Electric Word Music

(List of Quotes at End of Collection)

1.

if thou live remembered not to be
die single and thine image dies with thee
then the eyes of both were opened
and they knew that they were naked
and in the shadows the howling of spectral hounds
a little pitted speck in garnered fruit
that rotting inward slowly moulders all
and straight the sun was flecked with bars
a dungeon horrible on all sides round
as one great furnace flamed
those who restrain desire do so because
theirs is weak enough to be restrained
and the restrainer or reason usurps its place
and governs the unwilling
and in the shadows the howling of spectral hounds
then the eyes of both were opened
and they knew that they were naked
if thou live remembered not to be
die single and thine image dies with thee

2.

she shone through her body visibly
a dancing shape
an image gay
to haunt
to startle
and waylay
and all that's best of dark and bright
meet in her aspect and her eyes
from whose presence the leaves dead are driven
like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing
all breathing human passion far above
that leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloyed
a burning forehead
and a parching tongue
what immortal hand or eye
could frame her airy beauty
she shone through her body visibly
a dancing shape
an image gay
to haunt
to startle
and waylay
but her beauty's sweeping glory
that blushed and bloomed
is just a dim-remembered story
of the old time entombed

3.

I sing of arms and the hero
destiny's exile
he was only a youth
ruddy and handsome in appearance
and his spirit suffered every adversity
to keep his life intact
as he fought
exulting in blood and victory
rushing into battle
and the gods came with him
he rode sublime on the wings of cherub
on the crystalline sky
in sapphire throned
he reverenced his conscience as his king
whose glory was redressing human wrong
and his spirit suffered every adversity
as he fought
exulting in blood and victory
he strode along the surf
crying his piercing cry
and rousing all mighty warriors

4.

let me tell you of a man of many wiles
a man who wandered many paths of exile
one of equal temper to heroic hearts
made weak by time and fate but strong in will
to strive to seek to find and not to yield
he put on swift wings and towards the gates of hell
explored his solitary flight
the perilous path was planted
and a river and a spring
he followed wandering fires
lost in the quagmire
and by degrees he beheld the infinite abyss
fiery as the smoke of a burning city
beneath him at an immense distance
was the sun black but shining
and through the drifts the snowy cliffs
sent a dismal sheen
he saw no shapes of men nor beasts
the ice was all between
through caverns measureless to man
down to a sunless sea
he threw himself
face down on the mound of the grave
drenching the gravestone
with tears that flooded the letters of his name
made weak by time and fate but strong in will
to strive to seek to find and not to yield
he followed wandering fires
lost in the quagmire
through caverns measureless to man
down to a sunless sea
the sun was black but shining
and through the drifts the snowy cliffs
sent a dismal sheen
he saw no shapes of men nor beasts
the ice was all between
and by degrees he beheld the infinite abyss
and on he rode and greater was his thirst
then flashed a yellow gleam across the world
and he came back
and cut down a branch with a single cluster of grape leaves
day after day
day after day
he was stuck without breath or motion
as idle as a painted ship
upon a painted ocean
he came to the land to which he was sent
it flowed with milk and honey
yet the people who lived in the land were strong
and the towns were fortified and very large
far off from these a slow and silent stream
the river of oblivion rolls her watery labyrinth
and by degrees he beheld the infinite abyss
fiery as the smoke of a burning city
the sun was black but shining
and through the drifts the snowy cliffs
sent a dismal sheen
he saw no shapes of men nor beasts
the ice was all between
and terror in his eyes he made for the cave
through caverns measureless to man
down to a sunless sea
faster than east wind
and fear gave wings to his feet
and now against his will
day after day
day after day
calypso keeps him captive in her grotto
as idle as a painted ship
upon a painted ocean
with tears that flooded the letters of his name
made weak by time and fate

5.

if there is nothing new but that which is
and has been before how are our brains beguiled
the world was all before them
beings breathing thoughtful breaths
travelers between life and death
and providence was their guide
the shadow of the dome of pleasure
an image shown in an antique book
floated midway on the waves
haze hidden and thereon a phantom king
even a god who chanced to see that site
would feel the force of wonder and delight
an image shown in an antique book
if there is nothing new but that which is
and has been before how are our brains beguiled
the world was all before them
beings breathing thoughtful breaths
along the vale of death

