Winds blow past
Words assemble
Onto pages
Feather thin canvases
Carrying
Reams and reams of
Wild adventures
and
Quick escapes
Pointed battles
and
Pointless wars
Fruitful love
and
Frightful laters
God's great lessons
penned down
through the life
of the saturday poet.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
If-then functions
Erasing memories,
that plague the soul
Facing reality,
that stings the sight.
Building new light,
that nourishes the life.
For you see the wisdom I have learned
Is the following set of if-then functions:
If no ego, then no shame
If no pride, then no fall
If no anger, then
no
hard
bitter
blame.
If I remembered an ancient tale, then I would tell you:
About the king who blamed
By pointing one finger toward
The accused
With three of burden pointing back at himself,
heard this every night:
"The burden of proof," one finger weeps
"The burden of duty," the second finger bellows
"The burden of righteousness," the third finger whispers.
A burden too heavy for a mortal to carry,
He silenced his fingers,
Curling the one pointed out,
Inward,
Opening up his palm,
Turned it upward
Choosing to forgive
Relying on justice
From above to take it course.
that plague the soul
Facing reality,
that stings the sight.
Building new light,
that nourishes the life.
For you see the wisdom I have learned
Is the following set of if-then functions:
If no ego, then no shame
If no pride, then no fall
If no anger, then
no
hard
bitter
blame.
If I remembered an ancient tale, then I would tell you:
About the king who blamed
By pointing one finger toward
The accused
With three of burden pointing back at himself,
heard this every night:
"The burden of proof," one finger weeps
"The burden of duty," the second finger bellows
"The burden of righteousness," the third finger whispers.
A burden too heavy for a mortal to carry,
He silenced his fingers,
Curling the one pointed out,
Inward,
Opening up his palm,
Turned it upward
Choosing to forgive
Relying on justice
From above to take it course.
Her greatest fight
Their eyes meet, questioning the other's intent
Time had passed, answers too-
From person to person
Surrounding the confusion that
Came to be
When one refused
To stand up for the truth
In fear of what his consequence will become
And the other refused
To lie down in silence
In fear of what her conscience will become
A bone made brittle by that which she was asked to conform
She pushed, softly, against the pragmatism advising:
"Take the path of least resistance,
For this is not your fight to fight,
Fight for your happiness,
For your peace is all that matters
In the end."
She fell, fighting, into the dreams painting:
A pond with water lillies that
She let float into her palms
And picked up
And put down
And picked up
And put down
Until the universe ran out
Of the colours that painted her perpectual fate
She woke, wisened, to the words saying:
"Your Duty to Me,
Is to love everyone
No matter their actions
Against you."
Wisps of nightmares now pass her by
Tendrils of its smoke disappearing
Into the reality of forgiveness
That now lies ahead
As the fighter's greatest fight
She had never anticipated.
Time had passed, answers too-
From person to person
Surrounding the confusion that
Came to be
When one refused
To stand up for the truth
In fear of what his consequence will become
And the other refused
To lie down in silence
In fear of what her conscience will become
A bone made brittle by that which she was asked to conform
She pushed, softly, against the pragmatism advising:
"Take the path of least resistance,
For this is not your fight to fight,
Fight for your happiness,
For your peace is all that matters
In the end."
She fell, fighting, into the dreams painting:
A pond with water lillies that
She let float into her palms
And picked up
And put down
And picked up
And put down
Until the universe ran out
Of the colours that painted her perpectual fate
She woke, wisened, to the words saying:
"Your Duty to Me,
Is to love everyone
No matter their actions
Against you."
Wisps of nightmares now pass her by
Tendrils of its smoke disappearing
Into the reality of forgiveness
That now lies ahead
As the fighter's greatest fight
She had never anticipated.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Thoreau and Emerson
Thoreau asks Emerson
"Hey, is graduate school
Still about education and training?"
Emerson preaches, "Of course!"
"And we must keep it that way."
Months pass by
And the young Thoreau visits
Emerson in his palace.
Looking around, he realizes
That graduate school
Is no longer about education and training.
It's about results.
It's about research and development.
It's about productivity, not life of the mind.
He walks on, despite
Emerson's Preach that Emerson did not practice.
"Hey, is graduate school
Still about education and training?"
Emerson preaches, "Of course!"
"And we must keep it that way."
Months pass by
And the young Thoreau visits
Emerson in his palace.
Looking around, he realizes
That graduate school
Is no longer about education and training.
It's about results.
It's about research and development.
It's about productivity, not life of the mind.
He walks on, despite
Emerson's Preach that Emerson did not practice.
And the truth shall set you free
The number of times you have ever lied / The number of times you have ever spoken
= Probability of you surviving in this world.
These odds represent my premise: society penalizes honesty. Honesty with those around you, and more importantly, honesty with yourself. Feel free to question my premise. Of course, then I would have to question your life experience. The benefits of being honest are simply not enough to overcome the barriers we as humanity have set for ourselves.
As children, we are told to not lie, cheat or steal. As we grow older, we suddenly feel those constraints become looser. The constraints are compromised for each item on a checklist we are provided - a degree - a job - a house - a secure life. Where do you draw the line? When your integrity is tested, it should be a black and white response. Do what's right. Right? Nope. The grey area comes in, and it becomes a trial to decide whether you can walk the talk you so badly want to represent.
If you have ever stood up for what is true, do stand up for what's true, you will most likely be faced with a few friends holding you in deeper respect, but a whole lot more people laughing at you. How do you shake off the qualifiers of idealism, naivety, and righteousness and accept your decision to do the right thing?
No clue. My solution is prayer, and keeping those who respect me for the principles I hold close to my heart, close to my heart.
Finishing off with a poem:
Black and white principles
Crystal clear decisions
Wipe the dust away
To reveal
Cobwebs.
Life's finer shades of grey.
No clue. My solution is prayer, and keeping those who respect me for the principles I hold close to my heart, close to my heart.
Finishing off with a poem:
Black and white principles
Crystal clear decisions
Wipe the dust away
To reveal
Cobwebs.
Life's finer shades of grey.
Armed with ideals
Lost in the haze
Chasing my ideas
Armed only with the ideals
That the world has since thrown away
Will I forge my own path
Through this fog ahead of me?
Chasing my ideas
Armed only with the ideals
That the world has since thrown away
Will I forge my own path
Through this fog ahead of me?
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