Cognitive decline
follows chronic emotional neglect
Said the curious student
to teachers of dogma
Said the silenced sage
to muted musicians
Said the silenced voice
to the petrified dancer
Said the theologian
to exhausted bodhisattvas
Said the frustrated ecologist
to traumatized wiccan worshippers
Said the gospel sympathizer
to Old Testament victimizers
Said the scientific systems reformer
to irreligious deformers
Said the green-caste revivalist
to the caste abolishionist
Crown chakra abuse
follows root chakra neglect
because
Root chakra ignore
follows Crown chakra adore
Because my cognitive ethos decline
follows our chronically traumatized
eros neglect
As my disillusion
follows Earth's disempowerment
Re-cognizing humane ethotic decline
follows chronic divine erotic neglect
Not empowering transformation
not enlightening communication's
authentically engaging restoration
Intellectually sagacious incline
following polyamorously amusing
compassion.
Glory of tandoori story or Brit palette whet reformer korma
Vindaloo or sag aloo woo you or coo crazy about jalfrezi
Gets hazy as things mesh came fresh from Bangladesh
Can’t naysay Indian takeaways most days top performer
Made for Brit eccentric never ever looked a bit authentic
Teach explore each region with its own locavore legion
Preach mountain ranges to cities and fountains changes
Neighbourhoods vocally hooked homegrown locally cooked
See wee chatty seller with natty chapati smothered in gee
Poms popadoms covered with mango glow aplomb or roti
Lentil dahl elemental or experimental flurry of curry in a hurry
Ask a fella stellar biryani actually Indian or factually Pakistani
p.s Oh and no argy bargy about the Raj but do so love a bhaji
The quote, "Now comes the mystery,"
American clergyman and social reformer
Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887.
"His final words reflect a philosophical and contemplative
attitude toward death and the afterlife.” Google
His deathbed holds the endless mystery
of where or what will truly happen next;
not what he'd learned from books or history
or what he taught at church as sacred text.
But from his deepest feeling there within,
he knew that death is not the simple end.
And so, his hopeful soul stayed clear of sin;
God's power, love, and mercy did defend.
Surely, he knew that Heaven was his goal-
perhaps imagined it a certain way;
But as a preacher, it is quite a toll
to understand what's real beyond his stay.
He knew the sacred mystery death holds-
but not the where or when of victory.
But at that last-breath moment, it unfolds;
his deathbed quote, “Now comes the mystery,”
Against the grain
Resistance to the
Appearances of
What is undesired..
Constructing a future
With a pleasant
Granular flow..
The plan of a
Reformer
Progressive
Self helper..
Stories of resistance
Against the grain
Already freedom...
Florence Nightingale,
born on 12th may ,
was a British social reformer,
a statistician by day .
She was a nurse
who had a magic touch;
helped all the men around her
would never make a fuss .
She was called the lady,
the lady with the lamp
who'd come and provide aid
all throughout the camp.
Out of all the nurses,
she was one of the best
earning herself a royal red cross
she was surely better than the rest.
even though it's been
years since her passing
her impact in the world
feels everlastin
A poet can see
What the sun can’t.
Is the one whose words
Like sharp arrows,
Are aimed at the causes of
Human sorrows.
Is the one who awakens us
From our deepest slumber.
Is the one with whose inspiration
Our hurdles easily we outnumber.
Is the one famous as mankind's transformer,
Well plays the role of a social reformer.
A BRIAN STRAND PREMIERE CHOICE Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
Date: 15-05-2022
On a day a number of centuries ago
John Calvin met the great heroine, Joan of Arc,
they both had much indeed in common
in their lives, on God's side, they made their mark
Both were born and came from France
so language was not a problem at all
they had both been mightily used of God
humbly both bowed to obey God's call
John spoke admirably of Joan's bravery
asking did you really hear a voice?
one so audible so clear to be God
oh yes Joan said it was no ordinary noise
Joan spoke of Calvin's work in Geneva
what was it like to see such transformation?
John answered it wasn't me, the spirit of God
it was His work to speak through God's revelation
So much to share can't tell it all now
John and Joan were now real true friends
their great love for Jesus their saviour
who died for their sins for their souls to mend
(I've brought together John Calvin the Swiss reformer(1509-1564) and Joan of Arc who rescued France from English domination. (1412-1431), both French by birth and both mightily used of God. They both lived in different periods of history but thought it would be nice to bring them together and imagine what friends they could be)
From your family to your friends,
To the very breath you’re taking in.
There’s so much to be thankful for,
Having family is what I’m grateful for.
The thoughts of loved ones resonate,
In the hearts of those around us.
When their time has come and gone,
Lean on their strong spirit to lead you on.
The holidays are meant for the family,
Unfortunately, not everyone has a family.
Let’s aim to be a family reformer,
Rather than a group of bench warmers.
Peace, love, friendship and joy,
Are feelings that we all enjoy.
From the turkey to the gifts,
It’s time to start making your list.