6.

a damsel with a dulcimer
in a vision once I saw
with such a tender voice
making all the vales rejoice
daughter of zeus my starting point
is any point you choose
sing heavenly muse that on the secret top
of Oreb or of Sinai inspired
that shepherd who first taught the chosen seed
sing heavenly muse
a damsel with a dulcimer
who can express a flowery tale
more sweetly than our rhyme
remind us what was the root-cause
sing heavenly muse
making all the vales rejoice
if my slight muse
does please these curious days
the pain be mine
but thine shall be the praise

7.

so till the sun bestrode the sky at high noon
the weapons hurtled side-to-side and men kept falling
already they were approaching those farthest acres
those final fields where only the great war-heroes
had their preserves
death ready stands to interpose his dart
fearless to be overmatched by living might
but more horrible than that
is the curse in a dead man's eye
seven days and seven nights I saw that curse
and yet I could not die
these were his words
and when a god had urged
the singer began to start his chant
and never yet since high in paradise
over the four rivers the first roses blew
came purer pleasure unto mortal kind
the forms of all things are derived from their genius
which by the ancients was called
an angel and a spirit and a demon
and never yet since high in paradise
over the four rivers the first roses blew
came purer pleasure unto mortal kind
these were his words
and when a god had urged
the singer began to start his chant
but more horrible than that
is the curse in a dead man's eye
seven days and seven nights I saw that curse
and yet I could not die
death ready stands to interpose his dart
fearless to be overmatched by living might
already they were approaching those farthest acres
those final fields where only the great war-heroes
had their preserves
so till the sun bestrode the sky at high noon
the weapons hurtled side-to-side and men kept falling
the forms of all things are derived from their genius
which by the ancients was called
an angel and a spirit and a demon
so till the sun bestrode the sky at high noon
death ready stands to interpose his dart
and yet I could not die
these were his words
over the four rivers the first roses blew
the weapons hurtled side-to-side and men kept falling
fearless to be overmatched by living might
the singer began to start his chant
and when a god had urged
seven days and seven nights I saw that curse
already they were approaching those farthest acres
and never yet since high in paradise
over the four rivers the first roses blew
has the singer yet begun to start his chant
the forms of all things are derived from their genius
which by the ancients was called
an angel and a spirit and a demon
so till the sun bestrode the sky at high noon
the weapons hurtled side-to-side and men kept falling
already they were approaching those farthest acres
those final fields where only the great war-heroes
had their preserves
death ready stands to interpose his dart
fearless to be overmatched by living might
but more horrible than that
is the curse in a dead man's eye
seven days and seven nights I saw that curse
and yet I could not die
these were his words
and when a god had urged
the singer began to start his chant
and never yet since high in paradise
over the four rivers the first roses blew
came purer pleasure unto mortal kind
the forms of all things are derived from their genius
which by the ancients was called
an angel and a spirit and a demon

8.

I sing of chaos and eternal night
taught by the heavenly muse to venture down
the dark descent and up to reascend
the waves of death encompassed him
the torrents of perdition assailed him
he shall wander like a breeze
by lakes and sandy shores
beneath the crags of ancient mountains
and beneath the clouds
he shall drive his cart and plow over the bones of the dead
for the road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom
the old man was terrified
he obeyed the order
turning
trailing away in silence down the shore
where the roaring battle lines of breakers crash and drag
but when the wanderer had come in close to shore
he heard the surge
against the shoals it hammered hard
the wailing combers rolled
and the good south wind still blew behind
but no sweet bird did follow
in his sleep he dreamed of food
his jaws closed on nothing
and he ground his teeth on nothing
and his throat kept swallowing nothing
the old man was terrified
trailing away in silence down the shore
where the roaring battle lines of breakers crash and drag
the waves of death encompassed him
the torrents of perdition assailed him
he shall wander like a breeze
by lakes and sandy shores
beneath the crags of ancient mountains
and beneath the clouds
he shall drive his cart and plow over the bones of the dead
for the road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom
there is a vast grove by a cool stream
for generations widely held in awe
on all sides it is enclosed by a coil of hills
which guard the dark pine-glade
and he rode on and found a mighty hill
and on the top a walled city
the spires pricked with incredible pinnacles into heaven

9.

