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For poets, the "out there" pressures pound us to be and act like someone we're not. Realistically addressing the conundrum is difficult, but perhaps a reminder of Kant's belief in "oughtness" might bring some clarity to our need and will to be who we are.
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The WHAT of you
What do you do?
You who rush to be somewhere
before others jump ahead
to be there waiting to push you back
What might you do?
You whose scorecard is without pencil
whose time clock ticks backward in fear
who wants that which others want
which no one can own
What can you do?
You who claim no real estate of stuff
even as those who do
would have you removed
as out of vogue
What ought you do?
Step aside as shadows of what might have been
stretch their phantasm even further
beyond the light source of reality
What to do?
What to do?
Consider giving permission to the Being within
to obviate the masquerading Illusion without
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| Reviewed by John Flanagan |
6/4/2012 |
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'freedom is the right to do as we ought'
comes to mind - everything else is self-indulgence;
to mind, too, is the notion of wanting to be first,
beautifully captured in the Chinese word 'kiasu'
(pron. key AH sue); when all's said and done,
and it's never all said and done, the best we can hope
for, our closest to redemption, is what your final couplet
articulates; once again, Odin, a thinking poet
john |
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| Reviewed by Amber Moonstone |
6/3/2012 |
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Odin, You have presented quite a poem for the mind to ponder. I say,
"To Thine ownself be true".
Wonderful work, thank you for sharing this divine poetry!
Peace, love and light,
Amber |
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| Reviewed by Carolyn Red Bear (The Bear Paw) |
6/3/2012 |
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Hi Odin, definitely a thought provoker, and I have to agree with Richard. Thank you for sharing this....
In Spirit,
Bear |
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| Reviewed by Budd Nelson |
6/3/2012 |
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Odin,
very thought provoking.
Budd |
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| Reviewed by richard cederberg |
6/3/2012 |
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Immanuel Kant (one whom I studied ravenously in college along with Soren Kierkegaard) was both a very perplexing and very simple moral philosopher. I loved his cogitations. His contention that human life wears a double aspect- on one side it is natural and evil, and on the other side it is divine and good, and there is no bridge between the two save the one constructed by Grace is, in my opinion, spot-on. I adore that kind of simplicity.
With unflagging resolve popular tastes and trends come and go in this society. the roots of the bottom line money machine go deep and pervert everything they touch. To be open, honest, sincere, altruistic, and in humility, with love and respect, extend ourselves to one another has become the exception to the rule, not the embodiment of it. Sadly, Odin, the "Being within", in this world, has, for many, become a medusa with many evil faces and charismas, and it is far more interested in self-gratification, and self-worship, than it is in anything else. Thanks for stimulating the synapses a little. richard |
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