Thus I Wrote

I thought that we lived by God’s law,
Then Nietzsche said He was dead.
“We’ve been alone since the Big Bang”,
Stephen Hawking said.

Without a guiding supernatural law,
Man worked out how to survive.
He created his own morals and laws,
To control instinctual drives.

Indeed man may have invented God,
To enforce change and social control.
Societies use Him when He’s useful
But leave Him when He has no role

Man created a way to live,
Using virtue for co-operation.
Being good brings society acceptance,
Being bad brings isolation.

But good and bad are not universal,
They’re determined by what’s effective.
For the growth and the survival,
Of the individual and the collective.

Man is a calculating animal,
Judging punishment and reward.
He learns what’s effective,
For success in his own regard

Society hides the calculation,
It sounds too selfish and raw.
But balance is achieved in the collective,
Reciprocity is good for us all

So the collective knowledge of man,
Created by years of sacrifice and pain.
Is the true light of the world,
To ensure darkness never reigns.

It’s more than a brain full
What we experience as real
So we cut it up in pieces
And consume it piecemeal

We can lose sight of the wood
As we focus on a tree
So the head can be a prisoner
But the heart can still be free

Picasso painted the problem
Of looking from one side
His picture puts together
All the pieces as a guide

With reality taken piecemenal
Your destination may surprise
You’re blind to the whole picture
And blind driving is not advised

So we must be humble as individuals
And in the societies we create
We need to recognise our limitations
And have someone to question us in place

I know I have hurt you
I know I have shut the door
I know you have been lonely
Waiting for me, unsure
My feelings tripped me up
While reaching out to you
I’m guilty of not listening
And talking badly too…
…I want…to give you my love

Surprise me with a kiss
A public show of affection
I want you to hold my hand
Take the initiative of a connection
Use the same rules for us both
So that I am not surprised
Forgive me for my failures
And then you will be prized…
…I want you…to give me your love

The heart once hurt
Needs good memories to heal
Women seem to hurt more
Or remember it more I feel
You need a lot to heal now
And will reject and hurt in return
I will need a big heart now
To manage the hurt when it burns…
…I want…to give you my love

One day we’ll be too old to give

So..Let’s give to each other and get more pleasure as we live

One day we’ll be too old to listen and talk

So..Let’s cherish one another and grow through the knocks

One day we’ll be too old to forgive

So..Let’s forgive now and give ourselves more time to really live

One day we’ll be too old to laugh and have fun

So..Let’s wring the fun out of our days and laugh until we have none

One day we’ll be too old to hold hands

So..Let’s enjoy the gentle touch of our skin before the last falling of the sands

One day we’ll be too old to kiss

So..Let’s enjoy the affection we exchange before it is missed

One day we’ll be too old to have sex

So..Let’s enjoy the physical communion as if we have nothing left to expect

Our lives move to a different beat
You like Armstrong, I like Dylan
Your body’s a temple, but you love to eat
I’m always able if you’re willing

Your clothes are thrown, as you undress
Into the mess that you create
But still you manage me, and my small mess
I shouldn’t take the bait

Your heart says love and cooperation
My head says compete and succeed
You’re in pajamas for the duration
I prefer to dress for speed

You are certain – I see both sides
But you think its weak
You want to make waves, I want a smooth ride
I’m quiet when you want to speak

You see a God, You expect a next life
I get No Answers as I read
You are so calm, I easily find strife
Love must bind us indeed

Surprise me… and kiss me
Be passionate and kind
Think of me…. and miss me
Love’s the drug that binds

I saw a cat poised to fight
A singing bird in June
With total focus and muscles tight
His form and function in tune

He was living in each moment
A perfect, effective being
At one with the earth & firmament
At one with his role in his scene

As perfect… as a child’s love
As perfect …as the morning dew
As perfect …as the light above
As perfect… as the earth when new

He had no reason to worry
He had no reason to ask
He had no reason to be sorry
His meaning was in his task

Mama, take this badge off of me
I can’t use it anymore
It’s gettin’ dark, too dark for me to see
I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door

Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door(4)

Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can’t shoot them anymore
That long black cloud is comin’ down
I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door

Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door(4)

Bob Dylan. Copyright ©1973 by Ram’s Horn Music

They walk to a different beat,
They are feared & misunderstood,
They are lonely & brave.

They know the needs of the many
Outweigh the needs of the few…
So they give everything of themselves
As their parting gift,
Their only ticket to connect.

They are the light in the darkness
Seen best from a distance,
And shining unconciously as a guide
For the sheep on the road less travelled.

Life is a procession of choices –
Until eventually there are none.
But the best of us live life
….In every breath.

There is always tension –
Between meaning and survival –
Between we and I –
Between service and control.
Until we lose control completely –
As we return everything –
…..Alone.

Mankind is a procession of lives –
That spark for an unknown purpose –
And together create a fire
That lights the darkness
That we hope, serves something –
Greater than ourselves.