Possibilities of Being (re: Heidegger)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Possibilities of Being

 

We are not confined to what we are

We are what we are yet we are also

what we were and what we might

have been and might yet be

We are ourselves and all possibilities

of being ourselves

 

If we fully understand our state of being

it is always and forever changing

with the constant flow of possibility

yet its essence remains the same

 

There is that which is possible

and there is that which is not

If that which is theoretically possible

would alter the very core of being

it exceeds the boundaries of possibility

and falls into the realm of mythology

 

We are what we are including all

possibilities of what we may have

been or might still be yet those

possibilities are not without limits

in this world or the next

 

(re: Heidegger)

 

Kerouac & Cassady

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Kerouac & Cassady

 

Jack and Neal were the best of friends

Like Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty

Bound in brotherhood until the end

But Moriarty looked out for himself

His loyalty was the kind that bends

We think back on Jack in that Mexico City bed

When Moriarty left Paradise for dead *

 

What kind of friend would turn his back

On a brother in desperate need?

Was there something inside that he lacked?

Like letting a wounded warrior bleed

We wonder now what was in his head

When he left his friend for dead

 

He was sick and gasping for breath

Broken and bound to his bed

He was facing the shadow of death

With a vision of where it all led

What did he think when he picked up and left?

Did he feel some sense of dread?

When he took the car and hit the road

Leaving our hero for dead

 

Sal Paradise or Jack Kerouac

Did you ever wonder why?

Dean Moriarty or Neal Cassady

When he left you there to die

 

* On The Road by Jack Kerouac

 

Religious Freedom & Evolution

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RELIGION

Religious Freedom & Evolution

 

Every individual on the planet

Has a right to believe whatever

He or she chooses to believe

So long as that belief does not obstruct

The life or liberty of others

 

All religions that honor this right

Should in turn be honored and

Embraced for whatever good they do

And provide for human dignity

 

Any religion that fails to uphold this right

That exceeds the boundaries of religious

tolerance should be compelled to evolve

In its beliefs for the advancement and

Betterment of civilization as a whole

 

Many religions (not all but many)

In their original forms – like the civilizations

That formed them – were built on a

Foundation of conquest and war

 

While this disposition may have served

Humankind in ways we no longer understand

Any purpose or benefit it once served has

Like the creatures of ancient times

Run its course and now serves only to

Impede the progress and survival

Of all inhabitants of the planet

 

Let us therefore dedicate ourselves to

A new and higher system of human

Belief and religious practice

 

Let us reform our religions in accordance

With the principal of tolerance and

Respect for our fellow beings

 

Amen.

Mother Earth

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

Mother Earth

 

It is not enough to plant a tree

We must restore the sanctity

Of Mother Earth and Father Sky

It is not enough to wonder why

We must change our point of view

Invent a way of living true

To what this world demands

It is time to take a stand

The poisons in our water

The rivers are our daughters

The mountains are our sons

They live to nourish everyone

We must measure what we’re worth

By what we do for Mother Earth

 

Thailand Awakens

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

Thailand Awakens

 

The world is awakening from

A long and dangerous slumber

As the strongmen take power

And work to destroy democracy

As they attack the free press

As they attack civil society

As they attack the right to assemble

As they attack the right to protest

As they attack the right to dissent

As they dismantle their constitutions

As they challenge the right to vote

As they burn the bill of rights

As they burn books of free thought

At first the people go along

It is easier to go along

They watch in utter disbelief

They deny their own eyes and ears

It cannot happen here

They pretend it doesn’t matter

It can’t touch them where they live

Until it does

Then they awaken

Slowly at first and by degrees

Until the masses finally rise

To reclaim their human dignity

To reclaim their human rights

For some there is still time

For others it is too late

The damage done

Democracy once lost

Is difficult to regain

Pray it is not too late

Not for Thailand

Nor for us