There is something raw behind the front lines There, we hide behind the showoffs and mimes Lost in the awkwardness that blocks our conversations We stand aloof, hiding our secret sense of fascination
We wish we could shape away the sense of harshness That comes out in broken blocks of too much darkness We stand feeling dead in the lives that we lead Wondering about the body language that we once read
Running in place, we feel puzzled over what's real Penciling in notes based on what the next expert feels Pushing hard in silent desperation as we quietly balk Wondering why it's so hard to make our way in small talk
Praying to gods and idols that we no longer believe in Stumbling along in fractured hopes again and yet again We always feel we have said the wrong things in revulsion Though the words streamed out as if through their compulsion
Ted Talks provide their own theater of broken paradise Where so-called experts offer up a salad of lousy advice There is a lot of social isolation in this lonely worldview And you and I are always wondering what it is we might do
Running in place, we feel puzzled over what's real Penciling in notes based on what the next expert feels Pushing hard in silent desperation as we quietly balk Wondering why it's so hard to make our way in small talk
We wish we were comfortable in the chilled vibe of silence Instead, we are afraid of our next words and their violence Hoping they won't cut away our tenuous ties or poke out eyes These are the time thieves that squawk as closeness dies
Hiding in corners at the next event that passes for a party Knowing inside that there is no one who really truly knows me And thinking maybe that's alright as long as they don't hate me Is this what has come to pass for 21st-century society?
(c) February 12, 2025 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” -Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President (12 Feb 1809-1865)
America's love can seem a bit of fecklessness Filled as it is with a bit of recklessness Teenaged angst of not wishing to cry anymore The heartbreak is equitable among rich and poor
So many wish they could leave it where it can stay Others wish they could refuse the love of Valentine's Day Being in love can seem like some superhuman ecstasy As you summon the strength to chase your fantasy
The problem with love in America is all the ways We can approach it by living our passing days Romance, with its impracticalities, can be so extreme As we try to match the flair of our movie screens
There's a chronic man-to-woman sense of confrontation A type of bewilderment that spreads across our nation Love, like democracy, is a fine ideal for me, and you They just don't work no matter how much we want them to
The desires of our hearts do not always match our reason No matter how close it is to the approaching Valentine's season Love's ashes crumble as they collide with life's compromise Paradise becomes a living Hell as our nights reach their sunrise
The problems with love in America in all our living days Is how unsettled it seems in the part that imperfection plays Still, even if only in our dreams, love must end well It's just part of the optimism of our American love tale
(c) February 11, 2025 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“I think myself that we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious. Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have … The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases. The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.” – Thomas Jefferson, in a Letter to William Ludlow Monticello, September 6,1824
As we lay around our houses like cantankerous cats In the cold winter months, it's easy to gain fat Each of us finding refrigerated delicacies late night Entertained as we snuggle by the television light
In our January resolutions we swore that we'd beat This sinister urge that each winter makes us want to eat The cookies and treats are enticing to our appetites And so we lose ground and gain inches, night after night
It was somewhere in our happiest younger days That each of us learned our sedentary ways Now some want to make America healthy again It is somehow strange to find gluttony is our sin
But each nibble we take from the goodies we bake Turns out to be our Valentine's biggest mistake Here under skies blanketed with thick clouds It becomes hard to limit ourselves to what's allowed
Instead, we find that sweet treats make us want more Brownies and chocolate chips by the frequented score Lead us to candy hearts and chocolates on Valentine's Day How dour would we make efforts at pushing these away
Then in the morning, we weigh ourselves on the scale Wondering at the gains that seem to always prevail Discipline is needed in the middle of winter to win That is if we wish to look healthy for summer again
(c) February 10, 2025 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“In disquisitions of every kind there are certain primary truths, or first principles, upon which all subsequent reasoning must depend.” – Alexander Hamilton (1788)
“What for centuries raised man above the beast is not the cudgel but the irresistible power of unarmed truth.” – Boris Pasternak, poet, novelist, Nobel laureate (10 Feb 1890-1960)
Listening in on a deep conversation I was maybe a little disturbed by my fascination Speaking on Paul's mission It's interesting how grace and peace breed compassion
Here as we sit and openly think Paul's reasoning brings us to the brink Of understanding how hopeless life is without grace Knowing we live best within God's embrace
The struggle we have returns us to His love Like a flourishing Eden under God above Life-giving and life-affirming, we return After all life's lessons that we learn
Jesus is a calming influence over us We know that it is because The beauty of the Lord is wonderful His blessings are always bountiful
Grace takes away our desire for control That is what is best for our damaged souls Giving God His way is from the inside out This clear path removes our clouds of doubt
God's peace still has conflicts for navigation We best approach this with grace and circumspection Peace isn't always what is most comfortable But what makes us grow into being most capable
All the good in the world cannot close the gap It's an impossibility; mankind isn't even on the map Even if we have a religion of utmost intention Only God's grace merits us any of God's attention
The attention that it is that we need It cannot be obtained with ritualized words or deeds After all, churches are not simply schools Instead, churches help us to navigate what we pass as rules
Fundamental to our growth is the necessary change We look around and connect as life continues to rearrange All of us live our lives conditioned by and under sin All the love and mistakes challenge us again and again
Healing the wounds is only a correct half-step Still, there is so much more that is left It goes far beyond being merely skin-deep If it is God's peace we intend to keep
God's love is not only about religious worship God's love is about developing right relationship There is a rawness in this perspective and light It makes us transparent even in the night
The night that revolves to bring us darkness It so often clothes us in its harshness But comes down to surrender and acceptance God's grace and love is what leads us to repentance
Let us not be among those remaining deceived Instead, let God's grace be duly received Taking a look at our legalistic conceptions And instead, returning to the Garden's perceptions
Functioning with the right relationship With our creator as more than symbolic worship The remedy for our wrongs is to learn the right We must focus on what pulls us into the light
This is not a matter to escape our note That love of God is not grasped through rote A wrecking ball is needed for ceremony and ritual Coming close to God is heartfelt and becomes habitual
Through this choosing to keep God's heart Closer to ours walks in kindness from the start All this is possible because of the cross It was our gain and every bit of Satan's loss
When we become motivated to obey By this love, there can be no better day When we move beyond managing our sins And through forgiveness, we come to living freely again
There, in this garden, grows peace and grace It waits for us to lovingly embrace Knowing that all of us fall short of God's glory This return to love is the fullness of the story
Living justified is as if it was just as if you and I Had ever sinned, covered by Christ, and that is why What's wanted isn't ritual but trueness of connection It's only this that turns us in the right direction
Dunking these nuggets for all their godly wisdom Leads us to the keys of our Father's holy kingdom We know and feel this with great gratitude Ready to face our coming weeks with our best attitudes
(c) February 9, 2025 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
Heading out of Australia to escape this Aussie winter. First stop Japan, then UK/Ireland and if work doesn't call me back, onto Chicago. I will make it up as I go along
ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 