Apologia (Smith)

O gentlest love, I have not played
For you upon the lute of jade;
Nor on that fabulous bassoon
Wrought from the horns of minotaurs,
And set with subtly changing spars
And lucid metals of the moon—

The thing my childish fingers found
Cast on a god-frequented ground,
And unto whose compelling note
Sprang the brown dryad from her tree,
And palest vampires came to me
With limbs more sweet than trodden lote.

I have not made such melodies
As call the philtered sorceries:
But I will weave, some autumn day,
A song to make your beauty mine—
Wrought not with mystical design
And chords of passionate dismay.

For I will tell, with wonted words,
A tale of two that autumn birds
Had led beneath oblivious skies,
Who plucked the wilding asters rare,
And peered from grasses like your hair
To distance blue as your blue eyes.

Boil it down (1875)

Whatever you have to say, my friend,
Whether witty or grave or gay,
Condense as much as ever you can,
And say it the readiest way;
And whether you write of rural affairs
Or of matter and things in town,
Just take a word of friendly advice—
Boil it down.

For if you go spluttering over a page,
When a couple of lines would do,
Your butter is spread so much, you see,
That the bread looks plainly through;
So, when you have a story to tell
And would like a little renown,
To make quite sure of your wish, my friend,
Boil it down.

When writing an article for the press,
Whether prose or verse, just try
To settle your thoughts to the fewest words
And let them be crisp and dry;
And when it is finished and you suppose
It is done exactly brown,
Just look it over again and then
Boil it down.

For editors do not like to print
An article lazily long,
And the general reader does not care
For a couple of yards of song;
So gather your wits in the smallest space,
And if you want a little renown,
And every time you write, my friend,
Boil it down.

stairway to Heaven

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for

Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to Heaven
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to Heaven

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven

Ooh, that makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder

There's a feelin' I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leavin'
In my thoughts I have seen, rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand lookin'

Ooh, that makes me wonder
Oh yeah

And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And the new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on

Your head is hummin' and it won't go, in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know?
Your stairway lies on the whisperin' wind

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show

How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll

And she's buying a stairway to Heaven

my heart will go on

[Verse 1]
Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you
That is how I know you go on
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on

[Chorus]
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more, you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on

[Verse 2]
Love can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go 'til we're gone
Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold to
In my life, we'll always go on

[Chorus]
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more, you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on

covid is forever

jedi code

lolita lana del rey

Would you be mine, would you be my baby tonight?
Could be kissing my fruit punch lips in the bright sunshine
'Cause I like you quite a lot, everything you got, don't you know?
It's you that I adore, though I make the boys fall like dominoes

Kiss me in the D-A-R-K dark tonight
D-a-r-k do it my way
Kiss me in the P-A-R-K park tonight
P-a-r-k let them all say

Hey Lolita, hey
Hey Lolita, hey
I know what the boys want, I'm not gonna play
Hey Lolita, hey
Hey Lolita, hey
Whistle all you want but I'm not gonna say

No more skipping rope, skipping heart beats with the boys downtown
Just you and me feeling the heat even when the sun goes down

I could be yours, I could be your baby tonight
Topple you down from your sky forty stories high
Shining like a God, can't believe I caught you and so
Look at what I bought, not a second thought, oh, Romeo

Kiss me in the D-A-R-K dark tonight
D-a-r-k do it my way
Kiss me in the P-A-R-K park tonight
P-a-r-k let them all say

Hey Lolita, hey
Hey Lolita, hey
I know what the boys want, I'm not gonna play
Hey Lolita, hey
Hey Lolita, hey
Whistle all you want but I'm not gonna say

No more skipping rope, skipping heart beats with the boys downtown
Just you and me feeling the heat even when the sun goes down

I want my cake and I want to eat it too
I want to have fun and be in love with you
I know that I'm a mess with my long hair
And my suntan, short dress, bare feet
I don't care what they say about me, what they say about me
Because I know that it's L-O-V-E
You make me happy, you make me happy
And I never listen to anyone

Let them all say

Hey Lolita, hey
Hey Lolita, hey
I know what the boys want, I'm not gonna play
Hey Lolita, hey
Hey Lolita, hey
Whistle all you want but I'm not gonna say

No more skipping rope, skipping heart beats with the boys downtown
Just you and me feeling the heat even when the sun goes down