("Citadel of Light Merit Badge" - #67, 2016, original oil)
Inside Out Outside In
The world is nothing
If not a continuum of beliefs and practices
Along a spectrum of consciousness
Within an infinite sphere of awareness;
It’s all light
And it’s everywhere
But not in equal measure.
In other words, that light shines differently
In each of us,
And so each of the cultures we create exist
On a continuum
From high to low.
We don’t see what we don’t want
But we see what we compulsively project
Not like it’s a choice
Just a given for the filters we bring
The ones we inherit
The ones we learn.
What differentiates the individual path
And progress of individuals along it?
Refinement, subtlety and internalization.
What starts big, grandiose, overwhelming
Eventually becomes commonplace and manageable
Until it too passes in its own small way.
It’s called growing up and growing old.
The Universe will have us all
Swallowing us whole
Kicking and screaming
Or smiling and laughing
It matters not to that final hole.
(6/21/24)
Maybe it’s the manifestation of boredome
to repeat habitually
these idiosyncratic escapes
from reality
An addiction of self texting
a selfie
a pornographic predilection
of voyeuristic internalization
of boredoms reality
Repeat, repeat, repeat
a mindless litany
in actions
prevent, prevent, prevent
the cat walk entrance
of very unfashionable
boredom
Boredoms wriggling worm
can turn
flight of fancy into a habits concern
and eat away the hours
in their passive mediocrity
As he steps outside
To go about his day
There's an artificial smile
That she currently displays
The risque array of fabrications
Indicate love fades away
Portraying someone that you're not
Can't turn back as deceit's underway
Leading her quickly astray
With the foul-play that's conveyed
How can she begin
To look him in the eyes
And try to rely on the lies she's supplied
Not abiding by rules
No matter how hard she tried
There's no upside to this
So promptly decide
That these classified actions
Can't be brushed aside
Misguiding all judgments
Now set to collide
Into altercations
Due to pent-up frustrations
The ramifications
Of all her temptations
Is internalization combined
With desolation and desynchronization
Leaving all that you know unaligned
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