Moving Finger Writes Poems | Examples


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Premium Member Time Does Not Stand Still

Time Does Not Stand Still

Yesterday is remembered
And tomorrow we have not seen 
Uncertainty and memories
Surround us in today.

The cycle never changes
And time does not stand still --
Remembrances from yesterday --
And tomorrow, not yet known.

Designs of life surround us
As we live inside today --
Looking back at yesterday --
And, ahead, to – uncertainty.

Yesterday is history --
Tomorrow, who can say?
Today is certain, to a point --
And time does not stand still.

Written By John Posey
07/21/13

Inspired By
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam
 By Rudyard Kipling
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

Wish

I wish I could have 
    seen Theodore Roosevelt 
Eugene Debs, Calvin Coolidge
    speak their minds
I wish I could travel back 
in time to see Daniel Webster,
meet Lewis and Clark 
    I wish time was malleable
And that we could travel through it 
    to see J.R.T. Tolkien, the Lubavither Rebbe,
Martin Luther King 
But you and i are trapped 
    in 2013 
    Let's try to make the best of it 
Since so far as we know 
     The clcock moves in one direction 
"The moving finger writes - and having writ - moves on"

Wish

I wish I could have 
     seen and heard Theodore Roosevelt , 
Eugene Debs and Calvin Coolidge 
    speak their minds 
I wish I could travel back
   in time to see Daniel Webster,
meet Lewis and Clark 
   I wish time was malleable 
And that we could travel back 
   to see Chaim Potok - J.R.R. Tolkien, 
the Lubavitcher rebbe, Martin Luther King
  But friend - you and I are trapped in the early 21st century 
       Let's try to make the 
most of it 
For as the Old Tentmaker knew "The moving finger writes - and having writ moves on....


With Apologies To Omar Khayyam

"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on; nor all your Piety nor wit 
shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a word of it."
From the Rubaiyat of Omer Khayyam.

This is one (of many) of my favorite quotes of hs masterpiece.   It reinforces the 
reality of life, there  is no dress  reheasal...this is it...and we'd better do it right the 
first time!

Written In Stone

Should I have taken the other road?
Why didn't I..I forget
Was it Karma or bad choices
That led to some regrets?
Could I have made a difference
In some of life's vignettes?

We cannot change what was
Nor ever bring back the past
We cannot erase events
The die has already been cast!

Let Us Move Foward

Seems like our
only alternative is dreams
Perhaps the moon is our only friend
   At times we tire of the life 
we are leading
    but the 
dance
continues
  Alone, unhappy 
we move down 
  astral paths
     watch as 
      rainbows 
are caught 
unawares by the splintered light 
of the moon
 Seems like we are 
  ready for change
But.....
if we do not move quickly 
   we will learn 
the truth too late
   and we will realize 
and truly understand 
what the old tent - maker said:
"the moving finger writes and having writ moves on....."

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

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