The Shepherd and the Sphinx

Religion is a beautiful old monument like the pyramids or the great wall,
An eye-catching monstrosity built on the backs of the weak masses.
A testament to one man or being now standing idol,
Neither has with it today the purity of its intentions.

Just as the African offers trinkets to Gaza’s tourists,
The missionary hawks his wares to the African people.
Each buyer falls in love with the romanticism of the moment,
But removed from the preacher becomes weary of their purchase.

The pyramids failed,
Despite the devotion of the masses the pharaohs never made it to the after life
What wasn’t robbed from them as they slept is now ogled by busloads of heathens.

One man does not need a temple to be buried in, and no one book has all the answers.
The slaves of Egypt believed in their cause as much as the foot soldiers of God,
but each resigned themself to a bigger power that hadn’t their best interests at heart.

The pharaohs were not mere men but gods incarnate.
They brought fertility to a land, science to a people and a cause to the masses,
But exclusivity will always isolate, which in turn will breed hate.
Every idol is a false one, and no mortal contains within him a truth hidden from you or I.

Be good to your neighbour and they’ll do the same.
Black is black, white is white and grey is a challenge.
Question everything reasonably and you’ll get reasonable answers.
Think of those less fortunate but be fortunate you can think.

Written Oct 2007, inspired by several months in the middle east and on the sub continent, as an attempt to define my religious beliefs.

Humpty’s Dilemma

There are times in your life when you reach a junction,
Something that was failsafe ceases to function.
Time to reassess what you thought you never would,
Can you finally see the faults in what has always been good?

It felt so natural that you began to relax,
Glazing over what were fairly obvious cracks,
In a foundation laid in faith and good intention,
Nice from a distance but under close inspection,

Not enough to withstand the extent of the blows,
dealt time and again by both friends and foes.
But the question that needs to be asked at the end of it all,
Can all the cracks be patched or do we need a new wall?

Written Jan 2008, the beggining of the end of a great relationship.

Ignorance = Bliss?

Apathetically, they wander through life accepting things as they are.
Emotionless, they fail to feel the extremes that define us.
Ignorant, they know not that they march to the beat of someone else’s drum.
Unfortunate, they will always be no more, or less, than satisfied.

Written Nov 2007, regarding the apathy is cool mentality of my generation.

Land of the free?

There is a lot of talk of freedom, and all it represents,
a blessing to the masses, and what the repressed laments.
The term at first seems noble, but is seldom understood,
For its connotations cannot be limited to only being good.

Freedom to do what, to whom, and at what cost?
Each time you exercise your own, is someone else’s lost?
If you were granted total control, to do just as you wish,
Would others benefit or are the gains purely selfish?

If the downside of your choices cannot be easily seen,
Are you standing in a spotlight where someone else should’ve been?
Freedom is not as simple as it’s often made out to be,
The chance to govern your own life comes with responsibility.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t do just as you please,
But consider the repercussions to both your friends and enemies.

Written Dec 2007. Inspired by a work giving tree in which I chose to purchase the word "freedom" for charity, and the subsequent questioning of my decison.