“The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.” – John Locke, philosopher (29 Aug 1632-1704)
Flickr Photos
Thought For the Day: The Actions of Men Are the Best Interpreters of Their Thoughts
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Action, Interpreter, John Locke, Mankind, Thought, Thought For the Day
1 Comment
What One Bullet Can Do
What One Bullet Can Do
by Michael
It's funny,
What one bullet can do,
Taking away peace...
As it stunned me.
Watching time run out for you
And taking from me, my peace.
Replacing peace with strife,
Removing what had been bliss.
What's left is a gaping hole.
It should have been my life, not your life.
What was happiness is now emptiness.
There is only shadow, where once I had a soul.
It's tragic,
What one bullet can do -
Taking my peace.
Losing you is more than tragic.
Losing all the dreams we had for you.
My prayers don't bring me peace.
You were born for more.
I loved to talk about your dreams.
I lived for making these come true.
Like a mighty eagle, you'd soar...
Or blow bubbles in childlike scenes.
Nearly all of my world revolved around you.
The shooter was a man with an issue,
A troubled soul without much of a clue.
A hurt person decided to hurt children that day.
His/her/his issues had nothing to do with you.
The pain had ate away all the good they might do.
Shots fired to kill would not drive their demons away.
I heard your last prayer as you laid down to sleep.
We talked about your dreams for your tomorrow.
The sin they have committed is worse than any crime.
I can only pray, the Lord your soul to keep.
All I have left is a heart full of sorrow.
Some monsters come in the daytime.
(c) August 28, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Ate Away, Bliss, Born, Bubbles, Bullet, Crime, Cue, Daytime, Demons, Dream, Dreams, Eagle, Emptiness, Gaping Hole, Good, Happiness, Heat Full of Sorrow, Hurt Children, Hurt Person, Issues, Keep, Kill, Last Prayer, Life, Lived, Loss, Monster, More, My World, Pain, Peace, Poetry and Poems, Prayers, Shadow, Shooter, Shots Fired, Sin, Sleep, Soar, Soul, Strife, Stun, Talk, The Lord, Tiime, Tomorrow, Tragic, Troubled Soul, True, You
Leave a comment
First Principles: A Strong Defense Is the Surest Way To Peace. Strength Makes Detente Attainable. Weakness Invites War
“A strong defense is the surest way to peace. Strength makes detente attainable. Weakness invites war, as my generation – my generation – knows from four very bitter experiences. Just as America’s will for peace is second to none, so will America’s strength be second to none. We cannot rely on the forbearance of others to protect this Nation. The power and diversity of the Armed Forces, active Guard and Reserve, the resolve of our fellow citizens, the flexibility in our command to navigate international waters that remain troubled are all essential to our security.” – Gerald R. Ford
Posted in First Principles
Tagged America, Armed Forces, Bitter Experience, Detente, First Principles, Forbearnce, Gerald R. Ford, Nation, Peace, Power, Resolve, Security, Strength, Strong Defense, War, Weaknesss
Leave a comment
Thought For the Day: But You Have To Give Your Whole Life To A Cello. When I Realized That, I Went Back To the Guitar and Just Turned the Volume Up A Bit Louder
“But you have to give your whole life to a cello. When I realized that, I went back to the guitar and just turned the volume up a bit louder.” – Ritchie Blackmore
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Cello, Guitar, Louder, Realize, Ritchie Blackmore, Thought For the Day, Volume, Whole LIfe
Leave a comment
Dress Rehearsal
Dress Rehearsal
by Michael Doyle
It seems like life knows its resistance,
And all we have is our persistence.
We're dedicated to getting our message through.
Sometimes it feels like it's all we can do.
Sparks from the stage blaze a mystic fire.
Night after night, we are filled with desire.
The girl over there with the golden voice,
She knows we really have no choice.
The set list creates the story
Of our lives in our full glory.
Note after note, we live and play.
We keep our dreams on display.
We somehow want our narrative
To speak for itself in the declarative -
Who we are and who we will be.
It's an open letter without any mystery.
No one has a heart of stone,
And our chorus isn't sung alone.
The tempo has its own way
To be the song we're meant to play.
The set list creates the story
Of our lives in our full glory.