Patronize me not because your feet ride in new heels
In a flurry of moves to prop the ego
That in a hurry kills
Dreams and creams in streams of unwise steps you and I can forgo
To pave the way clear
For you and I to step up gears
In thoughts and plans you and I hold dear
Despite uncried tears and unseen fears
You and I can do without
To grow a little warmer
Snipping frills, nipping in the bud any lingering doubt
About the role of a reformer
Who when the going gets rough
In real time or at a later stage
Claims you and I don’t possess the stuff
To engage and manage intricate matters when on the verge
Of putting the icing on our cake
Knees collapse as you and I lapse
Into making the most elementary mistake
That perhaps
Sets us back months of careful diplomacy
In our march forward towards the consolidation of the relationship we treasure
When unalloyed gynocracy
Sails, nails, wails and mails nonsense beyond measure
Ensconced in manifestations of self adulation
In whose sludge you and I indulge
To promote moves whose undulation, moderation and modulation
Multiply errors to ensure our collective failures bulge.
Max, the politician, wields a razor-sharp axe,
Slicing his chicken-bleep opponents' necks and backs.
"How dare they accuse me of power politics?" Max asks,
Innocent jowls masking the jaws of a shark's attack.
His gangland campaign staff for money never lacks;
Max' men shake down local pimps, and dealers of cocaine and crack.
As for the fuzz, Max is hip; he's got the inside track:
Scoring deals for them on the best ecstasy and smack.
First elected back in '72, Max walked the length and breadth of the state,
A reformer, he was, a renegade; at least the voters thought so and fell for the bait.
Ensconced in palatial power ever since, Max has glad-handed, partied, drank, and ate.
A 'politician's pol' all these years, his formidable paunch and polling punch have proven great.
Belly out over his belt, this balloon of a man once again challenges fate,
Can he hang on again in 2018, or will this be Max' last hurrah on the party's election slate?
Ethereal Ascendant Sacred Transcendent Emmanuel Redeemer
Emissary Afflicted Submitted Triumphant Evangel Reformer
Exemplum Agonist Servant Teacher Emancipator Restorer
Epiphany Adored Slain Theonomy Efficacious Resurrectionist
Everlasting Altruist Sanctifier Transmigrate Expurgator Reconciler
Eternal Almighty Supreme Triumphant Eminent Risen!
But I walk along.
Forte to my cause.
A fort of strength…
Militarily built -
Therefore, must be militarily defeated.
Many say I am a buyout -
Too much intelligence to decipher.
No lack of esteem that can be embraced maybe a confrontation to face.
Personification of knowledge is an individual’s acumen ginned.
Gen by a rite of passage to quest for greater things.
Malachia is her name.
Anyone that desires the sanity of righteousness is a reformer.
A trial and purpose they have formed.
Strong suited to develop structure.
Strong points are shared prolifically.
A talent acquisitionist carries the scrolls.
A role player and leader at the podium.
Mississippi born and a Mississippian raised…
Acumen gins - informed by knowledge nowadays.
But I walk along.
Forte to the cause.
A fort of strength growing stronger!
Military built –
Thus, never militarily defeated.
Only a buyout prevails –
Cipher cannot be unconcealed or revealed.
___________________________________________________________________|
Written April 1, 2016!
Four walls.
Barricades.. built out of strong brick, but flimsy cement -
Strong force, but weak purpose.
It was ironic, she thought.
Society had set up four confining walls,
and yet was an unlocked door just there.. mocking,
beckoning those with the nerve to throw it open.
She was sure of it.
It angered her, these biased convictions.
She wasn't let to school. No work. No freedom.
And why? Why not, rather.
Simply because she was a 'she'.
But she would show them, she notioned.
She would show the world the suppressed would rise,
and break through the boundaries preset for them.
She would show them the women of the world could revolutionize it.
She would tell them,
and she wouldn't stop till her voice resounded beyond the four walls of the world...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dedicated to every woman reformer!
It was never pronounced that MLK or Ludwig Guttmann were thinkers,
Because prime movers are interactive, preoccupied with their cause;
Societal progress is wrought through effort, division and conflict,
Because progress has its beginnings only secured and settled by legal clause.
Jesus was a social reformer, by life and deed and philosophy,
Who waged that the many should have a doctor, not only the rich;
He healed in the name of love, with intellect as his engine,
And his unjust death sufficed for future generation’s mention.
Love is at the centre of Christianity in Jesus acts of mercy,
It is this historical story that has been trampolined by divinity;
The heart of Jesus is misrepresented for cultural standards mandatory,
Equality of right was bid as medicine’s saleability, not selectivity.
John Calvin one I greatly admire
a man God set apart in His will
turning His mind and heart
and by His spirit full He did fill
This man once obedient to Rome
now transformed by Christ His king
for he was indeed God's man
purposing glory for God to bring
Although born a French man
he was to be Geneva's own son
reforming the Swiss capital by God's truth
the reformation really had begun
To be this man would be great
spreading forth God's gospel sound
impacting Europe for many centuries
but able to stay humbly heaven bound
To live and stay among such beauty
Switzerland is my favourite land
would feel so privileged and honoured
if God had made this His will to stand
AUTHOR NOTES:I am content to be who I am but if I could have been anyone
else in history it would be the great Geneva reformer John Calvin (1509-1564),
so thought I would write some thoughts on this hero of the faith.
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