The Diplomatic Mission Reconstrued

In its zeal to revolutionize the world order

in the greater interests of global harmony

in recognition of the harms of splitism

the Chinese Communist Party has unveiled

a brilliant new strategy of reaching out to

its governmental peers by dispatching

diplomats schooled as a new breed defending

Beijing's aspirational ideals for global

supremacy illustrating their agile capability

in fending off slurs implied and explicit

damning a human rights record reflective of

medievalism with no civil constraints against

a wicked horde of nations for whom that old

restraint 'don't shoot the messenger' has gained

them an alternative, of assigned diplomats

excelling in shooting their targets in withering 

scorn showering heads of state with contempt

as they get on with the business of China's

mission to make friends and influence abroad.

Hailing Death

 

It's true, aging is an incurable disease and death 

a pathogen from which there is no escape. 

Nature had no intention in designing age and death 

with malicious intent for humanity but rather 

as a universal type of house-cleaning to make way 

for bright new generations. Still, with age there 

is no especial need to log off the intelligence scale 

and close down mindfulness as one might infer 

is occurring when the aged demographic during 

this time of a global pandemic fail to notice 

that the dread pathogen makes a beeline for their 

interiors wherein to comfortably settle in and 

replicate in the process inadvertently killing hosts.

It begs belief that health agencies and governments

alike must resort to pleading with the elderly to

convince them to proffer bare arms to receive

a life-sustaining inoculation -- unless, of course

those languid minds are fixated on greeting death.

 

 

Caution: Racist Predators!

Picture yourself in a New York City subway car. 

It is not crowded, there are many other passengers

mostly young men. Suddenly a volcanic eruption of 

violence as a young Black man pounces on an

elderly Asian man with a backpack, quietly seated

holding a brand shopping bag. The attacker pounds 

and fists his victim repeatedly who fights back

still clasping his bag. It is clear the victim is no match

for the vicious strikes denting his frail armour

yet he resists until the attacker has his head locked 

in a stranglehold, arms tight about his neck

and he collapses. Around the two locked in combat

others seated nearby cluster from a safe distance

watching, mesmerized, frightened, traumatized

and do nothing as the deadly assault ends with

the attacker triumphantly clasping the bag, looking 

at no one, exiting the car as it reaches a stop

his express racist goal successfully achieved.

 

 

Ambushed

Whoah! Let's stop right there. This is

a game I am definitely not equipped

nor adequately invested in playing

so over to you, the winner. I never

set out to be conspicuously virtuous

so I'm no match for you or your 

colleagues who obviously know all

the subtle variants of signalling just how

superior you are in your righteous

support of all these disadvantaged members

of society who have been victimized

traditionally and now play the upper hand

in accusing any outside their circles of pain

of gross inhumanity whose only solution

is to beg their forgiveness on bended knee

and lowered forehead taking onto themselves

the blame for thoughts and actions they

had never committed nor even gave thought

to as they went about their ordinary lives

noticing yet not taking notice of the slow

creep of social change that would scoop them

into a wide net dredging up the social

malefactors of an aggrieved world of 

fed-up and unforgiving sinned-against. 

Champions of Religious Devotion

 

Oh dear, the furious righteousness

of those wedded to a fixed notion

that their raging religious conviction

must perforce be shared by others else

wither in the scorn of their derisive

accusations of feeble-mindedness

in rejection of the sacredness of

historical antecedents. The very bruised

psyches that rail against the injustice

of racist maledictions against a proud

people believe themselves champions

of justice and human rights yet will not

hesitate to condemn others committed

to equality and fairness in human interaction

in recriminations fueled by their very own

sanctimonious brand of bigotry.

 

 

Raw Instinct Meets Cerebral Solution

 

Approach with reverence and awe for 

it is indeed the holiest of grails for life

itself depends on the rare substance

promising rescue from the beast of 

ravenous appetite impelled by the very

nature of its mysterious being to

outlast and outlive its targets by all means

available to nature's creatures through

perseverance in the face of the frantic efforts 

of its victims to surmount its deadly threat.

It remains to be realized which of the

antagonists will succeed in outwitting 

the other, the beast reliant on mutating

or the human whose prodigious cerebral

function designs an antidote to endure.

