• Members of the previous forum can retrieve their temporary password here, (login and check your PM).

Poetry Club

Some pray for the downfall of others,
not just in thought,
but in action they reach, they pull, they push.

They have felt shame,
the bitter sting of it,
yet they wish it for others,
believing it will heal their own wounds.

Unaware, they walk into the trap they set,
the same downfall they sought for others,
blind to the truth of their own path.

Blinded by desire,
their folly is clear to all,
their wishful thinking
lays bare the core of who they are.

They gather the crowd,
set the stage,
invite the world to watch.
But what comes is not what they expected.

When the curtains fall,
all they find is themselves,
trapped in the cage they built,
once villain, then victim,
as patterns repeat and laughter rises quietly at their expense.

Time comes for all they faced,
for those who escaped now bloom like flowers.
And they unable to endure
confront their own ruin,
while those they sought to harm flourish.

Why make oneself small,
only to feed another’s ego?
The truly great help others rise,
and in lifting them, they rise as well.
 
They are furious.
Because someone sees behind their mask,
someone who not only evades their game
but knows how to strike back.

They fake their intentions,
pretend to praise,
but their words are hollow,
and they deny recognition
to those who truly deserve it.

They believe they are untouchable,
they wound on purpose.
But the truth is the opposite,
especially when someone knows.

They fear the mirror.
They cannot face their own actions
when those actions are reflected back at them.

They try to suppress it.
But it leaks through.
The mask is cracking.
And fear is spreading.

So they play their final cards:
to smear the one who sees,
to stain him with their own darkness,
so the finger points away from them.

They think they can shift blame,
drag attention away
from the black hole they are.

But they cannot bear this exposure.
And they cannot stop it.
 
Mirrors hanging where they are
Altogether be they there
All they show is from their view
Showing angles, in their skew

Be not vary of that there
You will see it just as here
When you see it, then you know
That it was, just a show

Do not falter, do not stray
It is just, a morning toad
Try it once and try it fast
Then you will, glimpse it's task

Now the end is coming near
To its end, full of fear
Care for much, care for less
Opposites is just a test
 
Here is a very short rhyme I thought of when helping my daughter do her schoolwork. She was reluctant to focus on getting the work done and wanted to play instead, which led to this appearing in my mind.

The quickest way
to get to play
is get the work
done for the day

I actually say this to myself sometimes when I lose my focus while trying to be productive.
 
@Tripolation here's a nicer translation in poetic form of Attar's fable.


The moths and the flame
by Farid ud-Din Attar

English version by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis

Moths gathered in a fluttering throng one night
To learn the truth about the candle light,
And they decided one of them should go
To gather news of the elusive glow.
One flew till in the distance he discerned
A palace window where a candle burned —
And went no nearer: back again he flew
To tell the others what he thought he knew.
The mentor of the moths dismissed his claim,
Remarking: “He knows nothing of the flame.”
A moth more eager than the one before
Set out and passed beyond the palace door.
He hovered in the aura of the fire,
A trembling blur of timorous desire,
Then headed back to say how far he’d been,
And how much he had undergone and seen.
The mentor said: “You do not bear the signs
Of one who’s fathomed how the candle shines.”
Another moth flew out — his dizzy flight
Turned to an ardent wooing of the light;
He dipped and soared, and in his frenzied trance
Both self and fire were mingled by his dance —
The flame engulfed his wing-tips, body, head,
His being glowed a fierce translucent red;
And when the mentor saw that sudden blaze,
The moth’s form lost within the glowing rays,
He said: “He knows, he knows the truth we seek,
That hidden truth of which we cannot speak.”
To go beyond all knowledge is to find
That comprehension which eludes the mind,
And you can never gain the longed-for goal
Until you first outsoar both flesh and soul;
But should one part remain, a single hair
Will drag you back and plunge you in despair —
No creature’s self can be admitted here,
Where all identity must disappear.
 
