Ode to War and Disgrace

[distrait]

I look down at my god given hands
Stained with the blood of my brothers
The death we have caused, the pain, the sorrow
How can we ever be forgiven?

We all share this earth, do we not?
Don't we all share a common ancestor?
Even if we don't agree?
Even despite our different creed?


We are all siblings; we are all kin
Then why do our differences lead us to this?
Why now, have I taken your life?
How is my life more valuable than yours?

We fight eachother, so much
So much that we forget the love we once shared
So much that we teach our children to hate each other
When did this happen? Why did it come to this?

Our greatest teachers taught us of peace
They taught us to love eachother
Many of them died to send us the messege
Yet we, who hath slain them, still have not recieved it.

We preach their word to this very day
And then turn around, and kill in their name
Twist and pervert their words to spread hatred
Is this how we honor them?

By lying?
By cheating?
By killing?
By hating?

Our leaders hide behind our great teachers
Behind the idols we worship
And we follow them like sheep
We propel their agenda of greed and power

And still, despite the hatred, despite the war
Many still stand to defend our "great leaders"
People of knowledge, people of wisdom, people of faith
Despite that they... we are destroying everything we believe in.

There are no innocents anymore; No one is left untouched
We are all stained in the blood of our brothers and sisters
We fight each other day after day, and for what reason?
I don't know why I fight you, and I don't want to fight you anymore.

I give you my hand and my love; will you still take my life?

[osiris]

Ah. But you really don't want the answers to all these questions. Like so many, you just want to ask the questions. I understand. It's easy to say "Why can't everyone just get along?" and play the pacifist. If Buddha's eternal rule were true, in the most practical and literal sense of the word, the world would be full of this love. But there is simply more to it than that. And at the same time, a lot less, nothing at all. I suppose what we should really explore, are these questions: What does it really mean to Love? What does it really mean to Hate?

Likewise, we could change the emphasis: What does it really mean to Love? What does it really mean to Hate? (Indeed, we could carry this process out indefinitely with every word in any given sentence, and attain some pretty interesting results- in the written word, especially, it is the intended emphasis that is most usually improperly interpreted by future generations...) :)

I say this all in the spirit, not of love or hate, affection or hostility, but of scientific impartiality. This was, most likely, the method by which Buddha eventually reached his conclusions.

[distrait]

Hmm. Those are actually some very good points. It is a lot easier to ask questions than to figure out answers, and you are probably right; a part of me probably doesn't want to know the answers. But now I'm curious. I'm sure if we knew the answers to these questions we might then have a solution to the world's problems, or at the very least a deeper understanding of human nature.

As to the meaning of Love and Hate, I suppose that I may not actually know the meaning of either one. At least not in the fullest sense. I have seen the results of both love and hate, though I don't believe I've ever truely experienced either (I was once enfatuated with another, but I don't think it ever came to love). Heh, this really has me thinking now...

[Icurus]

I look down at my god given hands
Stained with the blood of my brothers
The death we have caused, the pain, the sorrow
How can we ever be forgiven?

We all share this earth, do we not?
Don't we all share a common ancestor?
Even if we don't agree?
Even despite our different creed?


We are all siblings; we are all kin
Then why do our differences lead us to this?
Why now, have I taken your life?
How is my life more valuable than yours?

We fight eachother, so much
So much that we forget the love we once shared
So much that we teach our children to hate each other
When did this happen? Why did it come to this?

Our greatest teachers taught us of peace
They taught us to love eachother
Many of them died to send us the messege
Yet we, who hath slain them, still have not recieved it.

We preach their word to this very day
And then turn around, and kill in their name
Twist and pervert their words to spread hatred
Is this how we honor them?

By lying?
By cheating?
By killing?
By hating?

Our leaders hide behind our great teachers
Behind the idols we worship
And we follow them like sheep
We propel their agenda of greed and power

And still, despite the hatred, despite the war
Many still stand to defend our "great leaders"
People of knowledge, people of wisdom, people of faith
Despite that they... we are destroying everything we believe in.

There are no innocents anymore; No one is left untouched
We are all stained in the blood of our brothers and sisters
We fight each other day after day, and for what reason?
I don't know why I fight you, and I don't want to fight you anymore.