One the product of unreasoning drive to

multiply and survive, the other dependent

on replicating nature's design to disarm the

threat and live to face another and another.

  

Rites of Spring

Their return flight's echelon signals spring's arrival

communal calls those of comradeship and triumph 

in reverse migration as one formation of geese follows 

another heralding the season. Returned robins' distinct

murmuring rustling as they settle for the night, the

lilting melody of song sparrows and looping flight of 

warblers, the wing-beating hovering of hummingbirds 

record yet again the timeless rituals of spring's arrival. 

Early morning a musical tumult of birdsong, cardinals

perch high on tree crowns' bare tops to trill a paeon to 

the season. At night deep resonating calls of owls echo

from the forest. Moderating weather bring crows mobbing 

in avian exultation. The forest stretches its winter-weary 

limbs as frost seeps from the hardened forest floor and 

sap begins to rise even before the hillsides release their 

pack of snow and ice and torrential snowmelt tumbles 

into the swelling forest creek. Nocturnal forest creatures 

from coyote predators to foxes, raccoons and squirrels

endured another winter preparing to welcome spring.

 

Evolutionary Biology

Because nature created us as complex creatures 

endowed with challenging brains and a deep sense 

of curiosity whose minds are deeply involved in

the primary search for answers to existence we

make use of those extraordinary properties to

delve deeply into the mysteries of life and the

cosmos to more fully understand the mechanics of

the vastness of the universe. Scientists whose

cerebral genius has been capable of imagining

the clockwork function of something where there

was nothing in an ever-expanding, endless space

hosting uncountable numbers of celestial bodies

and the mysteries of how lifeforms emerged amongst 

the chaos of fire and brimstone, chemicals, gases

fundamentals of space, time and energy we consider

ourselves 'man the wise' with power over lesser lifeforms.

But nature also devised other creatures in which she

instilled blind survival, the primary motivation of life.

Among them creations with no to possess brains

whose duty to self is merely and solely survival through

rapid replication, numbers of which have the potential 

to overwhelm the genius of thought and exploration.

Microscopic creatures whose blind destiny is fulfilled

through destroying their involuntary human hosts.

Being Jewish in a Kosher Supermarket

Quick now! Can you guess what could set shoppers 

in a supermarket apart from the commonplace? 

How about if they're Jews shopping at a kosher market? 

Extraordinary it is not. After all Jews have been around 

a long time and so have kosher supermarkets. They're

like anyone else in any society and so are the places 

they shop at. What distinguishes them is that identifying 

word 'kosher' linked with Judaism. Easy hunting grounds 

for anyone with a distorted agenda of serving their faith 

since Jews have no interest in any faith beyond their own. 

Which is no protection whatever when an armed Islamist

bursts into a supermarket with a specific purpose: to kill 

as many innocent people as possible. Of course the killer

doesn't set out to kill innocent people; it's Jews he's after.

If supermarkets aren't a target then Jewish schools

and community centres, synagogues and museums

will do. Take your pick goes the invitation to martyr

themselves for the greater glory of Islam. Some do 

and some among the deranged prefer to proffer the 

involuntary martyrdom of their victims as a satisfactory 

alternative. We know they're deranged because their 

defense and/or families plead the case of sad mental 

imbalance steering the terrorists among us to the 

choice solution of eliminating Jewish existence.

What If, In Dreams....

 

What if ... we are not alone in the sense of

considering ourselves individuals. Consider

the possibilities of twinning with a spirit.

You the corporeal essence, the other imbued

with mind and thought acting as mentor and

guide from birth to death. Indirect communication

during times of least awareness. Asleep, the 

brain ostensibly at rest but in tandem to the

suggestions urged upon it by its superior. Message

delivered, our waking brain teased by a nebulous

memory busy with interpretation urging action.

Independent thought and action activated by a

subconscious tutor seated deep within plying its

schematic of human direction as would a god

its faithful followers. Not all who hear that inner

voice take heed in preference to their own active

autonomy. Among them those flaunting the traits

of humanity's dismal discharge of flawed exploits.

