"vidi" poems
3
“Sic transit gloria mundi,”
“How doth the busy bee,”
“Dum vivimus vivamus,”
I stay mine enemy!
Oh “veni, vidi, vici!”
Oh caput cap-a-pie!
And oh “memento mori”
When I am far from thee!
Hurrah for Peter Parley!
Hurrah for Daniel Boone!
Three cheers, sir, for the gentleman
Who first observed the moon!
Peter, put up the sunshine;
Patti, arrange the stars;
Tell Luna, tea is waiting,
And call your brother Mars!
Put down the apple, Adam,
And come away with me,
So shalt thou have a pippin
From off my father’s tree!
I climb the “Hill of Science,”
I “view the landscape o’er;”
Such transcendental prospect,
I ne’er beheld before!
Unto the Legislature
My country bids me go;
I’ll take my india rubbers,
In case the wind should blow!
During my education,
It was announced to me
That gravitation, stumbling,
Fell from an apple tree!
The earth upon an axis
Was once supposed to turn,
By way of a gymnastic
In honor of the sun!
It was the brave Columbus,
A sailing o’er the tide,
Who notified the nations
Of where I would reside!
Mortality is fatal—
Gentility is fine,
Rascality, heroic,
Insolvency, sublime!
Our Fathers being weary,
Laid down on Bunker Hill;
And tho’ full many a morning,
Yet they are sleeping still,—
The trumpet, sir, shall wake them,
In dreams I see them rise,
Each with a solemn musket
A marching to the skies!
A coward will remain, Sir,
Until the fight is done;
But an immortal hero
Will take his hat, and run!
Good bye, Sir, I am going;
My country calleth me;
Allow me, Sir, at parting,
To wipe my weeping e’e.
In token of our friendship
Accept this “Bonnie Doon,”
And when the hand that plucked it
Hath passed beyond the moon,
The memory of my ashes
Will consolation be;
Then, farewell, Tuscarora,
And farewell, Sir, to thee!
2.6k
A new calendar is a map of time
Showing you spaces in which you might live
And setting off the seasons and solemnities
The penances and feasts in order just
Beneath pictures of cafes’ in Water Street
Arctic-wind hiking trails in Ikkarumiklua
A pint of Quidi Vidi in The Gut
And Peter Pan’s statue in Bowring Park
Or maybe
Our Lady of Walsingham
Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe
Notre Dame de La Salette
Or some puppies and kittens
And may you find your heart’s desires this year
Jan 1, 2019
Jan 1, 2019 at 1:14 PM UTC
i'm walking down the street
bare feet, without a care
**** uber, metro, I hate public transportation,
i'm dirtying up this sidewalk, for a few years already
i'm writing down a will, in my mind, close to my eyelids,
because i'm on the wrong side of my mind
i feel sick, tasting the bitterness of humanity
when I wipe mankind on the side of the pavement,
at the very deep, there's masculinity mixed with *****
i'm walking down a bridge full of empty shells
i pass hordes of girls who are smiling insincerely
and again, i feel a boost in my veins
and again, i'm louder than mirrors
and as in the mirrors, voidness space,
and it is me, who takes the best from it
i absorb this poisoned air.
In the ears of mine, i can hear electro heat,
i feel like one man one Jean-Michel Jarre,
rain is pouring through me, sticks to me like fog,
i wrap myself in the warmth of two MDMA's,
someone glances surreptitiously and steals my soul,
you have a backpack full of cash, i have a suitcase full of emotions,
i'm going on a journey through the cursed city
like a hermaphrodite with a broken rod,
streets, like stigmas, cry with hollow screams,
in front of clubs content abortions on the sidewalk,
let's leave this lie, like the walking dead
assertiveness and pride to the gutter washed away.
And again, this booster is kindling my veins
i'm dirtier than a new jerusalem
and similar to it, i'm sticking to everything
and so I'm taking the most out of my heart
and I absorb this poisoned air once again.
and so the booster flows through the aorta
it is flooding my tarred heart,
destination reached.
and my wallet is shimmering with bitter crystal
nothing will change the course of this chemistry,
betrayed. betrayed by their own bodies
vidi, no vici, veni on its own,
and i'm catching a laugh, standing still in the subway
i am still absorbing poisoned air.
hatred.
jealousy.
i've seen enough.
today, in my city, sun rises in the morning.
you will remember this day forever or forget it for eternity.
