these insatiate old thoughts
demand justice for their restlessness;
they are the demons i keep lashed tight
inside my fists and the early-morning dreams
i refuse to voice on paper;
an unbridled verse
wrapped up inside all the pretty words;
a vengeance
for all that ever died quietly
but was not at peace.

running nearly barefoot through the semidarkness,
they clamor in my chest
out of time with my heartbeat,
stumble over roots as they dig down deep,
truths as they reach skyward.
goosefleshed and bitten, their heels as they fly
are soaked through with dew or
something more sinister;
like you, they desire only that i would be more clear.

Said Hamlet to Ophelia,
I'll draw a sketch of thee,
What kind of pencil shall I use?
2B or not 2B?

Painting: Ophelia by Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889)

Poem: by Spike Milligan (1918-2002)

They quote this verse and conclude that Islam is a violent religion, which calls for the Mutilation and Crucifixion of those who aren't Muslims.

With that said let us analyze this verse step by step, and we shall see whether this verse really does promote violence.

The context of the verse itself is very important, and refutes the Islamophobe's thesis; the verse starts out by saying:

“The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger”

So notice right at the start of the verse the conditions are laid out. As you can see the first condition for a punishment to be handed out is if the people wage a war against God, and his messenger. The verse continues with the second condition:

“strive with might and main for mischief through the land”

So now the second condition is given, which is that people who make mischief in the land are to be punished as well, basically the crooks and criminals. We now have the two conditions in which a punishment can be handed out, and now comes the part about the punishment:

“execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land”

So if the two conditions are met, whether it be someone who has declared a war against the Muslims, or a criminal, then the appropriate punishment will be handed out to that person.

In fact if you carefully read the verse you will see that this verse is not specifically limited to none-Muslims only as the verse doesn't even mention them, rather it is open and general.

This verse is basically a verse that lays the law down, warning of severe punishments to the criminals, and indeed there is nothing barbaric or wrong with that. Criminals must be dealt with, sometimes they are executed, sometimes their hands will be cut off if they are thieves, and sometimes they will be crucified to be humiliated for the crimes they have done, and sometimes they will be deported.

Now let us read the next verse, something Islamphobes can never do. The next verse reads:

“ Except for those who repent before they fall into your power: in that case, know that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful”(The Holy Quran 5:34)

Allah is so merciful he tells the Muslims to forgive the enemy combatants, who repent of their ways, and to not fight them or punish them anymore.

So in reality these two verses preach true justice and mercy. The justice is that God calls for enemy combatants and criminals to be punished and dealt with, and the mercy is that God allows forgiveness for those enemies who stop their provocative acts and repent and make peace.

It seems Islamophobes would prefer that Allah says leave the criminals and crooks on the streets and simply turn the cheek and go preach love to them! No wonder western countries have such a bad legal system which allows several murderers and rapists go free! Recently a Muslim Qatari teenager was beaten to death in England due to racism, and guess what? They let some of the thugs free on bail!!!!!!!!

If western countries followed the justice of Surah 5:33 the west would be a much safer place and criminals would think twice about committing a crime. In fact the irony is that you will often hear many westerners call for the punishments that are listed in Surah 5:33!

Muslims should be proud of Surah 5:33, it is a beautiful verse of strong justice against the crooks and criminals of this world. You should raise your head high and be proud that the Quran leaves no room for thugs and criminals, and calls for their speedy hard punishments. Islam came to bring justice, and make no doubt about it, criminals will get what they deserve when they are caught according to the Islamic way.

And Allah Knows Best

Detail of Vergil's tomb inscription

Originally uploaded by sethschoen

Vergil or Virgil, properly, Publius Vergilius Maro (70-19 BCE).

Vergil was a Roman poet who studied studied philosophy in Rome before gaining status as a court poet.

His unfinished Aeneid was commissioned by the emperor Augustus to honor Rome's origins.

Vergil's grave was treated as a sacred site for centuries and from the Middle Ages up to recent times his Latin works became standard fare for educational institutions throughout Europe.

The poet Dante called Vergil, il nostro maggior poeta ("our greatest poet")¹ and placed him prominently in his Divine Comedy as a guide leading him through several layers of Hell and upward to Purgatory.

And J. B. Trapp notes that

In the third canto of Purgatorio, Dante's great mentor reproaches him for his faint trust:

Non credi tu me teco e ch'io ti guidi?²

But Vergil was replaced by Beatrice as Dante's guide at the gates marking the entrance of Paradise. Quite simply, Vergil could not continue upwards due to his uncoverted pagan roots.

