THE WAYFARER SONNETS
Excerpts from prototypes of The Wayfarer Sonnets... The 64 sonnets relating to the 64 hexagrams of the Yi Jing (I Ching)
These Are now published and available as complete sonnets of fourteen lines each with accompaning haikus for the six changing lines of each hexagram... @:
www.lulu.com/pdgart
© - Copyright- 2006
All Rights Reserved by: Patrick D. Goldsmith
The Creative (1)
Change is the only constant in both physics and the Tao,
Mysterious
as what ever was before the Big Bang's sire.
This ceaseless chain of
moments, each in its own now,
Is unfolding everywhere all at once, in
itself entire.
Allowing furthering potential and roiling
creativity,
With energy becoming matter, becoming heat, becoming
light.
These transformations have a force as powerful
activity,
Manifesting everything, whether grandiose or trite.
The
natural growth of reason builds faith in heaven's ways,
So that men of
sage insight recognize life's patterns.
It's clear beings are shaped in
their course of days,
This awareness and its memory becoming what one
learns.
Thus the spark and seed of being is ever just becoming,
In
the dancing whirl and splendor of our universe's thrumming.
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The Receptive (2)
Having sure capacity to fulfill creation's striving and
direction,
She's much more than a fertile amalgam such as our own
earth.
Becoming part and parcel of each life's natural
selection,
She's cradling all potential as the vehicle of
birth.
Being mother's milk and eggs as well as the boundless
sea,
She's open as vast prairies, rich in nutrients and
tillable.
Both the womb and seedbed of all that's yet to be,
She's
nurturing and patient, forever willingly available.
Eternally
transforming verdant bounties from sunlight,
The very essence of what's
needed, no matter the demands.
She's inherently forbearing; she's
depth, width and height
Offering opportunity, the space in which time
expands...
Being a cosmic portal, infinity's welcoming aperture
All
her myriad ways and channels open into the future.
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Difficulty at the Beginning (3)
Seeds will push on past the soil, not to be kept under,
This time
of life that's fresh and new, isn't like most others.
With a will to
feel the sun that's mighty as summer thunder,
For green youth is needy,
having choiceless druthers.
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Youthful Folly (4)
The sweetest purest water begins as a mountain spring.
Gurgling
like an infant, not grasping any notion of fate.
Innocent source of the
new, understanding not one thing,
This fresh beginning hasn't much, and
yet it can not wait.
For water has known direction, its' level to be
reaching,
With the lay of the land as teacher, guiding where to
go.
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Waiting, Nourishment (5)
In a state of natural being, growing from dust to dust,
A flowers'
strength is to abide, awaiting bee or rain.
In the face of harsh
travail, such patience is a must,
As keeping to one's true way, leaves
little else to gain.
A farmer too awaits the rain, and in his turn a
miller,
Whose water powered stone once turned grist to flour.
So our
food gets to dining table far from able tiller,
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Conflict (6)
Some twist all that they hear into what they have been
told,
So wisdom's light is darkened, and our future will seem
grim,
Behind such dangerous characters, narrow minds grow
bold,
Then if a cunning man gains power there's little to
dissuade him.
Yet other unbending determinations have a way to
force a fight,
We have seen that men make history with misery's oft told
story,
Yet transcendence offers us a hope of brotherhood's sweet
glory.
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The Army (7)
If we fight what ought to be fought, our course is hard but
true,
For allowing evil to take hold will bring us much more
pain.
Thus the call: " To arms!" brings forth men who know what to
do,
Letting war loose far or wide in a bid at stemming evil's
reign.
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Holding Together, Union (8)
The mysteries of Pi hold a circle's elegant perfection,
While a
charismatic leader attracts in strange magnetic ways.
Both sentient and
vegetable adapt in a natural selection,
Yet this transformation's
notion has doubters to this day.
While all the waters of the world are
united in a cycle,
Most of this, once rich with fish, vast and deepest
ocean.