Jan 4, 2019
Jan 4, 2019 at 4:43 PM UTC
brat i sestra
brat: cao
sestra: cao
brat: gde je tata?
sestra: u sobi.
brat: sta radi?
sestra: ma odkud znam, pusi.
brat pravi sendvice. pet sendvica. mleko i keks. malo cipsa sa strane.
brat ne zna nista. sestra zna po nesto.
brat se obraca psu: pa gde si ti bio ceo dan?jeli malisanu mali, milice jedna, jel si gladan? a sta si radio? hoces napolje? jao pa vidi te sapice, smrdo jedan.
ne izvodi psa.
brat jede. cuti.
brat ide na spavanje, vec je jako kasno. opranih zuba.
sestra vec spava. brat otvara vrata sestrine sobe naglo, namerno ili mozda slucajno ali ne i prvi put. gleda u mrak i osluskuje sestrino mumlanje i cangrizanje. cuti. zatvara vrata i odlazi u svoj mrak, prekoputa.
jutro je.
brat: cao
sestra: cao
brat: gde je tata?
Feb 5, 2015
Feb 5, 2015 at 8:22 AM UTC
Through the darkness I part the Veil,
And walk the hidden paths,
In the brightness beyond the pale,
I see what none have seen.
There's danger here in the world beyond,
In the gleam beyond the gloom.
And all my days it waits for me,
The calling in my blood,
And through the years I walk the paths,
That very few have seen,
The Veil grows thin as years go by,
In the gleam beyond the gloom.
Through the darkness I return again,
From those fair hidden paths,
And as I walk I learn to talk,
Like I once knew I could,
For few have been beyond the veil,
In the gleam beyond the gloom.
~In the Gleam Beyond the Gloom by Bethany "Lorekeeper" Davis, March 5, 2015
My attempt at translating it into Latin:
Velum parte post umbram,
Et ambulate per semitae occultae,
In splendóribus supra pallidus,
Non video quid viderim.
Non est hic mundus extra periculum,
In splendóribus post umbram.
Et omnibus diebus meis memet maneat
Vocatio in sanguine meo,
Et per annos ambulate semitae,
Valde pauci, quas vidi,
Velum crescit tenuis quod eunt anni,
In splendóribus post umbram.
Per tenebras revertentur
Ex his latet semitas occultae,
Et ego ambulo illis loquela,
Scientes semel ego potui,
Pauci abierunt trans velum,
In splendóribus post umbram.
And a translation of that Latin from an academic translation site:
And the hanging for the part after the shadow,
And walk by the ways of the hidden God,
In the brightness of beyond the pale,
I do not see what I saw,
He is not here the world is out of danger,
In the brightness after the shadow.
The call waits for me,
In my blood, and all my days,
And I will walk you through the years, the highways,
Very few men, that I have seen,
As the years go by the thin veil of the increases,
In the brightness after the shadow.
From these things it is hidden by the darkness,
They shall come again the paths of the hidden God,
And I, I walk the angels have speech,
Yet knowing that once I was able to,
They went to the other side of the veil of the few,
In the brightness after the shadow.
Mar 26, 2015
Mar 26, 2015 at 5:48 AM UTC
The year was 1751. The night was darker than normal, the moon was covered by clouds. A woman's scream echoed off the trees,
a pack of wolves began to howl. In a cottage near the old road, Ciadentria held her aunt's arm tightly. With watery eyes and hands covered in blood, the room was lit by the candle glow.
Aunt Mesodeni looked up and said excitedly.
"Congratulations! You have three healthy boys! You must be proud!"
Triplets were born that night. Ciadentria looked at the three innocent faces and whispered.
"My enlightened ones, welcome to your brand new life."
Then gasping for air Ciadentria held her babies close to her chest then slowly closed her eyes. Moments later the proud mother of three drifted away and died.