According to legend the apostle Paul wept over Vergil's grave because he was so close to gaining the opportunity of becoming a Christian.

---

¹M. C. Howatson, ed. The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, Second Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, p. 595.

²J. B. Trapp, "The Grave of Vergil," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 47, (1984: 1-31), p. 1.

» Aeneas, Aeneid, Blessed Isles, Furies, Sibyl

Add to this, report errors, suggest edits or voice your opinion by posting a comment

T.S. Eliot (1917)

They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens,
And along the trampled edges of the street
I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids
Sprouting despondently at area gates.

The brown waves of fog toss up to me
Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,
And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts
An aimless smile that hovers in the air
And vanishes along the level of the roofs.

Do Not.

Do not rhyme, school with pool or ghoul

Because I saw that one from miles away.

Use a meter, not seen before in verse

Make me want to love your unique vision

Get me excited about meaty lines
Make me want to read on and on and on

Do not reuse your words without reason

Repetitive is not big or clever

Throw words in to a pond, make waves ripple

Destroy and break the fragile status quo

Trochee Sale

Trochee for sale, no more room in my head

Recent upgrade has made this tool surplus

Other items include Stanza's, in stock

Cesura's and Enjambments galore, don't

Hesitate or dilly dally, on now!

Expect many poets and biblionuts

Engorging themselves on juicy words and

Salivating all over your yummy

Alliterations and meaty sounds.

Line after line, devoured and consumed

Eat all you can, poetry fills the soul.

I fell into an inkwell

When I was barely three

I happened to be bouncing on my Nana’s knee

Bouncing, bouncing, bouncing

When she let go of me

My goodness I went flying

Up, up into the air –

Nana called to mother and they went

Scrambling everywhere

I fell into an inkwell

As downward I did turn

The hole right before me- my heart began to churn

Churning, churning, churning

What a lesson I would learn

Down into the inkwell

From up high above I went

And there within that inkwell

Many hours would soon be spent

I fell into an inkwell

I could barely swim

So I floated to the bottle’s edge searching for the rim

Searching, searching, searching

For that opening I fell in

Calling for my Nana

Seemed to be of no accord

When before me swam a manatee

Appearing rather bored

There within the inkwell

I began to look around

To my chagrin I saw so many odd characters to be found

Many, many, many

Characters all around

An old man on a boat

A fat baby on a swing

An elephant and kangaroo

Oh’ what opera they could sing

I dove down in the inkwell

To see what I could see

I saw a pirate and a maiden sitting down to English tea

Sitting, sitting, sitting

How quaint it appeared to be

Above I heard a thunder

It was my Nana’s voice

“Hold on” she cried below

“Downward a ladder I will hoist”

I fell into an inkwell

The story it is true

Rescued just by Nana’s timing before my little life was through

Timing, timing, timing

Of the ladder Nana threw

Out from the inkwell

Well I did find my way

But the many friends I made there

in "ink" we still corresponded today …….

bkmackenzie

copyrighted 2008

Source: http://www.ibs.org/bible/verse/?tniv=yes&q=Proverbs%209:1-12

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I always start at the ending.  It could be the ending of anything that has an ending, which is literally everything that is blessed with a beginning.   It is an unlikely story for most who have a bazaar tendency to begin at the begin of things that have a beginning; but these people (mind you) do more times than not - never get to the ending.  

 I choose to shield myself from that group of humans choosing instead to follow the path of white rabbits and one-handed drummers.    I came upon this trait quite early in my life not from being hit in the head, though that did happen when a rock who thought it would stop there on its course of travels to say hello, did just that, and I said “Hell oh.” 

No, No this extreme backward pleasure came upon me while visiting a woodland on the backside of the 40 acre field  (I said field - not 40 acre wood) that was the home of a wild stream of creatures who within their treasures held a bottle that could never be emptied.   These gnome-like creatures though short in stature were tall in numbers.   I say tall in numbers because they stood on each others shoulders to get the best view of what was happening below.   I could have told them just to ask the guy at the bottom of the gnome ladder since he saw what was happening below better than anyone else, especially the gnome on the very top who was much more concerned about the strength of the bottom gnome’s shoulders than what he was actually seeing from up there.   But I figured that they had to learn for their(elfs), “like the rest of us,” my father would always say.   And that reminds me why I came to the woods in the first place to find out what was there “like the rest,” of the humans who had stepped here before.  And all the gnomes shouted, “Here, Here!”

