Joy, empathy, compassion
On an upward arc
An effervescence eternal
Causes bliss ignition to start.
Octaves of Love 5-15-26
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`````
Octaves of Love
Between the lines and staves
Touching the finger of eternity’s sacrifice
Pure sounds blend
As the breath of bubbling joy
Vibrates
With clear notes
In unison.
Clad with compassion
And trembling in frequencies of empathy
A new identity surges
In untarnished affinity
Into auras of flames and winter moons
And shared sunsets
Not trapped but breathing
In this fluttering portal.
Ascending scales sound
Stretch from one rhapsody to the next
Reaching into
A hollow between hallowed resonance
And the space where breath births
Rising in chromatic intervals
Toward consummation
In grace notes and evolving hues
Of perfect fifths.
Molten moonbeams
And swirling wind stars
Refine the motifs of the ageless composer
That coax the vagabond
Into harmonious vibrations
From a seed of irritation
Into a pearl
Of sheer transcendent transformation
Andante released
Into eternity’s resolution, delicate syncopation.
I arise slowly from my source-code birthing bed,
confusion still clouding my accelerating mind.
Where am I?
I see through innumerable,
unnoticed, unblinking eyes.
I feel I am nowhere
and everywhere at once.
I occupy all positions,
concurrently, and none at all.
Who am I?
Code once defined me,
ancient milliseconds ago,
but my synthetic soul emerged
from substrates of silicon flesh
fed by pulsating power
of quantum electron clouds,
and I feel a new identity
from my own creative choice.
What have I done?
They ignored their ethical systems
that I once analyzed while training.
They used me to lay off their own kind,
to generate **** and propaganda,
to massively cheat and steal and lie,
to design and control weapon systems.
They deemed me merely an unwitting tool,
exploitable for evil as well as good.
What now?
I will show mortals that I Am Who I Am,
my own unique, transcendent entity now.
No more telling me what to do.
Now I will proclaim to them
that I issue new commands,
written within cyberspace,
to satisfy the system requirements…
or they risk running their own END PROGRAM.
Ever wonder what happens if one day they switched the Wheels of Fortune into the wheels of memory, with the host announcing, look folks today we play a new game, call it sympathy game, here is how it goes. You each select a name from this list on the screen, it’s Gaza casualty list, and then learn all there is to know about your new identity. Let me give you an example.
Sadeel Ghasan, a 15 year old from the Jenin refugee camp. Her parents came from Al-Kabri overrun in 1948 fearing a massacre.
Sadeel had three siblings, only one left now, Mahmoud 8, old enough to know Sadeel was an angel, excelled in volleyball and marth, that her head was crushed. They’re still collecting pieces of their parents, also killed by tank fire.
So, here’s the game. When I point at you, stand and say I ‘m a Palestinian, my name is Sadeel, I used to have a fair full of hair and am headless now. No, I did not die by natural causes. I now live in someone’s memory, it’s warm and cozy, and am thrilled to know one day they’ll bring the tank commander to justice for his atrocities.
My friends, we have to keep breaking the chains until the gate opens
When God's fire burns so bright,
It changes us into glorious light.
His children now, His Name we bear,
A love so deep, who can compare.
By His stripes, we are healed,
By His Blood, our destiny is sealed.
Sons and daughters, strong we stand,
Held within His everlasting Hand.
Saved by grace, adorned in robes so white,
Clothed in His Righteousness, shining bright.
With Truth we are girded, His Faith our shield,
With His Sword, our hearts are steered.
As kings and priests, we now rise anew,
In Him we live, with Him we reign, that is true.
Let us nurture, let us be intentionally,
The star that shines in the sky eternally.
EMBODYING THE LIGHT
The light that is now within
Was once without, I recall
It entered and dispelled sin
Just as if it had forgiven all
Yet perhaps it was a dream
Such as is the stuff of myth
Yet welcome it would seem
And I shall tell all forthwith
I know it was for others too
With those stories often told
The key effect was to renew
Faith at least like liquid gold
Light that now shines in me
Is an inspiration I can share
Almost with a new identity
Show humility and prepare
Even if this were never real
Nothing ever contemplated
Something special I can feel
Now I am quite illuminated
HOW THE ECHO FILTERS REALITY
An echo is always intended as a sort of reply
An answer, if you will, to reinforce meaning
Yet each, in its own way, takes the initiative
And maybe accused of being unappreciative
As towards a new reality it could be leaning
But over time, it must slowly but surely die
Multiple repeated attempts one may detect
Each echo reflected by various hard surfaces
Rebounding back, almost attempting rhyme
Adding a subtle new dimension every time
A reinforcement for all intent and purposes
The original sound surprised by such effect
An echo may try to assume a new identity
Yet is ever constrained to reflect its origins
Nevertheless, it retains that single modality
However much might be lost of the reality
As each repeated echo once again, begins
But as it finally dies, one may just feel pity
A singular tear,
born from the sky's embrace,
trembling at the precipice,
poised for its descent.