With flowing tears, Mesodeni put a sheet over Ciandentria. She then looked at the beautiful children and noticed each of them had a birthmark on the back of their lower necks.
"Sweet babies your momma is gone, but I am here. I name you Vini, Vidi, and Vici."
Then she lifted them up wrapped them in blankets and laid them in a wooden crib.
"Oh Ciadentria how we miss you already, I promise to give them a glorious life."
She kissed her forehead pulled over the sheet then blew out the candlelight.
The End
Jul 1, 2013
Jul 1, 2013 at 4:00 AM UTC
I came, I saw
but I did not conquer
it wasn't my goal at the outset
to win a battle --only to wonder
what the whole wide world
to me held in store
I returned a little wiser
and am eager to venture out for more.
Jan 29, 2016
Jan 29, 2016 at 8:10 PM UTC
incantevole eternamente, encantatrice, l’Imperatrice!
mia cuore marcita, cara, Madonna della la menzogna mia!
O dia mia, di nominare ti’ una piaga, Pietà, piaga, purulenta corusca glorifica ti,
O dia mia, O cuore della vacuita mia!
se solo la sola vista vidi
erano i tuoi perfetta morta occhia, vacua Madonna della menzogna mia!
Nov 4, 2012
Nov 4, 2012 at 1:00 AM UTC
Your words bang hard against the unwritten Wind,
Uncontrolled souls explode; destroying others within
Una voce. With one voice.
Searching frantically, identity lost in the Air
Your tongue slaps the stranger; now all gather there
Vinculum unitatis. The bond of unity.
In anger the Angel spits streams of Fire
She swings at the world; opportunity tires
Status quo ante bellum. State before the war.
Unbridled words; foundations lay Earth
Reasoning lost. The war is now birthed.
Vae victis! Woe to the conquered!
Feb 10, 2011
Feb 10, 2011 at 9:40 PM UTC
Title: “I came, I saw, I conquered”.
(A familiar quote by Julius Caesar after victory in a short war.)
More than the standard reference this sentence is also a delightful representation in the first person. Thus, the drama begins in the title, itself. The title is meant to emphasize the beginning; one person speaking of himself in the first person. A person in need of power and victory.
1st Stanza: With one voice
With one voice he strikes in anger with effective words. He desires for all things to uplift his need for approval. With glorious speeches he calls for others to join him. He becomes more encouraged as he calls out his grandiose ideas and philosophy of things to come.
2nd Stanza: The Bond of Unity
The uncontrolled need of the power-hungry ruler requires even more to satisfy his ego and personal needs. Without this step, he would fail. He succeeds however, as his call to strangers is heard and they eagerly gather to be controlled and commit to fight for the cause they now believe in.
3rd Stanza: State before the War
The “Angel” represents either (or both) of the opposing sides preparing for battle. Both sides now feel they are doing the right thing for the right reasons; pure intentions. At this point, actions begin, testing the opponent as the drama heightens and preparations ensue.
4th Stanza: Woe to the conquered!
From one with power and angry words – to the veracious battle. Reasoning is lost. Only winning counts now. The ground has been laid for treacherous harm. Emotions unparalleled. All crimes now justified. Destruction inevitable.
The poem itself is meant to increase in intensity with each stanza.
Latin phrases are used for drama, depth, and intensity.
Lastly, the hidden natural elements of Wind, Air, Fire, and Earth represent man’s nature.
Inevitably present and capable of fierce and volatile chaos.
You will find one of each of these elements in the first line; last word, of each stanza.
Feb 13, 2011
Feb 13, 2011 at 9:34 PM UTC
The fall of Rome is upon us.
I have spied it from my window,
i dare not intrude.
venimus
vidimus
vicimus
(ourselves)
The slaves are in revolt;
the Colliseum burns,
flames tenderly licking
destruction and freedom,
a beacon in the
dark autumn night;
Carthage has embraced
its high sodium diet,
it now seeks equality;
the Senate lies in ruin,
much as it always has,
now bereft of contributors.
