Let he who is without vanity cast the first insult
Vain to me smacks of superficialities which
in the long run prove fragile and meaningless
You can be proud of your accomplishments
without worries of being vain
Lose your hair, lose your teeth, lose your looks,
lose your vanity
Fashion statements
Youth
Dress-up make-up
Forsooth
A little vanity never hurt anybody
Until it becomes the substance of your life
Uncouth
Raison d'être
It’s not necessarily a negative asset
conceit
conceded
vain
narcissism
self-love
self-admiration
self-regard
self-absorption...
...Is self-love really considered vanity?
I am 6
Formulated/Factual Form 0+1+2+1+1+9+5+5=24(2+4) = 6
Strengths: “, I am 6, we who are sixes like to comfort others,” denoted.
, I am 6 , “I like to we uplift, share, and give advice, and they adore family. They’re I am very honorable, and they make great friends.” Sixes are poised, nurturing, unselfish, artistic, romantic, devoted, and sensible. “They came here to be the parent, the provider, the nurturer, the organizer,” noted. “They, I am here to be of service.” , I am 6, sixes are, above all, focused on the experience of lovenumeri logically affixed I am 6,
Challenges: “Out of alignment, can be a perfectionistic, may be very critical, idealistic to a fault, and self-righteous,” “May meddle in other people’s business, may constantly counsel others and giving unsolicited advice.” Sixes may also be marked by indulgence and self-absorption.
, I am 6 , “I like to uplift”
8/6/24
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr.2024©
How life has changed
Simplicity no longer reigns
Now a society of ‘look at me’
Lost is self respect and modesty
Breasts and bums on display
Faces plastered in clay
Bodies injected with toxins
Natural beauty no longer an option
Plastic people with plastic minds
Self absorption and vanity combined
Every movement captured on phone
Posed and poised down to the bone
Never present in the here and now
Natural spontaneity they know not how
Life lived only for the screen
Admiration, praise, likes ,comments seen
Humility, modesty, respect
Replaced by egotism, vanity and body perfect
Priorities and thoughts all about self
Consideration , concern for others shelved
There is nothing they will not do
To get that almighty view
Void of decency and dignity
Now a society of ‘look at me’
Unlike the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever
that is not forgotten and been listened to
since it was recorded, the field of forever
seems to be just standing there, forgotten.
The field of forever that has the seeds of humility,
like virtue, faith, determination, kindness, forgiveness,
gratitude, understanding is covered with weeds of
pride, selfishness, unbelief, greed, self-absorption.
Seeds of humility that go a long way, the little things
giving comfort, joy, appreciation and warm the heart.
Those precious moments that last in your memories
giving you motivation to do more good and reach out.
Small gestures that mean so much, like saying hello,
thank you, appreciate it, you are welcome, I am sorry,
I understand, you’re so kind, good job, I am proud of you.
Small gestures that seem to be forgotten in today’s world.
In this computerized wide world, you can see the displays
of pride, selfishness, self-absorption in posting themselves
for the media to see and the greed because of materialism.
So many web fraud causing harm, pain to innocent people.
How can we bring back the forgotten field of forever?
From a realm of self-absorption, quite exclusive
The reason for this feeling inside me was illusive.
Unconsciously putting his welfare before my own.
I am realising this fondness for him has grown.
Is love the course I felt like my heart would burst?
It seemed to be suddenly his feelings came first.
Previously the only one to care about was me.
This feeling of love inside me, makes me happy.
This "love weaves a mysterious magic spell".
When it began, I am sure I don’t know. I can’t tell.
Did it begin when first he took my hand to hold?
Or when he wrapped his coat round me, I was cold.
I am not sure just when this spell overcame me.
When my directions got us lost, he didn’t blame me.
Could it have been the first time we tenderly kissed.
Hope this feeling never leaves, it would be missed.
3
To understand the lurking fog of melancholy,
We must dissect and examine every piece,
We must study every nuance,
every layer, every cause, every feeling,
to find the source of all its power,
to discover where the sorry sadness begins.
The root of melancholy lies within
it is an emotion, an interpretation,
an attitude, not a cause unto itself.
It is a malady self-inflicted, not an infection caught.
Therein lies the prevention remedy and cure, yourself.
Idleness, boredom and self-absorption
breeds melancholy within the soul.
It enters and festers in still, stale, stagnant waters
Not within the rivers, lakes, nor seas in motion.
Business, friendliness, engagement and creativity
keep the lurking fog of melancholy at bay, well away.
