By the end of this post we would have reached the end of our brief exploration of poetic order and applications of its framework towards living a whole and beautiful life. Only a few more notes need be made in regards to aesthetics, failure, and an example of a “test” for beauty in poetry. (As…
Additional Notes On Centers (Part 4)
Gabriel includes the below point as part of the list of what makes up strong centers explored in the previous posts; however, I see these as important enough to be separated and explored on their own. They speak to the whole poem more directly than to each center – at least so it seems to…
A Living Poem and the Need for Order (Part 1.5)
It is precisely because I do not have such poetic order within my life that I have allowed three months to slip by before continuing this blog series. I would not want to be more of a hypocrite than I am already by writing what I have failed to live out so far. Yet I…
Growth
I’ve been described as someone with more drive than they know what to do with, a sort of ambitious overachiever. Why strive for so much? Why seek mastery when it’s already “okay”? Why do and attempt so much, when you could just let life happen, go with the flow, take things as they are, and…
The Terror of Excellence
Excellence and knowledge terrify the cowardly. Having reached a higher standard, what was once unexpected strokes of greatness amidst mediocrity becomes the ground from which others and self judge you. No longer can you claim inability or lack of insight, for you have proven yourself capable and cognizant of more than what you were and…
The Master of Your Soul
We like to think we control ourselves, that we are our own masters, that we are not slaves to another being, an ideology, an object. That’s what we might want. Reality is different. Human beings must serve something greater than themselves–or at least something they think and live as though it is greater than themselves.…
Money, Meet Value
It’s no secret that cash (or numbers in your bank account) isn’t the most precious unit of value humans exchange with each other. You know that truth, tip your hat to it on your way to work, do your best to make sure you die with people and memories around you, and not just be…
Becoming a Warrior-Poet – Part 3
I gave a speech on “Becoming a Warrior-Poet” somewhere in Michigan on August 22, 2023, so thought I’d share it in written form here. Here is Part 1 and Part 2. Enjoy! * * * Warrior poets are lovers of truth and people, and defenders of both. They hold to deep convictions, act from careful…
Becoming a Warrior-Poet – Part 2
I gave a speech on “Becoming a Warrior-Poet” somewhere in Michigan on August 22, 2023, so thought I’d share it in written form here. Find Part 1 here. Enjoy! * * * Today, at Thermopylae, there’s a stone with a simple inscription: “Go tell the Spartans, strangers passing by, that here obedient to their laws…
Becoming a Warrior-Poet – Part 1
I gave a speech on “Becoming a Warrior-Poet” somewhere in Michigan on August 22, 2023, so thought I’d share it in written form here. Enjoy! * * * Come with me to a lonely impasse in Greece called the Hot Gates. It’s 480 B.C. On the one side is a sheer drop off; the other…