Foresaken Seminars

Pandemonium

“If Peter was nine, and a new boy came to St. Norbert’s Home for Wayward Boys who said he was ten, why, then, Peter would declare himself eleven. Also, he could spit the farthest. That made him the undisputed leader.”

― Dave Barry, "Peter and the Starcatchers"

Flashback to 1970

How many dawns
have I greeted?
How many more
Remain for me?
Why do I feel
the seasons
so plainly
at this hour?
The tingle
of colder air
brings with it,
a haunted mood
and half memories
of what used to be.
Waking up to
winter morns,
a child raised
on a farm.
The smell of biscuits
cooking, steam
from hot oatmeal.
I don’t remember
aching or dreaming
of you. Just the
innocence of youth.
The innocence of youth.

- Emma Beverage

Hit Me Again, Bartender!

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sun rise.

- William Blake, "Eternity"

A Poet

Aye! I am a poet and upon my tomb
Shall maidens scatter rose leaves
And men myrtles, ere the night
Slays day with her dark sword.

'Lo ! this thing is not mine
Nor thine to hinder,
For the custom is full old,
And here in Nineveh have I beheld
Many a singer pass and take his place
In those dim halls where no man troubleth
His sleep or song.
And many a one hath sung his songs
More craftily, more subtle-souled than I;
And many a one now doth surpass
My wave-worn beauty with his wind of flowers,
Yet am I poet, and upon my tomb
Shall all men scatter rose leaves
Ere the night slay light
With her blue sword.

‘It is not, Raana, that my song rings highest
Or more sweet in tone than any, but that I
Am here a Poet, that doth drink of life
As lesser men drink wine.’

- Ezra Pound, "And Thus In Nineveh"

On Coming to Terms with Dasein

Who is the Rock Being Worn by the River of Time?

We are the time. We are the famous
metaphor from Heraclitus the Obscure.

We are the water, not the hard diamond,
the one that is lost, not the one that stands still.

We are the river and we are that greek
that looks himself into the river. His reflection
changes into the waters of the changing mirror,
into the crystal that changes like the fire.

We are the vain predetermined river,
in his travel to his sea.

The shadows have surrounded him.
Everything said goodbye to us, everything goes away.

Memory does not stamp his own coin.

However, there is something that stays
however, there is something that bemoans.

- Jorge Luis Borges, "We are the time"

Hating on Necessity - the Liberal "Capitalist" Scapegoat

When the other fellow takes a long time, he's slow.
When I take a long time, I'm thorough.
When the other fellow doesn't do it, he's lazy,
When I don't do it, I'm busy.
When the other fellow does something without being told, he's overstepping his bounds,
When I do it, that's initiative.
When the other fellow overlooks a rule of etiquette, he's rude,
When I skip a few rules, I'm original.
When the other fellow pleases the boss, he's an apple polisher,
When I please the boss, it's cooperation.
When the other fellow gets ahead, he's getting the breaks,
When I manage to get ahead, that's just the reward for hard work.
A man may fall many times but he won't be a failure until he says someone pushed him.

- Elmer G. Letterman

Still Socializing Gender

My superman is strong and brave
He’s always there when I need to be saved
My superman is friendly and tall
He’s always saving my world and never does he fall
My superman’s always there day or night
He’s always fighting for what is right
My superman never gives up
Even in the hardest parts he’ll give more than enough
My superman flies so high
He takes it to the top all the way to the sky
My superman will always care
Because I trust him and know he’ll always be there

Lisa French