To bludgeon the curmudgeon trudging on among the blind
Or hide the Easter egg upon the stage playing your mind
When word's the play some like to stay indif'frent in the lobby
Among the corn and candy and the geegaws of their hobby
But some afoot are bigger game and so avoid the trap
Set for the blind and lame contented in their nap
A wakeful state of grace in place, entitled and enlightened
To independent thought, unbought, unsullied, and unfrightened
By those who would pretend that good is what they are about
Fooling only those disposed to follow those who shout
To ride train of thought
And arrive enlightened
To create a good heart
With open mind unfrightened
To have a blessing
To give God time
To lead confessing
Imperfections of mind
To grow old and remain
Meek as a little child
To not seek to gain
But rather give despite denial
To be of the light
Despite darkness like death
To fight the good fight
Times denying one’s self
The ocean of the almighty has swept me in,
Each battle of existence I easily win;
Needs of health, wealth, fame, fortune, and endowments met,
My life, like the rhythm of the cosmos, is set...!
I feel as though Buddha, the truly enlightened,
I enter a state of nirvana, unfrightened;
Likes and dislikes, like twigs in falls, are now withered,
Divine grace, like daily bread, per need, delivered...!
I seek him in truth; eat his body; drink his blood;
His life flows in me, like the waters of a flood;
I am meek and humble of heart to uphold him,
My joy, like a pitcher near wells, fills to the brim...!
His body was broken, and blood was shed; for me,
His grace makes me, here on earth, his kingdom to see;
There's no involution, but evolution now,
Christ is my life; in him I live; to him I bow...!
The ocean of the almighty has swept me in,
Each battle of existence I easily win;
Needs of health, wealth, fame, fortune, and endowments met,
My life, like the rhythm of the cosmos, is set...!
I feel as though Buddha, the truly enlightened,
I enter a state of nirvana, unfrightened;
Likes and dislikes, like twigs in falls, are now withered,
Divine grace, like daily bread, per need, delivered...!
I seek him in truth; eat his body; drink his blood;
His life flows in me, like the waters of a flood;
I am meek and humble of heart to uphold him,
My joy, like a pitcher near wells, fills to the brim...!
His body was broken, and blood was shed; for me,
His grace makes me, here on earth, his kingdom to see;
There's no involution, but evolution now,
Christ is my life; in him I live; to him I bow...!
30 January 2023
Coward, you dare to hide and break the quill,
Instead of changing your ways, all your wrongs;
Arrogance yours, so you do as you will,
Perseverance theirs, so truth they shall long;
By luck, no doubt, predecessors escaped,
But time has been cruel, trust dwindled away;
Claim to be chosen by preponderance,
Pray investigation doesn’t show dismay;
But there are willful birds and trees, so steal,
Another awaits to be of service,
To spray your ink in papers far and near,
For masses to read aloud, exhibit;
So change your ways, unfrightened of reveal,
Embrace the quill as friend not foe, lest cheat.
Written in Iambic Pentameter
As we wait for Cruzzatte to anchor the boats
and bring along the men with pull sleds for the carcasses
a teenage Indian boy on a brown pony painted with winged eyes
prances in and out of our slain buffalos, quiver and bow upon his back
the settling haze of violence ebbing around his undisturbed gallop
as if to see and sanction what we've done, completely unfrightened by us
his eyes fixed on me with a grin that says he knows the pleasure of the kill,
he be so errie in his handsome joy of this death scene,
through native sign language the poetry of hands in dance reveals the heart of a tribe,
Drouillard and I determine that his name is Young Wise
and is a member of the Yankton Sioux
I agree to let Drouillard return with Young Wise to the Yankton site
of 60 lodges 15 miles away, he will be a potential hostage
but he has accepted the risk like a family man
and if they harm him we will burn them,
their leadership will recognize the importance of our favor
and arrive at the Corp's camp with chieftains, curiosity and Drouillard by dusk I'm sure,
our respective nations must learn the path to mutual prosperity,
J.A.B.
In the moonlit shadows
faint and distant images race across the water surface,
blue on grey clouds smoky eye the sky
with checkmate figures and patterns in the darkness,
it is that recognized time and the midnight hour.
Etched among the willows
sings the evening swallow
lost in its shrill and silent interlude
that whistles down chasing the wind.
Between the firefly lights in the clover fields
and the silently stilled pond
she sings alone unfrightened
hidden safe beneath the thick leaved oak.
Drawn up by the wind to explore the vast horizon
sings the evening swallow calling softly out
into the oncoming darkness unseen, unrecognized, entranced
by the permanence and passage of time
chasing the fleeting aftermath of days long passed.
Like a blind obsession
sings the evening swallow
calling out in lonesome song
who does your crying now.
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