“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
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Thought For the Day: It Is Spring Again. The Earth Is Like A Child That Knows Poems By Heart
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Again, By Heart, Earth, Know, Like A Child, Poems, Rainer Maria Rilke, Spring, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: An Unlimited Power To Tax Involves, Necessarily, A Power To Destroy; Because There Is A Limit Beyond Which No Institution and No Property Can Bear Taxation
“An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.” – Justice John Marshall, McCullough v. Maryland (1819)
Na/GloPoWriMo #14: Quis ut Deus?
Na/GloPoWriMo #14: Quis ut Deus?
by Michael Doyle
May parents had their preference
But my life has whispered its reverence
Maybe they meant to play oracle?
But like the archangel's rhetorical
This name is a bit battle worn
As a soldier speaks on behalf of the forlorn
And wrathfully approaches Satan with scorn
Much as I have done since first born
Wearing my truth openly on sleeve
And paying the price for what I believe
Defined as it is in verses of poetry
That some feel is a song for the sea
The Lord's warrior is worn as my name
And perhaps that serves as functional blame
For my life dedicated to its duty
As some would say who knew me
Deep waters cover that sort of sacred mystery
I'd like to think I've scattered my share of enemy
Yet, Michael remains one of the most common names
Perhaps it means less than luck of baby name games
I'd like to think that if there's truth to Revelation
I'll be by the Arch Angel's side... but truth be told
I'm starting to feel a little bit too old
And.. I probably lack the strength and necessary dedication
(c) April 14, 2021 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Archangel, Battle Worn, Believe, Dedication, Lord's Warrior, Na/GloPoWriMo, Parents, Poetry and Poems, Quis Ut Deus?, Revelation, Reverence, Satan, Scorn, Sleeve, Soldier, Song for the Sea, Truth
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Na/GloPoWriMo #13: Yesterday’s Tomorrow’s News
Na/GloPoWriMo #13: Yesterday's Tomorrow's News by Michael Doyle
Sitting watching the evening news hour
Watching the sun go down as night devours
I fell asleep to the bleat of the LED display
Disrupting a poem meant written yesterday
Having missed my embossed invitation
I make up for today by verbal invocation
That task was to write tomorrow's news
Yet, too much of that consists of morose views
Yesterday's tomorrow will be sunny and bright
Filled with blue skies, fluffy clouds and sunlight
And it was really just amazingly exactly that
Dazzlingly beautiful as a simple matter of fact
In that truth is perhaps the best ever lesson
One of which there is little need for guessing
That however trapped in last year's darkness
The sun comes out to wipe away all that harshness
Regardless of the newsman's bleakest hour
There will always remain a surprise of sunflowers
That catch the gloom off-guard in beauty's walk
And in finding that moment to take a moment to talk
Exchanging smiles in joy's unrequired pleasantry
Instead of wrapping my mind around pointless punditry
That serves to fill life with a thousand fears
When life is better served in random moments to cheer
When these slip through the presence's bleak veil
We are best served if we let them serve us well
Like those times that we risk all in saying hello
And hear a hello back instead of the thud of a deafening wall
(c) April 13, 2021 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Beauty's Walk, Best Ever Lesson, Bleak, Bleak Veil, Blue Skies, Cheer, Consist, Darkness, Dazzlingly Beautiful, Deafening Wall, Disrupt, Embossed Invitation, Evening News, Exactly That, Exchanging Smiles, Filled, Finding that Moment, Fluffy Clouds, Gloom, Guessing, Harshness, Hear, Hello Back, Invocation, Joy, Last Year, LED Display, Let Them Serve Us Well, Life Is Better Served, Little Need, Matter of Fact, Meant, Morose Views, Na/GloPoWriMo, News, Newsman, Night, Off-Guard, Pleasantry, Poem, Poetry and Poems, Pointless, Presence, Punditry, Random Moments, Regardless, Remain, Risk All, Saying Hello, Serves To Fill Life, Simple, Sit, Slip Through, Sun, Sun Comes Out, Sunflowers, Sunlight, Sunny and Bright, Surprise, Talk, Task, Thousand Fears, Thud, Times, Today, Tomorrow, Tomorrow's News, Trapped, Truth, Unrequired, Verbal, Watch, We Are Best Served, Wipe Away, Wrapping My Mind, Yesterday
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Thought For the Day: The Truth That Makes Men Free Is For the Most Part the Truth Which Men Prefer Not To Hear
“The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear.” – Herbert Sebastien Agar (1897-1980)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Herbert Sebastien Agar, Makes, Men Free, Most Part, Not To Hear, Prefer, Thought For the Day, Truth
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First Principles: Facts Are Stubborn Things; and Whatever May Be Our Wishes, Our Inclination, or the Dictates of Our Passions, They Cannot Alter the State of Facts and Evidence
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” – John Adams (1770)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Alter, Dictates, Evidence, Facts, First Principles, Inclination, John Adams, Passions, State of Facts, Stubborn Things, Wishes
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Na/GloPoWriMo #12: No More Sense Than the Ancient Mariner
Na/GloPoWriMo #12: No More Sense Than the Ancient Mariner by Michael Doyle The river grew as it pushed Outward with its rich sediment Yet still, in this modern age, mankind Though too often willfully blind Fancies itself some sort of giver Richly filled with vapid sentiments As it pushes up into the skies Now knowing it is naked before the gods' eyes Terra incognito is more than expression More, as if, it knew it's lasting impression As if willful ignorance of robotics law Could break through the seams of unspoken walls That separate man from artificial intelligence By something more than idle irrelevance There is spoiled beauty in technology That always seems to get the best of you and me If only we could lean what it has to teach Still, that unsurprisingly remains out of reach Here in the heart of the cold metal spaceship Might the darkness in which tumble, lead us to worship? (c) April 12, 2021 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Ancient Mariner, Artificial Intelligence, Best of You and Me, Break Through, Cold Metal, Darkness, Expression, Fancy, Giver, Gods' Eyes, Grew, Has To Teach, Heart, Idle Irrelevance, Lead Us, Learn, Man, Mankind, Modern Age, Na/GloPoWriMo, Naked, Out of Reach, Outward, Poetry and Poems, Push, Pushes Up, River, Robotics Law, Seams, Sediment, Sense, Sentiments, Separate, Skies, Something More, Spaceship, Spoiled Beauty, Technology, Terra Incognito, Tumble, Unspoken Walls, Vapid, Willful Ignorance, Willfully Blind, Worship
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Thought For the Day: Liberty Is Not A Means To A Higher Political End. It Is the Highest Political End.
“Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is the highest political end.” – Lord Acton (1834-1902)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Higher, Highest Political End, Liberty, Lord Acton, Means, Political End, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: Liberty Can Have Nothing To Fear From the Judiciary Alone, But Would Have Everything To Fear From Its Union With Either of the Other Departments
“Liberty can have nothing to fear from the judiciary alone, but would have everything to fear from its union with either of the other departments.” – Alexander Hamilton (1788)
First Principles: Republics Are Created By the Virtue, Public Spirit, and Intelligence of the Citizens. They Fall, When the Wise Are Banished From the Public Councils…
“Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.” -Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833