Inheritance

Are they skills and coercive techniques or

perhaps inherited traits, those of poise and drama

a certain glamour and projection of exquisite

timing and mystique; perhaps both. And of

course accompanying the elegance and those

finally chiseled delicate features an innate

sense of entitlement to be viewed as exceptional

a personage for the ages set high on a pedestal

so that those lacking the strengths of such

attributes may venerate those whose genetic

endowment casually invests them with all those

sought-after graces. Companion to which is the

need to be seen and admired such that the sadly

untalented seek to portray themselves in the image

of the divine original. The ego that demands its

public due dines off plaudits lavished upon it yet

never is it satiated. When the volume of acclaim

decelerates the idol accuses the arbiters of social

media of assailing the dignity of their privacy

bewailing unwanted intrusion into the intimate

details of a life whose style is to flaunt the flair 

of iconic public revelations without inhibition or

hesitation. Poor souls whose status of personality

and gifts at birth the good fairy of Fortune has

lavished upon them, condemning them to a dreary

existence of showmanship, adulation and misery.

 

 

Welcoming Spring

That electrifying trill? Why it's a cardinal

singing out its soul in a paeon to spring.

You may have forgotten this to be the first

day of spring in nature's endless ritualistic

arrival of the seasons, but her wild creatures

are aware and jubilantly celebrating. Look

there he is, see that brilliant red caressed by

the sun in the blue ocean of sky this morning?

Look up, up, higher to the crown of that red

maple which months ago released its foliage

to winter. The throbbing throat of the cardinal

sends its ineffable gift aloft and the echoes

reverberate here where we stand, mesmerized

with admiration as witness to nature's miracles.

 

 

Defender of the Faith

That's the point at which, for skeptics who may be 

aware, when it becomes a philosophical question 

whether the situation evolved long after the fact to his 

benefit,was it cunningly contrived or happenstance?

During the prosecution and trial of the terror cabal

it was known he received a handsome remuneration

for infiltrating the group and conveying their plot

back to the authorities in an apprehended terrorist

action to target government agencies along with the

head of government. Yet it was his undercover work

that provided the fuel of evidence for investigators.

Now years later he is a respected academic his specialty

an inside track on Islamist fundamentalists for whom

murder, mayhem and instability is a badge of honour

as he reaps double benefit then and now; the payout

followed by the equally earned professionalism aided

by the sanctimony of self-sacrifice to an unpopular

choice all in the interests of justice, peace and security

and above all, restoring popular trust in Islamic faith.

Is the depth of conviction to be measured in terms of

defence of the divine or merely pedestrian opportunism? 

It is Jane or James?

Haven't you heard? There are no biological

certainties that a willful imagination cannot

surmount. Envy of gender in the fanciful minds 

of children who once routinely wondered what 

being the other might be like in the world of pretend 

now sees those same youth -- your daughter who is 

now he, your son now named Heidi -- of succeeding 

generations wonder no longer for their yearning 

to be other than what they are now has resonance 

in the sounding board of some adults' memories 

echoing that 'what if' that faded with time. Now it is 

those parents dismayed at their child's rebellious 

gender role misalignment who grieve that teachers

physicians and the courts speak of 'birth assignment' 

and 'gender dysphoria' yanking parental discipline and

privilege from the family home to the court system

and the jury of  the wide public disavowing the very 

notion of permanence in sex-at-birth. Hello dysfunction

goodbye the trials and errors of child rearing and the 

timely relief of eventual rescue in adult maturity.

Do You Know Who I Am?

In the hallowed world of celebrity where the Chosen 

are social arbiter, high priest/ess and life-guide, those 

whose profundities of their very own special truth so

sacred no questions need be asked for authentication for 

there can be no doubt expressed, their most sincere grasp

of the dignity of self and perceptions beyond the ken 

of those mere mortals who swear allegiance to the

glittering royalty of their alternative reality. This is the 

world where the passions of victimhood are crowned with

a penumbra of sacred trust when they passionately speak 

of their frailties and sensitivities tugging at heartstrings 

relinquishing the guise however temporarily of power 

in the interests of evoking compassion paired with outrage 

against transgressives inciting the faithful to accuse the 

spuriously named revealed with the dark aura of Truth. 