to be weak is miserable
so of this be sure
to do good never will be their task
but ever to do ill their sole delight
all Bibles or sacred codes have been the causes of errors
man has no body distinct from his soul
the body is a portion of the soul discerned by the senses
the chief inlets of soul
the king will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand
so stretch out your hand
and strike with wonders
after that he will let you go
to be weak is miserable
to do good never will be their task
all Bibles or sacred codes have been the causes of errors
but of this be sure
reason is not alone from the soul

10.

hand in hand
with wandering steps and slow
through Eden
they took their solitary way
through the darkness
of that battle in the west
where all of high and holy dies away
they will turn the hearts of parents to their children
and the hearts of children to their parents
so that he will not come
and strike the land with a curse
and their souls flew
resentful of their fate
down to the shades
with many a sigh and groan
if prophecies of bards are ever truthful
he shall be living always

Quotes Used:

1.

"But if thou live rememb'red not to be,
Die single and thine image dies with thee." "Sonnet 3", Shakespeare,
Lines 13-14.
"Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were
naked;" Genesis 3:7, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1994.
"And in the shadows the howling of spectral hounds", The Aeneid,
Vergil, Book VI, Translated by Patric Dickinson, Page 127, New York:
Mentor, 1961.
"Or little pitted speck in garner'd fruit,
That rotting inward slowly moulders all." Idylls of the King, "Merlin
and Vivien", Tennyson, Lines 392-393.
"And straight the Sun was flecked with bars," The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner, Part The Third, Coleridge, Line 35.
"A dungeon horrible, on all sides round
As one great furnace flamed, yet from those flames" Paradise Lost, Book
I, Milton, Lines 61-62.
"Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be
restrained; and the restrainer or reason usurps its place &; governs
the unwilling." The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The Voice of the
Devil, Blake.

2.

"She, she herself, and only she,
Shone through her body visibly." "Phantom", Coleridge, Lines 7-8.
"A dancing Shape, an Image gay,
To haunt, to startle, and way-lay." "She was a phantom of delight",
Wordsworth, Lines 9-10.
"And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:" "She walks in beauty", Byron, Lines
3-4.
"Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing," "Ode to the West
Wind", Part I, Shelley, Lines 2-3.
"All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue." "Ode on a Grecian Urn",
Keats, Lines 28-20.
"What immortal hand or eye
could frame thy fearful symmetry?" "The Tyger", Blake, Lines 3-4.
"And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed." "The Haunted Place", Poe, Lines 37-40.

3.

"Of arms I sing and the hero, destiny's exile," The Aeneid, Vergil,
Book I, Translated by Patric Dickinson, Page 7, New York: Mentor,
1961.
"When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was
only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance." 1 Samuel 17:42, The
New Oxford Annotated Bible, Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1994.
"and on the sea, his spirit suffered every
adversity-to keep his life intact," The Odyssey, Homer, Book I,
Translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Page 3, New York: Bantam Books,
1990.
"Were frightened then and as he fought, exulting
In blood and victory, I knocked him over" Metamporphosis, Ovid, Book
XIII, Translated by Rolfe Humphries, Page 308, Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1983.
"Rushing to battle, and the gods came with him;" Metamporphosis, Ovid,
Book XIII, Translated by Rolfe Humphries, Page 308, Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1983.
"He on the wings of cherub rode sublime
On the crystalline sky, in sapphire throned." Paradise Lost, Book VI,
Milton, Lines 771-772.
"'Who reverenced his conscience as his king;
Whose glory was, redressing human wrong;" Idylls of the King,
"Dedication", Tennyson, Lines 8-9.
"But brilliant Achilles strode along the surf,
crying his piercing cry and roused Achaean warriors." The Iliad, Homer,
Book Nineteenth, "The Champion Arms for Battle", Translated by Robert
Fagles, Lines 46-47, New York: Penguin, 1990.

4.

