Is it logic
Is it impulse
Is it neither
Or then both
Is it Descartes
Is it Hegel
Is it Kantian
In our hope
Will we whisper
Will we dictate
Will we prejudge
Most devout
Will we wonder
Will we question
Will we pander
Into doubt
In the morning
In the noontide
In the twilight
Of our youth
Reason saunters
Reason flounders
Reason kneels
— before the truth
(Dreamsleep: March, 2026)
Ethics
Taught accurately to account
for each reward an exact amount
a Kantian conscience reprehends
a stray Romantic dividend.
Publicly our just deserts
are measured by our type of work.
For what surgeons are forgiven
clerks and watchmen go to prison.
Few are ushered through the streets
in black sedans by the police
to carpeted chambers where the great
decide the future of the State.
Love, Genius, Power are for the elect.
Underpaid and oversexed
most lives are lived where intersect
the ragged lines of job and sex.
So if future preference won't assuage
your trussed Byronic middle-age,
think of all the lions who
are languishing in Christian zoos.
Honoring commitments
Is healing though you're sick
For soul has many aspects
And Love is not a trick.
The contracts that you honor
Give you more faith in man
And that which helps your brother
Enriches your lifespan.
With facets like a diamond,
Restated Golden Rule,
Shines light in many corners,
Not covenant of fool.
Still Kantian confusion
Can lead a man astray
And boundaries too complex
Can hamper human play.
Remember you’re forgiven
The Father loves His child,
Man’s deepest expectations,
Reveal a soul that’s wild.
It’s knowing you’re a sinner
That shows the path that’s true
And longing for the Father
That tells us what to do.
Brian Johnston
January 23, 2016
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