There is no turning back
I am declared
My hand is tipped
Days may storm ahead
Nights may close in
But the course is set
I will likely not sleep
My appetite may wane
Friends might forsake
Time take my talent
No one may notice
Or if anyone does
Reviews may be unkind
There's no other choice
I am declared
Something has to give
These days will matter
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Between Happiness and Urgency
It’s how McDonald and Labelle sang “On my Own”
It’s on youtube - hurry back
It’s the way angry truckers block me from passing
the way Clinton defended himself from those who said he
had sex with that woman
The way skydivers yell
the way Martin Luther King spoke.
Some are blessed with it, others cursed.
In some forms it’s attractive
in others less so
An urgent fire fighter is fine
an urgent arsonist, not so much
The person eager to save my soul
may leave me scratching my head
if I was just with my soul
and it was in good shape
Though the savers are preferred
over those who ignore or hate me.
The wizened can be seen grinning
at the enthusiasm of the young
-if they only knew-
Ancients judge the still motivated
From a life of false starts and aborted efforts
inferring lessons not unfailingly useful.
If you’re inspired to complete a project
reach a goal
rise to a higher level
act on the impulse
give in to the feeling
for such fire, much like true love,
should never be taken lightly
The resigned never feel the heat of passion
Between exuberance and reticence
cast the latter in the sea.
Anyone with purpose causes speculation…
Is the six-year-old skater on the ice at 5 AM
out of fear of her mother?
or is there a spirit in her
admonishing her to greatness?
What does she know of the benefits of respect?
Has she somehow lived so richly already
She cannot tolerate mediocrity?
Are some born intense?
Diaspora from Jews to Palestinian
seek to instill the homeland in the young
Never again, is the cry
Or we shall be united
Suffering begets urgency
Consider the literary work
of those whose heritage is challenge
from Vonnegut to Bellow
Like the enemy of Christianity
Apostle Paul, stricken on the road to Damascus
Forever after given to the cause of Christ
these can point to singular events
to explain the fire in their belly.
Remarkable; is quiet, sustained urgency
Causing some to leave massive work
Awakening them before dawn
Sustaining them in the night
driving them through hunger
affording calm for creativity in a storm.
A young man I had known in college
given a few months to live
with small children and a wife
in his late twenties
with friends saddened by the news
inspired us all
For he became like a super man
Planned his funeral - uplifting and inspiring
Took care of unfinished business
Shared deep thoughts with those he loved
And willed a legacy of how
A regular guy dies with dignity.
This was a gift to his children.
When my father had heart surgery
I pictured myself as him
How I would respond?
I was glad to see him do it well
I took hope for my own tests
As his genes were also mine.
Great challenges - death or high goals
vary in effect
Some cower
Others show grace
The best we see on earth
Spans happiness and urgency
It’s on youtube - hurry back
It’s the way angry truckers block me from passing
the way Clinton defended himself from those who said he
had sex with that woman
The way skydivers yell
the way Martin Luther King spoke.
Some are blessed with it, others cursed.
In some forms it’s attractive
in others less so
An urgent fire fighter is fine
an urgent arsonist, not so much
The person eager to save my soul
may leave me scratching my head
if I was just with my soul
and it was in good shape
Though the savers are preferred
over those who ignore or hate me.
The wizened can be seen grinning
at the enthusiasm of the young
-if they only knew-
Ancients judge the still motivated
From a life of false starts and aborted efforts
inferring lessons not unfailingly useful.
If you’re inspired to complete a project
reach a goal
rise to a higher level
act on the impulse
give in to the feeling
for such fire, much like true love,
should never be taken lightly
The resigned never feel the heat of passion
Between exuberance and reticence
cast the latter in the sea.
Anyone with purpose causes speculation…
Is the six-year-old skater on the ice at 5 AM
out of fear of her mother?
or is there a spirit in her
admonishing her to greatness?
What does she know of the benefits of respect?
Has she somehow lived so richly already
She cannot tolerate mediocrity?
Are some born intense?
Diaspora from Jews to Palestinian
seek to instill the homeland in the young
Never again, is the cry
Or we shall be united
Suffering begets urgency
Consider the literary work
of those whose heritage is challenge
from Vonnegut to Bellow
Like the enemy of Christianity
Apostle Paul, stricken on the road to Damascus
Forever after given to the cause of Christ
these can point to singular events
to explain the fire in their belly.
Remarkable; is quiet, sustained urgency
Causing some to leave massive work
Awakening them before dawn
Sustaining them in the night
driving them through hunger
affording calm for creativity in a storm.
A young man I had known in college
given a few months to live
with small children and a wife
in his late twenties
with friends saddened by the news
inspired us all
For he became like a super man
Planned his funeral - uplifting and inspiring
Took care of unfinished business
Shared deep thoughts with those he loved
And willed a legacy of how
A regular guy dies with dignity.
