the theory of knowledge from a poet's corner
Absence of a tryst to love
Does not abandon thee
From amorous encounters
In a world of make-believe
Absence of a single thought
Wants not a lesser being
Yet, in time one cannot become
What one cannot see
For sight to some means knowledge
Powered by the mind
If one be blind, does it decry
To be of lesser kind?
Yet absence of a sense to some
Means stronger touch and taste
A life lived but a second
Is the kind one ought not waste.
What do I think of thought
Or can I only feel
A touch as tender as the breeze
Or hard as bovine –
‘fore the veal
What do I think of thought
What does she think of me
As hard to the touch as a scab
Or soft and supple
Alike thee
Bereft of kindness –
Or genteel
Like an edelweiss to me
She sees the sun
And makes it real
Glistening – delights the sea
Gravitate to Earth without a force
Magic sensed and written on
Below – the park – a round-a-bout
A tree, with branches
Bark and frond
That listen to the overt mood
The cumbersome-ness of the room
They hear disorderly array
And come to right things very soon
What do I think of thought
What does she think of me
A touch so tender as my mood
So precious as the sea
Every time I find the meaning of life they change it.
That’s the title of Daniel Klein’s book, published a couple of years ago now but one I return to whenever I’m thinking too far ahead of the here and now.
You see, Klein believes that we should all be more like Snookers, his dog, that, sadly, is now only with us in memory alone. Snookers used to think about the present, not the past, and certainly not the future; a sure way to enjoy the happiness of life in all its forms, something the great philosopher, Epicurus, would be proud of, to be sure.
Epicurus is a good friend of Daniel Klein’s, Klein having written about him previously and enjoyed his philosophical aptitude over the years. His ‘brainy quotes’ have lasted since BC (Before Christ) and he is finding his way back into popularity once again. Why shouldn’t he? After all, Epicurus is the man who said;
Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
‘Uhh’, I hear you say.
Worry not, dear friends. What Epicurus is really saying is be grateful for what you have now because it wasn’t long ago you never thought you’d get it. So don’t think about what the future holds for it might reduce the happiness to be found in the present.
Or, put another way;
Enough is never enough for the man for whom enough is too little
But that ‘brainy quote’ has a negative connotation to it and although it, too, comes from the lips of Epicurus, I’m sure even he would prefer the former to the latter.
I came across another quote this morning, from a different source altogether, my very own blog. It read;
Do we spend Life learning how to Live and the next life living the life we Learnt?
I can’t attribute this saying to anyone in particular, and certainly not Klein or Epicurus, yet I can’t take credit myself, either. Suffice to say, it has the ring of truth to it.
For the non-religious amongst us, it may be a hard ‘pill’ to swallow, but for the rest I’m sure there’s a sense of true belief in taking time to get it right just to know that this life is the dress rehearsal that gives us the chance in the second to right the wrongs we so effortlessly made in the first.
Yet for those of us that know where we are headed once we pass, (and it surely won’t be to the ingress through the pearly gates) I guess we better do as Daniel Klein, Epicurus, Snookers, and my own dog, Kahlua, would do; live life to the fullest, for we won’t see its like again.
Embrace the teachings of Epicurean thought; live modestly but well and tranquility will find you happy in the here and now. For the future comes upon us sooner than we think, and it will be the present, whilst the present as we knew it will be passed.
He rose above the helpless throng He was only one among a crowd He heard a calling, 'twas a song Timely, he could not disregard You've come to me for rationale You've come to me for saviour No-one else can take the stand You've come to me, the one you favour The steps on which we stagger From one level to the next Like climbing up the corporate ladder Feeling e'er, between, betwixt The next step up he could not see The frond led him to the money tree Ladder of wealth, mendacity The pathway opened unto me Who and what and where we were Why and how we hit upon Invited, I failed to confer I took the path less travelled on
Do we spend Life
learning how to Live
and the next life living the
life we Learnt?
Remind me to take instruction
From the antonym of him
To take my teachings from
The supposition of a fact
Remind me to teach myself to learn
From the better part of man
Someone who can read and write
Who has a lesson plan
Remind me ne’er to listen
To the man who can’t himself
Remind me to leave his book
Hidden from the shelf
Remind me to ignore the man
Who’ll beseech at any cost
Who lectures, says it’s my way
Or the highway will be lost
Remind me to be thankful
For what I could go without
Remind me to welcome lost souls in
When others shut them out
Remind me ne’er to err on caution’s side
Hesitant, I stay
I should be enticed to wonder
To see the sunlight in the day
Remind me to cherish
What I never thought I’d love
To see peace at time of war
To welcome and betroth
Teachings and instruction
From the synonym of her
The antonym of ‘I know best’
Is the teacher who tells me;
‘As you were.’
Belief is what you see outside
That stands upon the scroll
And pens charity, upon the page
And continues on, enthralled
And as the chirping bird is heard
An idea comes to mind
That the morning mist in glory’s gate
Could never deem to find
It’s heard amongst the forest
Where the kookaburra’s king
Yet, rarely in the sunburnt land
It’s said most anything
Yet as the sunbeam shines
It’s seen to say a prayer
It’s hard to know, from soul to soul
If immortality is there
Oh promises, oh promises
Why are there so few?
Oh promises, empty promises
I haven’t but a clue
A leap of faith describes belief
Why is it hard to find?
To lie, to cheat, to steal
Comes easily to human-kind
Optimism beaten
By pessimism’s sword
Negate the pathway of success
Reinforce it moving forward
Forgive me for forgetting
Why can I not recall?
Memory tries to shut me out
From everything and all
A standard test of kindness
Can loss bring it back to me?
Perhaps it’s lost forever
Perhaps it’s wandered out to sea
I see it from a distance
Why aren’t I allowed up close?
My manner lost to arrogance
My feelings bellicose
But underneath the ocean tide
Compassion lies in store
Empathy waded out to sea –
I stand on the shore.
The silence that the darkness brings
Is erubescent in the night
Dusk awakens, the darkness springs
To the lively sun when light
As my heart’s skin is shed in day
Attitude is centripetal
Twilight comes with tranquil focus
You are my child in the lotus.
Dancing on the water
It glistened in the sun
Knowing not what lay beneath
Knowing not what rose above
It was the sun that led me there
Nothing else to follow
Knowing not where you were
My life directionless, I wallow
Into a hole I’d fallen down
Without your presence in’t
My only expression now a frown
The sun barely a glint
In my mother’s or my father’s eye
Before I came, explored
What this fair world, awaiting me
Would represent, would store
Hidden away ‘til adult-hood
Was love, that word used oft’
Feelings mixed within melting pot
Like boiled kettle, held aloft
I stood close to water’s edge
And saw the fish there swimming in
Was my heart with her or transplanted
To a place beyond where I had been?
The fish I saw in glistening water
A glint, no doubt, was in its eye
Was my fate staring me down
Or would I always wonder why?
I was lost beneath, within the sea
Dancing water, glistened sun
Was it my fate to reflect or find
Or walk this world, alone, as one?