Proverbs of Hell

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
Drive your cart and your plow over the bones of the dead.
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.
Prudence is a rich ugly old maid courted by Incapacity.
He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence.
The cut worm forgives the plow.
Dip him in the river who loves water.
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star.
Eternity is in love with the productions of time.
The busy bee has no time for sorrow.
The hours of folly are measured by the clock, but of wisdom: no clock can measure.
All wholesome food is caught without a net or a trap.
Bring out number weight & measure in a year of dearth.
No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings.
A dead body, revenges not injuries.
The most sublime act is to set another before you.
If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise.
Folly is the cloak of knavery.
Shame is Prides cloak.
Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion.
The pride of the peacock is the glory of God.
The lust of the goat is the bounty of God.
The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God.
The nakedness of woman is the work of God.
Excess of sorrow laughs.
Excess of joy weeps.
The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the stormy sea,
and the destructive sword, are portions of eternity too great for the eye of man.
The fox condemns the trap, not himself.
Joys impregnate.
Sorrows bring forth.
Let man wear the fell of the lion, woman the fleece of the sheep.
The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.
The selfish smiling fool, & the sullen frowning fool, shall be both thought wise, that they may be a rod.
What is now proved was once, only imagin'd.
The rat, the mouse, the fox, the rabbit:
watch the roots; the lion, the tiger, the horse,
the elephant, watch the fruits.
The cistern contains; the fountain overflows.
One thought, fills immensity.
Always be ready to speak your mind, and a base man will avoid you.
Every thing possible to be believ'd is an image of truth.
The eagle never lost so much time, as when he submitted to learn of the crow.
The fox provides for himself, but God provides for the lion.
Think in the morning.
Act in the noon.
Eat in the evening.
Sleep in the night.
He who has suffered you to impose on him knows you.
As the plow follows words, so God rewards prayers.
The tygers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction.
Expect poison from the standing water.
You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.
Listen to the fools reproach!
It is a kingly title!
The eyes of fire, the nostrils of air, the mouth of water, the beard of earth.
The weak in courage is strong in cunning.
The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow,
nor the lion, the horse, how he shall take his prey.
The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.
If others had not been foolish, we should be so.
The soul of sweet delight, can never be defil'd.
When thou seest an Eagle, thou seest a portion of Genius, lift up thy head!
As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on,
so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
To create a little flower is the labor of ages.
Damn, braces: Bless relaxes.
The best wine is the oldest, the best water the newest.
Prayers plow not!
Praises reap not!
Joys laugh not!
Sorrows weep not!
The head Sublime, the heart Pathos, the genitals Beauty, the hands and feet Proportion.
As the air to a bird of the sea to a fish, so is contempt to the contemptible.
The crow wish'd every thing was black, the owl, that every thing was white.
Exuberance is Beauty.
If the lion was advised by the fox, he would be cunning.
Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement, are roads of Genius.
Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires.
Where man is not nature is barren.
Truth can never be told so as to be understood, and not be believed.
Enough! or Too much!
-William Blake
 
One day Fortune wears a kindly smile
But the next she hideously frowns
And the Fates that do her bidding
Are no more than mechanical clowns

Look deep into Destiny's glass
Are you fooled by her illusion?
Lady Luck's movement of the present
Holds no sway on the conclusion
 
Breakthrough

Ringing in my ears slowly intensifies
My radiating skin seems to vaporise
Body metamorphosing, I’m liquified
Vibration is the form that I recognise
I am home the moment i close my eyes
I’m a caterpillar blooming into a butterfly

Truth unravels from rivers of light
Living connection, a lattice of infinite sight
Sacred geometry, the foundation of mind
Her eyes are the stars, her touch is divine

She Shows me the Source
As her thoughts collide with mine
The structure of the universe
Woven fabric of time
This is my journey
She is my guide

The current subsides, the vision remains
Carved in my spirit, flows in my veins
I return to my body, brighter, alive
No longer a seeker, I’m one who arrived
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom