Haiku
- Thread starter Bowser
- Start date
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
I don't have one of my own so I thought I would post one from someone who has.
It comes from
http://atheistempire.com/writings/poetry.html
FIVE THOUSAND DEAD GODS
by glennlogan
No god I know is still alive -
all five thousand and seven
appear to have died.
The great god Huitzilopochtli
led the Aztecs' divine pack -
but He departed awhile back.
Zeus was fun, and had His run,
but while disguised as a swan,
they say, His neck got wrung.
Pluto - God of the Underworld,
offended the ladies of Hades,
and got buried in his own Hell.
Thor, I'm told, was big and bold,
but going out without a cloak,
they say, He died of the cold.
And ghosts of dead Indian gods
can't even haunt a decent tepee,
and many die on late night T.V.
No prisoners tremble on the altar
when their beating hearts are torn
to join Tezcatlipoca in the sky.
And no children scream as they
are loaded onto the simple machine
that feeds them to Moloch's fire.
And for ancient Greece's Dionysus,
no drums sound, no flute plays -
but, oh, weren't those the days!
The goddesses, too, we must include,
for all were dear to some, and lived
in our hearts until the time had come.
There was Athena , Gaia, and Kore,
Xochiquetzal, Minerva, and Astarte,
Ixtab, Kuan Yin, and Kali of course.
Five thousand gods and goddesses -
maybe ten or a hundred fifty thousand
or more, there might have been.
But the goddesses and gods have all
gone, one by one, until there are none
but those that are still willed alive.
- Gods and goddesses kept alive
by people still believing - still
trusting - in their own creations.
Pinocchio becomes god of the wood,
while Pygmalion falls on his knees
before his goddess of stone, Galatea.
We remember the Loving Mother
and the Father the All-Mighty
looming large in an infant's eyes.
For each girl-woman makes the God
she craves and needs - then kneels
before Him and says, "Oh, please!"
And each boy-man makes himself
a Goddess that he wishes,
giving a Mother's hugs and kisses.
And older men and women tend
to make our gods with
wrinkled brow and constant pout.
Still we always make our gods
to look a lot like me and you -
one head, one mouth, two eyes.
But the god of songbirds flies,
and the gods of all the fishes
must swim through ocean skies.
The god of cattle may be a bull,
or just maybe it's a cow -
I can't hope to settle that now.
But I am well informed by
one who ought to know:
the god of dogs is a bitch!
God laughs? Not on your life!
The joke's on us - but I'm told
She's heard this joke before!
End
Alex
Sorry. That's not a haiku.
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
Here is another from the same place.
Faith
By Kim Shultz
No sticks and stones have touched my bones,
But words indeed have hurt me.
The taunts and jibes from Smith and Jones,
And those who would convert me.
Whisper the fiery wrath of hell,
And then speak of love sublime.
And how long would it take to tell
How those two things can combine?
Tell me my thought, my will is free
And then say I must obey.
Explain about eternity,
Which I must choose day by day.
The reasoning behind your speech
Is what I am questioning.
I don't deny the faith you preach,
Only the truth of the thing.
Faith is something I cannot share
Although I know I have tried.
But so long as logic is there,
Anything else would be a lie.
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
Your post asked for a poem and although the title was clear your request made no such qualification.
You were not specific.
Alex
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
But thanks.
I looked up what you want and I learnt something new.
But its not of interest to me.
Alex
I looked up what you want and I learnt something new.
But its not of interest to me.
Alex
My apologies. I've taken an interest in short poems, specifically Haiku. If my request was misleading, that wasn't my intention.
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
Your time could be better spent cleaning up your garage.
I really dislike poetry.
Just folk who like the sound of their own voice.
To reflect upon their own cleverness.
What point is there to it?
I say there is none.
Do something else.
Get something done.
Its a waste of time best left undone.
Alex
It's a reflection on life. Sometimes the imagery can be amazing. If a person can capture a moment in 5-7-5, that's pretty incredible.
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
Granted but I don't need someone else waffling on about how his lady looks or that the dew has caught his eye and rather than doing something useful he chooses to obsess to the point he thinks it should be recorded and published.
I have written one poem however and it was a master piece so good that if I published it they would burn all other attempts and cease from ever writing another.
Alex
I think you could easily write a beautiful Haiku about the night sky and the stars above.
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
Of course I could but its magnificence would cause others to give up even trying.
Alex
Or encourage them to look at the night sky and the stars above.
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
I can do that by showing them something like my photo herewith.
One picture is worth a thousand words it is said.
The photo was done with an over the counter DSLR...only a 6 meg from years ago with the standard lens that came with the camera.
It was on an astronomy mount but it shows that any mug can get a reasonable astro photo.
The photo is of part of our galaxy and somewhere in the middle is the center of our galaxy.
You could wonder if around any of those stars orbit a planet with folk taking similar photos.
You could think of the fact that each star is probably 5 light years from its neighbour.
Stop writing poetry and clean your garage..if not write a poem about what you see and feel when you go in and look around.
The visualisation, the judgement and perhaps a parallel to the world at large.
Alex
Attachments
That's a really cool photo, Alex. I think you posted it once before, but I always appreciate seeing it. Thanx
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
I post it every opportunity I get.That's a really cool photo, Alex. I think you posted it once before, but I always appreciate seeing it. Thanx
You may have seen it but it will be a first for some...and get my message..any mug can do it and I encourage one to have a go.
Now without looking at it how many stars in the photo.
Alex
More than I can count
Bright lights piercing darkest night
Mysteries untold
I have no idea.
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
There are no stars in the photos..its just a photo of stars.
The upper number of stars in the Milky Way, our galaxy, is 350 billion I believe.
Alex
Xelasnave.1947
Valued Senior Member
Can you name the closest star?
Alex
Alex