"Muse, tell me of the man of many wiles
the man who wandered many paths of exile" The Odyssey, Homer, Book I,
Translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Page 3, New York: Bantam Books,
1990.
"One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." "Ulysses", Tennyson,
Lines 68-70.
"Puts on swift wings, and towards the gates of hell
Explores his solitary flight; sometimes" Paradise Lost, Book II,
Milton, Lines 631-632.
"Then the perilous path was planted,
And a river and a spring" The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The
Argument, Blake.
"'Unchallenged, while ye follow wandering fires
Lost in the quagmire! Many of you, yea most," Idylls of the King, "The
Holy Grail", Tennyson, Lines 319-320.
"By degrees we beheld the infinite Abyss, fiery as the smoke of a
burning city; beneath us, at an immense distance, was the sun, black
but shining;" The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, A Memorable Fancy,
Blake.
"And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken-
The ice was all between." The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Part The
First, Coleridge, Lines 55-58.
"Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea." "Kubla Khan: or, A Vision in a Dream",
Coleridge, Lines 4-5.
"'And on I rode, and greater was my thirst.
Then flashed a yellow gleam across the world,'" Idylls of the King,
"The Holy Grail", Tennyson, Lines 401-402.
"And they came back to the Wadi Eshcol, and cut down from there a
branch with a single cluster of grape leaves, and they carried it on a
pole between the two of them." Numbers 13:23, The New Oxford Annotated
Bible, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
"Day after say, day after day,
We stuck, ne breath ne motion,
As idle as a painted Ship
Upon a painted ocean." The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Part The
Second, Coleridge, Line 111-114.
"'We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and
honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who live in the land are
strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw
the descendants of Anak there." Numbers 13:27, The New Oxford Annotated
Bible, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
"Far off from these a slow and silent stream,
Lethe the River Oblivion rolls
Her wat'ry Labyrinth, whereof who drinks," Paradise Lost, Book II,
Milton, Lines 582-584.
"And terror in his eyes. And he made for the cave
Faster than east wind and fear gave wings to his feet." The Aeneid,
Vergil, Book VIII, Translated by Patric Dickinson, Page 176, New York:
Mentor, 1961.
"'and fatherly. And now, against his will,
Calypso keeps him captive in her grotto," The Odyssey, Homer, Book V,
Translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Page 95, New York: Bantam Books,
1990.

5.

"If there be nothing new, but that which is
Hath been before, how are our brains beguiled," "Sonnet 59",
Shakespeare, Lines 1-2.
"The World was all before them, where to choose
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide:" Paradise Lost, Book
XII, Milton, Lines 646-647.
"A Being breathing thoughtful breath,
A Traveller between life and death;" "She was a Phantom of Delight",
Wordsworth, Lines 23-24.
"The just man kept his course along
The vale of death." The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The Argument,
Blake.
"The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;" "Kubla Khan: or, A Vision in a Dream",
Coleridge, Lines 31-32.
"Show me your image in some antique book," "Sonnet 59", Shakespeare,
Lines 7.
"Haze-hidden, and thereon a phantom king;" Idylls of the King, "The
Coming of Arthur", Tennyson, Line 429.
"Even a god who chanced to see that site
would feel the force of wonder and delight." The Odyssey, Homer, Book
V, Translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Page 97, New York: Bantam Books,
1990.

6.

"A Damsel with a Dulcimer
In a Vision once I saw:" "Kubla Khan: or, A Vision in a Dream",
Coleridge, Lines 37-38.
"Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?" "The Lamb", Blake, Lines 7-8.
"Muse, tell us of these matters. Daughter of Zeus,
my starting point is any point you choose." The Odyssey, Homer, Book I,
Translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Page 3, New York: Bantam Books,
1990.
"Sing Heav'nly Muse, that on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed," Paradise Lost, Book
I, Milton, Lines 6-8.
"Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:" "Ode on a Grecian Urn",
Keats, Lines 3-4.
"Then, Muse, remind us what was the root-cause" The Aeneid, Vergil,
Book I, Translated by Patric Dickinson, Page 7, New York: Mentor,
1961.
"If my slight Muse do please these curious days,
The pain be mine, but thine shall be the praise." "Sonnet 38",
Shakespeare, Lines 13-14.

7.