Adaptable as change itself, from monsoon to an icicle,
Each
particle transforms its state, constantly in motion.
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The Taming Power of the Small (9)
If grand designs of kings can be undone for want of a nail,
The
worst of such an unraveling is an unwillingness to abide.
So make the
most of circumstance, new outlooks to prevail,
And seek within you for
fault, not for others to deride.
Since it's wise to know some plans
will never go your way,
Remember working on one's habits is not time
ill spent.
Introspection and repose grant a stoic stance for any
fray,
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Treading, Conduct (10)
Because status may be accrued through greed or superstition,
True
class isn't found in wealth but in a dignity of self.
As real worth can
best be seen in deeds, not societal position,
To create a life free of
blame has merit beyond mere pelf.
Religions promise some hereafter
and oh so many saviors,
Making many heavens possible if we tend to our
own behaviors.
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Peace (11)
As a compass showing
direction also puts the mind at ease.
Knowing your place in the world
builds one's self composure,
To realize freedom is much more than doing
just as you please.
Then heaven on earth is possible if all living are
so blessed,
They're in the light of reason humble, in the dark of doubt
at rest.
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Standstill, Stagnation (12)
There comes a time when the backward and ignorant prevail,
Either
due to an election or appointments through the court.
So power falls to
lesser men with constitutions far too frail,
With a horrid lack of
insight, with memory far too short.
That's when those with foresight,
need to bide their time;
Seeking others like themselves, though they
may be hard to find.
Marking
time with the ebb'n'flow of progress' neglected chances;
The better to
see when enlightenment- is noted for its lack.
In this moral vacuum,
some truer values are kept on hold,
As materialistic fools allow
trusted stewardships to be sold.
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Fellowship with Men (13)
Times of brotherhood and union seem to be quite rare;
This is
'cause our leaders have seldom been first rate.
Looking to placate a
power base not to be just or fair,
Instead of building for the future,
they ignore our common fate.
This willful blindness is appalling, and
can not last for long,
For interactions blossom soon, as with a
geomorphic will.
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Possession in Great Measure (14)
If all things come to those who wait, and the meek inherit the
Earth,
Then if pursuing happiness, just wait for what money can't
buy.
As what's unequivocally dear to me, for another holds no
worth,
And for instant gratification, the future's asking price is
high.
Because not all yearning is a search that ends in gold or
vain,
The quest may be to spread wealth, not hold dearly to a
gain.
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Modesty (15)
As years of weather will eventually wear a mountain down,
Filling
up the valleys, reforming distinctions to be plain.
Take control of
your highs and lows; make your heart your own,
Such command of
vicissitudes leaves little else to gain.
This quality of behavior is no artful act
or mere contrivance,
But human traits that harmony embraced to then
enhance.
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Enthusiasm (16)
Leaders seduce with melodic voice to flesh out ranks they're
filling;
Chanting monks reach ecstasy, as teen idols cause girls
to swoon.
Marshall airs stir men up to march and take part in
killing,
So I believe that much gets done compelled by a simple
tune.
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Following (17)
Political leaders find loyalty by confounding the will of their
foes;
Hairdressers retain good favor of those they happily
remodeled.
A bartender's customers return, to a place of
comfortable repose,
So make a speech St.
Crispin's day, to build expectations of glory,
Or relieve fears
you induce yourself to further not truth but story.
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Work on what has been spoiled, (18)
Some ways of being undermine our lives, whether grand or
bland,
As long term needs get short shrift catching pleasures on
the fly.
Trading in values for status we comply with supply and
demand,
Acting on wants commercials induce, revering what
money'll buy.
For stewardship like parenting, provides
trust and protection,
'Cause lives get weeded out not only
through natural selection.
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Approach (19)
Once past winter's darkest day, sunlit hours stretch their
span,
To dawn from dusk night ebbs away until summer solstice's
peak.
