Oh Lord, thank you so much for OKC journals on Monday night. I'm not trying to be judgmental. Honest. I think that Tuesday must be the most boring night of the week, so it's only going to get better. I only have anecdotal evidence to support this theory, and that's enough for me.

Since these dusky hours in the early week seem to carve verse and self pity into the digital flesh, here's a little ray of hope in the same manner:

'With my teeth
I have seized life
Upon the knife of my youth.
With my lips today,
With my lips alone...
 
Briefly come,
Bloom of the slopes,
Orion's spear
has reappeared.' -René Char

Who says poetry has to be pretentious, self-serving and boring?!

Yeah, MMoCA and martinis at the tiki bar sounds good this weekend! Hmmm... I'm feeling good enough that I don't have to pretend. When the vodka in a sun-shattered glass passes the brass, you know you've turned summer's bend.

(And that's pronounced 'muh-mo-ka')

...alas, the canvas is spacious, but not that spacious.

Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub, It is the center hole that makes it useful. Shape clay into a vessel, It is the space within that makes it useful. Cut doors and windows for a room, It is the holes which make it useful. Therefore profit comes from what is there, Usefulness from what is not there. -Lao-Tzu

Well, this is weird. I just went on a rant about how I'm no Robert Frost and a complete stranger walks up to me out of nowhere and tells me that I've (and I quote) "...written something that needs to be shared with the world. Something really good that people need to hear." Bizarre!

In response to Tired metaphors by audiochemist

:

In response to Tired metaphors by audiochemist:

I'm really tired of hearing people refer to life as a path,orany use of path (or path related) as a metaphor foranythingrelated to the human condition (an equally tired term). Infact Iam abhorred by this sort of "New Age-ist",intellectualmasturbation. If you think that you're the next RobertFrost, proveit. Otherwise, find something else to talk about.

Why am I so tired of this literary conceit? Aside from overuse,Ifind that it's a completely false metaphor for life. My own andthelives that I see others lead. "Path" or "road" implydetermination,in the 'fate' sense of the term. Someone had tobuild the thingbefore you could "be on it". Perhaps this is tooliteral aninterpretation. But my disdain cuts deeper thanthis.

"Path" and "road" also imply an end goal, a beginning andapredetermined ending. This implication runs contrary tomostobservation of life in the early 21st century. Even themostfocused and driven people I've met couldn't be said to organizethearc of their lives in such a way.

I'm not sure, but the use of these terms does seem to bepopularwith a certain group of people that share a similarworld-view. I'mnot sure why, but the term seems to appeal as anindicator ofsocial uniqueness, deviation from an established socialconstructand/or isolation from some social norm. It reminds meof'non-conformist' social groups that enforce a fashion as a badgeofmembership.

Please, would be poets and shapers of civilizations, findabetter word to describe your:

a) uniquness

b) non-conformity

c) loneliness

d) rage against the machine

Thank you...

@MysTifyLemon: You're absolutely right. One shouldn't justcomplain. Alternatives should be offered, but not being a poet Ihave to beg forgiveness and hope the experts can resolve this.

@cindirelli: I'm not denying that life is cyclical or linear(actually these are only our perceptions, not the thing itself). Itoo have witnessed suffering and death, as well as joy and newlife. I understand that it is a metaphor. What I'm challenging isa) the validity and usefulness of that metaphor, b) its perceivedmeaning to those that seem to overuse it, and c) its perceivedvalue as an indicator of 'spirituality'.

I understand that our language is ineffectual when attempting toexpress many aspects of life. This is at least one reason we havethings like art, music, mathematics, etc. (specialized languages) Ijust think that if I never hear another "path" or "road" metaphorin this context, it'll be too soon. :)

Thanks for replying though!

Life is as a molecule
in suspension. Mixture?
There is no "path" in the ether
no "plan" you can lay
Collisions will knock you
down. Steel your resolve?
As seasons evolve
so trajectory altered everyday

See... I'm no Robert Frost...