"So till the sun bestrode the sky at high noon
the weapons hurtled side-to-side and men kept falling." The Iliad,
Homer, Book Sixteenth, "Patroclus Fights and Dies", Translated by
Robert Fagles, Lines 903-904, New York: Penguin, 1990. "Already they
were approaching those farthest acres,
Those final fields where only the great war-heroes
Had their preserves. Here Tydeus ran to meet him," The Aeneid, Vergil,
Book VI, Translated by Patric Dickinson, Page 133, New York: Mentor,
1961.
"Death ready stands to interpose his dart,
Fearless to be o'ermatcht by living might." Paradise Lost, Book II,
Milton, Lines 854-855.
"But O! More horrible than that
Is the curse in a dead man's eye!
Seven days, seven nights I saw that curse,
And yet I could not die." The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Part The
Fourth, Coleridge, Lines 251-254.
"These were his words. And when a god had urged
the singer, he began. To start his chant" The Odyssey, Homer, Book
VIII, Translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Page 163, New York: Bantam Books,
1990.
"And never yet, since high in Paradise
O'er the four rivers the first roses blew,
Came purer pleasure unto mortal kind" Idylls of the King, "Geraint and
Enid", Tennyson, Lines 762-764.
"Likewise that the forms of all things are derived from their Genius,
which by the Ancients was call'd an Angel &; Spirit &; Demon."
All Religions Are One, Principle 1st, Blake.

8.

"I sung of Chaos and Eternal Night,
Taught by the heav'nly Muse to venture down
The dark descent, and up to reascend," Paradise Lost, Book III, Milton,
Lines 18-20.
"For the waves of death
encompassed me,
the torrents of perdition assailed
me;" 2 Samuel 22:5, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1994.
"But thou, my babe! shalt wander like a breeze
By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags
Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds," "Frost at Midnight",
Coleridge, Lines 55-57.
"Drive your cart and plow over the bones of the dead.
The road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom." The Marriage of
Heaven and Hell, Proverbs of Hell, Blake.
"The old man was terrified. He obeyed the order,
turning, trailing away in silence down the shore
where the roaring battle lines of breakers crash and drag." The Iliad,
Homer, Book One, "The Rage of
Achilles", Translated by Robert Fagles, Lines 38-40, New York: Penguin,
1990.
"But when the wanderer had come in close
to shore, he heard the surge; against the shoals
it hammered hard; the wailing combers rolled" The Odyssey, Homer, Book
V, Translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Page 108, New York: Bantam Books,
1990.
"And the good south wind still blew behind,
But no sweet bird did follow," The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Part
The Second, Coleridge, Lines 87-88.
"But in his sleep he dreamed of food, his jaws
Closing on nothing, and he ground his teeth
On nothing, and his throat kept swallowing nothing," Metamporphosis,
Ovid, Book VIII, Translated by Rolfe Humphries, Page 207, Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1983.
"There is a vast grove by the cool stream of Caere
For generations widely held in awe;
On all sides it is enclosed by a coil of hills
Which guard the dark pine-glade. The old Pelasgians" The Aeneid,
Vergil, Book VII, Translated by Patric Dickinson, Page 187, New York:
Mentor, 1961.
"'And I rode on and found a mighty hill,
And on the top, a city wall'd; the spires
Prick'd with incredible pinnacles into heaven." Idylls of the King,
"The Holy Grail", Tennyson, Lines 421-423.

9.

"Fall'n Cherub, to be weak is miserable
Doing or Suffering: but of this be sure,
To do aught good never will be our task,
But ever to do ill our sole delight," Paradise Lost, Book I, Milton,
Lines 157-160.
"All Bibles or sacred codes have been the causes of the following
Errors:" The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The Voice of the Devil,
Blake.
"Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that call'd Body is a
portion of the Soul discern'd by the five Senses, the chief inlets of
Soul in this age." The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The Voice of the
Devil, Blake.
"I know, however, that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless
compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike
Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will
let you go." Exodus 3:19-20, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1994.

10.

"They hand in hand with wand'ring steps and slow,
Through Eden took their solitary way." Paradise Lost, Book XII, Milton,
Lines 648-649.
"The darkness of that battle in the West,
Where all of high and holy dies away." Idylls of the King, "To the
Queen", Tennyson, Lines 65-66.
"He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of
children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land
with a curse." Malachi 4:6, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1994.
"And his soul flew, resentful of its fate,
Down to the Shades, with many a sigh and groan." The Aeneid, Vergil,
Book XII, Translated by Patric Dickinson, Page 298, New York: Mentor,
1961.
"If prophecies of bards are ever truthful,
I shall be living, always." Metamporphosis, Ovid, Book XV, Translated
by Rolfe Humphries, Page 392, Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
1983.