This was a gift to his children.
When my father had heart surgery
I pictured myself as him
How I would respond?
I was glad to see him do it well
I took hope for my own tests
As his genes were also mine.
Great challenges - death or high goals
vary in effect
Some cower
Others show grace
The best we see on earth
Spans happiness and urgency
Southern College Town
The southern college town
Love and fear on parade
Fear causing holy war
Lust inciting mind violence
Darwin creating havoc
Hup two three four
Disciplines beget curricula
Theories spawn pedagogy
Hypotheses forge criteria
Confucius at Walmart
Socrates at Target
Corrupting minds
Baptist cemeteries churn
Pray without ceasing
Brothers ring the bells
Call down God's wrath
Like Jeremiah of old
On This Our Town
A Grover's Corners
This secular refuge
Where preachers and poets
Duel til they die
Still...
What a place to be
The southern college town
Love and fear on parade
Fear causing holy war
Lust inciting mind violence
Darwin creating havoc
Hup two three four
Disciplines beget curricula
Theories spawn pedagogy
Hypotheses forge criteria
Confucius at Walmart
Socrates at Target
Corrupting minds
Baptist cemeteries churn
Pray without ceasing
Brothers ring the bells
Call down God's wrath
Like Jeremiah of old
On This Our Town
A Grover's Corners
This secular refuge
Where preachers and poets
Duel til they die
Still...
What a place to be
The southern college town
Youth
The older criticize the young
It’s what we do
While a few are able to bite their tongue
Most are unable to
If when you get older, you don’t
I can bet you one thing
Great will power is why you won’t
Let the harsh words ring
Watch out for this low-hanging branch
Your posture is slumping
Do as I say or you don’t stand a chance
When life on you starts dumping
The youthful body works so well
Running fast and jumping high
The aged one can feel like hell
Not enough sleep and too much pie
Though we love the twenty-year-olds’ grace
We expect them to act like eighty
No child would take the elder’s place
Unless with money they are weighty
Experts at ball, English or math
Are thrown in the end that’s deep
And asked to walk the worker’s path
While calm silence they keep
No wonder boys slump their pants
And girls pierce their parts
They can see the stares of their aunts
Or their shapeless uncles’ hearts
Dianamora straps her face to the mast
til no longer desired at a glance
And has her legs bound in a cast
Til they cease to ask her to dance
Hermanese fit and swift as the wind
Dons a coat of low self-esteem
And pulls against the bungy cord of sin
Til none would him facile deem
The babes should romp and delight
The old getting out of their ways
For far too soon does youth take flight
And the once young sing of Glory Days
It’s what we do
While a few are able to bite their tongue
Most are unable to
If when you get older, you don’t
I can bet you one thing
Great will power is why you won’t
Let the harsh words ring
Watch out for this low-hanging branch
Your posture is slumping
Do as I say or you don’t stand a chance
When life on you starts dumping
The youthful body works so well
Running fast and jumping high
The aged one can feel like hell
Not enough sleep and too much pie
Though we love the twenty-year-olds’ grace
We expect them to act like eighty
No child would take the elder’s place
Unless with money they are weighty
Experts at ball, English or math
Are thrown in the end that’s deep
And asked to walk the worker’s path
While calm silence they keep
No wonder boys slump their pants
And girls pierce their parts
They can see the stares of their aunts
Or their shapeless uncles’ hearts
Dianamora straps her face to the mast
til no longer desired at a glance
And has her legs bound in a cast
Til they cease to ask her to dance
Hermanese fit and swift as the wind
Dons a coat of low self-esteem
And pulls against the bungy cord of sin
Til none would him facile deem
The babes should romp and delight
The old getting out of their ways
For far too soon does youth take flight
And the once young sing of Glory Days
Breakfast at Epiphanies
We are out of Dodge
And as usual
Away from home
Breakfast brings epiphanies
(And bad puns)
I’m hunting back ways
To get to places
Thrilling to the
Proximal anticipatory
Goal responses involved
Epiphany means what you want
From the coming of a savior
To the dawning of a new day
It’s the hardest-working word
In the show-‘em business
No matter the meaning you choose
It’s a quick change for the better
I have had my share
What did I go from and to?