Evils also wax and wane in affairs of state as within each
man,
Doors of justice, jobs and perception, these we wish kept
open,
As luck's found in very odd places, so most of us just keep
hopin'.
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Contemplation (20)
It seems that few breezes leave lasting traces,
Unlike a
footprint or monument's claim.
While stoic searchers feel at home
in all places,
Some others seek a firm grasp on power and
fame.
It is not material things that I'm after,
I'd
rather be true, not rich- in others' sight.
Yet even when insight
brings satori and laughter,
My words don't always shed any
light.
Gentle winds drift over fields where I
wander,
Leaving scant sign of a presence behind.
As my
inner life's calm/nature I ponder,
A blameless way of being I
still hope to find.
The wind tenders solace, drying my
eyes.
As walking the Earth offers us each, open skies.
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Biting Through (21)
When societies are ripe to fall, you can see their
leanings;
Hate crimes rise, corporations steal and criminals walk
tall.
Morals, ethics and compassion seem to have lost their
meanings,
Only with penalties certain and just, swiftly applied
with fairness,
Can we claim ourselves to be beings with a higher
awareness.
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Grace (22)
If beauty were true and truth beautiful how easy to see what is
best,
Yet often both ideals are lost to us in an immature wish to
abash.
Still, our world as Eden'll manifest, as desires quiet as
egos rest,
As allure's like a babbling brook, shallow with
sparkle-n-splash.
When content lends form to
expression, empty works won't prevail,
So worry not for any
culture's sake; divine inspiration will not fail.
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Splitting Apart (23)
Before history seemed likely, men lived in fear of
night,
Until that bright triumph of reason made a tool of
fire.
Thwarting nature's darkness, by embracing warmth and
light,
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Return, The Turning Point (24)
Shut down your earthly drives, and up your incessant
talking,
This may lead to quiet thought and deeper
understanding.
Take account of deeds done, and the path you're
walking,
Your trodden steps won't always be on a well known
landing.
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Innocence, the Unexpected (25)
My sense of being one with all has not changed since
birth.
For wise guys can be cocky, claim powers as they
may,
This only goes to show the lack of truth in what they
say.
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The Taming Power of the Great (26)
Whether cyclical or linear, history becomes factual,
The
record of man's behavior, or a tale most tall.
Still, the times
they are achangin' and that is just as usual,
When desperate
times or the best of times come to one and all.
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The Mouth, Nourishment (27)
The mouth is but a portal, yet it bares sacred
significance,
Taking in whatever fuels our many thoughts and
actions.
It also will lend voice to mind, from glib jive to fine
eloquence.
So of food or speech it's up to each, as to our
selections.
Our existence has as resource the substance of most
life forms,
Word finds life in epiphany as energy springs from
sustenance.
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Preponderance of the Great (28)
We see some things in this world are not in just
proportion,
Trouble comes on top of trouble, as when it rains it
pours.
Since we can't rely on others to adjust unjust
distortion,
It's character under pressure that gets us past those
shores.
The bitter strength of steadfast folks has power to
inspire,
While the spoiled haughtiness of "class" ebbs to soon
retire.
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The Abysmal, Water (29)
If the blood is up, rushing mad, and adrenaline driven,
In
tempos of tension so frantic, the mundane can't predict;
This can
lead empty souls to believe they're really livin',
For cruelty
like danger can lure and then addict.
But true character is as a
blade of fine Damascus steel,
As a fearless stance amid peril, is the truest show of
force.
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The Clinging, Fire (30)
The docility of fire's fodder produces all its energy;
Much
like a heart at peace promotes mental agility.
This
transformation of oneself creates a life of synergy,
A spirit forged in love and hope is both flexible and strong,
On a path for enlightened living, unlikely to go wrong.
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Influence, Wooing (31)
Ancient ways were once ritualized with fine resounding
words,
Now lover's roles and comportment don't ask for
consecration.