I give you my hand and my love; will you still take my life?
Yes, again Osiris "my young apprentice"
it could of been "Budda", was to fat and lazy
to get up, and all came to him bearing Love for
themself's, and to be seen doing it, it was only exagerated by
something they could see, and touch, but the taste of
power is so, so sweet, and once you've tasted alittle,
alittle isn't enough anymore, these so called "Leaders"
of our different tracts of dirt we exsist on, are only men,
Pres. Trumen use to sell mens clothing, and then dropped an
atom bomb on Hiroshima, because just another simple man
wanted more dirt to call his own, and more Power, had to be
done, or did it, I think it did, or did it!, I've been in the little dark
offices of some major corperations, dim lit and the sound of wispers.
The class today, and every day before, and after will be, how can
one gain his/her power, and it does not matter how many have to
die to get it, you put your hand out all to quick "Distrait" and you
will pull back a nub, every one you see was love at one time, for
some 15 min's, others and hour, give or take, it's called fucking,
we are, and will remain unable to lay down our guns, I'm one of
them, my 17 round clip of 135 grain hollow points slid so smoothly
in to the grip of my P-89 Ruger 9mm makes for a fine bed fellow,
"Wow to him who creaps into my garden".
There is no hope for "Man" to govern himself, regardless the dirt,
being 17, give it some time, your thoughts are that of one that is
young, and that's ok to be nieve.
I do however suggest you print this out for future reflection in about
10 years, and you will know I'm not belittling you in any way,
we've all heard the fraze, "The truth is out there", do you
really want to know?, I'm speaking of man's truth, ya!, it's
out there, and if you get it, get a shot and get rid of it!~
D. Knight ~

[natural23]

Distrait,

Excellent, honest, beautiful. Thank You.

23

[distrait]

Thank you Natural, for your comment.

As to Icarus, yeah, I'm sure I am nieve... but that's prolly not gonna get through to me for many years, like you've said.

I know that it is today as it has always been, how can one achieve power. It may never change, but unless we try to set the example and do something about it, it will never change.

Call it nieve (and it probably is), but if I give out my hand only to have it cut off, then I'll offer my other hand. But one must hope for, and continue to work towards a better tomorrow. Maybe my spirit hasn't be suffeciently beaten down by the world yet... I dunno, and I hope that my spirit never goes dim even against the wrath of the world. I don't want to fade into the gray mass. It may very well happen though, but that is a thought I will not dwell on. I'm gonna keep hoping for a better tomorrow though.

[sylvanlightning]

I enjoyed your poem, however it seems more an Ode to Love and Honor.

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

[distrait]

I enjoyed your poem, however it seems more an Ode to Love and Honor.

Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Thanks, I dunno if I'd change the name from War and Disgrace to Love and Honor though... most of the poem describes pain and whatnot, unless you see something else?

[sylvanlightning]

This is seen, as well, my friend.

[distrait]

No, that's not what I meant. I mean, what images do you visualize when you read it? I mean, from my experience, I've never gotten the same exact message from my work, visual or writings, that others do. I just want to get an idea of what you see when you read it.

[sylvanlightning]

The first image I received was of Arjuna questioning Krisha about Battle.

'The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is.'
Bhagavad Gita 4.17

Then images of Yeshua feeling suffering in the garden of gethsemane.
'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.'

A quote from Yoda arose from your images.
'Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate and Hate leads to Suffering.'

My friend Sunyata says, 'Show me this Spirit you keep talking about.'

These teachers offer glimpses of what is already inside you. Meditation or Yoga is the method of inner inquiry. You must spend the time in contemplation to gain any peaceful results. Perhaps Alan Watts 'Still the Mind' would resonate.

Once again, regardless of what you wrote about, I saw this to be an Ode to Love and Truth.

[Icurus]

And it was as days past,
it was a realization that our future will again be our past,
how terrible a seen, or beautiful, and how long it'll last,
one can only guess, that; and prey, but those are for
thee individual to deside, for some this is their first day,
others their last ......

Peace,
Devon Knight ~