To ponder why,
In deep dismay
To Daydreaming in the stream of consciousness
Mixed in mind and heart desires
That detaches from current task and test,
Don’t quit your daydream
Trance aid fantasy
Intervision encapsulates me
Hallucination musing
Don’t quit your daydream
Imagining inattention gathers
Inattentiveness woolgathering preoccupation
Don’t quit your daydream
Emotional brooding
Obliviousness engrossment
absentmindedness Self-absorption
absence of mind
staring into space
abstraction
Don’t quit your daydream
lack of concentration lack of application
figment of the imagination
unrealizable dream Home is castle in the air
Wishful thinking fond hopes Self-absorption
Wishing upon…
Whatever it is Don’t quit your daydream
11/22/2022
For Don't Quit Your Daydream Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: craig cornish
hunger awakes desire to eat
tiredness begets the urge to sleep
being alone, this being, is besotted
with companionship and distraction
from the endless chore of self-absorption
'tis stoic to delay and contemplate
before quenching those desires.
because staying hungry, staying desirous
keeping the want unrelinquished, unfulfilled
is a discipline that
keeps the mind alert and wanting,
it averts the numbness
of being satisfied, satiated and empty
with all desires quenched, extinguished, gone.
ILLUSIONS
the largely
forgotten
chaos
of moving
creativity
proclaimed
the sporadic
in
a series
an innocuous
free spirit
voiced
lively
with vitality
in
intuitive
concepts
icons
of essence
in a
fantasy fusion
dream
symbol
self absorption
in
shadow shaped
modish moods
intercut
montages
with
repeated
glimpses
irrepressible
& ageless
NOTE:THIS IS AN OPEN(organic) FORM VERSE using spaces&breaks without grammatical symbols ,the ' open' relies upon 'the one breath limitation' & so inherently requires the 'reader' (reciter) to input and responds thus making this enigmatic form a two way interplay & interpretatIon unique to the moment& changing according to mood is inherently variable.
Copyright © Brian Strand
See no truth,
Hear no truth,
Speak no truth.
Follow the leader.
Don’t look to either side
Or you might see
In the mirror
Of your own making
Your cowardice,
distortions, self-absorption,
lies, and poor judgment.
Keep the blinders on.
Follow the leader
over the cliff.
Screams at an azure ocean
bounce back in waves to me.
Egos spill over with frustration
of wants never meant to be.
Let go of self-absorption
awake in epiphany.
Rise above the commotion
reach a new reality.
Oneness is revelation
life's persistent mystery.
Droplets see some solution
while water moves consciously.
Drops rush and roll in motion
as currents of harmony.
Waves find inner direction
melodies of reverie.
Fragile in nascent notion
bound by fearing fates are we.
Wishes seem a mystic potion
from which we will not be free.
Open to one grand mastery
droplets of the human sea.
12/2/19
The Beauty of the Sky is like I’ve dreamed,
My heart is filled with rays from Morning’s Star!
And you are now beyond all that you seemed,
To those, whose hearts were nearsighted, and are…
For self-absorption misses Beauty’s ray!
But I was given the gift to see it clear,
Eyes green as moss, your smile like Sun, like Day!
Your shining fire, a soft and radiant cheer
That blessed each one it shone upon with Hopes,
Reminded everyone, no matter what
The sands of selfishness make fragile ropes
That melt whenever wetness comes – they rot!
But in the morning sky, is a new star!
That shines, just like you shone, on near and far!
A lone wolf, I prowl at night, feeding on other’s fears, glorying in my self-absorption. Choose myself over others.
Honor my primal needs. Drumming and stomping. Snarling and baring.
My primal howl is wanting out. I can feel her, chomping ready.
Not ready yet, I quiet her until the
Last flicker of the bonfire goes out.
The only light in the forest now is
The half-moon.
There is an immediate feeling of danger
Surrounding the woods.
The trees are fading. A star and the moon
Are the only lights in a gray and black world.
The moon is ripe. The atmosphere is silent.
No cracks or pops from the fire, no orange from the depths of the grays.
I throw back my head and let loose a howl that would curl your toes if you could hear it.
A primal howl that comes from the depths of my soul, making my own hair stand on end.
It is not enough. I let loose three more howls.
Gratified as I recognize the howl of another lone wolf.
Written August 6, 2018 Entered: Wolves and Moon Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Julia Ward
The mental frames of the past were empty,
as were all thoughts of any permanence
Feelings of substance crushed into nothingness
by the grind of time
Aimless wandering had become the routine,
faces moving by, in and out of focus
Shuffling along in their daily lives of self-purpose
But he knew better ...
Vanity was a mirror of dark self-absorption:
nobody ever saw the warts and imperfections
when they looked at the image staring back at them
Actually evaluating the loss and the waste
required a strong constitution
And that kind of moral fortitude was not in the
genetic mix of most people
He had let go of his failed ego so long ago,
he had forgotten exactly when
Or what traumatic event caused the dissolution
of his youthful ambition
Now, he walked amongst the ghosts of the present,
seeing shadows of his lost, alternate future in others
He didn’t think he lost much though
Upon these banks where You fashion’d my soul,
Please pronounce again your Divine blessing,
“It is not good for Dave to be alone!”
Upon my soul, this ongoing freedom
To be my own man, set my schedule,
Stare through my four walls while writing sonnets
Has grown old. Re-create my soul to give
Itself unreservedly to her heart.
Knead the clay comprising me to remove
Stones of self-absorption and impatience,
Stubborn insistence that my will prevail.
Give me a generous heart that invests
In her success. Purify my soulish
Pools that she sees Your reflection through me.
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