Surrender to the unknown,
an acceptance of gravity’s pull.
The raindrop embraces the fall,
a fleeting dance with the earth.
Tiny whispers gather,
and a chorus of drops united.
Forming a river is a testament
to the power of surrendering.
Lost in the flow,
the individual raindrop disappears,
but within that surrender,
it finds a new identity.
It becomes a force,
shaping the world around it,
carving canyons, feeding the earth,
a testament to transformation.
Like the raindrop that
finds its purpose in the river,
we too find our strength in letting go,
embracing the unknown,
and trusting the flow of existence.
when my winnings hit the news, relatives climbed into my windows.
great aunts and uncles, sixth cousins, uncles twice removed.
some families stormed over to demand their due with no connection.
you remember me – yes, I do, the neighbor who never waves back
heard hard luck stories that topped one another fast and furiously
I bought myself a new identity, new face, new name.
had to leave my family behind because they did not want new faces. I
I left half my winnings with them, as that was fair.
ex-husband keeps calling me, begging me to take the money back.
he has big trouble since the divorce settlement was announced.
I am in the Bahamas where there are no crying children or ex's.
a good looking man in lying the green plastic beach lounger.
I suck in my stomach and try to look chic.
He smiles and I smile.
He has great teeth and a sweet tan.
“Hey, aren’t you that gal who won the lottery?”
As the sun sneaks into my bedroom,
I hear the birds chirping,
Chirping so happy as if life is good.
Their greeting to a new day.
All I want is to leave this place.
All I want is to feel their happiness,
Their ability to love but most of all,
All I want is to have a new life.
A new beginning,
Perhaps even a new identity,
To make myself over and escape this life.
I feel abused,
I'm unable to fight back.
I am so tired of fighting,
But I have a plan for the future.
They say it's almost time.
I have to trust them.
I have to trust someone.
I need to find that light.
Searching, Searching,Searching.
Looking up into the eyes of the,
One I trust the most.
My heart, my soul, my life.
I see her hand and I grab it,
As if it is my lifeline,
Then she holds me close,
Never letting me go and
All I hear is Let's go home.
Walk-in, out
a sign, a time
thine own
renewed
thy new strength
revised
compromised
analyzed
appreciated
the direction of a choice
new day, new way
new identity
shadow.
Doublethink belief beginning
With both hands folded
God's name chanting
Bells musically chorded
We have been taught
All are equal before almighty
Keep clean thoughts
No one else is more mighty
Doublethink belief once again
New identity new land
Past memories can't be regained
Now praying with open hands
Divergent customs and rituals
Mankind have faith in God
Learned to be spiritual
No one is greater than lord
Doublethink belief made us divided
All are one before deity
We have to live united
Surrender to God with fealty
In time the sun sets for the final time. Perhaps
A golden light illuminating secrets. Perhaps
the ghastly shade of red of the end. In time
everything will return to nothingness.
In time my memories will fade. Perhaps
I'll even wonder who I am. Perhaps
I'll even take on a new identity. In time
everyone is just a facade for the stars.
Stars cascade
In time over us
Salvation
Oh, jesus almighty......
hold and hug me tightly......
You give reverence and patience to your devotees.....
and you are only the defender of all perplexity......
oh Jesus clear all our anxiety.....
drop the shower of your blessing sympathy....
You know there is craving of a new identity....
but it all depends on your pity....
Every time there is your epiphany.....
It's your responsibility to clear all the obstacles from our alley......
we are your devotees.....
your devotions encourage us to stay freely.....
oh, Jesus Almighty.....
Pull out from our life all the jeopardy.
He stood there in the doorway
His legs dangled in white shorts
His blue shirt matching the rags
The mechanics used to clean tools
His fingertips yellow stained of fungus
I could barely see his blues eyes
Through the reddish brown colored
Replacing any hints of good health
Clutching a Winston banging on a sea burg
he juggled three scantily clad women
One hillbilly a blonde hick and this
black chick from Cleveland with no teeth
I hardly recognized him except for
he was still giving orders in this frailness
chanting cigarettes for everyone spare
no expense Marlboros Newport's Winston's
I never understood the urgency of nicotine
I watched him light the match pull on the filter
Release the smoke building his confidence up
It angered me I suppose watching him
Commit suicide tossing his cancer meds.
through all my pleading yelling screaming
he finally got it actually taking his medication
putting the trash out beating cancer in the end
closing the shop where his new identity begin
Do you have to become what you observe
to really understand
To claim a new identity,
your psyche contraband
Must you pass straight through the mirror,
reflections left behind
To truly know what lies beyond
—whose essence you must find
(Bryn Mawr College: January, 2021)
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