'Cause doin' what comes natural's not only for bees
and birds,
When the miracle of cosmic bliss is found in
procreation.
So as long as meaning is not forgotten,
desire is most holy,
For steadfast hearts will deny all immature
smarm and drollery.
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Duration (32)
Past and future we may unveil yet the now remains apace,
As
whole mysteries unravel, but life's fabric does not tatter.
Our
planet ever spirals on in a groove of time and space,
Just one of
billions and billions in a web of pulsing matter.
But if anyone is listening, a precious tree may fail to fall...
Most of man's old precepts, enjoy some truth as
told,
Still all things considered, most any patience frays on
hold.
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Retreat (33)
The tallest mountain found as yet is Olympus Mons on
Mars,
But even this stupendous mass can't reach Heaven's
bliss.
For matter is steeped in matter's ways, this is even so of
stars,
While spirit's realm recedes away from all forms of
hubris.
If going forward for an enlightened man is as going
back,
Then leaving off from battle may take strength beyond
attack.
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The Power of the Great 34)
If, (Heaven praised) there comes to us, a time of glory
unimpeded,
Then our earthly works are completed, our inner self's
at peace.
If wants are completely catered to, then only caution
is still needed,
For the tolling bell of
tribulations has a death grip on each ear,
Appealing to our
consciences to spread both wealth and cheer.
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Progress (35)
True partners hold real power beyond their dueling
number,
Granting giant steps in faith's leap past selfish
wants.
Each other's best ways to be, they work to
unincumber,
Creating opportunity's assurances against all that
daunts.
So we ought not to deny many faceted selves room
to fully grow,
They may yet reach equilibrium beyond what we now
know.
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Darkening of the Light (36)
I've seen intelligence shine from the eyes of both man and
beast,
With cognizance shared like heat in a warm campfire's
radiance.
This recognition of spirit has a diamond's glow at
least,
And once lit it's only dimmed through the blight of
ignorance.
As looking and perception have a mind's passages
between,
Only the open minds among us realize what is being
seen.
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The Family (37)
We learn our own humanity, long before our worldly
ways,
Playing roles in our family tree, growing over
time.
Furthering like fathering a well urged need to
strive.
So the beginnings of society stem from love and
care,
Creating opportunities to seek and grow and share.
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Opposition (38)
Our celestial globe spins 'round the sun, tilted pole to
pole,
And now has all the meaning wrung from what's to be or
been.
This spin holds balance tried and trued by space and
time,
So that each and every particle has a reason if not a
rhyme.
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Obstruction (39)
If between steep cliff and ocean, choose some way to be
still.
Seek deep within for a power to make your thinking
clear.
As amid harsh dangers aplenty or meeting men of ill
will,
Inner peace will be the ally to alleviate your
fear.
Problems and dangers become paths for continued
growth
Making possibilities for either and or, to become any and
both.
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Deliverance (40)
Growing like a thunderhead soon to release its
shower,
Tension provokes movement to bring relief at
last.
When the almost of pending action tends to strain each
hour,
As in patient meditation we may find blissful
release,
While on a quest for spiritual calm, we should go in
peace.
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Decrease (41)
Not all loss is a thing to dread, it may hold a gift to
share,
As creating a level field puts the most where there was the
least,
And minimizing base motivation, is to be more man than
beast.
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Increase (42)
If being wealthy is to have some means of change at
hand,
Then the greatest use of this is in generous
altruistism.
So true growth in this world is in filling empty
fonts,
By using what riches we possess to meet the future's
wants.
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Breakthrough (43)
The only faults worth finding, are those that are one's
own,
Since to seek them otherwise is apt to cause some
strife.
The depth of this awareness is a mark of how one's
grown,
And its strength is in committing to an empathetic
life.
Remember introspection's power is in discovering inner
worth,
And reaching the light of pure spirit is in essence a true
rebirth.
