ellen rhymes

A pure mirror disappears. The mirror is Tao,
a secret known & kept by all
being (by nature) untold.
It’s boring unless
you seek to be born.
It prescribes nothing, yet heals, I think
today. What it is, though… who’s to say?

I asked a gifted craftsman
for advice as we conversed;
he said simply, “Of your critics,
you yourself must be the worst.”

the trouble with texting is
text is too poor
to serve as the right type of
human-soul door—
there’s so much of you
i can choose to ignore
that before long, i’m not texting YOU anymore.

El Greco, 1609

Wisdom sits with knowledge in her lap
wisdom’s the compass
knowledge is the map
wisdom’s the water
knowledge is the tap
wisdom is supple
knowledge sure can snap

Michelangelo, 1499

Our greatest artists don’t communicate
so much as they illumine the innate.

Joseph Goebbels

I’ve taken it upon myself
to educate mankind.
I’ve studied much psychology,
much science of the mind.
My stamina’s uncanny;
my resolve is absolute:
I’m speaking for the underdogs
who’d otherwise be mute!
I do their thinking for them—
that’s what I was trained to do.
You wonder who I am?
I am not Red.
I am not Blue.
I’m someone using power
to make fake promises to you.

Inspired by Propaganda by Jaques Ellul

The beauty & brains of concision
are rooted in clear-eyed decision.