CIV
Before
… after … during …
What’s
the difference, really?
* * * *
The
deep mortal insecurity
That
perhaps all creation feels.
* * * *
Pride
blinds us all.
* * * *
Nothing
much.
* * * *
We were
all children once upon a before time.
* * * *
What bullshit
must you endure today?
* * * *
God
forbid god is a Christian version.
* * * *
Beneath
all the guises, just hamburger.
* * * *
Is
there such a thing as an intelligent racist?
* * * *
New is
not new, nor is old, old.
* * * *
So many
blind to what others see so clearly.
* * * *
Why
spend your life thinking anything permanent?
Even
god exists only as long as those who create it.
* * * *
To
achieve fearlessness, travel beyond yourself.
* * * *
Any
demon is merely a piece of godness
In the
delusive denial of unicity.
* * * *
The
universe springs anew each moment.
* * * *
Where
consciousness cannot tread,
The
eternal reigns alone.
* * * *
The
fact that you’re here is proof enough.
* * * *
Will
this spring of words ever run dry?
* * * *
Nationalism
is nothing more than barking dogs.
* * * *
A
critique of the human drama.
* * * *
Blood
is an interesting thing to believe in.
* * * *
Moderate
your passion.
* * * *
We all
like seeing our heroes kick a little ass.
* * * *
The
human hive.
* * * *
Maybe
I’m supposed to be impressed.
* * * *
It’s an
amazing thing what people will do for money.
* * * *
Feeling
clever today, eh?
* * * *
Not too
many people expect their children to become mystics.
* * * *
Total
honesty? Are you sure you’re really
ready?
* * * *
If it’s
not already been done,
Somebody’s
going to try.
* * * *
There
ain’t no antidote to good drugs.
* * * *
A lot
of us have seen through nationalism,
And
only wonder what’s next.
* * * *
Ahhh,
back to centerlessness.
* * * *
Slaughtering
is easy.
It’s
creation and preservation
That
are tough sports.
* * * *
It’s
not always fun to climb the same mountain.
* * * *
Face
it, something’s going to kill you.
* * * *
Enjoy
your delusion of courage.
* * * *
Looking
good as far as the numbers go.
* * * *
Now
you’re scaring me.
* * * *
Time is
so weird anymore.
* * * *
You’re
just another mask.
* * * *
The
mystery births you,
Preserves
you, and eats you.
* * * *
Keep
your money, Mister.
This
soul is not for sale.
* * * *
This
world owes no body nothing.
* * * *
What’s
the meaning of life?
Silly
questions and ridiculous answers.
* * * *
These
words just keep flowing.
All
this scribe does is open to the zone
And the
spring runs on and on.
* * * *
Silly,
eh what?
* * * *
Meditation
is simply putting the persona on pause.
* * * *
Never
put yourself between mother and child.
* * * *
Deny
not the river within.
* * * *
A drop
falls into the river and calls it birth,
Flows
into the ocean and calls it death.
* * * *
Reduced
to tears, she awaits your surrender.
* * * *
Confused
predictability.
* * * *
Death
is the quickest route to simplicity.
* * * *
How
enslaved we are by our bills.
* * * *
What is
wisdom
But
seeing possible permutations
Of any
given action.
* * * *
What a
bother to have to think
About
this world so much of the time.
* * * *
Think
where you might be now
If you
had only started back when.
* * * *
So
what’s the big deal?
* * * *
How
many ways shit flies.
* * * *
The
past is a pool of value-laden perceptions.
* * * *
History
paints so many colors.
* * * *
At
least when you are at the bottom,
You
know which way the shit’s falling.
* * * *
Gee,
you are you.
* * * *
The
beauty of revenge is its timelessness.
* * * *
Scorn
runs shallow.
* * * *
A few
less won’t hurt.
* * * *
What’s
your story, Pilgrim?
* * * *
If you
have self-respect, what in god’s many names
Does it
matter what anyone thinks of you?
* * * *
Why
fathom any need for a god outside yourself?
* * * *
Play it
like you’re an alien anthropologist,
A spy
left here for a lifetime of study.
