A Prayer in Spring

by Robert Frost

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.

Primer Coat

by Mike Cooley

The old man's out by the swimming pool
He goes there to think
He talks on the phone sometimes
Hardly mentions a thing
Said he needed it for his knees
He used to swim back in school
Graduated in '84
Quit drinking in '92

He used to call her a basket case
For hanging on like she did
The only girl of a foreman's wife
She'd never let him forget
It comes to women and they survive
But when the same comes to men
Someone comes for their babies
Something dies there and then

Slinging gravel in parking lots
And looking tough on the hood
A girl as plain as a primer coat
Leaves nothing misunderstood
Her mother and I through trembling lips
A steady hand on his own
The future of every rebel cause
When all the fight in him is gone

My sister's marrying in the spring
And everything will be fine
Mama's planning the wedding
Daddy's planning on crying
She's slipping out of her apron strings
You best leave him be
He's staring through his own taillights
And gathering speed

Country

by Paul Weller

I know a place not far from here
Where life's sweet perfume fills the air
And if you want I'll take you there
If you want I'll take you there

Into the light out of the dark
Where only love can heal your heart
And if you want I'll make a start
If you want I'll make a start

This place I say, half-hour away
Is that so far to go, so near?
And further on we'll find the time
And lose the discontent we feel

I feel the time we've yet to reach
Is not within our own belief
But I feel sure that time will come
If it goes on at all

I know a place not far from here
Where fresh cut grass will fill your hair
And if you want we'll lay a while there
If you want we'll lay a while there

Meet James Ensor

by John Flansburgh

Meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Dig him up and shake his hand
Appreciate the man

Before there were junk stores
Before there was junk
He lived with his mother
And the torments of Christ
The world was transformed
A crowd gathered round
Pressed against his window
So they could be the first

To meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Raise a glass and sit and stare
Understand the man

He lost all his friends
He didn't need his friends
He lived with his mother
And repeated himself
The world has forgotten
The world moved along
The crowd at his window
Went back to their homes

Meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Dig him up and shake his hand
Appreciate the man

Come As You Are

by Kurt Cobain

Come, as you are, as you were
As I want you to be
As a friend, as a friend
As an old enemy
Take your time, hurry up
The choice is yours, don't be late
Take a rest, as a friend
As an old memory

Come, doused in mud, soaked in bleach
As I want you to be
As a trend, as a friend
As an old memory

And I swear that I don't have a gun
No, I don't have a gun

All Future and No Past

by Steve Wynn

Spring is here, and the time is right
For unrealistic goals
Last summer some hit the bottom rung
But the new year brings high hopes

The Padres may be surprising
A Red Machine could rise again
If the Pirates are pulverizing
I want to write that storybook end

Before a game is played
Before an out is made
Before the first crack of the bat
That's when it's all future and no past

The slinging A's will be overachieving
KC could be a royal pain
The O's recent woes so deceiving
The Tribe could end up drenched in champagne

Every April brings a new slate
So under the circumstance
Let's remember the Rays of 2008
At this point everybody has a chance

Opening day
It's all future and no past

Ash Wednesday (Pt. VI)

[Pt. V here]
by T.S. Eliot

Although I do not hope to turn again
Although I do not hope
Although I do not hope to turn

Wavering between the profit and the loss
In this brief transit where the dreams cross
The dreamcrossed twilight between birth and dying
(Bless me father) though I do not wish to wish these things
From the wide window towards the granite shore
The white sails still fly seaward, seaward flying
Unbroken wings

And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices
In the lost lilac and the lost sea voices
And the weak spirit quickens to rebel
For the bent golden-rod and the lost sea smell
Quickens to recover
The cry of quail and the whirling plover
And the blind eye creates
The empty forms between the ivory gates
And smell renews the salt savour of the sandy earth

This is the time of tension between dying and birth
The place of solitude where three dreams cross
Between blue rocks
But when the voices shaken from the yew-tree drift away
Let the other yew be shaken and reply.

Blessed sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,
Suffer me not to be separated

And let my cry come unto Thee.