Rolling in the skies and darkness that beckons the storm
Thick black clouds gather together into an ominous form
Gods rolls in deep thunder and clap together their hands
And who on this earth can predict their very sordid plans
These are days you run, hide and pray in mercy to abide
Walking through that old dilapidated house so hauntingly empty,
So filled with terrorizing memories well alive clothed with death,
Arm in arm with you my strength securing my every fearful step,
Warm in you while wrapped in cold all around bound for tears,
And we hear silent screams from yesteryear as you steer me on,
Up the staircase all around from room to room to see the unseen,
Motions on the walls with footfalls not our own but of residents,
Unwilling prisoners imprisoned in doom without hope of release,
And my body quakes while my heart flutters as I draw you closer,
Closing myself round about you my brave better part of my soul,
Completing another circuit over time-worn floors quite forlorn,
And there are ancient rugs and beds, tabletops and chandeliers,
And windows with rich but worn curtains open to garden view,
Where weeds now grow where once there were flowers aglow,
And we know we are not long for this world till we bid farewell,
Leaving behind this house that is this life to rise up high into sky,
Winging our way toward heaven above
Two in eternal love now ‘n forevermore
This poignant question from Alden Tan of Little Buddha seems particularly appropriate at this juncture in my life:
A lot of people go through the motions in life, not doing what they love. They end up constantly looking back, asking themselves, “What if?” Whether people support you or not, do you really want to look back in regret one day down the line? To not know what could have happened if you tried to do what you really wanted to do?
I have decided to further my education, specifically working toward my second Master of Arts degree, this go-round in Theological and Cultural Anthropology. Now, this might at first sound both heady and boring, but it’s really an exciting adventure. Anthropology is simply the holistic study of people, and as such incorporates many other disciplines, like: History, Archeology, Biology, Sociology, Psychology, and the Cultural Areas of Art, Literature, and Music. So anthropology is actually very fascinating because you’re getting to know group of people rather intimately! Here you Cross the threshold of mere academics into deep knowledge and understanding … which is always beneficial!
Really, this came as quite a surprise to me. I’d always heard of anthropology, of course, and vaguely knew what it was about, but never imagined that this has really been my passion all along. Last year, for example, I was foolhardy and pretentious enough to write and publish a book entitled, On Being Human: A Multidisciplinary Approach. After analysing and pondering the final product, I was very disappointed and concluded at the time that it had been an impossible project to begin with … one I should never have tackled. But lo and behold, I’ve now understand that what I was trying to do (albeit in a much too vague and general way) was really an anthropological venture, or project!
Ah, then there is no need to be ashamed. Point in fact, there are many others like me in the world, who are pursuing many of the same questions, and they’re doing it in a holistic, multidisciplinary way! And I could not be more pleased, so I am going to be entering the Theological and Cultural Anthropology program at Easter University (in Pennsylvania) with which, thankfully, I can take online classes. So this will be a challenging quest, yet surely quite rewarding, too. Most folks I’ve shared this with have been quite happy for me (thankfully), except most of my immediate family. (Tragically, this is not at all surprising, as most family members have been quite negative, pessimistic and discouraging throughout my life … never encouraging!)
So, we shall see where this all ends up, but at least I won’t be looking back in old age, asking myself, “what if?” Or “why didn’t I . . . ?” And who knows (but God alone) what doors this may open? Perhaps even a kind of new life! Obviously, and despite the silence and/or discouragement of family, I am thrilled!
Holding on for something clear, for someone near, dear to my heart
And in arms so strong, so safe, never wrong to sing my timid song
Along this crowded path, hearing shouted danger ever nearing now
Squeezing panicky people together under heavy weather of rainfall
Drenching each one in an uninvited monsoon to drown out my tune
Yet this melody keeps on flowing from my lips, blowing in the storm
Because you are here, too, where we can love and be so very free
To one day dance round the Tree of Life with no more need to flee
When I was a child so wild and free to be most wholly and totally me
You came to see what I might be on this voyage upon this sea of life
And then you issued a decree of clemency for my ongoing pilgrimage
But I was left bereft of soul salvation that I would seek meek and mild
As your child very wild and free to be whatever I really wanted to be
And so this is the course I struck ~ my own path to climb the mountain
To drink from your fountain of youth and never again to die to life….
Off the sidelines, wile ride, run and hide
But life won’t wait, boy, so take the bait
Of pumping adrenaline you can’t escape
Before we crash and burn in torn pages
Of all the past ages of history, our story,
An unexpected tale of historic confusion
With little expectation of any redemption
Yet will your love surely save our souls
From the hounds of hell on this wild ride
As we duck and hide and abide together
In some long lost forever land at hand
But still unseen on this wild ride of life
And do we find our way from yesterday
Riding forward through time eternally,
Rising up from ashes to make our way
Fast into bright sunrise so carelessly,
Nor in one place do we intend to stay,
For the best of life lies in the seeking
That we continue without any pause,
Riding from day to day without breaking
In what is now our everlasting cause
In an endless love without forsaking
Note: Here I have followed a ten-line scheme, with each line containing ten syllables, and with a rhyme scheme of a, b, a, b, a, c, d, c, d, c. Also, I have written the poem in a creative description of the illustration/artwork. However, I have no name for this form. Suggestions are welcome … unless, of course, this is already a named form! For now I’ve simply called it a Ten x Ten Descriptive.
I look high up into the night sky to stars and moon above,
And try to imagine all of life gone by,
But the promise of dawning just yawning on far horizon
Turns my heart to enliven my soul…
Not too many years have passed to leave me harassed
By febrility, confining me to senility,
So there is hope beyond the scope of such time gone by,
Forming an allotrope to coming days
That will surely lead me in different ways than ere before
In an adventure for me now in store!
Why am I living this life, so filled with strife, which cuts like a knife?
It must be I am playing a part day to day in a way only I can play,
While knowing I’m throwing in my cards with so many other bards
Of reality, fighting banality and lightening flashes of some finality
Against which I am powerless, save to be thankful for the tranquil
And abundant happiness that comes sometimes in the adventure
Of which splendor is an ever-present promise for such endurance
Note: Fellow blogger, Kabeer, asked, “Why are you living life?” at the end of his post entitled, “I don’t know why.” The above was my answer. Perhaps you might answer, too! Blog your answer and kindly refer back to My World: The World I See.
Slice me and dice me anyway you like and I’ll still bleed!
For however distorted now, nevertheless, I am still man;
Yes, I am still a man, though running through this maze
Like some rat – lab fed and fat – less than what is human;
See me and hear me as I try to climb these walls and cry,
But don’t stand and stare; rather, help me repair my life
So rife with pain and seemingly no gain; let mercy reign!
After all, I am none other than your brother, not another!
. . .
Dominus eleison! Dominus eleison! Dominus eleison!