I'm really tired of hearing people refer to life as a path, orany use of path (or path related) as a metaphor for anythingrelated to the human condition (an equally tired term). In fact Iam abhorred by this sort of "New Age-ist", intellectualmasturbation. If you think that you're the next Robert Frost, proveit. Otherwise, find something else to talk about.

Why am I so tired of this literary conceit? Aside from overuse,I find that it's a completely false metaphor for life. My own andthe lives that I see others lead. "Path" or "road" implydetermination, in the 'fate' sense of the term. Someone had tobuild the thing before you could "be on it". Perhaps this is tooliteral an interpretation. But my disdain cuts deeper thanthis.

"Path" and "road" also imply an end goal, a beginning and apredetermined ending. This implication runs contrary to mostobservation of life in the early 21st century. Even the mostfocused and driven people I've met couldn't be said to organize thearc of their lives in such a way.

I'm not sure, but the use of these terms does seem to be popularwith a certain group of people that share a similar world-view. I'mnot sure why, but the term seems to appeal as an indicator ofsocial uniqueness, deviation from an established social constructand/or isolation from some social norm. It reminds me of'non-conformist' social groups that enforce a fashion as a badge ofmembership.

Please, would be poets and shapers of civilizations, find abetter word to describe your:

a) uniquness

b) non-conformity

c) loneliness

d) rage against the machine

Thank you...

@MysTifyLemon: You're absolutely right. One shouldn't just complain. Alternatives should be offered, but not being a poet I have to beg forgiveness and hope the experts can resolve this.

@cindirelli: I'm not denying that life is cyclical or linear (actually these are only our perceptions, not the thing itself). I too have witnessed suffering and death, as well as joy and new life. I understand that it is a metaphor. What I'm challenging is a) the validity and usefulness of that metaphor, b) its perceived meaning to those that seem to overuse it, and c) its perceived value as an indicator of 'spirituality'.

I understand that our language is ineffectual when attempting to express many aspects of life. This is at least one reason we have things like art, music, mathematics, etc. (specialized languages) I just think that if I never hear another "path" or "road" metaphor in this context, it'll be too soon. :)

Thanks for replying though!

I'm really tired of hearing people refer to life as a path, or any use of path (or path related) as a metaphor for anything related to the human condition (an equally tired term). In fact I am abhorred by this sort of "New Age-ist", intellectual masturbation. If you think that you're the next Robert Frost, prove it. Otherwise, find something else to talk about.

Why am I so tired of this literary conceit? Aside from overuse, I find that it's a completely false metaphor for life. My own and the lives that I see others lead. "Path" or "road" imply determination, in the 'fate' sense of the term. Someone had to build the thing before you could "be on it". Perhaps this is too literal an interpretation. But my disdain cuts deeper than this.

"Path" and "road" also imply an end goal, a beginning and a predetermined ending. This implication runs contrary to most observation of life in the early 21st century. Even the most focused and driven people I've met couldn't be said to organize the arc of their lives in such a way.

I'm not sure, but the use of these terms does seem to be popular with a certain group of people that share a similar world-view. I'm not sure why, but the term seems to appeal as an indicator of social uniqueness, deviation from an established social construct and/or isolation from some social norm. It reminds me of 'non-conformist' social groups that enforce a fashion as a badge of membership.

Please, would be poets and shapers of civilizations, find a better word to describe your:

a) uniquness

b) non-conformity

c) loneliness

d) rage against the machine

Thank you...

You have to wonder when your highest ranked match hasn't filled out their profile whatsoever...

Wow, I just received a notification in my inbox alerting me to the fact that I just commented on my own journal post.

Where's George Carlin when I need him?

I was just going to post a couple of great journal entries I found (3am is prime time for this), but then I started thinking about the user IDs that people pick...

Specifically, IDs like janedoe870. I wonder, has janedoe870 ever been mistaken for janedoe87? (There is a janedoe87, but no janedoe540...) Curious...