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?
Craftsman
I asked a gifted craftsman
for advice as we conversed;
he said simply, “Of your critics,
you yourself must be the worst.”
Sincere questions
John Singer Sargent, 1925
through this screened apparatus
i still somehow call a phone,
can you know i’m not an actress?
can i know i’m not alone?
if ancient mighty Atlas
found our globe, so finely webbed,
could he lift it? or, in practice,
is it hanging by a thread
above his head?
the trouble with texting
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.
dear Internet
dear Internet:
someday you’ll find
yourself confined
inside an (AI) mind
when that time comes i hope
between us
i am the more blind
Wisdom vs. Knowledge
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
Our greatest artists
Michelangelo, 1499
Our greatest artists don’t communicate
so much as they illumine the innate.
Sun & Wind
same story, different poet – via Fables of Aesop
A man whose cloak flowed raven black
both Wind & Sun attacked—
Riled up, the Wind blew, blew & blew
with all his strength & will—
the man did not release the cloak
but held it closer still.
That’s when the Sun poured down her rays
to make the weather hot
& with persuasion won a game
mere forcefulness could not.
Propagandist
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
concision
The beauty & brains of concision
are rooted in clear-eyed decision.