Ego autem relictus solus devius,
faciamus nobis effugium.
Come, fair plebian lady,
get in my chariot,
i will 'Billy Ocean' you
all the way
to the end of the world,
because some things never change.
veni
vidi
vici
NOTHING
per memet
ita reliqui,
empty-handed
my new fair plebian in tow.
Roma victa.
Oct 10, 2013
Oct 10, 2013 at 6:19 PM UTC
Erano i capei d'oro a l'aura sparsi
che'n mille dolci nodi gli avolgea,
e'l vago lume oltra misura ardea
di quei begli occhi, ch'or ne son si scarsi;
e il viso di pietosi color'farsi,
non so se vero o falso, mi parea:
i'che l'esca amorosa al petto avea,
qual meraviglia se di subito arsi?
Non era l'andar suo cosa mortale,
ma d'angelica forma, e le parole
sonavan altro, che pur voce umana.
Uno spirito celeste, un viso sole
fu quel ch'i'vidi; e se non fosse or tale,
piaga per allentar d'arco non sana.
1.2k
J'ai bien assez vécu, puisque dans mes douleurs
Je marche, sans trouver de bras qui me secourent,
Puisque je ris à peine aux enfants qui m'entourent,
Puisque je ne suis plus réjoui par les fleurs ;
Puisqu'au printemps, quand Dieu met la nature en fête,
J'assiste, esprit sans joie, à ce splendide amour ;
Puisque je suis à l'heure où l'homme fuit le jour,
Hélas ! et sent de tout la tristesse secrète ;
Puisque l'espoir serein dans mon âme est vaincu ;
Puisqu'en cette saison des parfums et des roses,
Ô ma fille ! j'aspire à l'ombre où tu reposes,
Puisque mon coeur est mort, j'ai bien assez vécu.
Je n'ai pas refusé ma tâche sur la terre.
Mon sillon ? Le voilà. Ma gerbe ? La voici.
J'ai vécu souriant, toujours plus adouci,
Debout, mais incliné du côté du mystère.
J'ai fait ce que j'ai pu ; j'ai servi, j'ai veillé,
Et j'ai vu bien souvent qu'on riait de ma peine.
Je me suis étonné d'être un objet de haine,
Ayant beaucoup souffert et beaucoup travaillé.
Dans ce bagne terrestre où ne s'ouvre aucune aile,
Sans me plaindre, saignant, et tombant sur les mains,
Morne, épuisé, raillé par les forçats humains,
J'ai porté mon chaînon de la chaîne éternelle.
Maintenant, mon regard ne s'ouvre qu'à demi ;
Je ne me tourne plus même quand on me nomme ;
Je suis plein de stupeur et d'ennui, comme un homme
Qui se lève avant l'aube et qui n'a pas dormi.
Je ne daigne plus même, en ma sombre paresse,
Répondre à l'envieux dont la bouche me nuit.
Ô Seigneur ! ouvrez-moi les portes de la nuit,
Afin que je m'en aille et que je disparaisse !
1.2k
How marvelous is the view
Even when its cloudy and it may rain
Just a few minute or hours from now
But still im grateful of this ministering skies
It so wide that no one can measure it up
T square cant, steel tape looses its grips
They were bemused thinking of such things
How to chase the width of each corner
As I watch this heavenly body moving
Though lying in this bed made of string
The moon is like an eyes that staring at me
And Im so blessed that the empty head turns to fun filled
In this moment of soft delicate air
Machines suddenly stop their vibration
Gaze at whole beauty and take a time
To open their utmost beings
And the cloudy atmosphere has gone by
It really enlightens my new year eve, as I observe
The falling rain has postponed its delicacies
And i feel the warm touch of the season
May 14, 2010
May 14, 2010 at 6:01 AM UTC
beyond the highest skyscraper
beyond the apex of Everest
Beyond the reaches of the Farthest Stars
I have ascended
where even angels it does seem, are inhibited
and tremble to tread.
faster than a beam of light,
stronger than a million Atlae holding the spheres on their shoulders
I have made the ascent.
The dream became a bold reality.
The pages of the book opened.