Well it is time to get back to the story at hand, which is why we are starting at the end of this story.  The Bottle That Can Not Be Emptied was filled with the endings of stories from people who never finished what they had started, so the endings had to go somewhere and that somewhere was not over the rainbow like every thought, but into the bottle that could never be emptied.   Can you believe it?  I could not at first until I asked the gnome holding up his fellow country gnomes up above.   I said, “ Sir, Gnome is this truth you are speaking here, that this flowing liquid of life from this bottle labled,  Bottle That Can Not Be Emptied is all endings to stories that will never be completed by humans?”   He said, “Yes.”  Well that was good enough for me.   I believed him and vowed never, never, never not finish something.

Later that night upon arriving at my place of abiding with the rest of my family of humans I sat and had dinner.   We talked about a lot of different subjects, but I refused to tell them of my visit in the woods behind the 40 acre field.   I did however, watch their every move and listened to their every word hoping I would find an ending; anticipating at least one of them would have an ending to convey to the rest of us.    To my gravest of fears that did not happen, and I had to make a decision right then and there.   I decided I would always and forever, begin at the end of everything I did.  With that very decision I would be certain to always end whatever I started (how very clever of me I must add.)

Within the next moments of moments I ended my dinner and ended my conversation.    I then ended my bath before drawing the water, and preparing for bed I placed my feet on my pillow and covered the tips of my hair for a good mornings sleep. I began my bedtime prayers with Amen and what an Amen it was. AMEN.

Well, I have to get to the middle of all this how, but thanks for helping me with the ending.

signed ...bkm

copyrighted

by bkmackenzie 2008

Mae Linat © 2008

In any event, now my unmanicured fingers are back on my iMac, typin' to the oldies. Wellness is restored in my world.

So, of course, my first post back in "well world" is Palin-related. I've missed ripping on her too much. So I just have to. And then I'll stray and post some other non-Palin stuff, I promise. But for now... let's enjoy some Palin Poetics, shall we?

From the lovely Slate.com, a few of my favorite Palinisms, in verse:

1. "Befoulers of the Verbiage"

It was an unfair attack on the verbiage
That Senator McCain chose to use,
Because the fundamentals, 
As he was having to explain afterwards, 
He means our workforce.
He means the ingenuity of the American. 
And of course that is strong, 
And that is the foundation of our economy.
So that was an unfair attack there, 
Again based on verbiage.
(To S. Hannity, Fox News, Sept. 18, 2008)

2. "On Good and Evil"

It is obvious to me 
Who the good guys are in this one
And who the bad guys are. 
The bad guys are the ones 
Who say Israel is a stinking corpse, 
And should be wiped off 
The face of the earth. 

That's not a good guy.
(To K. Couric, CBS News, Sept. 25, 2008)

3. "Haiku" 

These corporations. 
Today it was AIG, 
Important call, there. 
(To S. Hannity, Fox News, Sept. 18, 2008)

4. "Small Mayors"

You know, 
Small mayors, 
Mayors of small towns— 
Quote, unquote—
They're on the front lines.
(To S. Hannity, Fox News, Sept. 19, 2008)

Beautiful piano music and verse hightlights the loveliness of gardens in photography. Enjoy the music in one our newest videos.

Promise Gardens Scripture Video 

To Miss Palin
I'd give a hoot
Cause she's a hoot and hot... NOT

To Joe Biden
I'd give a hoot
Cause he's a hoot to me

But to Obama
I'd give two hoots
Cause he's worth it to me... YEAH
HOOT! HOOT! (Join me!)

HOOT! HOOT! (What was that?)
HOOT! HOOT! (I can't hear you!)
HOOT! HOOT!

And I'd give Bush the boot!

.

Old John McCain
Should change his name
To McCan't or McAin't

And Miss Palin
Should change her name
To bailin', failin' or jailin'

Then Joe Biden
Should change his name
To Joe Verifyin'

And Obama
Of course, should be
Obamafofanabananaramabobana
HOOT! HOOT! (Too funny!)

HOOT! HOOT! (Louder!)
HOOT! HOOT! (One more time!)
HOOT! HOOT!

And Bush should change his name to Moot!

.

