“A society which is mobile, which is full of channels for the distribution of a change occurring anywhere, must see to it that its members are educated to personal initiative and adaptability. Otherwise, they will be overwhelmed by the changes in which they are caught and whose significance or connections they do not perceive.” – John Dewey, philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer (20 Oct 1859-1952)
Between Asleep and Awake
by Michael Doyle
Between asleep and awake
Is the recounting of
Every single mistake
Some deeper than others
Some of hate, some of love
All of which are heartbreak
They sent me to fight in war
I went out a well-trained beast
And yet somehow I wish for more
In a first utterance of tears
I feel the struggle in my deep
A darkness of repressed years
In this stagger of deep harshness
All of the colors of my darkness
Seep through despite my fight
They sent me out to fight war
Wanting a hero but getting me instead
I can't escape this demon in my head
Am I to ever move past my brokenness
Sometimes hid behind outspokenness
Brasher than that fear that is my soul
The bassline taps out brutal staccato
With echoed memories shading the blow
Of morning coming too soon for the wounded
Those who have not been but simply sent
Are not inclined to sorrow or to repent
But I regret the shadows of my mind
As these spill out in the words that matter
The detached feelings that come to shatter
The loving bonds that withstand the pain
Of feelings that are overwhelming me
I seek only understanding not sympathy
As I continue to work on what I have become
I look toward you with tears in my eyes
As I lock myself off after breaking my disguise
And I pray that you will stay...and be patient
(c) October 19, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Stand Real
by Michael Doyle
Every day it's the same game
Going out of our way to avoid blame
We need to live with boldness
Instead of living this lie, they've sold us
Coming up short, just to fall into grace
This is the holiness, that I embrace
Back to square one is that amazing grace
Isn't that a lovely thought to embrace?
Satan comes to prey on our secret desire
Eating rocks for bread burns like fire
Life comes with each and every situation
It's best not to get caught up in manipulations
The appetites we have for construction
Yet, far too often lead to our destruction
Sin creates its sense of social distortion
When all the right desires become a contortion
Demanding the drive for wanting more and more
As if we're unsure of the true score
Keeping check in all of the satisfactions
Trusting virtue for the immediacy of actions
All the things of our lives that are valuable
Are often those to which we are most vulnerable
We must carefully guard ourselves from the price
Of living life in trading bad for that of good advice
Satan preys on our every insecurity
We must cling tightly to life's purity
It's an atheism of completed disbelief
And this disbelief can only lead to grief
We must keep in our truest identity
To determine what we do in integrity
There is nothing left to prove to anyone
From the moment of grace, that battle is done
(c) October 19, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.”- Oscar Ameringer (1870-1943)
“Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men…” – John Adams (1776)
Pretender or Contender
by Michael Doyle
Drawing on song lyrics in my day
Makes life special in its own way
The singer is my daughter, and she's on fire
As legends are made to grow and conspire
A life led in three-part inspiration
We all know the other part is perspiration
Coming to Jesus's earthly baptism
Is led by the spirit from His immersion
Jesus stared into the face of His temptation
With momentous words of contemplation
Man shall not live by bread alone
Nor yield to striking foot against the stone
God is not meant to be constantly tested
Though in the end, faith cannot be bested
Yet we bump against Satan at beginning and end
Each time He contacts us like a long-lost friend
There's a predictable resistance in which we're met
That Satan meets us where we'll most regret
Right before that moment of our best breakthrough
The tempter comes with his something other to do
Raised awareness in the hunger we feel
The unfulfilled appetites we know to be real
Feeling tired and lost without continuity
When we most need connection with friends and family
Tired as we are, we become overly susceptible
And must be aware of all Satan is capable
As Satan stands strong, feeling he's the contender
But the ultimate truth is, He's only a pretender
(c) October 18, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power.” – Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Charles Jarvis, 1820
“What I like in a good author isn’t what he says, but what he whispers.” – Logan Pearsall Smith, essayist (1865-1946)
“[T]he general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws: its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any.” – James Madison (1787)
“Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.” – Arthur Miller, playwright and essayist (17 Oct 1915-2005)
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