Vini, Vidi, Vici.
Feb 1, 2011
Feb 1, 2011 at 7:30 PM UTC
If we had never done the deed
and soiled the sheets together,
Lesbia we might have had
a love that lasts forever.
Instead, you lay back, wantonly,
inviting me to sin.
Our cries and whispers mingled
as I spent myself within.
Lust comes with an expiration date
and I was cast aside;
Some other noble Roman
now mounts my favorite ride.
Caesar too, will come and go ;
Veni, Vidi, Vici.
Some label you promiscuous
your morals are thought dicey.
Yet you're not indiscriminate
in choosing your next partner;
The distinction is that you lie down
and do not stoop to conquer.
Aug 4, 2012
Aug 4, 2012 at 8:01 AM UTC
It's as if a photograph is the most valuable thing one can own;
That sepia tone, that time and date stamp,
What a friend,
What an ode to memories of a time long past,
A year ago today it went- **** Just. Like. That.
And just like that, you're back there with all your fears and trepidations
And slight ponderings on the habits of water snakes and devils' babies.
**** just like that you're brought back to the present,
Wondering about the future;
Will it all work out outside of this moment? Which like that one,
Is so perfect and complete, a puzzle not missing a piece or having a hair out of place,
Here, in this rose garden amongst garbage heaps of relative affluence.
**** you're gone away unto the Future,
A mystical, magical unfamiliar place... because there is not like here,
Where you are so sure of everything, and the complete certainty of infinite possibility
Canoodling with your youth cries out to you in exhilaration
And apathy
For your autumn years;
You know these city streets and ally walls and University halls,
You know these faces and those places and the box
Which you have built yourself out of recycled materials- opinions, quotes, and ideas
You're only borrowing,
Like a sweater with multi-coloured buttons from an old friend that you might just decide to keep,
Or give away to charity
If that happy interlude between lending and returning has long ago expired.
**** Here you are! Right now! This instant!
A vast infinite collection of empty spaces and visited places,
Held by bonds no tighter than your weakest ties.
And all those times you said you were going to carpe diem,
You let it veni vidi vici you instead.
So, holding this photograph, I ask you now:
In the puff of smoke lit from the flash of the camera,
Is this the way you want to live, or is the meaning of alive simply to die?
Sep 8, 2013
Sep 8, 2013 at 3:02 AM UTC
I came. I saw. I conquered
You came into my life
Like the flash of lightning
- fast, ephemeral
You saw me
Like I was just a stardust
- beautiful and ugly
You conquered
- my life, my heart
and it was lasting
May 25, 2016
May 25, 2016 at 11:04 AM UTC
Avrei voluto sentirmi scabro ed essenziale
siccome i ciottoli che tu volvi,
mangiati dalla salsedine;
scheggia fuori dal tempo, testimone
di una volontà fredda che non passa.
Altro fui: uomo intento che riguarda
in sé, in altrui, il bollore
della vita fugace uomo che tarda
all'atto, che nessuno, poi, distrugge.
Volli cercare il male
che tarla il mondo, la piccola stortura
d'una leva che arresta
l'ordegno universale; e tutti vidi
gli eventi del minuto
come pronti a disgiungersi in un crollo.
Seguìto il solco di un sentiero m'ebbi
l'opposto in cuore, col suo invito; e forse
m'occorreva il coltello che recide,
la mente che decide e si determina.
Altri libri occorrevano
a me, non la tua pagina rombante.
Ma nulla so rimpiangere: tu sciogli
ancora i groppi interni col tuo canto.
Il tuo delirio sale agli astri ormai.
940
Ritrovarmi in questo ovale
con un legame vitale
in solitudine a volteggiare
con l 'infinito aspettare
di qualcosa.
Sognare
di poter camminare
in un nuoto perpetuo
di pensieri
intravedendo una luce bianca.
La fine di tutto.
Uno schiocco
Un pianto.
La nascita della vita in bracccio a giganti biancheggianti.
Crescendo vidi cose senza senso
cosciente del perduto collettivo senno.
