Truth

Pretty heavy stuff. Nice job!

A bit old style, William, but I appreciate both the message and the discipline needed to form it in such a flowing manner.

I write 99% of my poems in the 'Old' quatrain style. Excuse me for smiling.

very deep and insightful, well done. thanks

Nothing wrong with "old style" because it keeps the traditional in front of us while we craft the new and modern.

Not matter the style, the message is what I see, the words... do they form a reasonable picture to see, can you move me with the stanza or leave me here scratching my head and saying...what the heck was that craziness? You William more often then not form a picture for me, your words are moving, fun, insightful...just do what you do and I will be here to witness it.

William, this is classic work. I really loved this piece and the topic!

The words have a lot of meaning.

Karl Leuba is a good writer. Although I found his comment funny, I still respect him and his right to his own opinion.

I tend to prefer the old quatrain style too. Funny, I never thought I was old...LOL

I think there is a lot of thought and meaning in your writing. Awesome job!

William, the first few lines made me think this is going to be another of your funny poems . Then you progress into the weary mind, the frustration of tearing away the veils, again and again. The feeling of sadness and wishing that all were well with the world. Truth is right here, we just refuse to look at it.
Good poem, William.

I would suggest one change, if you agree.
Sought 'out' truth in S6.
Incase you have it there for a specific meaning, my apologies then.

"for truth shall not be cast aside"...the poem was great, as usual, William, but i have found that often, the truth is sometimes buried so DEEP in piles of #*#*, that it may never SEE the light of day...Sigh....

Good suggestion Minnie. Thanks.

Penni, It's okay to say manure, although I see you have only 4 symbols.

Wow, William. You got a lot said in a little space. This makes me think of the maturing process as far as how we grow up and realize people and the system are not as wholesome as we thought. And you are right, I think, at least for me about the truth. I still must hold onto it and believe it is out there. Even through the tough times the truth does stand out a lot. And we do have values we can hold onto and cherish and feel some comfort because they do still exist. All is not lost. There is plenty of struggle, but we are not beat yet. I don't care how you wrote it, old or new, style is just a vehicle, and the message is profound and poignant. Now I'll get a second cup of coffee and read this again. With both eyes wide open. This was good.

I really appreciate such comments.

Poem with great messages are always my first pick. I loved it. In my Home sweet home...I tried to say these but how magically you said it all.

I like your style William. And your message. I remember a time when what most people told was true. It was just common sense and decent to do so. Now many of us wouldn't know the truth if it jumped up and said boo. Too often it is veiled by lies and half lies.

Nice poem. Thank you for sharing.

Poetry is not really my forte', but I felt a mixture of styles, very good, but for some reason Shakespeare popped into my mind while reading.

Sad, mixed emotions stir the soul,,, Bless you,,,

William, this rolls along so strongly it feels rather like a pressure cooker along about right here:
"With focus lost and bent with rage
As raindrops blot and stain each page
A tethered beast I found within
That threw all caution to the wind"

Then you mellow it out a little and end with
"For truth should not be cast aside"

BRILLIANT!

I can relate to that - ha ha

This is a really great poem. What more can I say?

if truth is not kind...it is because someone began it with a lie....
in the end...it IS what you will be remembered by...
I love perceptions of truth!

"I learned of lies then sought for truth" religious!

William however this was written I thought it was just great
and I think you have a great mind...where else would these
writings come from I ask you? Huggers Barbie

Part 10 is up on Bluebonnets Of Texas.
Two more chapters this is all over.

hi William... very heavy... i enjoyed it... thanks... where is my cow???

I practiced mercy and it smiled
As forgiveness danced in long miles
That bound all wounds with warming peace
Like an angel's breath can relieve

I like this stanza a lot, but admit I was confused by the concluding one.

Alison, I somewhat agree with you. The last stanza does not have real good transitioning. I need to edit this, but first have to figure out what words to use. That is the hard part.

Lou Anne, I don't go to church and feel fairly negative towards religious institutions, but I am still a Christian and my faith in Christ and love of God cannot be shaken.

I read this again, and it really does speak to me. It really made me think about how outraged we all are now that we know political leaders and religious leaders will actually lie to us. I know not all of them, but enough of them do. Finding out people in the government would lie to us was like a dam breaking for me. Now I have just fallen into sad resignation and believe Marge hit it right on. I don't understand why so many lies, but I believe there are many, many unnecessary lies. Good poem, William. We probably won't ponder what we have already given up on, so I am taking that as a sign of hope.

I loved this, William. The last stanza says to me..open it up..look fearlessly to find the truth.

