skin crawling all the way down
the thunder and my sins all in a 'round

where the lights are dim and bound
with my plastic grin and elastic faith

down the road where none can be found
i'll wait there and sin with all my hate

so come for me before i go to waste
so come for me before it gets too late

so come for me before i close the gates
so come for me and come with a blade

so come for me before i fade,
so come for me before i name my price
so come for me before i wake,
so come for me before i take my life.
Anne denada Feb 2020
Courtyard, corridors, temples and spirals.
Depicting the energies of our higher plane.
Steps for climbing and descending
Buddhas and Devis galore.

Exploring the shapes, curves, faces and limbs
Of human gods.
Pillars of support in hundreds, curved roof tops
Frescoes reach to the sky.
Inner sanctuaries, spaces floored with large cobbled stones  
Down trodden by human feet.

Everywhere the eye glances are changing energy patterns.
Weather worn frescoes of snow flakes,
Circular lotus and turtle backs.
Layers built upon different thicknesses,
Fine medium and thick just like
Mother Earth’s stratosphere and
Human layering of life’s existence.

Devoid of heavenly colours, blacks, greys
Muted whites, squares, circles, triangles, rectangles abound
Zig zag wings, spirals and doves challenge the outer eye
These energy patterns are  so familiar to our inner eye.

Surrounded above and close to heaven
Baby blue sky, billowy white clouds,
Heavy puffs floating above, thin streaks stretching below.

All is a kaleidoscope of space, movement and energy vibrations
Creating a heavenly rhythm for our musical nourishment
Unending all the way to eternity.
Daphisha Khapiah Feb 2019
An insatiable wanderlust I wish to be,
Beyond the horizon I ought to see.
The land, the sea and many places,
To meet and greet those beautiful faces.

I wish to visit the spectacular Angkor Wat in Cambodia,
Or tripping on a bumpy Leh-Ladakh Road ride in India.
To swim among the tropical fishes in the Maldives,
Or sitting at the edge of the Kalaupapa Peninsular Cliffs

I wish to meditate at the peak of the Himalaya,
Or adore the fascinating Great Wall of China.
To romance at the Oia- Santorini in Greece,
Or party at the Belearic Islands till the day ceased.

I wish to watch the sunset illuminates the Pyramid of Giza,
Or a calm sunbathe in the magical islands of Bora Bora.
To get awed by the grandeur beauty of the Amazon,
Or simply a Gandola ride in Venice like a Vagabond.

I wish to sip the finest Bordeaux Wine in France,
Or get drown in the madness of “Tomorrow land”.
To visit the isolated Chile Easter Island,
Or brave the arduous climb to the top of Fuji mountain.

I wish to embark on a panoramic train ride to Machu Picchu,
Or immersed on remnants of the mythical history of Peru.
To witness the Aurora Borealis in Norway,
Or the divine old city of Jerusalem is a must visit someday.

I will travel through the land and the ocean,
Could be a random plan without a direction.
But I will travel far and I will travel near,
And I will keep my feet rolling every where.
Paul Butters Dec 2020
The wind and wild hounds of hell
Howl in unison
Over a desolate landscape.
Only a handful of us
Remain
Survivors of a cataclysm
That almost wiped out
The whole human race.

Now grand lady nature is taking back
Everything she ever lost
Or was robbed of.
Ivy, vines and other creepers
Clamber over the crumbling concrete castles
That once were our homes.

Roads crack asunder:
Cleaving city ravines where subways
Have collapsed –
New rivers for new times.

Angkor Wat has nothing on this:
City after city
Lost in tangled jungle.
Animal pets run wild,
Mating with wolves and wildcats
And God knows what,
To add to their strength.

Where nuclear power plants exploded
Unattended by humankind,
All is winter desolation,
Yet even there Nature is fighting back,
Reclaiming her grounds
Inch by inch.

Take a closer look at all these lands:
Nature is now flourishing:
Free of pollution
Carbon emissions
And Global Warming
Caused by “Man”.

The world has lost its top predator
And destroyer.
Meerkats and monkeys are the brightest now
Or maybe dolphins.
Dogs and cats are quite smart too.
But all in all
The world is so much better:
A vernal Paradise
For all
Except Humanity.

Paul Butters

© PB 21\12\2020. For Norman Stevens.
Qualyxian Quest Sep 2022
All men are created equal
But all women are definitely not
Buddhamind in Bangkok
Tremendum at Angkor Wat

Me at JMU
UVA was Scott
Ry is Virginia Tech
I post and play and plot

Just a few rooms
I do not own a yacht
Als Ick Kan
Give the best I got

      2037. What?
Qualyxian Quest Feb 2019
conversation concerning Tamil kings
     family photo at Angkor brings
        Subramania Bharati sings
                  
                      Openings!
Qualyxian Quest Apr 2023
19999
Waking Ned Devine
Some other time
Guilt, but I still climb

Never right without the woman
Therefore, never right
Carolina Inn
2 flights 1 night's delights

Fire on the patio
Bipolar fascination
Heraclitus more than Thales
San Francisco meditation

A Man Called Otto
Me at Angkor Wat
JMU, Albert Camus
Mi hermano Scott


      The Old Man and the Sea

                  Si. I taught.
Cambodia
Prison camp S-21
Angkor kills but does not explain

your blood bleeds into my veins
so I can feel your pains
whatever god you pray to
beg for deliverance.
In the good old USA we are
unaware of unseen suffering.
Usually but not always.
we met at a wedding and
you shared your story
in broken English until
I understood that you
had been in the killing fields.
Qualyxian Quest Dec 2022
I'm not orthodox
Tried to be, but I can't
Giordano Bruno
Marguerite Porete

Bustling Bangkok traffic
Thai forest monks
Fo Guang Shan
San Francisco Zen

Dread Annihilation
My beloved brother Scott
We four at Angkor Wat
Thin Red Line. Another World. Sean Penn.

