Been there, done that but couldn't state it as well as you did, dear friend.

Keep in touch and take care.

Sandy

Jude , Jude, we all fall down but it is the courageous like yourself that rebounds again and again because of the many of us who cheer for you and are inspired by you as you pen the thoughts of many. Master Poet continue to free yourself with love of self. In gratitude forever for your caring and sharing. Mikii

It's as though I've slipped into your thoughts. Powerful writing.

Jude,

Come on man....you have such a following be a little easier on yourself.

Nice writ. Thanks, ~D.

Whew. Wow.
The ideas brought to mind by "reach into the halo of my most intimate visions" is a concept or description of a thought so fascinating that I had to re-read the rest of the poem to remember what it was.
I love the whole poem, but I'll dwell on that thought for a long time.
Terry

Politics Politics....do they ever end up hating the things they do Ace? What you've also written is so much like a treatise by the Apostle Paul in his former life as Saul before his conversion to following Christ.

Loathe what we are within, and nurture the beauty the strives to blossom within us. Thanks so much for inspiring me and so many others with this reflection.

blessin's, one of my dearest author friends in the den,
cynth'ya lewis reed

I agree with Morning Star on not hating yourself.
{Of course, of course, it is just a poetic expression}.
But YOU are definitely one who wears the halo if they are given out
for talented poets!

Wow these is a deep halo of hate!
Hate is a very strong word don't hate yourself
Jude I agreed with Fee
Wishing you Peace and lots of Love....Morning Star

Jude,
Hate is such a powerful word, but to me it is the flip side of love...One has to know love in order to hate...
Very thought provoking as usual..
Peace, love, and light,
Amber "V"

So keep those hands to yourself and out of the halo so you don't keep hating yourself...e

This one I think I get. However, it reminds me of a certain governor of New York who has been doing within his halo what he despised, prostitution.

I have no hatred for prostitution. I think it serves a useful purpose and should be considered as a lawful business, thereby preventing high officials from hypocrisy.

Ron

To question is to change and to grow but self hate is usually not as productive as self love for if we cannot love ourselves we cannot love others. Stunning work Jude, you've been missed.

"Halo of Hate" Differentially
a voice that is seldom ever heard however can understand clearly.

"I just abhor when I fail to reach
into the halo
of my most intimate visions..."
then don't let yourself go there to the hate level(conclusion), especially if it is true. Release like a butterfly and truth comes back.

Blessings as always,
~Gwendolyn

I agree with Felix..
Ron

Hey Jude, I like your last four lines; they are honest. In passing, everyone hates themself at one time or another. When you kick yourself for not reaching your potential.

Very passionate sort of tug of war withing the self always striving, regarless of the outcome for God's love and perhaps understanding, fantastic....

Be always safe,
Karen

hating oneself is not healthy longterm, and holding it in is even worse, therefore mindfully expressing such as this is a good vent for the self...hate has such a bad reputation...its the furthest pole from love and yet they are just varied degrees of the same emotion...this poem seems to be adjusting a balance

My goodness, Jude. What a compelling title: such strong words, and the violent contradiction is like a viper to the breast... Am intrigued by your imagery of the halo, implicit of the divine, so something that is cherished and esteemed. It is possible to "hate" our demons, but is it possible for us to "hate" our angels as well? I'm not sure I have ever heard of such a view expressed - but, maybe if I get to take up that offer of a trip to read in Los Angeles, I shall get to find out! :)) Yet there is a calm poise and objectivity in the tone of this write that makes me feel a sense of peace - like it is almost a relief, a blood-letting thing, to articulate this struggle. Good philosophical questions which, for me, are central to what we perceive to be reality, and weighing its validity in our current existance. Many strange things are happening in my life at the moment which cause me to think that "dreams" are a law unto themselves, over which we have little control, but which reveal themselves like some kind of strange self-fulfilling prophecy that then works itself out without any engineering on my part. On the other hand, desires are definitely of our own making and are things which, in themselves ARE just themselves... they only become "desires" as a result of a personal intensification of importance in one's own life; i.e. they can't be held responsible for our joy or pain, which is of our own making. And this whole "immortality"-thing: why do we talk about it as if it is a FUTURE event, when, by it's very nature, it is an on-going present condition that we are in in the NOW? The funny thing being, of course, that it is the most "impractical" and "incredible" achievement or state of being that we could ever imagine or aspire to in itself! And, blimey, here I go agin... I don't know what happens to me on your page... it is like I go into overdrive or automatic writing or something... it just flows outa me... especially when there has been a dearth of Forese input. OK, in short, don't beat yourself up, Honey, for living a life of fractured juxtapositions; from all the varied responses below, you have obviously struck one helluva chord. And I also love the delightful and teasing ambivalence and ambiguity within all this questioning and introspection, especially in the final stanza: do we hate the perceived "failure", or the halo for causing us to feel such self-loathing? It's important that you stress the ever-present necessity for the healthy act of doubting, though. In the examination of and testing of true realities, the doubts and cerebral reasoning is what keeps us grounded.... Ahhhhhhhhhh... now I feel SO much better! :)) Thank you, Jude. xx

Wow! Such deep contemplation in your soul, Jude. I do question using "hate", here, 'tho; much too derisive a word for your nature. Especially when so many admire you and your works!

with smiles in my inkwell for you...
Micke

Jude,

We all fall far short of society's - of our own - expectations. The man who questions has no hate in his heart - just regrets. Powerfully penned, well done.

(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.

Dark and self exposing.
Can a man do any good thing?
What does it bring?
Quite interesting. . . . poem
Doug

Very thought provoking, as always, Jude. We have all failed in some way or another to achieve our full potential. Achievement of dreams is possible, but failure to achieve does not make us any less; in fact, it makes us human, and thus, forgiveable.

Hugs,
Julie

The man that question himself is the man where hate has not a home, but, inmersed in meditation, he will question yet more, why it is allowed to be as he inmerse himself in the philosophical waters of self-consciousness.
Jude, some times you practice a kind of a literary self flagellation.
Your words came, after, purified.

Georg

As you dwelve into the questions that are so intense and often unanswerable in this write you force the reader to also dwelve into their own lifes and physic auras to legitimize if possible their own reason for being...interesting and thought awakening.

Fee

Seeing hate as being such a strong emotion, I believe that we can only hate that which we love or have loved. As far as hating oneself, I hope that is not possible, although it is in recognizing our own personal failures that we learn to grow and become that individual we always knew we could be. We are each a lump of clay molded and tempered by time, glazed by faith and belief. Change is a slow process, but turning hate into love is much easier than one might imagine; it is just a matter of letting go of the fear that is the crux of the hatred. Powerful and introspective poem, Jude.
Take care,
Sherry

...much is given to reflect upon in your words Jude...as I respect the halo you pen...and in light...do not see the hate. Yet "Halo of Hate" are powerful words...
John

Mind-sifting emotion. Halo of Hate happens when you outgrow your environment. I realize - and have kept note of every line you have given us throughout the years. Validity lies in these den alliances.

"Can the liberation of being
enslave the core of its convictions?"

The answer lies in the honeycomb of limestone caves where the immortality of the glyphs reinforce the author of Detritus for centuries...at all cost, for the price of liberation we have to sacrifice Halo of Hate for Lux of Love...I send you love, Jude.

In adoration,
Sage

I love how you wonder out loud.