Modern Science

“Rusty Bucket” by Jim Gensheer

 

thoughts leaking precision

from buckets of brains

hauled from decade to decade

old scholarship banged up

by too many trip-and-falls

clumsy with age among

fast moving new-minted minds

never stepping in classical stains

from incontinent seepage

of once settled science

 

 

From my book Bohemian Scents

Oral Judgment

“Freedom of Speech” by Norman Rockwell

 

like a toddler makes sense of the world
I put pieces of it in my mouth
random chunks of the cosmos
terrestrial tidbits a morsel of motion
taste texture and bite reveal truths
that refute the most trenchant
conventional wisdom
tongue tooth lip and cheek more reliably
sensible organs than eye ear and nose
less prone to be waylaid misled
by the spoor of unchallenged opinions
chew it up spit it out and move on
all the better equipped for the
self-made conclusions that mark
one’s authentic existence

 

 

From my book Bohemian Scents

Leap of Faith

 

“Leap of Faith” by Tiffany Davis-Rustam

 

small fluid dynamics

the barely perceptible

nourishing nuances

gently enmeshed in

the ebb and the flow

within delicate tissues

an aqueous breathing

of crystallin lenses

miraculous organs

enlighten the brain

taking into one’s ken

form and function

of all that exists

in the visible world

concrete insights

admitting of knowledge

and yet despite all

that is seen remain

deeper realities ever

invisible mysteries

vital insensible truths

that may only be reached

by one daring enough

to suspend the mechanics

of cognitive vision

shirk safety and

step from the edge

of that rational ledge

direct into the

ungrounded air

of a brave

leap of faith

We Are What We Read

Unknown Artist – Image from pinterest.com

we are what we read
the facts and the fictions
that spring from the
soul of a writer
attach to our genome
adsorb to our helices
polymath layers that
coat our identity
dressed to step out
into civilization

we are what we read
a literate essence
whose worth all depends
on the worth of the thoughts
taken straight off the pages
we choose to believe
pages run with the
ink and the sweat
someone else spent
enriching our ken

* * *

“Reading is an act of civilization; it’s one of the greatest acts of civilization because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.”
                                                               – Ben Okri

Knowledge

“Colourful Stones in Stream” – Photo by Nature’s Desktop

water remembers
every stone in the streambed
liquid histories
carried from mountain to sea
the pooled wisdom of ages

PhD

PhD Graduation Regalia

academic toil
dissertation defended
wisdom certified
chevrons sewn upon sleeves
now begins the real learning

Oral Judgment

like a toddler makes sense of the world
I put pieces of it in my mouth
random chunks of the cosmos
terrestrial tidbits a morsel of motion
taste texture and bite reveal truths
that refute the most trenchant
conventional wisdom
tongue tooth lip and cheek more reliably
sensible organs than eye ear and nose
less prone to be waylaid misled
by the spoor of unchallenged opinions
chew it up spit it out and move on
all the better equipped for the
self-made conclusions that mark
one’s authentic existence

Who Am I?

 

“Sunday Afternoon” by Fons Heijnsbroek

 

 

I could kill any man
who deserves it I’d
mete out a terminal
justice without many
qualms or kerfuffles
of conscience but
there’d be no joy
in the killing no
blackhearted thrill
in the taking
of life I could never
indulge in a bloodsport
that hunts down some
innocent creature
as trophy machismo
mis-wired and surging
with bastardized ethics

so what does this say
about me this belief
that the ultimate
stroke is the rightful
response when
provoked by straight up
self-defense or the
agonized cries
that depravity must
meet just punishment

what does it add
or subtract from my
semblance that I
believe life from
conception through
birth deserves care
and protection against
the assault of abortion

who am I that I
should embrace such
grave mortal convictions
what gives me such
right to believe
all the things I believe
to take action when I
see such action as fit
to judge life and death
circumstance not of
my own hand’s creation

who am I that I
spent an erudite lifetime
in search of morality
teachably evident
human in scale but
divinely designed

who am I that I
tried to think with great
thinkers and see with
great seers and pray
with great prophets

who am I that I
come to limited hours
of my limited years
feeling sure I have failed
that morality hides
from the world all the
deeper and darker
than ever before

who am I that I
nonetheless know I’ve
been blest for the
fact that I’ve tried

 

 

From my books Bohemian Scents and Legacies (vol. 1)

Dumb Wisdom

“The First Flower After the Ignorance”
Painting by Javier Santamaria
From fineartamerica.com

that long ago me had
everything all figured out
how is it that time
turns the tables around till
nothing again seems certain

*********************

“The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything.” – Oscar Wilde

Maturity

“Hard Working Man”
Painting by Vincent Van Gogh

I have no scars from my childhood
all my wounds came later in life

still young enough to remember
lessons learned from my parents

while old enough to regret
all the times I ignored them

ready finally to change
to become the man

mama and papa could see
from the distance of time