Smudged Ink

Loin cloth draped around his anorexic body the Buddha Searched for the Middle Way between Nothing and All Counted his blessings and figs as his thoughts focussed In meditation for humility compassion and lasting peace The tree of life’s branches lightened his shadows of doubt Enticed the suffering of suffering to lead from above Aristotle escaped from Plato’s cave into the sunshine Golden Mean on his mind he foraged for balance of virtue Moderated knowledge with feelings of exploring for wisdom A tiny window of opportunity between secrecy and honesty Reckless and cowardice tempting from both incomplete ends Good humour and absurdity longing for tranquility’s resolution Carl Gustav Jung took up the reigns drawn by polar opposites Between living and death in archetypal subconscious conscience Monumental conflict depicted as complements not contradictions A seeming paradox of incongruent and existential proportions Like the jester in Tarot’s antimony of beginning and infinite end The persona became more than a mere mask or Janus faced challenge The poet’s stream of consciousness meanwhile flows as ink in his pen Scratches at the surface quite tense in his hand pointing the quill Towards investigation and unexceptional essence of lost meaning Guided by the inner Self and nemesis of turmoil and equilibrium 19th January 2020