“There is not a single instance in history in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire. If therefore we yield up our temporal property, we at the same time deliver the conscience into bondage.” – John Witherspoon, The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men, 1776
“She plucked from my lapel the invisible strand of lint (the universal act of woman to proclaim ownership).” -O. Henry, short-story writer (11 Sep 1862-1910)
“To cherish and stimulate the activity of the human mind, by multiplying the objects of enterprise, is not among the least considerable of the expedients, by which the wealth of a nation may be promoted.” -Alexander Hamilton (1791)
“And this I must fight against: any idea, religion or government which limits or destroys the individual. … I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for this is the one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system.” – John Steinbeck (1902-1968)
Elephants Mourn Their Dead
(Happy the Elephant)
by Michael Doyle
No freedom, no liberty
No right to fundamental dignity
Happy the Elephant pays the cost
And the decision it seems is lost
There will be no sanctuary
Personhood has been denied capacity
Regardless of intelligence, elephants are things
Substantially rejected as "human beings"
There was only Wilson's quiet dissent
Equating the finding as chattel in the present
Is this legal reasoning arbitrary
When we deny sentient beings their autonomy?
The unfeeling win their bid at talking
Shuffling words while they keep on walking
Right past all the points of similarity
Between majestic giants and humanity
Elephants, they mourn their dead
Let that roll around in your head
They recognize themselves in mirrors they see
Isn't that a hint that they recognize beauty?
In a world where many humans lack the capacity
It has been shown that elephants have empathy
The keenest sense of language is nonverbal in ability
Science has shown elephant language has complexity
An elephant, it seems, never forgets its memory
While picky eaters, they cling to and love their family
Dominant tusked like humans who favor a given hand
All of these factors make it hard to understand
Zoo enclosures are often like solitary confinement
And not just for aesthetic, need real refinement
Happy the Elephant touches an "x" or her forehead
In full recognition of self and other things unsaid
(c) September 10, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
We Are Who We Are
by Michael Doyle
We are who we are
Not from our ancestors
But because of who we cultivate
As our souls travel among the stars
Scratched and scrapped in our courage
Searching for hope we might encourage
To remove the malignant tumor
That spreads like wildfire like a rumor
A company of elves sailed to see
Keeping in close pursuit of evil that must be
Leaving behind the past of sweet secrets
For the glory of the secrets not yet met
The skies grow strange for all to see
As tales of truth are told for free
Speaking of misfortunes yet to come
While the days of battle are over for some
A weight shifts upon the tired souls
Building those that seek to evade control
Sometimes the thing needed to be known
Are by a little touch of darkness shown
(c) September 9, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
A fourth poem inspired by an impression taken from the Rings of Power series.
“The epitaph that I would write for history would say: I conceal nothing. It is not enough not to lie. One should strive not to lie in a negative sense by remaining silent.” – Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (9 Sep 1828-1910)
“It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.” – George Washington (1789)
Evil Does Not Truly Sleep
by Michael Doyle
Evil does not truly sleep
It merely waits
Out there in the darkness deep
Gone unseen, it seals our fate
Only in the blessed is there rest
In the secrets where it's confessed
That hearts must find their healing
Bringing truth behind what's revealing
That the past lives with us all
And comes without need as we recall
That the truth may be found
Somewhere deep within the sound
Reducing whispers to what we can barely hear
To try to find our way to pacify our fear
These are the tragedies that bring death
Yet, carry hope unto our last breaths
(c) September 8, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Based loosely on part of the Power of the Rings, Episode One
“If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States and the world.” – Claude Pepper, senator and representative (8 Sep 1900-1989)
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