I'm a rootin' tootin' hootin' for Obama
While bootin' shootin' Putin down McCain
Then hackin' sackin' whackin' Bush
And doing it all again!

I'm a rootin' tootin' hootin' for Obama
While bootin' shootin' Putin down McCain
So the world can be a better place
And we can happily HOOT! again!
HOOT! HOOT! (HOOT! if you agree!)

HOOT! HOOT! (I knew you would!)
HOOT! HOOT! (Again!)
HOOT! HOOT!

And let's give Bush the boot!

.

Old John McCain
Has lots of loot
That he won't give away

While Miss Palin
Plays the flute
That's where her mouth should stay

Now Joe Biden's
No Hillary
But I'll withhold judgment

Cause Obama's
The choice for me
For the next President... YEAH
HOOT! HOOT! (HOOT! if you believe!)

HOOT! HOOT! (HOOT! if you want change!)
HOOT! HOOT! (One last time!)
HOOT! HOOT!

And let's give Bush the boot!
HOOT!

.

08.14.08 - 10.10.08

The author is giving permission to anyone to use these lyrics in a song if they would like. It will lose its appeal after November 4th so if you do decide to try, you'll want to hurry! Please share notice and writing credits of anything you do with it. If you can make money from it, it's all yours and good for you! :-)

.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright by Minh Tan on listed dated of completion.

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.

Notes to this poem...

This started out as an idea that evolved into a poem, Political Hoots, but I thought it would stop there... even though the way it came into my head was a country or bluegrass style of song. I had no desire to spend more time to write anything that was going to lose its appeal in a matter of weeks after the US Presidential campaign was going to be over. However, it would not go away in my head so I figured I'd just give it time over my lunch hours and during my errands to see it to the lyrics stage, and here it is!

I don't know if I will have the time and/or resources to turn it into a full blown song, and record it so I could share when it might still have its appeal. However, if you are reading this and would like to use it, please feel free to do so as long as you share writing credits. Any money you can make from it is all yours!

it really is a mood
it really is an exercise, a visualization masterpiece
a correspondence between visions, between limits
between finite obstacles and infinite possibility
it’s an abstract conceptualization that inspires
it’s indefinable
an incorrectly capitalized 
with fewer enemies than allies
unwavering patriotism to a nation without boundaries
without dictators
with floating feathers and winged theatres
symphony yes symphonic melodies
yes melodies
inspire

they inspire

m o n 1 5 1

m o n 1 5 2

I am not afraid of the ticking
of the timing
of the tables
on my clock
of the automatic spell check
which seeks to make me perfect
corrects my errors
my errs
the program tells me when I get it “wrong”
I got it wrong again

m o n 1 5 3

m o n 1 5 4

this is a true story
no allegorical allegory
I like to hear the words dance in my head
this is narcissistic entertainment
this is what I do when no one’s watching
I dance in my mind
behind pulled curtains of confusion
they hide the magic
they keep the magic
from the prying dying eyes of non-believers
clapping silent for the latter
for the latter
for the latter

M o n 1 5 6

M o n 1 5 7

new arrangements are always
at first
uncomfortable
even programs with their interfacing technology
can’t manage the concept
of evolution
they don’t grow in each passing moment
as does this poem
as does my heart, and mind
and the roses, and the lilies
all the lilies
as they reach for something different, some place higher
and closer to the sun
they have ambition, and honesty,
and not a penny,
not a farthing, brass, or otherwise
bark
they don’t have a bark to pay or say about it
they drink with abandon
and they grow without remorse
pulling their brothers and sisters from beneath the dark mothers grasp
her loving
loving grasp
to either fight and live beside them
or perish in the glory of their birth.

m o n 2 0 1

m o n 2 0 2

bruised articulation of my purpose
battered lightly out of spite
wounded deeper out of contempt
it aches
its sore and hurt
and if it ducts and tears to say so 
then it would
my bruises and my beatings
self inflicted
never visible to any eye
to any eye trained or laymen
just to my loved one
my dearest loved one
who has to take them
who has to see them
in my heart

m o n 2 0 4

m o n 2 0 5

again with moods
im hardly sullen
rather pensive
and repeatedly wordy I’d expect
I often project

-

astrally and otherwise to cottages and castles of my design and my
disguise
dancing fairy magic can play tricks on children’s eyes
but not on your eyes
right, hello, and how’d you do there Mr. Wise?
I’ll be sure to narrow mine in due comprise
To yours, your humble fry. (wink with mine says I)

m o n 2 0 8

the sky was grey
it was gray
it was blue

m o n 2 0 9

this one is entitled 
my fairy god mother, in french
ma mère féerique d'un dieu, en français
it is my favorite poem
the best I’ve ever written
but you can’t see it
because
I don’t like humans, in french
Je n'aime pas des humains, en français

m o n 2 1 7

-Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.