Hi there. I believe I have mentioned this before but I will risk repeating myself to compliment your poem.
Most poems are too complicated for me as I have trouble translating the true meaning of them. I am learning more, doesn't mean I'm getting any smarter, maybe just maturing. At any rate, there are a few people here in our Gather community that I do understand. Elsie, always. And when you write in this older style, I get you too. I'll be the first to admit I have trouble with most poems, so when I can "get" yours, it is a true reward for me. In otherwords, I really liked this one and got it. Thanks for allowing me to explain, like you had a choice, lol. (yes, I'm tired and rambling, sorry)

Hi Bill, I'm not so deeply worried about your style but more about your message.

What I appreciated was that the message was not given in one fell swoop but over several stanzas.
In this way the message grew on me and I kind of savoured it. That was a wonderful experience.

I loved the stanza that Alison chose as well muchly.

Bill, I like your quatrain style and I like the way this poem opens. Something happened to take your common sense out the window. There was an incident that changed your perspective on life, but wait, where is it? Well, later, after we talk about it being knocked around a bit. Trouble is, I can't figure out what it was now that I've read this several times, and I'm troubled by a general vagueness that makes me wonder if you weren't writing this to explore, to figure out what you wanted to say about something, and you never quite did. The problem starts with the title, tackling the large subject of truth, and you pass through some sort of intense battles only to end up with an enjoinder to not cast truth aside. Well, sure, I suppose, but why?

The good news is that you are a much better writer than this, and you can figure out how to sharpen this sword and do serious battle with the topic of truth.

Please pardon my honesty; I hope it finds you in a receptive mood!

Very good point Gerry. I think throwing common sense out the window starts my journey. I would say this reflects somewhat when I quit my church at age 19 because I no longer believed they were telling me the truth. This was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. As I grew in intellect and wisdom(?), I began to realize that so called absolutes often were flawed. Plato describes truth as the higest possible attainment, but attainment of what? He never really answers this with anything but supposition. The so called 'Truth Tables' are meant to find the 'Holy Grail' of truth in anything, even that mudane. In this thought formula, most every nuance gets striped away until all you are left with is sometthing that seems to me unadorned and without the spice of life which contain the colors of our soul. I found the truth tables to be built on comparative analysis with the goal of a final synthesis. I've always felt anything comparative always has a negative and that being a possible truth greatly bothers me. Maslow's pyramid of knowledge in my opinion was conjecture built on the truth tables. At the top of Maslow's pyramid is synthesis. Synthesis is an absolute. I'm not denying there are absolutes, but none, except God, can be an absolute unless frozen in time and all must have some sort of supporting formula, or there is no reason for such an existence. Most of life is built on facts and the continual analysis of these facts which lead to concepts and degrees of utilization. The very thought of a possible synthesis in our culture points towards a conclusion. Some would say the final conclusion is death, but if so, then why a belief in a living soul. I have found most truths to be abstract. I know from my cultural values and personal morality what I believe is truth, but is that a universal of dividing right from wrong, or am I singular in a sea of many possible truths. I think I know what truth is, but there are many possible truths I may be unaware of. This brings me to the point of, which truths are most important? Of course there are some I firmly believe are, but it still calls into play analysis, which seems a non ending quest in identifying what really is truth. I can't give absolutes in my poem while still in the search for truth absolutes.

How much of our lives is truth, and how much opinion?
That is the question I have been struggling with of late.
I like your poem. Thank you for making me think.

A storm of thoughts William. I enjoyed the poem, then stopped to read the comments. Makes me think of holding / reading truth with a light touch - too heavy a hold will tear the book apart.

To find truth, seek not outside yourself but look within. The light is there.

I thought 'Far Away Hearts' was a very nice poem. You can find it at:
Donna Hammett-Tooker
DC Metro, Baltimore
or just click on their icon above.

Yes, Magi it is.

Ah now, that begins to define your thinking. Looks to me like you could make a whole series of related poems about everything you've got rushing through your head, good questions all of it. It's a tough but meaningful question to tackle, full of possibility. I like the idea that truth is abstract, but I would argue that man's truth is, not nature's. The discord rises out of our inability to see the world for the magical place it is. I hope you'll keep working on this issue.

Nice poem! Trueth will have out! I also loved the poem you wrote on one of my articles...of course, it deals with dandelions!

I've missed so many articles in the week I've been away. Started here and this seems to echo a lot that I've experienced in the last week.

"The storms gathered and as they grew
I learned of lies then sought for truth"

All the comments were very meaningful in helping see how others reacted to your words. I am still struggling to find the truth in some of the situations surrounding me.

The most important truth is that inside you.

Deep and thoughtful!
You sparked thoughts!

Here is an interesting piece on truth

Wow! Feels like some of Blake's poetry! Super! 10!