Prisoners Of Time

In three thousand years of philosophical thought

 what in fact’s been changed

 

Has a sorrow been healed or steeple been built

 resulting from the game

 

The essence, the theory, the logic, the proof

 all couplets lacking rhyme

 

In the end all victims chained unto themselves

  —prisoners of time

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2019)

 

 

 

 

Truth Revealed

Thought is meant to provide escape

 from what causes it to be

 

The soul released in contradiction

 its spirit running free

 

All questions posed and answers sought

 now kindling burned to ash

 

The dialectic self destroyed

 —with truth revealed at last

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2019)

 

Mine To Keep

Do I reach for understanding,

  or is knowing quite enough

 

Or deem then that important

  if the difference smooth or rough

 

Do I understand a mountain

  or the bear that lives within

 

Or just know that it belongs there

  and the mystery that it brings

 

Do I understand the ocean

  or the waves that break so high

 

Or just hear its thunder crashing

  and not need to wonder why

 

Do I understand what time is

  its symbols—what they mean

 

Or understand a life laid down

  in battles unforeseen

 

Do I understand a memory

  or just smile when’er it calls

 

Or understand tomorrow

  when today my life befalls

 

Do I understand the anger

  or just control it when it barks

 

Or understand the danger

  sometimes lurking in the dark

 

Do I understand the words I write

  when I’m shaken from my sleep

 

Or understand the excuses loaned

   —all reasons mine to keep

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)