“They saw their injured country's woe;
The flaming town, the wasted field;
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, - but left the shield.”
―Philip Freneau
.
And by a prudent flight and cunning save A life which valour could not, from the grave. A better buckler I can soon regain, But who can get another life again?
Archilochus
Hello, Darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within The Sound of Silence
In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone 'Neath the halo of a street lamp I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes were stabbed by The flash of a neon light That split the night And touched The Sound of Silence
And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing songs that voices never share And no one dared Disturb The Sound of Silence
"Fools", said I, "You do not know Silence like a cancer grows Hear my words that I might teach you Take my arms that I might reach you" But my words, like silent raindrops fell And echoed in the wells of Silence
And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming And the sign said: "The words of the prophets are Written on the subway walls And tenement halls And whispered in The Sound of Silence.
Swimming upstream against the tides of raw sewage that inundate us each day requires every ounce of failing strength I possess, FJ.
That is why I so bitterly resent the Left –– and all the OTHER would-be tyrants who constantly bedevil us. They give us so much WORK to do, it takes valuable –– always fleeting –– time and energy away from pursuing Beauty and Truth in the realms of classical music, art, poetry and literature.
I'm reminded of this quotation by John Adams:
"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.
~ John Adams (1735-1826)
I've been blest to be one of those privileged grandchildren of tough, hardworking, honest, decent, courgeous, highly productive forebears. I'm grateful, but at the same time I realize I could never measure up to the strength of character, purpose, courage, intergrity, and faith that motivated them. And that, I suspect, is why the battles and various levels of achievement outlined by Adams must pursued and fought over and over and over, because the lessons learned are too often lost with the coming of comfort, ease and pleasure. The "Happy Medium" seems ever elusive as we march along on the way to Georgia, doesn't it?
But Alas! Men of Adams's quality seem no longer to walk the earth.
Perhaps The Second Coming?
NAH! We'd ust butcher Him all over again. Haven't learned much in two-thousand years. Science and Technology have functioned as Twin PIED PIPERS leading us down the Garden Path, if you ask me.
The search for PHYSICAL SOLUTIONS to SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS is bound to lead us straight into the Brambles - The Cesspit - or The Fiery Furnace.
8 comments:
_____ The Dreams of My Heart _____
The dreams of my heart and my mind pass,
Nothing stays with me long,
But I have had from a child
The deep solace of song;
If that should ever leave me,
Let me find death and stay
With things whose tunes
Are played out and forgotten
Like the rain of yesterday.
~ Sara Teasdale (1884-1914)
Hello, Darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within The Sound of Silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by
The flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched The Sound of Silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb The Sound of Silence
"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of Silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said:
"The words of the prophets are
Written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in The Sound of Silence.
~ Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel
Silence is all we dread.
There's Ransom in a Voice ––
But Silence is Infinity.
Himself have not a face.
~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
They’ll find me soon
I know they will
I need to be alone.
Their nattering demands are shrill,
They chill me to the bone.
The thumping, bawling whining drone ––
Persistent raucous blast ––
Seeks each secret hiding place ––
Shatters every caste.
They’ll find me soon,
I know they will,
But till they do I’ll fight ––
Eccentric –– lost ––
But steeled against ––
The Realm of Endless Night.
~ FreeThinke (1982)
Hang tough, FT!
Swimming upstream against the tides of raw sewage that inundate us each day requires every ounce of failing strength I possess, FJ.
That is why I so bitterly resent the Left –– and all the OTHER would-be tyrants who constantly bedevil us. They give us so much WORK to do, it takes valuable –– always fleeting –– time and energy away from pursuing Beauty and Truth in the realms of classical music, art, poetry and literature.
I'm reminded of this quotation by John Adams:
"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.
My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture,
navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry,
music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.
~ John Adams (1735-1826)
I've been blest to be one of those privileged grandchildren of tough, hardworking, honest, decent, courgeous, highly productive forebears. I'm grateful, but at the same time I realize I could never measure up to the strength of character, purpose, courage, intergrity, and faith that motivated them. And that, I suspect, is why the battles and various levels of achievement outlined by Adams must pursued and fought over and over and over, because the lessons learned are too often lost with the coming of comfort, ease and pleasure. The "Happy Medium" seems ever elusive as we march along on the way to Georgia, doesn't it?
Indeed. We're fastly approaching another Age of Adams.
But Alas! Men of Adams's quality seem no longer to walk the earth.
Perhaps The Second Coming?
NAH! We'd ust butcher Him all over again. Haven't learned much in two-thousand years. Science and Technology have functioned as Twin PIED PIPERS leading us down the Garden Path, if you ask me.
The search for PHYSICAL SOLUTIONS to SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS is bound to lead us straight into the Brambles - The Cesspit - or The Fiery Furnace.
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