Those existing outside the golden circle of celebrity 

wokeness need not apply for empathy much less point 

out the utter absurdity of acrimonious claims they are 

guilty of the cardinal sin of withholding adoration of 

the Chosen whose arch displays of grace, beauty and 

wisdom evoke disinterest, leaving the thespian spurned 

and dangerously spiteful. The opportunity to extend 

the gallery of attendance in claims grave enough to shock 

that wide audience of royal-watchers and celebrities alike 

while plaintively afterward accusing the accused of 

failing to fall to their wounded knees in penance

finally recognizing the spirit of exalted presence, the

oversight condemning them to the status of nonentities. 

Another Dark Night

 

Home -- tender belonging, security, comfort

warmth of emotions, the embrace of another.

The subconscious child dwelling deep in

memory and beyond waking recall

walks at night, lost, fearful and alone 

surrounded by faceless strangers in an

unknown landscape of streets and traffic

familiar enough to urge the lost child to

step forward, another and another until

the pace becomes swift even while nothing

changes to move the landscape any closer to

home and a desperation engulfs the child

weeping and confused as everything melts

into unfamiliarity and no one cares, all

surroundings stark with forbidding people

deliberately oblivious, a personal plight of

no concern. The nightmare ends suddenly

and you are awake feeling desolate and yet

forgetful and life resumes. Until another night

of restless searching culminating in that same

despair, a dream with a beginning and no end.

The Conceit of Glamour

Nature bestowed many emotions on her

creatures among them vanity deemed by

her godly critics an iniquitous vice to be

avoided in pursuit of finer qualities. Yet the

Peacock and the Bird of Paradise flaunt their

peerless beauty in a glory of coloured plumage

to universal admiration. Oriental sages and

emperors alike and their concubines cherished

rapier-length fingernails as a symbol of their

status; sagacity, position and beauty all

treasured, coveted and rare. The message not

lost that their lofty status exempted them from

raw manual labour. That ethos lingers through

the ages to the present where the rare assumes

rude status in popular culture wherein the trivial

reigns supreme and those portraying themselves

as rapper 'artists' with sloe eyes, bronze skin

and gleaming smiles attest to their status as

icons of popular acclaim manifested in the allure

of their presence through the cultivation of fingernails

so outgrown as to make it impossible to manage

pedestrian use of their immaculate hands, a willing

and telling sacrifice to the conceit of glamour.

By Reason of Insanity

Quick! What's the common thread that binds 

politicians, celebrities, terrorists and common criminals 

together in a double-bind mea culpa of nicht shuldig? 

That irrational rationale lawyers confront juries with 

even as critics of erring politics and faux pas of 

irredeemable damage excuse the inexcusable? If you 

guessed mental health issues you've become a student

of vulgar human nature. Congratulations. Unless that is 

you come by your answer through that most personal 

of byways having yourself had the occasion to plead 

temporary mental health breakdown in defence of a 

lesser or major crime or misstep. From members of 

royalty to prime ministers, racist terrorists to serial 

murderers the banner of not criminally responsible 

due to mental health breakdowns whereby the rapist

the embezzler, the priest and the filicide alike call for

compassion for a mental state not entirely their own. 

And the world community, chastised for empathy's lack 

in mental illness permeating society nods in sympathy

returning an obediently populist not-guilty verdict. 

A Plague on Your Unctuous Servility!

Oh, come now -- might we be overdoing contrition 

just a wee bit now? Of course it's the temper of the 

times and we speak here of two tempers; one the sad 

and sorry surrender of those whose forbears were 

aggressive colonizers for whose malfeasances they 

now pay the self-offered toll and the temper of viral 

aggression of the transgressed for whom no sincere if 

misplaced efforts to ingratiate themselves with that anger 

is sufficient to temper it. For once aroused there is no 

appeasing the beast of aggrievement and victimhood

hoary though it may be. Yes of course the Black 

community has suffered countless outrages, indignities 

and violence past and present as have other minorities. 

What is past is past and what portends for the future will 

not be advanced by substituting black smiling faces 

in every advertisement ever paid for by servile simpering 

corporations virtuously signalling how committed they are 

to equality while obsessing on about their detestation of 

their unfortunate white heritage. Rest assured they have 

learned their lesson. Catering to Black Privilege is the 

cause celebre of the day embarrassing some self-respecting

Blacks infuriating others while it slips the notice of all

concerned that Black Lives Matter but not by Blacks.

