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Local Parasite
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0 posted 2003-09-25 04:00 AM


Sonnet VII
on a midnight walk

Faith is sufficient for a menial task;
  The brain retards, trust overwhelms the blood;
Conclusions matter not, when with bright masks
  They taunt our vision so---Contention floods
Our aim with arrows of dogmatic lust
  In times of discord, when Truth is forgot
Out of the curse of our agnostic Trust---
  Left like a Ghost, abandon'd and unsought
For disbelief or ignorance---Why then
  Must we in the dark wood of error dwell?
Be there no will within the souls of men
  To walk with Reason through the gorge of Hell?
I've marked and tagged each stone upon my query,
But Time outflanks me, and my steps grow weary.

© Copyright 2003 Brian James Lee - All Rights Reserved
Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350
the ass-end of space
1 posted 2003-09-25 02:45 PM


Few men have the will to take responsibility for their own actions or lives and so they create religion. It's the final comfort blanket, pacifier that few are able to let go of despite reason. Excellent writing as always Bri, glad to see you're posting more often
Allysa
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In an upside-down garden
2 posted 2003-09-25 08:35 PM


This has inspired me to think, Brian.  You are very talented.
fractal007
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since 2000-06-01
Posts 1958

3 posted 2003-09-26 10:29 PM


LP:

This was a good poem and it struck a cord with me.  I agree that sometimes it is best, in this hellish world of ours, to walk in reason.  But reason recently gave me a great deal of pain.  I have not mastered the ability to place it and its bride, emotion, together as one within my consciousness.  The pain the two caused me this past week as they fought was virtually unbearable.

Anyhow, despite my own personal experiences, this was none the less a great poem.  I'll be adding it to my library for sure.

2+2=5 for sufficiently large values of 2
--Smit
My Creations

Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
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the ass-end of space
4 posted 2003-09-26 11:34 PM


fractal it's all about learning balance, it's a lifelong battle for the agnostic between reason and faith and sanity lies somewhere in between
fractal007
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since 2000-06-01
Posts 1958

5 posted 2003-09-27 10:59 PM


Heh, well I wasn't intending to get into a philosophical discussion on this thread, Aenimal, but I think it's a lifelong battle of that sort no matter what beliefs you choose.  Ultimately one must base his choice of beliefs on faith.  Even the atheists and agnostics, I'm afraid.  But you raised a good point and I was not aware that an agnostic could feel that way.

2+2=5 for sufficiently large values of 2
--Smit
My Creations

LoveBug
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6 posted 2003-09-30 02:03 PM


Interesting.. it seems it's been too long since we've spoken. I like the lines :

Be there no will within the souls of men
  To walk with Reason through the gorge of Hell?

Because, to me, it just seems to prove how insufficiant reason is.. I mean, if you believed totally in reason, why even mention it and Hell in the same sentence? I don't know, it seemed like a big paradox there to me, but maybe it's just me. It usually is. I like the conclusion too :

I've marked and tagged each stone upon my query,
But Time outflanks me, and my steps grow weary.

That even for all your reasoning and intelligence, you haven't found what you're looking for.. am I right?

Oh, make me Thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord, let me never ever
Outlive my love for Thee

Local Parasite
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7 posted 2003-09-30 04:48 PM


Erica,

quote:
  To walk with Reason through the gorge of Hell?


That line is in direct reference to Dante's "Divine Comedy," in which Virgil (who represents human reason) walks Dante through Hell and Purgatory, but cannot guide him through Paradise, because of the limitations of human reason.  My point is that most people don't even bother to follow their reason as far as it can take them, much less come to a conclusion beyond it.

Thanks to everyone else, too.

Faith is a fine invention
When gentlemen can see
But microscopes are prudent
In an emergency.
~~~Emily Dickinson

LoveBug
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8 posted 2003-10-01 11:31 PM


Very nice, Brian!! I read Dante's Divine Comedy, but I never really looked at that aspect that way: about Reason (Virgil) not being able to guide him into Paradise.. it was Beatrice who did, actually.. who personifies love? Isn't it love, God's love to come and die for us, esc.. that allows us to be in Paradise in the first place?? Hmm... well, thats why you're the philosophy major and I'm.. well, not..  

Oh, make me Thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord, let me never ever
Outlive my love for Thee

[This message has been edited by LoveBug (10-01-2003 11:34 PM).]

ESP
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since 2000-01-25
Posts 2556
Floating gently on a cloud....
9 posted 2003-10-03 02:45 PM


I love the final rhyming couplet:

I've marked and tagged each stone upon my query,
But Time outflanks me, and my steps grow weary.

Really really good

Luv, Liz xx

"Gorge the honey from life, and live through the stomach aches knowing they will pass..." ~Liz Pinard 2003~

LoveBug
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10 posted 2003-10-14 03:58 PM


Your pic scares me

Oh, make me Thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord, let me never ever
Outlive my love for Thee

Allysa
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In an upside-down garden
11 posted 2003-10-15 12:57 PM


As I was browsing through the forum, I noticed this again, and upon rereading it, I fell in love with it again.  I've sat for awhile, thinking, trying to pull out a passage to call my favorite, yet I find it is impossible to do so.  

And your picture is wonderful.

I was wondering if it would be okay of me to ask you for some help with writing a sonnet... so, LP, if you would be willing to help in writing a sonnet, I would be much obliged.

[This message has been edited by Allysa (10-15-2003 02:42 PM).]

Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA
12 posted 2003-10-15 11:06 PM


OK - Mr Sonnet-a-Day... Give me a theme... and  you shall see a sonnet mysteriously appear under my guise...

This one is quite good, btw...  

Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA
13 posted 2003-10-15 11:08 PM


Did I neglect to mention that the Workshop is on sonnets this month just for you?

We may  have to extend into November since we lost so much of October...

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