Joy & Death

Joy and death
Are great equalizers;
We stand equal before them
As we compete in acquiring one
And avoiding the other.
08.31.12

Love & Like

We feel closest
To those whom we love and like
Closer to those we like but do not love
Most distant from those we love but dislike
And indifferent to those we neither love nor like.
08.30.12

Credit & Achievement

Those who take credit for their achievements
Forget that their bodies and brains
Were but gifts vouchsafed
That they may be used
To better humanity.
08.29.12

Approval & Truthfulness

Those who require
Approval of the masses
Cannot be genuine.
08.28.12

Love & Distance

Love is not blind
It is myopic;
It can see near
But can not see far.
08.27.12

Friends & Time

Most of those whom we call friends
Are merely temporary friends
Who would abandon us
If we were to burden
Or disillusion them.
08.26.12

Decay & Death

The central question of aging is:
Whether to decay then die
Or die then decay.
08.25.12

Goodwill & Suspicions

When goodwill is lost
Suspicions abound.
08.24.12

Promises & Quakes

Promises are brittle;
They break at first quake.
08.23.12

Effete & Trivia

Effete societies
Ebb and tide on trivia.
08.22.12

Love & Death

When love died it left a living will:
Do not resuscitate;
Go forth, never look back
And quickly find yourself another love
Before your heart’s chambers fill up with ashes.
08.21.12

Meaning & Life

Living a meaningful life
Is everybody’s challenge.
08.20.12

Sense & Meaning

When things don’t make sense to us
Must mean that we don’t know enough.
08.19.12

Ownership & Illusion

Ownership is an illusion;
Everyone, ultimately
Loses everything.
08.1812

Unknown & Known

Believing in the unknown
Is as much a gamble
As believing in the known;
The unknown may not appear
And the known may disappear.
08.17.12

Life & Hardships

Preparing children for life
Is preparing them for hardships;
Ensuring their smooth sailing
Sets them up to shipwreck
Come first storm.
08.16.12

Unknown & Superstition

Fighting for or against the unknown
Can only be done with superstition.  
08.15.12

Unseen & Superstition

Of all the pervasive unseen
Superstition is queen.
08.14.12

Freedom & Violence

Powers may suppress freedom of speech
But they cannot suppress freedom of thought
Nor the freedom to disseminate thought;
If people were allowed to speak freely
They would accumulate less anger
And react with less violence.
08.13.12

Energy & Years

Endurance, speed, laughter
Passions, and energy reserves
All decline as years accumulate.
08.12.12

Law & Time

A new law
Is like a new medicine;
We cannot know its adverse effects
Until enough time has passed to reveal them.
08.11.12

Aging & Stiffness

Aging
Brings inflexibility
To both mind and body
And stiffens resistance to change.
08.10.12

Conflict & Compassion

Not getting along
Entails lack of compassion
On both banks of the conflict.
08.09.12

Living & Life

Living for life
Is a noble ideology
Often neglected by humans
Always espoused by the animals.
08.08.12

Sides & Choices

Choosing sides
Saws the seeds of ignorance;
The wise select the good in each side;
And reject the bad, which is ever present.
08.07.12

All Good & All Bad

We spend all our intellectual energy
Searching for what’s all-good or all-bad
Only to find that nothing is perfect or pure
That what seems all-good still harbors some bad
And even what seems all-bad still harbors some good.
08.06.12

Belife & Pressure

Because we are predisposed to strongly believe in something
We live under continuous pressure to find a belief
No matter how absurd or ridiculous
Merely too satisfy our programmed urge to believe.
08.05.12

Joy & Melancholy

Joy comes from within
Thrills, from without
Melancholy, from within
Grief from without.
08.04.12

Meanness & Humans

If one needs further evidence
To verify innate human meanness
Look at conflicts, divorces, and wars;
There’s a mean streak in everyone of us.
08.03.12

Perfection & Achievement

I respect those who seek perfection
But suspect those who believe
That they have achieved it.
08.02.12