Objurgating Nature

 

The Universe at the fingertips of her

command, none are more powerful

while known to be tempestuous and

indifferent she too may on occasion

seek out an occasional mood-lightening

mischief as relief from the consummate

ardour involved in caring for nothing

but creating everything in lock-step

with her eternal regulation. She may

from time to time indulge in confusing

little scenarios simply to gauge reaction

of her creations and if in a matter of mere

hours she orders her elements to produce

sun and warmth then veer to wild winds

accompanying icy sleet for amusement

then raises an eyebrow over her servants'

penchant for stupefying malfeasance to

discomfit Earth's creatures, who cares?

Nature's Marvels

 

A microscopic pathogen on the hunt.

A stranger in our midst whom we do all 

we can to avoid. A cunning organism with 

many surprises in store for unwary humanity. 

A raptor with no respect for intimate spaces. 

It lies in wait to grasp its opportunities. A 

lowly life form designed to replicate itself 

endlessly and on occasion mutate the better 

to surprise its victims with its tenacity. A

surprisingly libertarian sentiment expressed

in a predator that makes no distinction

between the bodies it inhabits, all grist

for its insatiable mill. Like all terrorists it

lurks everywhere and then strikes. A world

traveller of great notoriety whose reputation

strikes fear in the minds of the unprepared.

On assignment as death's dedicated emissary.

The Benign Redeemer

Such an abundance of gifts the world has been

granted courtesy of the country aspiring to make

friends and influence nations of its good intentions

as a saviour-host to all, gravely investing in

countless initiatives to make the world a smaller space 

where all its inhabitants can enjoy the grace of 

harmony among nations and none would wish to 

split away from their great and good benefactor. 

A nation like no other in its spirit of enterprise

and its overweening mission to save us all 

from ourselves resolving to teach the virtues of 

codependency and trust unleashing on an unwary 

world a vicious scourge, a pestilence so viral 

it has shut down all normal and routine vestiges 

of society, wealth, health and hope. But fear not

for this hungry viral predator that has rid the 

world of millions in its pathogenic wake as it

ravages nation after nation will see an end as soon 

as the  hostage world recognizes and redeems itself 

in allegiance to the anointed nation and its cautionary 

tale of reprisal against all seeking to defame it.

 

 

Tongue of the Serpent

 

Vipers with their deadly tongues and venomous 

intent come in many colours, expert at character

camouflage. Their presence excites great interest 

when they appear as young, vibrantly glamorous

lithe and beautiful turning the heads of those whose 

egocentric psyches reach out to beauty and the 

self-confidence of the beguiling ingenue conniving

to link their futures where he of weak will

accedes to her passion for celebrity at the highest 

echelons of aristocracy. Eager to join a royal house 

if only to destroy its serenity posing as the victim

of ill will and racist iniquity. Empathy comes to those 

who cunningly exploit the kindness of others 

portraying themselves ill-done-by while persuading 

the scion to join her in malicious slander harming

his own. Not averse to using their child in a stratagem 

of affliction and betrayal through the flickering tongue 

of the serpent seeking notoriety, fame and wealth.

 

 

Let Me Count The Ways

How facile are these Hallmark moments 

of solemn attention to the role of women 

in society inciting smug satisfaction to erupt

as world wide a sense of complacency

and worship of the moment exalts women

everywhere for their strength, endurance

capability, wisdom, resolute adherence to

the role that nature assigned them in rearing

new generations has heads bobbing in full

agreement: women's role in all measures of

life and society is matchless in its profound

importance. After all, it is the United Nations

itself that issued the proclamation that henceforth

this date would be set aside for the veneration

of womankind. This is, of course the world body

which sees no dissonance in elevating the most

egregious misogynistic societies to chair committees

designated to oversee the global progress in

women's rights. As authentically sincere a nod

to womanhood as the dedication of this day.

The Primal Experiment

 

 Still wondering about the meaning

of life, are you? This JUST IN ---

The Planet You Are Inhabiting is an

Experiment and You are Its Subject.

In brief, this world is a laboratory designed

by a clever hand whose curiosity it piques

and for whom time is no essence

awaiting answers to the creative impulse.

So far over time and endless space no

solutions have arisen to the dilemma

that has always focused the human mind.

