The Babies of Walloon

He was lengthsman on the railway, and his station scarce deserved
That “pre-eminence in sorrow” of the Majesty he served,
But as dear to him and precious were the gifts reclaimed so soon—
Were the workman’s little daughters who were buried near Walloon.

Speak their names in tones that linger, just as though you held them dear;
There are eyes to which the mention of those names will bring a tear.
Little Kate and Bridget, straying in an autumn afternoon,
Were attracted by the lilies in the water of Walloon.

All is dark to us. The angels sing perhaps in Paradise
Of the younger sister’s danger, and the elder’s sacrifice;
But the facts were hidden from us, when the soft light from the moon
Glistened on the water-lilies o’er the Babies at Walloon.

Ah! the children love the lilies, while we elders are inclined
To the flowers that have poison for the body and the mind.
Better for the “strongly human” to have done with life as soon,
Better perish for a lily like the Babies of Walloon.

[...] Read more

poem by Henry Lawson
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Bedlam In Belgium

The blood in my veins
Was running right through my brain
There was a cop with a gun
Who was running around insane
Three fifty arrests
No bullet proof vests
Now aint that a shame
We wanted to play
Play for the crowd
no, said the wankers
youre on your way out
Bedlam in belgium
The place was a jumpin
And the booze was going down
Theres a cop doing time
Whos been working overtime
We dont play just for pay
So we left the stage
Stayed just the same
He gave me a crack

[...] Read more

song performed by AC-DC
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The Warrior King

Albert, King of the Belgians,
Lived for his whole reign thro'
The father and friend of his people,
Soldier and statesman, too.
When his armies rode to the carnage,
'Twas their King who rode at their hear
To battle as great Kings battled...
And Albert the King is dead.

Albert, King of the Belgians,
Looking at doomed Louvain,
Wept for the plight of his people,
Grieved for his country's pain.
But the pride of a King upheld him;
The strength of a true King stayed,
And the love of a wise King triumphed
Thro' the travail, undismayed.

Albert, King of the Belgians,
After the red war's close,

[...] Read more

poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
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The Watchers

THE cottages all lie asleep;
The sheep and lambs are folded in
Winged sentinels the vale will keep
Until the hours of life begin.

The children with their prayers all said
Sleep until cockcrow shall awake
The gardens in their gold and red
And robins in the bush and brake.

The fields of harvest golden-white,
The fields of pasture rich and green,
Sleep on nor fear the kindly night,
The watching mountains set between.

The river sings its sleepy song,
Nought stirs the wakeful owl beside:
Our peace is builded sure and strong
No evil beast can creep inside.

[...] Read more

poem by Katharine Tynan
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Germany expected that at the most a day or so would see Belgian resistance broken and the dash on Paris begun. It was not safe to start such a forward rush with Belgium unconquered.

quote by Kelly Miller
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Why Can't You Love Me?

Lady, why can't you love me
like i were
that Belgian Blue?

poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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I created Batman about 10 years before Ian Fleming created James Bond.

quote by Bob Kane
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Impossible To Tell

to Robert Hass and in memory of Elliot Gilbert

Slow dulcimer, gavotte and bow, in autumn,
Bashõ and his friends go out to view the moon;
In summer, gasoline rainbow in the gutter,

The secret courtesy that courses like ichor
Through the old form of the rude, full-scale joke,
Impossible to tell in writing. 'Bashõ'

He named himself, 'Banana Tree': banana
After the plant some grateful students gave him,
Maybe in appreciation of his guidance

Threading a long night through the rules and channels
Of their collaborative linking-poem
Scored in their teacher's heart: live, rigid, fluid

Like passages etched in a microscopic cicuit.
Elliot had in his memory so many jokes

[...] Read more

poem by Robert Pinsky
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The Latest School

See the flying French depart
Like the bees of Bonaparte,
Swarming up with a most venomous vitality.
Over Baden and Bavaria,
And Brighton and Bulgaria,
Thus violating Belgian neutrality.

And the injured Prussian may
Not unreasonably say
"Why, it cannot be so small a nationality
Since Brixton and Batavia,
Bolivia and Belgravia,
Are bursting with the Belgian neutrality."

By pure Alliteration
You may trace this curious nation,
And respect this somewhat scattered Principality;
When you see a B in Both
You may take your Bible oath
You are violating Belgian neutrality.

poem by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
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Alliterativism

See the flying French depart
Like the bees of Bonaparte,
Swarming up with a most venomous vitality.
Over Baden and Bavaria,
And Brighton and Bulgaria,
Thus violating Belgian neutrality.

And the injured Prussian may
Not unreasonably say
"Why, it cannot be so small a nationality
Since Brixton and Batavia,
Bolivia and Belgravia,
Are bursting with the Belgian neutrality."

By pure Alliteration
You may trace this curious nation,
And respect this somewhat scattered Principality;
When you see a B in Both
You may take your Bible oath
You are violating Belgian neutrality.

poem by G.K. Chesterton (1914)
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
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To Fleming, and to his readers, James Bond was a real person living in the modern world.

Henry Chancellor in James Bond: The Man And His World: The Official Companion To Ian Fleming's Creation
Added by Lucian Velea
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Bond was how Fleming saw himself; the sardonic, cruel mouth, the hard, tight skinned face.

quote by Terence Young
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I'm half-Irish, half-Dutch, and I was born in Belgium. If I was a dog, I'd be in a hell of a mess!

quote by Audrey Hepburn
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I wear my Peggy Fleming T-shirt when I go to sleep every night before I compete, and for the past four years, it's brought me incredible good luck.

quote by Sarah Hughes
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Eight minutes past the hour here in Belgium - and presumably eight minutes past the hour everywhere in the world.

quote by Murray Walker
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There were no competitions on television. The first skating competition I ever remember seeing on television was the 1968 Olympics when Peggy Fleming won.

quote by Dorothy Hamill
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So many women from Azerbaijan
fell in love with this Belgian.
When it was found
he was a dogging hound
they drowned him deep in a vat of valium.

limerick by Otido Omukuba
Added by Dan Costinaş
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Momentary Life

In truth, life is a priceless gem
*“I shall not waste my days,
By trying to prolong them”
We must live fully in the now,
As life is just a dream anyhow

ROTMS

*Ian Fleming

poem by Ray Lucero
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When I crossed Asia with my friend Peter Fleming, we spoke to no one but each other during many months, and we covered exactly the same ground. Nevertheless my journey differed completely from his.

quote by Ella Maillart
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Colonialism is an idea born in the West that drives Western countries - like France, Italy, Belgium, Great Britain - to occupy countries outside of Europe.

quote by Ahmed Ben Bella
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