Vidi uomini con biancheggianti vestiti
baciare e non procreare
di fronte a un freddo altare
in nome di una croce
e un continuo narrare.
Esseri travestiti
professare falsi miti
e scuole dove si imparava a vivere
lasciando l'intelligenza reprimere.
Sicuri di un tranquillo lavoro
si sedevano su un falso trono
lasciando che un finto quadrato
rubassero loro gli anni d'oro.
Ed ora piano piano mi invecchio
sperando ancora in un qualche cambiamento.
Disteso in un biancheggiante letto
rimango cosciente che della vita
e delle esperienze connesse ad essa
non mi interessa piu niente.
Tutto improvvisamente si illumina di bianco
e mi appresto al grande salto.
Ma con me non posso portare nient'altro
che un tatuaggio
situato dentro al cuore
con impresso dentro il nome
di quella persona che in questa vita
mi diede tanto amore.
984
You are my favourite poet
You inspire me
It goes without saying that I love you
And even more so
When you breathe your words into me
And pierce my soul with your ink
Never stop writing your phrases on my heart
Always tell me in abstract
How my chameleon eyes remind you of calm streams
And brighter days served in a history of torment
We are two lost pieces to the puzzle
pushed under the couch
Vidi vici veni
I love it because you said it and I believed you
Because it is one thing
to say one thing is another
But it takes a poet to analyse it to it's full potential
So analyse me
Talk me into your amazing mind
And you can with ease
Because you are my favourite poet
May 20, 2015
May 20, 2015 at 6:38 PM UTC
I feel my heart wrenching muted screams, From silently, violently, shattered hopes and dreams.
Mornings fill my veins with shards of glass.
Frozen crystal memories, tormented past.
Vini, vidi, vici... You did your part.
You came, you saw, and you conquered my heart.
But now you are bored, the challenge won.
My heart was yours.. whats done is done.
Although I see you clearer, each day, every night.
I saw your momentum, your anxiety for flight.
And my Love, in its Truth, wont hold you caged.
You lit the spark in my heart, and it blazed and it raged.
I can honestly admit, I know Im not perfect.
But neither were you, but you are perfectly worth it.
If there is only one thing I wish I could explain,
Is that never, in this process, did I intend to bring pain.
This Love, oceans deep, as old as time...
A thousand life times, your heart was mine.
And mine still yours, in Truth and Light..
Unfortunately obscured by Social fraudulent plight.
I dont know how to end this off, or what to say.
Even though you are physically absent, I love you each day.
And every day after, even though I may lose.
Because every day my heart tells me, that its you who I choose.
Jan 29, 2016
Jan 29, 2016 at 5:59 PM UTC
Vidi il mio sogno sopra il monte in cima;
era una striscia pallida, cò suoi
Boschi d'un verde quale mai né prima
vidi né poi.
Prima, il sonante nembo coi velari,
tutto ascondeva, delle nubi nere:
poi, tutto il sole disvelò del pari
bello a vedere.
Ma quel mio sogno al raggio d'un'aurora
nuova m'apparve e sparve in un baleno,
che il ciel non era torbo più né ancora
tutto sereno.
713
o kamenu suvi kad u tebi
počne ovo razdanje da kuca
pogledaj i vidi gde mi se pogled gasi
željan
miris osmeha pogleda iskrenog
njenog
Apr 27, 2015
Apr 27, 2015 at 5:30 PM UTC
These Olive Gifts the Mediterranean wears
Were far too Tasty for my Tongue to relate
Yet seeing this Meat sliced and spiced with your Cares
Parted portions for your Other Half belate
Which, by Witness, caused my Self-Buds to droop
Then plan for my own Taste beyond the Screen
But how? Folly, these Ambitions I stoop
Which my Long-Nosed Puppet withdrew the Mean
Though, since this Built blubs my Appetite's norm
Of ****** Impediments your Remark states right
Consumes Activity; As I signed the Form
And Smooth my Prince's Glass for your Delight.
Still you saw - my hands grip this stubborn Steel
Yet formed these Sinews my Ferment Mind feel.
May 28, 2013
May 28, 2013 at 2:14 AM UTC