And the human mind is the crux of this

experiment. Consider this: parrots and

tortoises, sea urchins and jellyfish, clams

whales and sharks enjoy longer lifespans

than the creature designed with the most

complex brain capable of deciphering and

emulating many mysteries of existence

but not its own longevity. Patience is the

virtue of the creatrix whose architecture

this all is, awaiting humankind's discovery 

solving cell senescence, old age and death.

You're Blocked!

 

Suffer fools gladly? Who would!

Well, you would and you did

fearing lest you offend out of an

excess of civil and social politesse

believing it incumbent on you

as a member of civil society

anxious to present as one aware of

social niceties. And, to be absolutely

upfront, fearful of losing 'friends'

by revealing directly just how you feel

on topics controversial but which a

rational mind (such as yours)

might readily interpret yet remain

silent when yours is the only 

dissenting voice. How relieving it is

now that the sense of guilt has worn

to confront the ether with a contrived

name and an assaultive 'voice' that

social media platforms permit to 

challenge your views through sheer

excess of vitriol, so easily now

disposed of through the 'blocked!'

tool of liberation, hosannah!

 

A Marvle of Viper's Spite

And why would she be amused?

Discreet personal behaviour

as befitting a Royal benefits both

the holder of the title and the public

served. She has herself been a paragon

of dedication to the office she holds as

head of state in a monarchic democracy

beloved by her people on that

Sceptered Isle with its pride in tradition

and huge affection for her guidance

as a symbol of vanished empire. 

Fate, alas beyond her control has 

frequently dropped by to shatter the

calm exterior exposing a family like

any other and like any other never

impervious to the emergence among

them of a viperous spirit of ill intent

spurning the values of family to indulge 

in the contempt of lese majeste 

abdicating the onerous duties that

accompany royalty in a fit of spite

so unbecoming the victim portrayed.

 

Language Introspection

 

Examine Language; what, if you except some few primitive elements (of natural sound) what is it all but Metaphors, recognized as such, or no longer recognized? Carlyle.

All slang is metaphor, and all metaphor is poetry. G. K. Chesterton.

I hate to hunt down a tired metaphor. Byron.

Language is the archives of history. Emerson.

Language - human language - after all is but little better than the croak and cackle of fowls, and other utterances of brute nature - sometimes not so adequate. Hawthorne.

Every language is a temple, in which the soul of those who speak it is enshrined. O.W. Holmes.

Languages are the pedigrees of nations. Samuel Johnson.

It is quite simply not so, that old conceit that a picture is worth a thousand words. We convey more meaning by the language we use and the way in which we use it than a picture possibly could. If words are not intrinsically vital to who and what we are, why then do we flagellate ourselves over our failures, when we had the opportunity, to express our deep emotional attachment in words that matter, to those we cherish?

The written word is solid, not ephemeral, like an image, fleeting and of the moment. That may or may not be recalled; certainly never in the fine detail that meticulous and loving description can describe through the use of language, words.

Words convey the robustness of keen observation, the delicacy of fine thought, and every variation of each. Words are the expressive heart of our collective souls. Their meaning can present as gossamer-light, tickling sensibilities, or bracingly emphatic, moving us to alert response.

All living things have their expressions of being, their language known to themselves; from whales to crickets, robins to elephants. Unlike humankind they cannot share the exquisite pleasure of reading their history, recalling their predecessors, sharing creative imagination. We have been especially gifted. We homo sapiens sapiens, modern humankind.

Pity the persons - and they are legion - illiterate, incapable of deep expression of drawing deeply from the peerless draught of world knowledge. To them remains the irrelevancies of mutely peering at moving pictures. Can they realize the full thinking potential that is a human life?

Think of descriptives, how they limn the individual by the nomenclature human verbal ingenuity has evolved to describe individuality: repugnant, resourceful, comical, tempestuous, covert, beguiling, benign, brilliant, avuncular, mystical, iconic, solicitous, evanescent, fragile, contemptuous, grovelling, malleable, mesmerizing, compelling, bestial, autocratic, miserable, mischievous, creative, bumptious, fearful, tragic, snivelling, riotous, joyful, youthful, grim, aged, beautiful, serene, contemplative, scornful, tendentious, manipulative, scheming, loving, overbearing, intrepid, wise, lethargic, buoyant, uncompromising, tender, wistful.