King Lear
Paradise Lost
Give My Love to Rose
All the King's Men
      
          Satellite High
           (Number 10)
Qualyxian Quest Aug 2020
Hablo espanol
Pero solamente un pequito

When I was in Siem Riep
I feared the dengue fever mosquito

Cortez was a killer
Neil Young was right

Angkor Wat amazing
Ancient the twilight

Para los pobrecitos

           Fight!
Qualyxian Quest Aug 2023
I'm fragile
But I wish I wasn't
My mind breaks down too easily
Panic. Panic.
Can't get no relief

Saw Angkor Wat
And my brother Scott
Snow in Seattle
Ferry boats
Alone

                  Thrown.
Qualyxian Quest Nov 2021
A little breakfast this morning
Finally I relax
The Secret of Roan Inish
The mystery of Jax

Doctor's appointment today
I hope she understands
My sons callooh! callay!
Little River Band

I saw Angkor Wat
Rode the Taipei train
Never been to heaven
Never been to Spain

I like the colleges
But just to walk around
Americans all want freedom
I want higher ground

            David Markson
             Ks Ezra Pound
Qualyxian Quest Mar 2023
September 11th, 1921
Subramania Barathi dies
Dedicated to the goddess of learning
Known to be quite wise

Mania is a mystery thing
Sometimes comes from the gods
If you ever go to Reno
Be sure to know the odds

I bought The Hunger Games
I volunteer! I volunteer!
Katniss Everdeen
Julia Roberts. Not Richard Gere.

Thich Nhat Hanh was a poet
The Dalai Lama is not
Shiva dances and so it
Is hot at Angkor Wat

        Gonna help my brother Scott.
Qualyxian Quest May 2023
Maybe I wanted to be important
Baby, it's a good thing I am not
Gratitude for Ry
Train games for Scott

Little Sage Ridge School
I teach Julius Caesar
Dr. Cohen is correct
Only the women are noble

Bangkok to Siem Riep
Mysterium Tremendum
Saturating *** and religion
Walking Angkor Wat

Lovely Ms. Kathryn Orr
Sacramento Heather
Please good things for Mark
Gracias, Casa Roble

              Esperanza
Qualyxian Quest Sep 2019
Angkor Wat in photos
   Visions of Vishnu
          fantasia!
Qualyxian Quest Feb 2023
When the poets turn against the Empire
It's all over but the screaming
Shamanistic mystics
In the Fire is the Dreaming

Antelope Canyon
A family from Japan
Seattle totem poles
Solitary Man

Deer on my drive home
I listen to the Eagle
Zephyr is a hound
Snoopy is a beagle

We at Angkor Wat
Tokyo train for two
Tecumseh in Ohio
Crazy Horse in view

             Mu
Qualyxian Quest Sep 2022
Maybe i wanted to be important
Good thing i am not
Would like to open closing doors
Show my brother Scott

Cleveland Guardians
Twisting, drifting plot
Amish country donuts
Fish near Angkor Wat

Thai yellow curry
Show her what I got
Courage when it comes
El futuro: Bon Mot!
Qualyxian Quest Mar 2023
Father Greeley
A yellow dog Democrat
A ******* loud mouth shanty Irish priest
Talkin' Chi Town

Dr. Thomas
Southern gentleman
Caring, generous, charming, funny
Mozart y Karl Barth

I might drive to East Lansing
See what I wrote Robert Coles
Won't drive in a Rolls
My Camry has to go to the shop

I'm not a professor
Beggar girls at Angkor Wat
Prayers for Scott
Twist the plot

              Rebel Yell!
Qualyxian Quest Dec 2022
Unlike Joseph Smith
I definitely do not
Wanna start a new religion
Centered on myself

You can have Utah
If I can have Seattle
You can have Oblivion
If I can go to battle

I would like to receive the Eucharist
From female hands
I would like to die at home
Her hair still strikes in strands

It's just emotion. Religious emotion.
Some people have it. Some do not.
Christmas brunch, A little hunch
I Walk the Line for Scott.

     Bangkok. Kaoshiung. Angkor Wat.
We shall overcome the indignities dignitaries hide in ******* City,
as the cost to infidels for their infidelities is the price of Jesus's pity
when mobs turn against them & sanitary measures have gone ******
the major majorities proffer witless witticisms for what I say's witty
for the sake of a fixed *****'s runt puppy & a ***** cat's calico kitty
plunged from the plumbed gateway of George Gordon Battle Liddy
whose secret lifer Walter Mitty never suckled a sweet, Turkical *****
or hot **** east of Angkor Wat with red, new Cebu City pinay ******
as it keeps normal men from gravitating toward the homosexy flitty
Qualyxian Quest Dec 2022
Got to see Scott
Hug. Love. Love.
Once saw Angkor Wat
Her hand in my glove

Buddhist silences
Taipei trains
Colleagues who can't understand
Anna Andresian. Cameron Crane.

A deep, terrifying, lonely isolation
Welcome to the USA
Skyscrapers above the homeless
San Francisco Bay

Grateful for good food
Still can shoot the Tre
Death will be release
Released into ... Hey! Hey!

            Californ I A

— The End —