* * * *
Who’s
in charge?
* * * *
In
every realm
There
will always be genius
Setting
the standard.
* * * *
Look at
all those words and images in your head.
Why are
you so attached to them?
* * * *
You are
an unscripted script,
Just
like everyone and everything else.
* * * *
You
create your friends,
You
create your acquaintances.
You
create your enemies.
* * * *
What an
interesting process futility.
* * * *
Let god
praise itself if it is so vain.
* * * *
Guerrilla
warfare and terrorism
Are the
aspirin of poor odds.
* * * *
When false
gold waylays the heart,
Mind
rules, and worlds fall into ruin.
* * * *
Whose I
am is any different?
* * * *
Deftly
the mind transcends imagination.
* * * *
Bubbles
sink into the surface.
* * * *
Sages
merely appear less confused about their confusion.
* * * *
Piss on
it, Mate.
* * * *
For
every drama there is a curtain.
* * * *
The
ground is without any difference.
* * * *
Confusion
is as confusion does.
* * * *
You
cannot see the mind
Through
a screen of thoughts,
Only
through the silence of its origin.
* * * *
What
really happened is going be long gone
Before
you even know what you experienced.
* * * *
To
believe this real is akin to a balloon
Thinking
itself more than a pop.
* * * *
Sometimes
the wind reminds you.
* * * *
How do
you contemplate totality?
* * * *
What is
your role in all the hoopla?
* * * *
The
world is full of beauty, full of ugliness,
Yet it
is prior to all appearances
In which
truth rests.
* * * *
Respect
even your opponents
And
hardness will soften into confusion.
* * * *
A shot
from nowhere hits its mark.
* * * *
You
cannot pause or rush that which is unwavering.
* * * *
When to
do, when to not do,
Is
attention to the moment’s reckoning.
* * * *
Discern
the folly of pretense.
* * * *
What
tension is created by knowing so much ignorance.
* * * *
Watch
the wind blow, the waves crash,
The
fire flicker, the earth shift, and realize it is all
Nothing
more than your mind moving.
* * * *
Be
uncertain about certainty
Without
being certain about uncertainty.
* * * *
Soften
up.
* * * *
The
lungs are the shores of the ocean.
Hear
the song within each breath.
* * * *
How
much life perishes to fill those meat cases?
* * * *
Some
things are more futile than others.
* * * *
How big
is the universe?
How
small is your mind?
* * * *
Back
into the world, and its web of false intrigue.
* * * *
You
attempt to pick and choose
The
more pleasurable experiences,
But
alas, the reality of all the lesser ones
Rises
again and again in duality’s wandering.
What
born of time can ever attain any
permanence?
* * * *
You
crack me up.
* * * *
What
makes you think it’s my problem?
* * * *
Vanity
is the ultimate enticement.
* * * *
Just
more pop spirituality.
* * * *
Whatever’s
happening is the purpose.
* * * *
Full of
the ignorance called knowledge.
* * * *
Would
you have believed it in a million years?
* * * *
Without
action, words mean squat.
* * * *
You may
want to lead, but do we want to follow?
* * * *
Corruption
creates its own just rewards.
* * * *
One
often wonders what sort of movie or book
Any
given critic could ever direct or write.
Parasites
come in many guises.
* * * *
Fantasy
is often much
More
stimulating than reality.
Obviously,
else we would not parley
So
adroitly with the imaginary game master,
The
best friend no one has ever seen.
* * * *
Why is
it the people who want to lead you
Are so
often the ones you least want to follow?
* * * *
The
real question is why the problem even concerns you.
* * * *
Recognizing
these thoughts make them yours.
* * * *
What we
call terrorism is merely a matter of scale.
What
difference, really, between a small alliance of rebels
Or a
large group patriotically called a nation state?
All act
upon one vain collusion or another.
The
issue, as it has always been,
Is
might makes right.
But it
is ever the innocent
In
harms way who abide the suffering.
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The
Stillness Before Time (Compendium)
©
Michael J. Holshouser 2009
World
Rights Reserved