Stirring words that stimulate the mind and rouse the sprit ...would that more would hear your message. Panda :)

Yes, dynamic piece, Jude!

Keep using your masterful pen to shed that Light, and drive out the dark shadows!

Love, Rhonda

A dymanic piece.

you bridge a tough gap of what is and what it can be also what it will take to make it a reality
all intertwined in poetic lines and images

there is hope
very nice share

Building a better world
by dreaming into action

a noble sentiment indeed...if only it were that simple. One can only hope that one day it may actually happen. Excellent Pen.

Paul;-)

like you my friend, I too have this hope...even as I watch the "news" which says otherwise.
This is a powerful and thought provoking piece of work...extremely well composed.

"ruthless and shallow shadow" is a super phrase good read thanks for sharing and good luck with it

With each line, the "Ruthless and Shallow Shadow" becomes painfully visible, and yet also with each line the power of light that drives the pen of the poet announces itself still in the battle. Moral and creative tension intertwine to make superior spiritual art. Total gratitude for the sharing.
Aberjhani

We have buried entire cultures to include our own, lured by shallow, deceptive, and always politically correct shadows. And you're right. It will take a massive effort to see the light of hope, again.

Carmen

What an artifact. Ruthless and Shallow Shadow has been buried in sand, rubble, and ceramic sherds, the dry climate maintaining this treasure, its story, Jude, comes right out of a shantytown in the dust of "a diversity of footprints."

The story of how Tupac Amaru came to be in Peru, families fleeing guerilla activity in the highlands settling in shantytown, misled by land traffickers, meanwhile the Inca mummies decomposing and defenseless against the sudden influx of sewer and water. Squatters dug them up and burned them, hoping to avoid a scientific excavation that would delay town development, your lines I interpret and analyze,

"Afraid and lost in the transparent darkness
Of violence, greed and mistrust"

The spirits of the deceased have caused a spate of illnesses at Tupac Amaru. Indeed, inhaling dust of the dead can lead to bacterial infections, your lines I interpret and analyze,

"This eerie collective hangover
Devoid of constructive dialogue
Hung up on its depraved itinerary"

The shantytown people encouraged the government to give them what the traffickers couldn't; clear land titles and basic utilities, your lines I interpret and analyze,

"My only hope
Is within the minds and hearts of realists"

"Building a better world
By dreaming it into action"

~~Sage~~

outstanding yes we dreamed
of a batter world what will it take to put
In to action!!Well this poem has left me
pondering over and over!!!
Outstanding content and Imagery and flow
Love And Peace To You...Morning Star

Very thought provoking write my friend...I have always felt that if one maintains a positive attitude...positive things will come their way. I guess you might say the power of positive thinking. Great write my friend.
Blessings,
Joyce Bowling

nice rant of conviction, fyi...galatic assistance has just risen with mars, jupiter, and mercury moving up from their tour of the underworld, i'd say a new energy is moving through the planet for those sensitive to such things

I found hope today, Robert .I went to see a client to design an ad for his company. It's called "Good News". This concept is beginning and with the right gust of wind, it will blossom into harmony and grow.It starts with us.
Love,
Susan

This would be my only hope...and in the meantime I too would commit to focusing on His light, in turn creating my motion toward prayer ,giving me the strength to refuse the lure of a "Ruthless and Rabid Shadow"
Very well written, thought provoking pen...
Love and Peace~
Kimmy~
PS. Did you mean to name this write "Ruthless and Shallow Shadow"
or "Ruthless and Rabid Shadow"?

Shows a lot of conviction. I like this one. It will get better after a drink or two. After a while I'll probably say, 'Aw, to hell with it." and do nothing.

Ron

"Sardonic" is right... together with its old drinking partners, "Apathy" and "Disbelief". Getting to grips with such is like trying to punch your way out of a wet paper bag, and like trying to wade through treacle or push elephants uphill: wearing in the extreme, especially with a hangover! Elegiac or anthem-like... or like a fugue... this kind of mental fog can only be dispelled by climbing higher, by keeping on the uphill track. Sounds like 40 years in the wilderness, but maybe, like Moses, when the nay-sayers are sick enough of building their houses on sand, they may get to see a burning bush or two to fire up their senses and to sharpen up their awareness that extraordinary things CAN happen, even in the desert... but mostly, we are just blind to them! Thanks for sharing your manna... It came from heaven?? No kiddin??!! :)) K xx

A mixture of cynicism and hope, realism and romanticism here.
"My only hope/ Is within the minds and hearts of realists/Building a better world/By dreaming it into action". You use this contrast in a harmonious way. Well conceived and well written.

Brett

Yes, my dear friend Ace,

We have been endowed with the power to create the future. Let us be responsible and wise.

Love & Light always and in all ways,
Joseph*

Thought provoking, powerful, an excellent write!

Most outstanding piece...not much more left for me to say...the board below said it all!!

Love Tinka

"Building a better world
By dreaming it into action" ... only works if there is unity in spirit and in purpose between those of similar ilk and vision.

A strong statement Robert that leaves one pondering agreement and, also, what exactly it takes to actually create a better world. Alas!

Light and Wisdom ...
Richard Lloyd Cederberg

Excellent poem. Obvious heartfelt thoughts in this well-written piece. I am never disappointed when I read your work, Robert. Always a pleasure from the first line to the last word.
Love,
CJ

Can we once and for all change dreams into actions? I have become pessimistic over this issue. In the 1970's I used to attend as Malta representative the FAO's meetings in Rome to help agriculture in poor countries. They are still debating on how to do it. So....Excellent poem with great imagery. Victor (hope you got my message on board or my email)

This poem grabs you by the throat, and false feeds one into action...

Your poems are always GREAT! This one is another indication of your tremendous talent and poetic ability. Thank you so much for sharing your work with us and for all your kind comments about mine.

I like the ending of this poem. Good write, Robert!!!

Sandie May Angel a.k.a. Sandie Angel :o)

"Building a better world
By dreaming it into action"

Would that it could be thus, Jude. Thank you for sharing this gift. Love and peace to you,

Regis

The imagery in this outstanding poem and reflection educes many mental pictures, dear Jude - all rather sinister and disturbing, I must say. Those "ruthless and rabid shadows" appear to me either like miserable, embittered spirits who refuse to escape their self-induced prison of darkness, and endeavour, instead, to drag others within, or like spectres of depression and lost hope, totally "hollowed" and yet, lashing out in their despair, as if trying to state that caos is the only intelligent way - and redemption is stupid. Well, I'd rather be stupid, then... and keep my hope "within the minds and hearts of realists... building a better world by dreaming it into action", and "refusing ever to be lured into the grasp of the ruthless and rabid shadow", too.
Love,
Alexandra*

Drags the reader into the image created and makes one dwell on the words and thoughts expressed, may not agree with it all but the purpose of a write is not always agreement or acceptance but to awaken the mind to new ideas or others' thoughts. Well done my friend this suceeded brilliantly.

Fee

Only when there is light can a shadow exist so there is hope.