Manichee

Manichaean Ankh

oh are the spirits of light
in eternal contention
with forces of darkness
humanity serving their
flesh and bone battleground
ever commingling its peace
with its pleasures and pains
all the nobler and baser
intentions consigned to a blur
every starburst of light
quickly swallowed by shadow
the material evil ensnared
in mortality yields lifelong
ignorance suffering
not even death will relieve
unless mind supplants body
allowing the self come aware
of the truth in its gnosis
that virtue may triumph with
knowledge the only salvation

* * *

“God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.”                            – Saint Augustine

Exodus

Tuckerman Ravine Trail
New Hampshire
Photo from Wikipedia.org

empty days lumber along
wagons wobble and heave
hauling cargoes of hours
escaping their origins
dangerous dawns left
long since far behind
rutted routes tell that
others have been here

did they bear the same
burdens the crush from
the weight of each day
time so heavy it pushes
a man beyond reach of
his shadow in train with
all hesitant moments
possessions that he must
by law of the lawgiver
carry until end of days

this rough rocky ground
jars old axles and wheels
wincing pain the sharp
reflex to each bump and
bang jostling thoughts
and beliefs ideas slam
in concussing collisions
plans rattle and crash

time to rest mind and
body and bone time to
rescue what little is left
of a life time to gather
the residue pieces of
dreams broken shards
burned as fuel gone to
fly ash away in the
bivouac campfire smoke

then to climb back aboard
heading out with a caution
imposed by the wreckage
of voyage the drag from
the bulk of encumbrances
minutes misspent make
a punishing load for a
troubled mind dense with
the fear of a journey
compelled toward what end

no one knows because
no one who passed this way
ever returned to explain
to assure to console
except one
long ago
far away
bearing news
of salvation
for all who
would have it

Intellect of Blindness

“Blind Wizard”
Sketch by MlleBienvenu
From ellenmilliongraphics.com

only the blind
hold their bearings
in darkness
remember the routes
between now and again
travel time with
success making
progress on
dismal terrain

as for we
vaunted sighted
what good
after all
is the eye
without light
not so much as a
flickering match head
no trickle of stardust

we stumble and
bump along
circular reasoning
dead of direction
a convolute world
we ourselves
worked to blacken
extinguished its points
of enlightenment

only the blind
understand how to
use special sight
rediscover the
peace and prosperity
hidden within
misused histories
ready to remake the
bright broken mind

only the blind
have the courage
to lift us from
deep in delirium
refill the vacancies
left in our learning
philosopher cowards
who nearly destroyed
our own species

Saved

“Underwater Ruins”
Digital art by helios 1027
From deviantart.com

my ministry rescues lost causes
the sunken ones tethered
to dark benthic shrines
far below sea skin surfaces
my job to open those black
drowning tides push the sun
down and down to the depths
burn the light of the possible
into your brain hope is ugly
because it bathes truth in a
waterless talcum of maybe
not handsome like certainty
honest grotesquery livid with
ways to revive sense of worth
restore purpose and path to
the purpling despondence rise up
from the bottoms and walk
with me save yourself taste
what I say smell the promise
that it can be better than this
warm and dry in the slimeless
fresh breeze of the future