“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.” – Luke 6:38 (NIV)
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First Principles: Give and It Shall Be Given Unto You; Good Measure, Pressed Down, and Shaken Together, and Running Over, Shall Men Give Into Your Bosom
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Bosom, First Principles, Give, Given Unto You, Good Measure, Luke 6:38 (NIV), Men, Pressed Down, Running Over, Shaken Together, Shall
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Searching For Signals
Searching For Signals
by Michael Doyle
Trying to save our souls
In the messes we make
Spinning out of control
Though all of our mistakes
Pressing out from the underground
To be just who it is that we are
A part of all that we have found
In the taking of this way too far
But it's never far enough
Even with better living through chemicals
I'm calling my own bluff
While feeling slightly lyrical
Pushed down paths of preconception
Of who I'm supposed to be
Lost inside my self-deception
Is there any possibility?
That I might ever understand
Life without acute observation
As a life lived out of hand
Somehow, we'll find our destination
Lost in the fog of our minds
Chasing circles of clever thought
Caught up in feeling our way blind
In the positions that we've caught
Looking past the Dadaism
In despair of not knowing our history
Searching desperately for optimism
As we reach to resolve our mysteries
We come to question our own identities
As we stand inside the dense fog
Pretentious in our grasp on reality
We stumble in our endless dialog
Someday every painting will be painted
As we watch our obsolescence pass
There will come a time with all devils sainted
And we'll have a hint of the meaning of this class
... that we call life
(c) October 14, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Better Living, Blind, Bluff, Caught, Chemicals, Circle, Class, Clever Thought, Dadaism, Despair, Destination, Devil, Dialog, Enough, Far, Feeling, Fog, Found, Hint, History, Identity, Life, Lyrical, Make, Meaning, Mess, Mind, Mistake, Mystery, Observation, Obsolescence, Optimism, Out of Control, Painting, Path, Poetry and Poems, Position, Possibility, Preconception, Reality, Saint, Save, Search, Self-Deception, Signals, Souls, Underground
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First Principles: Legislation Can Neither Be Wise Nor Just Which Seeks the Welfare of A Single Interest At the Expense and To the Injury of Many and Varied Interests
“Legislation can neither be wise nor just which seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury of many and varied interests.” – Andrew Johnson
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Tagged Andrew Johnson, Expense, First Principles, Injury, Interests, Just, Legislation, Many, Neither, Seek, Single Interest, Varied, Welfare, Wise
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Thought For the Day: With Man This Is Impossible, But With God All Things Are Possible
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26 (New International Version)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged All Things, God, Impossible, Jesus, Man, Mankind, Matthew 19:26 (NIV), Possible, Thought For the Day
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Thought For the Day: Art Should Be Something That Liberates Your Soul, Provokes the Imagination and Encourages People To Go Further
“Art should be something that liberates your soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further.” – Keith Haring
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Tagged Art, Encourage, Further, Imagination, Keith Haring, Liberate, People, Provoke, Soul, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: It Is A Principal Incorporated Into the Settled Policy of America, That As Peace Is Better Than War, War Is Better Than Tribute
“It is a principle incorporated into the settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, war is better than tribute.” – James Madison (1816)
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Tagged America, Better, First Principles, Incorporate, James Madison, Peace, Principle, Settled Policy, Tribute, War
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Things of Sisterhood Observed In Nashville
Things of Sisterhood Observed in Nashville
by Michael Doyle
A resplendent marble temple sits in full scale
In Centennial Park, centering beautiful Nashville
With Athena's legendary wisdom in its representation
As a timely reminder of the city's due station
Built in thanksgiving for this modern Athens' dignity
It symmetry was set in place to honor the first century
A polychromed statue was sculpted within its naos chamber
And then adorned in severe style in the eyes of strangers
This journey had started based on the sort of promise
Unserious in nature, but still having its own purpose
The thought being of seeking out places yet to see
With the familial urge of places unseen, yet meant to be
Lake Watauga sits behind this work of wisdom and art
Near where if the trees could sing from their ancient hearts
They would sing songs about the world's need for mutual care
And the need for selfishness to abate if we'd only dare
It is said that Athena bested Poseidon when put to test
And as a father watching his daughters grow, it brings rest
To see my daughters become wise from classical learning
As I listen in on conversations that evidence their discerning
My budding artists discuss the divinity of many things
As the one builds robots and codes and the other sings
It does my heart good to see in this city of a million songs
That each of my daughters, in their own rights, belongs
This journey had started based on the sort of promise
Unserious in nature, but still having its own purpose
The thought of seeking out places yet to see
With the familial urge of places unseen, yet meant to be
Each of them like a goddess in her own right revealed
With a magic of smiles and wisdom that cannot be concealed
Thinking thoughts that bring a father a life of symphony
And it tells a story of beauty and bringing their epiphany
Life with them has been one often spent together on the road
As I have watched them blossom, enjoying as their lives unfold
We walked Centennial Park to see what else there was to see
And I smiled to myself knowing they'd live a life of discovery
(c) October 12, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Art, Athena, Athens, Centennial Park, Chamber, City, Dignity, Full Scale, Journey, Lake Watauga, Marble, Nashville, Observe, Places Unseen, Poetry and Poems, Promise, Purpose, Representation, See, Sing, Sisterhood, Statue, Stranger, Temple, Things, Trees, Wisdom
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First Principles: A Person May Cause Evil To Others Not Only By His Actions But By His Inaction, and In Either Case, He Is Justly Accountable To Them For the Injury
“A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.” – John Stuart Mill, in On Liberty
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Accountable, Action, Cause, Either Case, Evil, First Principles, Inaction, Injury, John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Others, Person
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Thought For the Day: Life is Just A Short Walk From the Cradle To the Grave and It Sure Behooves Us To Be Kind To One Another Along the Way
“Life is just a short walk from the cradle to the grave and it sure behooves us to be kind to one another along the way.” – Alice Childress, playwright, author, and actor (12 Oct 1916-1994)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Alice Childress, Along the Way, Behoove, Cradle, Grave, Kind, Life, One Another, Short, Thought For the Day, Us, Walk
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Like Wanderers Seeking
Like Wanderers Seeking
by Michael Doyle
Like wanderers wandering a lovelier way
We plant the seeds that bring the new days
With a fullness of dreams filling our hearts
We loosely planned how the days would start
But kept the freedom breathing in and out
Never steadfastly demanding there be no doubt
But giving the wiggle room of how a day goes
With so much out of our control as it flows
There are so few straight roads without curves
But these become the paths that we earn and deserve
As we let the GPS guide us across the states
Being willing to change and even arrive a bit late
Breathing in to breathe out, the cold nips the air
And we talk for hours on the drive without a care
Taking in all that the world herself has to show
This is the way this wandering family is willing to go
New and future journeys form plans for the future
As we dream together and find that we will nurture
The plans that happen to happily come together
And for myself, I don't think it could be any better
(c) October 11, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Air, Arrive, Better, Breathe, Care, Change, Cold, Curves, Days, Desrve, Doubt, Dream Together, Dreams, Drive, Earn, Family, Flow, Freedom, Future, GPS, Guide, Happen, Heart, Hours, Journey, Late, Myself, Nurture, Plan, Poetry and Poems, Pth, Seeds, Seek, Show, Start, State, Straight Roads, Talk, Wanderer, Way, Wiggle Room, World
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