The last mentioned of the Fruit of the Spirit, self control is the one most people would probably prefer to leave out. It can often be the hardest to practice, and it encompasses all the preceding Fruit of the Spirit. Perhaps that is why it was mentioned last; to leave it afresh in your mind. We know that a lack of SELF-CONTROL has a detrimental effect on us, but it also affects our relationships; those we come into contact with.

~Proverbs 25:28- Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

Without self-control in our lives, we become vulnerable to all kinds of problems. Anything out of CONTROL in your life can harm others and cause damage in relationships. Including (but not limited to):

-Uncontrolled anger

-Uncontrolled lust

-Uncontrolled spending (The #1 cause for divorce is financial stress & money problems)

-Uncontrolled drinking

-Uncontrolled ambition (The workaholic who’s never at home with the family)

-Uncontrolled tongue

~How do we obtain self-control? Here are 9 key ways that will help in maintaining your self-control:

1) Master your moods- Keep you attitude in check, do what’s right even when you don’t feel like it; live by commitment, not by emotions

2) Watch your words-Put your mind in gear before you talk.

-Proverbs 13:3 He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.

3) Restrain your reaction- How much can you take before you lose your cool?

-Proverbs 19:11 A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

4) Stick to the plan- If you don’t determine how your time is spent, others will; Remember though, we are to follow God’s will & His plan 1^st. Have control enough to be in it.

-Ephesians 5:15-17 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

5) Manage your money- learn to live on less than you make; invest the rest. The value of a budget is that it tells your money where you want it to go, instead of wondering where it went.

-Proverbs 21:20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.

6) Maintain your health- (to the best of your ability) Thus, you can accomplish more & enjoy your achievements.

-Psalm 38:3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin.

7) Avert your eyes- This one’s tough. You can’t control everything you see, but you can control how much you look at it

-Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (I’m pretty sure the same standard applies to ladies looking at men; sorry, you’re not off the hook)

8) Don’t allow anger to bring sin- like it plainly says in Ephesians 4:26, "In your anger do not sin" God let us know that we will get angry, but we must release the pressure before the top blows, no matter how we’ve been wronged.

-1 Thessalonians 5:15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

9) Know when to “Cork the Bottle”- The Bible doesn’t specifically say that we can never drink, but it’s clear that we are not to get drunk.

-Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

~Now, where do you need self-control?

 Discipline today will help you determine success tomorrow. We must realize that we cannot accomplish this on our own, but we need Holy Help.

-2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

The key to self-control, is giving up control to God. With Him in the driver’s seat, you’re sure to get where you need to be. The more our progression, the further He’ll take us.

-Matthew 25:23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

 There is tremendous potential to be used in positive ways that honor Christ. In reality, we are still subject to sin and death. Although we are not totally evil ourselves, we are still susceptible to weakness & fleshy desires. Our body can be used for good if the flesh is not in control.

-Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship..

~How can we be living sacrifices?

-Self-discipline isn’t in our nature. Spirit-Control, not self-control, makes the difference. The Holy Spirit can control the things I can’t. Ask God to help you, through the Holy Spirit, to help you do right in His eyes.

-Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

-Open the door to let the Holy Spirit fill you, and close the door of flesh to Satan by confessing sin & claiming Christ’s crucifixion.

-Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

-Renew your mind with God’s word

-Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

-Allow the Holy Spirit to help you master your emotions (with the fruit of the Spirit); Present yourself as an instrument of righteousness.

  -Romans 6:12-13 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

  -Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, & strength.

 -Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

-The key to self-control is surrendering control. Surrender your control to God; allow Him to move in your life. Who better to run your life, than the One who made your life?

“Fruit of the Spirit- Self-Control” Bible Study prepared by Justin Lessard. Email: ferventservant1@hotmail.com

Web: http://justinlessard.wordpress.com & http://www.myspace.com/justinlessard

If you wish to use this study, all I ask is that you leave the credit info lines, including the name, email, & web address, above.