Showing all posts tagged #poetry:


Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Posted on May 24th, 2020

Ulysses (Odysseus) and the Sirens by Herbert James Draper (1910). It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race, That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me. I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees: All times I have enjoy'd Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone, on ...

The boys I mean are not refined

Posted on May 23rd, 2020

When you think that poetry has become pretentious, you read something that completely changes your perspective. In this Dionysian trip, the poet brought me down-down, guiding me up through the other side. Our consciousness mirrors reality like a reflection in the pond. These reflections distort as you interact with reality as it is unfolding around you, and as those ripples calm you begin to see patterns emerge. These patterns manif...

Boots by Rudyard Kipling

Posted on February 13th, 2020

WE’RE foot—slog—slog—slog—sloggin’ over Africa! Foot—foot—foot—foot—sloggin’ over Africa— (Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin’ up and down again!) There’s no discharge in the war! Seven—six—eleven—five—nine-an’-twenty mile to-day— Four—eleven—seventeen—thirty-two the day before— (Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin’ up and down again!) There’s no discharge in the war! Don’t—don’t—don’t—don’t—look at what’s in front of you. (Bo...

The Odyssey by Homer — Invocations of the Muse Translations

Posted on April 5th, 2019

The Invocation ritual is a conscious, focused way of calling up images: Pray to harness the energy of the Muses, direct it inwards such to embody it, and then becomes the vehicle for the story. "The odd thing is that once I say the prayer, I feel like the matters I’m about to craft are more serious, and so I am far less tempted to check my e-mail or FB or Tweet or what have you. I’m all about the work." — Unknown These are my favor...

I Have a Rendezvous with Death by Alan Seeger

Posted on January 29th, 2019

I have a rendezvous with Death At some disputed barricade, When Spring comes back with rustling shade And apple-blossoms fill the air— I have a rendezvous with Death When Spring brings back blue days and fair. It may be he shall take my hand And lead me into his dark land And close my eyes and quench my breath— It may be I shall pass him still. I have a rendezvous with Death On some scarred slope of battered hill, When Spring comes...

If— by Rudyard Kipling

Posted on January 28th, 2019

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; ...

Chuang-tzu's parable of the ox

Posted on January 11th, 2019

Prince Wen Hui’s cook Was cutting up an ox. Out went a hand, Down went a shoulder, He planted a foot, He pressed with a knee, The ox fell apart With a whisper; The bright cleaver murmured Like a gentle wind. Rhythm! Timing! Like a sacred dance, Like "The Mulberry Grove," Like ancient harmonies! "Good work!" the Prince exclaimed. "Your method is faultless!" "Method?" said the cook, Laying aside his cleaver. "What I follow is Tao, Beyo...

Chief Tecumseh's Words of Wisdom

Posted on January 10th, 2019

So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salut...