“Ghost Carrier” by Paddy McCann
life unexamined
floats free of all principle
a ghost in the wind
(originally posted April 2013)
Principles
All posts tagged Principles
Image From VFW
hauled my flag down today
bitter winds took their toll
solemn tattered torn ribbons
laid smartly in three-cornered fold
upon purified flames of respect
the most durable weave
won’t withstand disrespect
brute storms of invective
political factions who shred
cherished emblems and principles
founders now quake in their graves
beneath airwaves of profane
campaigns of disloyal self-interest
a new flag won’t be flown
till we realize we’re better than this
“Olympic Track” by LeRoy Neiman
the best of us
bodies and minds
strong and supple
unbowed and unjaded
engaged in clean
noble contention
fierce beauty
in ballet of battles
adhering to principles
laid down by wisdom
of ancient democracy
ideals of honor integrity
fairness and fortitude
splendid bold lessons
from striven arenas
that carry from youth
to maturity lessons
that translate to life
oh the prize of the laurel
to decorate long
well-lived days
lasting symbol
of virtue defining
the best of us
“Crucible” by Robert Pope
baked in resolute heat
courage pours from a crucible
precious mettle
“Holy War” by Nancy Merkle
battlefields bathed
in that awful red mist
tragic essence of
lost generations
indelible sacrifice
fouling the landscapes
of history duty-bound
blood oaths incurred
of their ultimate price
unforgettable youth
given unto the crucible
flesh and bone tested
for depth of conviction
for purity tending the
ancient-held principles
turned to the terrible
powder and smoke of
the bullets and bombs
raising visceral fears to
the stature of bravery
medals and crosses and
flags the mean trappings
of gratitude left upon
battlefields bathed
in that awful red mist
“American Civil War” by Zeana Romanovna
what possessed men
to stoically stand
against volleys of hellfire
three-pounder gallopers
six-pounder mortar shells
musket balls filling the air
tearing holes in dun deerskin
and homespun clad hearts
ripping red coated limbs
from their disciplined torsos
contention of manifest empire
versus incipient rage for
a raw unequivocal liberty
what possessed men
to stubbornly stand
against volleys of hellfire
howitzers smooth-bore napoleons
carriage wheeled long rifled cannon
dread minié balls filling the air
ranks of blue and gray infantry
shoulder to shoulder
advanced face to face across
killing fields run red with blood
contention of union preserved
without slavery versus a flawed
ingrained moral tradition
what possessed men
to sacrifice body and breath
in the name of intangible
principle even when
not always well understood
a mistake would be made
to judge warriors lightly
compelled as they were
by believing in something
defending of something
transcendent of self
common men raised by death
to uncommon nobility
“After the Storm” by Holly Anderson
ramshackle lives
knocked about
in the storm
grasp for ethics
no matter the provenance any
slight handhold
gains expedient
purchase false
principles swarm
helter-skelter
in violent air
immoralities clash
for supremacy
over the winds
that uproot with
ease weightless
tenuous minds
“No Man’s Land” by Bernard Dumaine
bourbon with bubble baths
meat loaf with manicures
beards with bald heads
shave their chest hair
and football is now but a
game played in fantasy
no men these days would
give up their seat or would
dare open doors for a lady
honor and pride are
no longer sufficient
rewards for one’s effort
it seems I have outlived
the role that my father
with diligence trained me
to play in fulfillment of
ancestral contracts
the blood oaths between
men whose culture
required a masculine dignity
shaped by old centuries
men who loved women
enough to behave at all
times as true gentlemen
it seems I have outlived
my place in this world
disagreement transcends
intellectual honesty
ethical principles fail
to obtain due respect
I am relic among the
advance of rogue values
here twisting and turning
within what’s become
my own living grave
unburied unmourned
From my book Human Waters
“Outrage” by Charles Pollock
what madness it is
to tie up the tongue
to hold back the temper
to stopper your cruets
piss and vinegar need to
be poured and not stored
disinfectants for bullshit
set burn to the bombast
whet words to an edge
cut and slash like a pirate
possessed at pc absurdity
who but the blunt honest
common sense principled
critic can rescue society
free it from strangling
within its own clutches
let fly with just outrage
put the bastards on notice
enough is enough time
to take back control from
those solipsist satraps
paternalist pen-pushers
deaf dumb and blind
central planners of life
stealing freedoms
wherever they find them
so please let the cleansing
acerb piss and vinegar flow
From my book Onionskin
“Archaeologists” by Giorgio de Chirico
when they dig us
from under the rubble and ruin
will they find what
it was we forgot to remember
will they know us
from remnant inapt iconography
merely another
failed culture succumbed to disease
a congenital hubris
its weight of gargantuan microbes
sufficient to topple
the temple erected to temperament
long gone astray
of foundational principles leaving
the holy of holies
caved in on its sacredmost parchments
dead documents
turned with the bones of enlightenment
back into dust
in the dark of pre-civilized days
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“Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.”
– Elie Wiesel
From my books Onionskin and Legacies (vol. 2)
Poesy plus Polemics 