Kevin's Watch

The Goal of Man (1986)
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From Winter
I jumped through the universe
to hundreds of inhabited planets

Understanding the engrams
(yet still there was doubt)
I had to face the truth that the human mind is unlimited
and the prospect was frightening

All and all
I came so close yet Earth eluded me
The Milky Way's seas of serenity, it's islands of madness

Of stars and planets
their warmth and their security
none may abide alone too long in schizophrenic Pleiades

Space

It is impossible to be jealous
of a woman with her own free-will
yet the depths of your heart-fires attracted me
and I cried as I drew near

Place

Of lovers and friends
their warmth and their security
my resolve toughened but failed to rise

No matter where I traveled
I still walked around as if in a dream
on this isolated bubble-the Midway's chaos this side of the sideshow

Man: tapped his inner strength
searching everywhere for themselves
and had to decide

There was always something greater
something they could never touch
words come back to haunt man

It's something I recognize in silent conversations
something that maneuvers but doesn't interfere
something I never talk about

God: arose from the flames of Hell
imploded by man's ignorance
what epidermis?
the atmosphere's thin shell?
space, the stars and the universe

God, ascending to the other plane
stunted the Ice Age
sealing this tiny terrarium in transformation
about a warmth, a star: the Sun
Oh! science can explain where we are in technical terms...

...we can only be amazed we remain where we do
natural interdependencies
defined by physical properties
held in place by invisible holy intricacies
there is a problem in this isolated bubble

We: centered on God's immanence
centered on our own needs
and took no notice as his son shook his head
Cast adrift in the midst of God's "perceived" disappearance
a few did, however, and discovered themselves

If we arrive anywhere as a species it will be due the few
who believed in this miracle: man

We don't realize we're being taught a lesson in focus
with the aid of unseen hands
a child is helped to walk and talk
but it is up to the child to understand

We are constantly fed new points of reference
and their nexus is the goal of man
the child has been weaned
the playground fights are over
sometimes it's hard to distinguish a gun from a handshake...

...danlo

Wonderful, Danlo! Thank you for the holiday gift to the Watch!

It is impossible to be jealous
of a woman with her own free-will
yet the depths of your heart-fires attracted me
and I cried as I drew near.

I've got to memorize that part!

U do realize that I am refering 2 Gaia & a human woman, simultaneously in those lines, right?

You are a very deep and gifted man!

sometimes it's hard to distinguish a gun from a handshake...

that can be very true - especially in today's world.

Nice work Danlo!

Very nice danlo You wrote that back in '86?

Those were different days - the last of the great decades. I'm not too sure if I will be able to track down all the stuff I wrote in the 80's - I had heaps of it (probably ALL bad) but that never stopped me

Poetry is a difficult thing for me. I often have no idea what's being said. And I never much cared until Robin Williams said, "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. Now medicine, law, business, engineering; these are noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love--these are what we stay alive for." Being a weak area for me, I always thought it was read and written because it's cute. I very much wish it wasn't a weak area for me.

So, danlo, that being said, for what it's worth, I like your poem a lot. Maybe a few more readings will reveal more of the depth that I am already able to see there.

You need to ask yourself this as well: "am I also talking about the Pleadies as well--they are called the Seven Sisters, you know--so am I refering to them as a collective female "spirit" or am I falling in love w/one star in particular?"

Thanks guys! **humbled**

Danlo.... excellent, excellent poem. i believe Pleadies is also used to reference a gifted group of people, which we obviously have here.

understanding the engrams... mirror on mirrors.

epidermis and earth's crust... thin, illusory boundaries...

overall, i see a great argument for secular humanism through a naturalist point of view, and i'm digging it.

Lao Tzu is smiling in his particular slice of heaven!
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Indeed, as Vain indicated, going through your old stuff 2 find anything that looks 1/2way decent is a miracle in itself. I am going through that laborius and painful task at this moment. My goal is 2 reach 20 some such by March. Ressurecting this stuff is not only hard work, but can be very emotional and very inspiring at the same time. If you care to view the rest of this work in progress, go 2:pub40.ezboard.com/fahirashangarfrm22.sh ... ID=4.topic

I would highly recomend following that link! Danlo has some wonderful stuff posted there! And its a great website, besides.

and a lot more poetry .. yes it is food for thought!

This is my favourite line!! Incredibly profound!!

I had to face the truth that the human mind is unlimited
and the prospect was frightening

bump, just 4 the helluvit!

You bump to your heart's content Lord Danlo. I love this poem, even if I know that I have not yet gotten to all of the levels of meaning in it.

bump for Clear, Furls and others

well as I had read the other stuff .. i read this page again .. and i realised that on my first reading i really didnt process this work or really pay it sufficient regard. However having read those other works you have bumped .. i can see this poem more deeply .. and appreciate it more fully .. and so i have highlighted my fav bits lucky

danlo wrote:The Goal of Man (1986)
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God: arose from the flames of Hell
imploded by man's ignorance
what epidremis?
the atmosphere's thin shell?
space, the stars and the universe

God, ascending to the other plane
stunted the Ice Age
sealing this tiny terrarium in transformation
about a warmth, a star: the Sun
Oh! science can explain where we are in technical terms...

...we can only be amazed we remain where we do
natural interdependancies
defined by physical properties
held in place by invisble holy intracasies
there is a problem in this isolated bubble

We: centered on God's immanance
centered on our own needs
and took no notice as his son shook his head
Cast adrift in the midth of God's "precieved" disappearance
a few did, however, and discovered themselves

If we arrive anywhere as a species it will be due the few
who believed in this miracle: man

We don't realize we're being taught a lesson in focus
with the aid of unseen hands
a child is helped to walk and talk
but it is up to the child to understand

interesting exploration of mans spiritual relationship with God and our personal responsibility to take what we have been given and use it to further that spiritual journey or not

We are constanly fed new points of reference
and their nexus is the goal of man

I love that line!

the child has been weaned
the playground fights are over
sometimes it's hard to distinguish a gun from a handshake

...

this last line i dont get in the context all the poem as a whole .. but it is powerful and irrefutably perceptively true

is it that we cant trust each other .. once our formative years have reached their conclusion and we are spiritually alone .. and must walk alone in a world where trust is not so easily found?

...danlo

bump--for the hell of it! How do these poor little threads survive in the shadow of the awesome S. C. McKinney and the Glorious Passing topics?

They don't. Apart from those two threads, the rest of this forum is horribly neglected.
(Edit - by the KW members, I mean - people just don't post here)

umm, not sure how to respond. Just know, that was never my intent... I'm sorry Should I stop?

Beautiful poem danlo. It's awesome. We are all miracles. I love everything I've read of yours. Thank you for bumping this up.

don't be sorry-I sorta wish those beautiful topics had their own forum-I'm just trying to drum up a little interest in the rest of this forum.


sometimes it's hard to distinguish a gun from a handshake-Sky wrote that she was a little puzzled by this line. Of course there is more than one meaning, but the simplest way of looking at it is to listen to Wild World by Cat Stevens