The Goal And The Failure

 

The human spirit is such a fragile instrument 

of nature so readily succumbing to the passion

of emotions from which rational judgement flees

knowing there can be no cerebral intervention

possible  to contain either of the elemental 

emotions near yet so far from the echo chamber

of love and hate. The angels of our better natures 

sit by dejectedly in the stifling atmosphere of 

suspicion, victimhood and hatred giving birth

to threats and violations of humanity's most

coveted prize; to love and be loved. Perhaps they 

are able to parse the moods and emotions that

drive particular elements of the social order to 

fray its edges spreading rumour and innuendo in

a concerted regime of devaluing and slandering

the vulnerable, in the process finding satisfaction 

in the dark dungeon of hatred. A mystery to those

who seek the light, attuned to the sweet fragrance

of love given and returned completing a life

cycle of certain value, leaving the haters to 

discover their purpose in the venom that courses

through their meaningless lives in the process

irredeemably corrupting the legendary holy

grail of poets and lovers of a life well lived.

 

 

Waiting...Waiting...

They are old and they are tired, pale

passive and listless. Waiting, they wait

to hear their names called. First names 

only, called by attendants young enough

to be their grandchildren. There is no

formality, no dignity offered the elderly

merely faceless patients awaiting judgement.

The kind of diagnosis and analysis of

blood tests that will affirm or deny their

few years left and possibly many among

them are prepared to finally leave though

they feel an obligation to life to endure.

They sit in waiting rooms, waiting. It is

not they who scan iphones and play games

as they wait. They look inward and scan

their memories of times and events and

people long passed. For them there is no

diversion from tedium nor do they care

although they do vaguely deplore the

messages posted along endless corridors

and waiting rooms in various hospital

departments advising patients to kindly

be patient and while waiting please refrain

from abusing the staff, or one another.

Implacable God of the Desert

Origins in lands of scarcity with heat, sand

and a hot desert sun in abundance the search

for substance and sustenance and survival  

creates rivalry with tribal customs of harsh

and unforgiving solutions of conflict and death

and to the victor go the spoils of contested

place and the meagre resources of survival

leading to a primitive genetic memory dredged

from the deep recesses of autonomic recall.

The heritage of fierce, unrelenting violence

quiescent when unneeded rises rampant with

the threat of rivalry extended to a religious

devotion to the sacred concept of a God whose

word is law brooking no amity for any whose

religion is other than that of the desert. In a

gross generosity of spirit the 'other' accepts

within its geography the presence of those

faithful to the concept of jihad, quietly and

cunningly assessing prospects, gaining in their

numbers, tutoring their offspring to value and

glory in the prospect of achieving the ultimate

goal of martyrdom in search of mass conquest.

 

 

Death Fixation

It is a certifiably strange delusion that

motivates people in the ecstatic belief

that they have been blessed when they

plot the murder of perfect strangers in a

paroxysm of religious fervour that will

grant them the status of martyrdom when

they join the pantheon of others similarly

deluded by a religion that promotes mass

murder and the glories inherent in becoming

the catalyst of chaos and destruction while

its faithful extol it as the only gateway to

paradise as a religion of peace and love. It

is of course feasible that were the aspirants

to the celebrated status of the heroic by

demonstrating that life is expendable in the

greater interests of pleasing God not have

had their cerebral functioning hampered by

indoctrination of hatred they might have

balked at committing rape, mutilation and

slaughter of children, women, the elderly

and any who bear the distinguishing mark 

of a true religion of peace. Alas the allure

of a non-consensual death pact leading to the

status of martyr is not to be denied. And why

should such a heartfelt desire not be fulfilled

far more directly from intent to prosecution

the intermediate focus of the sacred ritual

set aside since the victim chooses to withhold

surrender of existence but is willing to

accommodate the assassin-celebrant's fervid

attachment to achieve holy martyrdom.