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Coming to Meet (44)
One's vigilance to walk a blameless path is as if in a
fight,
So keep your moral bearings with a true heart's steady
pace.
Since the devil's in the details, stay alert to get them
right,
Understanding that harm may show a pretty smiling
face.
As a choice of doors
gives hesitation, know it's still your call,
Your decisions beget
decisions that can mitigate a fall.
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Gathering Together, Massing (45)
Entropy and gravity in timeless tension coexist,
Though one
tends to be chaotic the other to compress.
Once caught in either
tendency it takes power to resist,
So harmony finds a middle way
to ease this cosmic stress.
Our troubles in the world of men seem
paltry thus compared,
We make our offerings and sacrifice, in hopes of future
gain,
As our children, lands or faiths force much to be in
vain.
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Pushing Upward (46)
Some goals become accomplishments as if a granted boon,
Some
through clarity of purpose as in a practiced drill.
Is it fickle
fate or influences drawn upon your moon?
Or is it just the
successful reach of diligence and will?
The swift upward course
of lives may indeed be due,
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Oppression, Exhaustion (47)
While fate can bend a staunch will in acquiescence to it,
The
strength of a righteous soul continues to reflect.
For the nature
of humanity has at core pure spirit,
Which the rest of each being
is only serving to project.
So our Inner Light abides with good humor through
duress,
As the ways of our world include those of a dull
darkness.
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The Well (48)
So many aspects of living shift in meaning or of course,
But
some basic human cares and needs do remain the same.
As not many
folks live too far from a fresh water source,
Thus depth of character is our well to secure and
use,
To keep clear of negativity or influences that confuse.
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Revolution, Molting (49)
As seasons pass they demand of us something new to do,
But participation isn't just a feeling for our hearts to
pick,
It's being part and parcel of other's lives and
cares.
Then giving up or giving in, have connotations of
grandeur,
For only denying the self its tyranny, can we thrive
for sure.
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The Caldron (50)
As Holy men and seers have long known an offering's
significance,
That our things of worldly value we give up to
prove our faith.
The symbolism of sacrifice is in being mindful
of transcendence,
When what's given becomes of equal worth from
royalty or wraith.
For our corporeal state is but a vehicle
in which we carry on,
Each senescent being to its fate, decerning
pro from con.
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The Arousing, Shock (51)
Catastrophic devastation shocks like an awareness of God's
will,
As lingering perceptions fold-up notions of time and
place.
That moment of participation is for years remembered
still,
Momentous and transforming to leave its lasting
trace.
But if consciousness becomes steadfast, terror yields its
draw,
Then our reverent composure leaves only God to
fear.
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Keeping Still, The Mountain (52)
Serenity and peace of mind aren't pursued like happiness,
For
tranquility is most seductive as it tempers crass
activity.
Knowing to every purpose comes its turn for sweet
success,
The time for action will refute the very notion of
pacivity.
Still stoic self composure gives even the weakest souls
repose;
Some mistake this for complacency as in a man of
wealth.
Thus awaiting and remaining calm between times of
action
Is only being sensible while avoiding base
distraction.
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Development, Gradual Progress (53)
Romance isn't practical, yet it can build a relationship,
The
surety of which bespeaks anticipation's sweet delay.
For speedy
haste may force a plan its own reason to outstrip,
So leaving room for change to come, the basics remain
true,
Life has grown from primordial soup to become me and
you.
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The Marrying Maiden (54)
The roller coaster of relationships offers many degrees of
dangers,
And often enough it will crash and burn, it's meaning
torn asunder.
Because we change in different ways, spouses become
strangers,
Even if no fault is found, lovers split through growth
and blunder.
For storms and boredom come and go, like the changing
tide.
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Abundance, Fullness (55)
One blues says, " them that's got shall get", lord ya know its
true.
Still the wealthy change the lives of those they choose to
sponsor.
Allowing some to reach for goals once way beyond their
purview,
Thus power grants the boons and disappoints those out
of favor,
Creating cornucopias of options where loyalty does not
quaver.
