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Open Poetry #24
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GOlDsparklESS
Member
since 2001-12-13
Posts 428
central nj

0 posted 2003-02-04 12:22 PM


now we shall count to twelve
and all will keep still,
for once, on the face of
Earth;
Let silence reign,
let’s stop for a second
and not fidget around so much.  

It would be such an exquisite moment,
with no mad dashing rush, no relentless engines;
we would all be together
in a sudden newness.

Fisherman in cold, faraway seas
would cease to harm whales
and the crop-gatherers
would not look at hands punctured by nettle.

Those who mastermind conflict,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes to
greet their neighbors
for a walk under the sun.

What I want is not a
completely drowsy reality…
life is intricate in ways unimaginable…
and goes this way for a reason…

yet if we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing (peace),
perhaps an immense silence would
overwhelm the sadness
of not understanding ourselves.

Now I’ll count to twelve,
you keep still while I go.

© Copyright 2003 Manisha Narang - All Rights Reserved
GOlDsparklESS
Member
since 2001-12-13
Posts 428
central nj
1 posted 2003-02-04 12:23 PM


______________________________________________________________________


Why is there such an insistence that the US is the worst imperialistic power the world has ever known?  Should this country be consistently viewed in such an arrogant manner, either the “best” or the “worst”?  What if this country is neither, but merely the current example of power run amok?  360,000 humans are birthed into this world daily.  They have sifted through moments to bless this day with their precious incarnation. For them, we want to honor their souls with utmost compassion; babies do deserve the best, right?  

We are the caregivers…when we’re not overeating or watching TV or driving filthy vehicles or fighting like idiots or going to war, that is.
Three hundred sixty thousand beings will cry today, the first day of the rest of their crying. So many little prophets opening and closing their little hands.

What if every politician spoke the truth? How odd is that the hardest thing in the world is to tell the truth?  Or let alone LIVE that truth; incorporate that truth in one’s daily existence? (apart from the occasional “moment of truth”, “nothing but the truth”, or “the truth shall set you free”) Yeah, “the truth hurts”, but a simple truth uttered with absolute clarity is a supernova.  That is the power and beauty of Truth.

(a snippet of poem by Richard Brautigan, published in 1968 during the Vietnam War, which had released thirty thousand US troops from their mortal coil.)

Star Spangled Nails- “You’ve got/ some star-spangled/ nails/ in your coffin, kid. / That’s what they’ve done for you, son.

This expresses the atrocities committed in the name of country. I do think this continues today, prevalently with our political system’s dogged perpetuation of insanity; as well as with the not-so-obvious things: food chemicals, cultural expectations leading to degradation, class differences, ignorance, widespread emotionally dysfunctional mannerisms, and insatiable egos.

better known as : american culture.

These problems exist everywhere, not just on this privileged, high-and-mighty country, true. But why?

Yet, the fact is - for a country so persuaded by its convictions of sweet freedom, legacies/traditions, indignant individualism, humanitarianism and an infallible constitution to engage in activities that are blindly articulate, uncompassionate, and completely irrelevant to the state of this planet is to be a "hypocrite."  (To be frank)

There are discrepancies which are ignored, for the most part… basically-

The ideals of the US culture do not coincide with the actual reality of the US culture.

The vast majority of people create their reality unknowingly.  Using the “choices” presented to them by THAT job, cultural expectations regarding marriage and the raising of children, commercials, national holidays rationing “family time”, interest groups and your friendly faceless corporation, or avenue of media enterprise.

Indeed, the culture creates the paradigm.

This is truly a tangled web of reality…

The more I grow the more I know. The more I realize that I don’t want to live in the false reality of others.

Thank You.


boo hoo i don't have a valentine!

Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350
the ass-end of space
2 posted 2003-02-04 12:31 PM


'either the “best” or the “worst”?  What if this country is neither, but merely the current example of power run amok?'

I tink you said it best here, both sides of the coin and both destructive in their own way. Throw out the coin bring in the silence, there are way too many things that seperate us it would be nice to find a few more to join us instead. Silence is golden

[This message has been edited by Aenimal (02-04-2003 12:31 AM).]

Midnitesun
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Empyrean
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647
Gaia
3 posted 2003-02-04 01:02 AM


some people can't count that high

others have counted to twelve several times over and still have to cover their ears

America is no better and no worse than all the powerful regimes in the world which have overstepped their boundaries; and no matter how noble or ignoble the intentions, the results are almost always the same... devastation for the weaker entities.



passing shadows
Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577
displaced
4 posted 2003-02-04 02:53 AM


good "thinking" write
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