Any one of these words, or in combination with one another paint an instantly recognizable personality, type, shape, appearance. In the mind of the reader, or the recipient of the verbal description, there is clear and cogent recognition of type and stereotype. Can a picture adequately portray those idiosyncrasies of temperament and behaviour?

Abrasive, sardonic, surly, repressed, calm, assertive, dominating, obsessive, obsequious, dismissive, genial, all descriptive nomenclature identifying and delineating human character, instantly conjuring opinion and observation at a remove; introducing personality. Sweeping the reader into a state of personal presence, through the charmed recognition of the nature of language.

Language challenges us in other ways, as well, as instruments to offend, to hurt, to bully. Belligerent and violent it can most certainly be, adversarial in the extreme, leading the listener or the reader to profound conclusions and encouraging them to match those words in self-defence, meeting offence. The antidote for that kind of language is expressed as compassion, patience, acceptance and understanding. Language has led to war and it has led to peace. It can confound and it can clarify. Invite or reject, bring anger or solace.

It speaks of our common interests yet often fails to ignite a necessary passion among antagonists to surmount differences. But if carefully and honestly constructed it has the capacity to close wounds and narrow great chasms of mistrust.

Language and how we use or abuse it, is a reflection of who we are, our desires and aspirations; our humanity, failed or triumphant. It is our responsibility to value its potential and to use it well; creatively, carefully, reflectively and honourably with conviction and respect.

And to value its capacity to elevate the human spirit, imbue us with hope. Transport us to a better place inside our minds, very often outside our immediate experiences.

Language is the memory of the human race. It is as a thread or nerve of life running through all the ages, connecting them into one common, prolonged and advancing existence. William Smith.

Language is the amber in which a thousand precious and subtle thoughts have been safely embedded and preserved. R. C. Trench.

Language is the expression of ideas, and if the people of one country cannot preserve an identity of ideas they cannot retain an identity of language. Noah Webster.

The style of an author should be the image of his mind, but the choice and command of language is the fruit of exercise. Edward Gibbon.

Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language while in fact language remains the master of man. Martin Heidegger.

 

Her Name is Spring

 

Although she has true celebrity status

such that her presence excites

those awaiting her eventual arrival

she is shy and retiring, uncertain

and given to procrastination as though

unaware of her beloved status

young and beautiful and a harbinger

of hope and renewal. Granted, a heavy

burden for a young and delicate girl to bear

but she is resilient and perseveres when

the truculent old man slams the seasonal

door shut to her entrance, patience just

another one of her virtues. It is not

that she has forgotten the calendar and her

appointment or set aside her arrival time

it's just that she is respectful of her place

in the timeless order of the seasons

knowing that winter will wear himself out

of spite and popular acclaim will guide

her delayed and celebrated entrance.

Advice and Consent

 

The public is hungry for answers

to the conundrums of life

invariably looking to those who

offer advice to solve their problems

by a few choice words that simply put

place everything in perspective

and if the advice fails to solve issues

nothing to do with their sage messages

merely a reflection of the seekers'

failure to comprehensively follow

instructions. For all too many it is just

too arduous to ponder circumstances to

arrive at their own solutions to their very

own intimate condition that happenstance

and fate have directed their way. Not that

the 'influencers' and social problem-solvers'

own lives are without the acid reflux of

poor choices and circumstances. Proving

time and yet time again that yes you can

indeed fool some of the people all the time

the seekers finding solace and the

advisers discovering purpose.

 

 

They're First, Then You

Not their problem; complacent they were

when the intelligence service

assured the public the ethnic minority

being rounded up, their villages burnt

the men manacled, many killed

the women raped, their children in custody

because they are terrorists

intent on disturbing the culture and

social fabric of the nation

invested in foreign politics 

armed with the fervour of a  religious

delusion -- not to waste any breath

or sleep over their fate. They're different

than us and so, expendable, a relief to 

have them gone. Had no one remembered 

the warning of Pastor Niemoller ...

Because they failed to speak out in the face

of human rights atrocities they are now

destined to face their own Gestapo's

brutality against themselves for daring to

protest the military coup when the population

strives to free their leader while bemoaning

lost democracy whose values they

themselves saw fit to spurn.