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The Wanderer (56)
Out in the world, on one's own, is a marvel for feeling
free,
A delight bestowed upon the traveler like flying in a
dream.
Like fire on a mountainside will expose the lay of
the land,
We delve into far-flung cultures, our commonality to
understand.
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The Gentle, Wind (57)
Some men conduct themselves as if their wills were
sacrosanct,
Yet winds of change hold tempests, that even seers
can not soothe.
Many a dream has gone belly-up; many an
enterprise has tanked,
For getting is not keeping if trying a
strong wind's tooth.
So beware if ego craves result, or pride may
lead you to regret,
For constancy's application
builds on belief's observance,
To give steadfast morals a
direction and spiritual endurance.
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The Joyous, Lake (58)
Against travails or our idiocy, its on friends we lean or
count,
For they remind us where to find life's contentment day to
day.
Nothing will transpire that hope's solace can't
surmount,
Something pleasure can't exaggerate, is a loved one's
easy way.
Sharing heartfelt emotions brings us closer to our
friends,
Keeping cool in arguments, our better selves are
seen.
That with trust and camaraderie any anger accrues
amends,
This cohesion bestows joyousness dispelling all that's
mean.
Causing this world's confabulations to entice and to
charm,
Effecting even the grumpiest so that they can't stay
miffed.
Always people have gathered, and so remain marvelously
warm,
Never expecting extraordinary times, yet we share them as a
gift.
Those heights of emphatic glee are thus doubled-up and
paired;
These depths of pleasure are as Lake Bykal's if our mirth
is shared.
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Dispersion, Dissolution (59)
Thus walls of water from across the sea, with the
clouds do meld.
These scudding clouds are borne inland to
disperse or coalesce,
And if gathered to fullness, gravity drops
'em like the sky's bereft,
Since gravitons and photons carry both
weight and lightness,
Reductionism in molecules, I can see as a
theory with some heft.
But prurient fingers calculate and dispel
this magical innocence,
Giving me pause to reflect on what joy is
in Aha!'s exuberance.
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Limitation (60)
We watch improbabilities pass expectation's borrowed
dream,
While the possible extends all boundaries with no end of
range.
For both will and fate hold sway, and have a claim on
course.
Which brings us to understand why youth is esteemed
dear,
As these fleeting aspects have a grip yet can't be kept in
hand,
When the callow feel immortal, which the jaded can barely
stand.
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Inner Truth (61)
Is it the spirit of life that quickens within an egg?
Or does
this spark grow inherently from joining with a sperm?
Questions
and speculations are pried into, as a safe is by a yegg,
While
only those mysteries thus probed- become learning's germ.
If your answers are dogmatic, then your mind's not open,
And if you ask no questions, your ideas may be a weapon.
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Preponderance of the Small (62)
Just try getting anywhere, on your inner life's
achievement,
When pride takes greed and pomposity to replace
thrift and honor.
Now that showy ceremony supplants grief to show
bereavement,
There is no escaping crassness, not even when you're
a goner!
Self-control and inner worth are often
found in the same person,
And the lack thereof surely manifests
as the devil's own diversion.
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After Completion (63)
Water being boiled hard may dissipate to naught,
Or by
boiling over, put out the flames below.
When watching seems
forever, opportunities aren't caught,
So if nothing's to be
wasted we must watch and take it slow.
Self-satisfaction tenders a path for
an enemy to climb.
Even civilizations will crest only to then
dissipate,
For life is full of the marvelous that all succumbs to
fate.
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Before Completion (64)
Bold turnings of the season are more than a changing sky;
The
way of the world is layers deep and hard to understand.
In
Chinese lore the fox is more than merely quick and sly,
Its
wisdom is born of caution and knowledge of the land.
So during these our transitions,
under a blazing sun,
Our manner of proceeding is crucial, as how
we have begun.
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