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Open Poetry #47
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"My Response"
| Open Poetry #47 |
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"My Response" |
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Joe Houck Member
since 2001-04-23
Posts 324california 
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"My Response" I like this guy. And it was said with the lowest amount of admonishment and highest amount of humbleness the whiskey would allow, but it was also said with fear, when I was asked by a middle aged man occupying the bar stool next to me, "When did you walk away from your religion?" Because religion doesn't walk away from you, you abandon it, and this man with such pride that only conviction can accommodate asks me again, "When was it?" As if to pinpoint the point of no return where I had strayed too far and found myself lost, so that he may know where not to go. To shed light on a path you wish not to take seems counter productive but I didn't say that. I told him the day I walked away was the day I got too close, the day I stopped seeing the big picture, the day I stopped seeing the world and saw the humans that inhabit it and that God: like love, like hate and pain, virtue and evil, power and bliss, necessity and...good weather is: Interpretation. We hunger for knowledge that is in and of itself a contradiction. How can you crave something that cannot exist without you: that exists only because you do? There is no knowledge that hasn't been forged in the mind that created it. It is all interpretation. An interpretation to a question not one of us knew the answer to upon arrival. Ask a newborn why they are on this planet and watch it counter with the indifference and tranquility that the question deserves. Then cover the newborn's mouth with your all-knowing palm and ask, "Why?! Why with no purpose for being, with no meaning to be understood do you fight for this air you don't know why you need? Why?!" And when you release that hand you find your answer in the quivered gasp of that newborn that knows what we all forget: that the purpose of living, is to stay alive. To live. Of course that's just my interpretation but what else can I give? It's not the reason, but it is a response and I'm making a habit to never answer questions but to always respond, and in this I am never wrong because I refuse to believe there is a right. Maybe it was the culture, or the time era, I grew up in but my opinion, my illusion of a free mind thinking independently, has been told to have a voice. And I will voice it. But that is all it is, is a voice. An opinion. An interpretation that I have come up with given my surroundings. And so to respond to your question, my friend, "The day I walked away, was the day I realized that whatever I thought, was OK." Keep flying to the sun with these gargoyle wings. Joe Houck [This message has been edited by Joe Houck (11-09-2011 11:31 PM).] |
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ice Member Elite
since 2003-05-17
Posts 3404Pennsylvania |
I like this, Joe More like didactic prose than poetry, but that is my opinion, and like you said , my opinion only exists because I do. "We hunger for knowledge that is in and of itself a contradiction. How can you crave something that cannot exist without you: that exists only because you do? There is no knowledge that hasn't been forged in the mind that created it. It is all interpretation." Good questions... Indeed, all is interpretation. The great minds of history have left their thoughts for us to ponder...my feelings are that beause of that inheritance, we can think outside the box that is us..Perhaps humans can become civilized only by cooperation, and study of those great thoughts? I enjoyed reading your post..It made me think deeply |
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Marchmadness Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 9271So. El Monte, California |
Interesting, thought provoking piece. Ida |
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Earth Angel Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215Realms of Light |
Hi, Joe! Long time no see ~ or read! My goodness! What was in that drink?! It sure got you to thinking outside the box. You raised a lot of provocative questions. My Mom's tongue-in-cheek reply to my questions of that nature was ~ "Ours is not to question why. Ours is but to do or die!" ~ Sheesh! Well, I suppose we'll get our answers after our demise! lol Good to read you again!  EA |
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Joe Houck Member
since 2001-04-23
Posts 324california |
ice - thank you for your..."response" haha. I agree that great minds have allowed us to think outside of ourselves, but even our foundation of intellect is based on only what we collectively accept as true/real/important, and all knowledge created by someone's interpretation, that over time becomes as factual as the sky being blue. but is the sky REALLY blue?...haha I've been reading too much Nietzsche lately, haha. thanks for reading! |
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Joe Houck Member
since 2001-04-23
Posts 324california |
Marchmadness - thanks for reading! =) |
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Joe Houck Member
since 2001-04-23
Posts 324california |
Hey EA! I know it's been awhile. Thanks for still managing to find my poems I sprinkle in here from time to time. =) I was drinking scotch that night. the man was drinking whiskey sours...haha. Now, my response at the time wasn't quite as well thought out as what's on paper...but this is what I WOULD HAVE said if my inebriated mind would have allowed it. and our moms sound like they were cut from the same cloth. hehe. =) |
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martiniat8 Senior Member
since 2003-06-21
Posts 897Prague, Bohemia, Czech Republic |
It is one thing to walk away from religion, it is an entirely different thing to walk away from God and love. I pity the person that walks away from love and God. I have tried and I found it is a very dark, lonely and scary place. |
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Roniece Dawson-Bruce Member Ascendant
since 2000-01-29
Posts 5689Sydney, Australia |
Hello Joe! :-) so good to read your thoughts again.. :-) Bisous RDB Be kind at heart....for everyone you meet has their own battle to fight......... |
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