A man without a child to a man with one
After being a man without a wife
To one with
Before that, a man knowing truth
To a man seeking it daily
And before that, from a normal child
To a boy scared straight by hell
Epiphanies have prerequisites
You have to be ready
Special events are selected
From among the ordinary
Everything can mean everything
But it can mean nothing too
In discussing a trip there
Our daughter said
We may not find much to do
In Alaska
To which I replied…
We can do nothing anywhere
Just as some people
can do anything
In the middle of nowhere
The same logic works
With epiphanies
One can come from a tiny thought
Or you may not receive one
Though Jesus, Buddha and Confucius
Ride in on three horses
We’ve missed a lot of epiphanies
Some by no more than a whisker
Some by a country mile
But if you had them often
It would soon be
Comme ci comme ca
The person with a daily awakening
Pretty soon earns her sleep
Give me a rejuvenation
Ever six-to-twelve years
And I’m good
Spread ‘em around
I say
I’ve had a few
March 10, 1961 - my brother was born
September 24th the same year
As a four-year old I was reborn
at a Baptist Church in SC
I had another in ’66
Called to preach at ten
in Goldsboro, NC
And thus was a man of the cloth
before I was a man
Looking back I see
Profound is in ones own eye
Important things happened
I was too busy to miss
Malcolm X was killed
Dylan went electric
My future father-in-law
Died rebuilding a generator
I have had my last
Of the great upheavals
Now I wrap my mental
Arms around a few people
Nearly to the point of
Suffocating them
Spending silent time
With these people on these days
Instead of thinking of eternity
Awakenings (epiphanies?)
Are now mere transition…
One comes into my life
Another heads for the door
A day has a bright hue
Night fades it to black
The extended internships
I’ve had with teachers
And those of the ones
I’ve taught
Were not to last
Gravity has limits
I know the ones near now
My beautiful worms
Will soon be
Colorful butterflies
Ephemeral as they are
Delicate
Trapped at one time
Free the next
Gone forever
My rebellion against my father
Was permanent
As was his against his mother
And who knows
Who she left crying
Or they before her
Why do we revolt
Against received wisdom?
Dad confronting a burning hell
His mother deploring the concept
Me believing
The hell we get
Is gained by ignoring
The nowness of now
Too much in fear
To feel tingles of happiness
What will your wisdom be?
It may not come from escape
Or be related to hell
Excite like heaven
It may be transcendence
Or burrowing deeper
Running from something
Or headlong to another
With your epiphanies
May you resolve
What it means to be alive
On this revolving station
In this unfolding time
And as usual
Away from home
Breakfast brings epiphanies
(And bad puns)
I’m hunting back ways
To get to places
Thrilling to the
Proximal anticipatory
Goal responses involved
Epiphany means what you want
From the coming of a savior
To the dawning of a new day
It’s the hardest-working word
In the show-‘em business
No matter the meaning you choose
It’s a quick change for the better
I have had my share
What did I go from and to?
A man without a child to a man with one
After being a man without a wife
To one with
Before that, a man knowing truth
To a man seeking it daily
And before that, from a normal child
To a boy scared straight by hell
Epiphanies have prerequisites
You have to be ready
Special events are selected
From among the ordinary
Everything can mean everything
But it can mean nothing too
In discussing a trip there
Our daughter said
We may not find much to do
In Alaska
To which I replied…
We can do nothing anywhere
Just as some people
can do anything
In the middle of nowhere
The same logic works
With epiphanies
One can come from a tiny thought
Or you may not receive one
Though Jesus, Buddha and Confucius
Ride in on three horses
We’ve missed a lot of epiphanies
Some by no more than a whisker
Some by a country mile
But if you had them often
It would soon be
Comme ci comme ca
The person with a daily awakening
Pretty soon earns her sleep
Give me a rejuvenation
Ever six-to-twelve years
And I’m good
Spread ‘em around
I say
I’ve had a few
March 10, 1961 - my brother was born
September 24th the same year
As a four-year old I was reborn
at a Baptist Church in SC
I had another in ’66
Called to preach at ten
in Goldsboro, NC
And thus was a man of the cloth
before I was a man
Looking back I see
Profound is in ones own eye
Important things happened
I was too busy to miss
Malcolm X was killed
Dylan went electric
My future father-in-law
Died rebuilding a generator
I have had my last
Of the great upheavals
Now I wrap my mental
Arms around a few people
Nearly to the point of
Suffocating them
Spending silent time
With these people on these days
Instead of thinking of eternity
Awakenings (epiphanies?)
Are now mere transition…
One comes into my life
Another heads for the door
A day has a bright hue
Night fades it to black
The extended internships
I’ve had with teachers
And those of the ones
I’ve taught
Were not to last
Gravity has limits
I know the ones near now
My beautiful worms
Will soon be
Colorful butterflies
Ephemeral as they are
Delicate
Trapped at one time
Free the next
Gone forever
My rebellion against my father
Was permanent
As was his against his mother
And who knows
Who she left crying
Or they before her
Why do we revolt
Against received wisdom?
Dad confronting a burning hell
His mother deploring the concept
Me believing
The hell we get
Is gained by ignoring
The nowness of now
Too much in fear
To feel tingles of happiness
What will your wisdom be?
It may not come from escape
Or be related to hell
Excite like heaven
It may be transcendence
Or burrowing deeper
Running from something
Or headlong to another
With your epiphanies
May you resolve
What it means to be alive
On this revolving station
In this unfolding time
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)