NO THNKNG ALOUD

A Cycle of Poems by Stephen A. Schrum

Additional Material by COLLABorators

10. "Elle Couvrait son Troisieme Oiel Pendant le Petit Mort"

... At present we seem to fall into devolution
with our 20th Century cults of plastic and sex.
But this is only a preparation for springing ahead,
as we draw back the arrow, to send it forward.

And I guess I should have known better
than to try to find Enlightenment and knowledge
on a college campus.
I didn't go to the university for an education;
I went to learn.
I learned about myself by observing people I didn't like,
determining what it was I didn't like about them,
discovering those things were a part of me--
and getting rid of them.

Why make resolutions only on New Year’s?
Each day is a new beginning;
each day should be a holiday
to celebrate that we’re alive

Of course, there can be no absolutely fresh start,
for that requires a totally fresh personality
an impossibility without madness or transcendence.
No matter when we die, we die too soon.
Unless Enlightenment comes to us first.

[Yes, Socrates, only a fool would fail to see the logic in that.]
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© 2003 Stephen A. Schrum