Note after note, we live and play.
We keep our dreams on display.
These songs can only be played one way.
I heard it from the singer as he'd say
We have to play it like a heartbeat,
Like we have coming up from the streets.
Life is a dress rehearsal, gone by like a blur
Of dreams we chased after as they occurred.
Retentive of every note played as it should,
We still hold these dreams -and they feel good.
The set list creates the story
Of our lives in our full glory.
Note after note, we live and play.
We keep our dreams on display.
(c) August 27, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Choice, Chorus, Declarative, Desire, Dreams, Dress Rehearsal, Feel, Fire, Full Glory, Golden Voice, Heart of Stone, Lives, Message, Mystery, Narrrative, Open Letter, Persistence, Poetry and Poems, Resistance, Set List, Song, Sparks, Stage, Story, Tempo
Leave a comment
First Principles: We Cannot Learn From One Another Until We Stop Shouting At One Another, Until We Speak Quietly Enough So That Our Words Can Be Heard
“In these difficult years, America has suffered from a fever of words; from inflated rhetoric that promises more than it can deliver; from angry rhetoric that fans discontents into hatreds; from bombastic rhetoric that postures instead of persuading. We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another, until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.” – Richard M. Nixon
Posted in First Principles
Tagged America, Deliver, Difficult Years, Discontent, Fever, First Priinciples, Hatred, Heard, Lean, One Another, Posture, Promise, Rhetoric, Richard M. Nixon, Shout, Speak Quietly, Voice, Words
Leave a comment
Thought For the Day: The Universe Is A Symphony of Vibrating Strings…We Are Nothing But Melodies. We Are Nothing But Cosmic Music Played Out On Vibrating Strings and Membranes
“What is the universe? The universe is a symphony of vibrating strings…we are nothing but melodies. We are nothing but cosmic music played out on vibrating strings and membranes.” – Michio Kaku
I’m not sure I believe Kaku. But I do think it is interesting that we are back to talking about the music of the spheres…
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Cosmic Music, Melody, Membranes, Michio Kaku, Symphony, Thought For the Day, Universe, Vibrating Strings
Leave a comment
Hula Memories
Hula Memories
by Michael Doyle
The modern age has its share of complexity.
But not enough to warrant Hawaiian anxiety.
The sacred duty held with great veneration,
Is the sacred duty felt by each generation.
Hula is the language of the Hawaiian heart.
It has remained so since the very start.
Each move is symbolic of a tale to be told.
With each move, the Polynesian story unfolds.
Hula expresses all that we see and feel,
In this way, this dance is what keeps us real.
It is the joy and sorrow of every perceived fear.
It is the courage that is always there.
The heiau stands guard over the native graves,
But it is Hulu that reminds us of what it saves.
Though life pushes out in a million directions,
We cannot help but feel the deeply rooted connections.
The connections that make us want to return home,
There is something intangible yet hard as temple stone.
It is and was not just a dance but a way of life.
It brought us to a sense of peace and away from strife.
A pig roasts beneath fronds baked within Hawaiian ground,
And this too is a part of where our hearts are found.
Heritage calling to our hearts with every bit of love,
On the islands beneath a million stars floating above.
Like the ancestors did, we step left to step right
As slack key guitars and ukuleles play into the night.
There is and was something magical in the harmony.
What sounded right was to melodically loosen the key.
Then we would watch as the dancers moved into position,
Proud as we quietly were to be the performing musicians.
The dancers would dance, beating the gourds, chanting in voice,
And as we moved in unison, it was as if we had no choice.
In call and response, the dancers danced in sacred duty.
Every step taken had its natural sense of rarefied beauty.
Though life is filled with hard work and endless miles,
The Hula is the dance of dances, bringing endless smiles.
(c) August 26, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Ancestors, Art, Beauty, Call and Response, Chant, Choice, Complexity, Connection, Courage, Dance, Dancers, Direction, Express, Fear, Feel, Found, Generation, Gourd, Grave, Ground, Guard, Harmony, Hawaiian Anxiety, Heart, Heiau, Heritage, Hula, Language, Loosen the Key, Love, Memory, Million Stars, Modern Age, Move, Musician, Night, Peace, Pig Roast, Poetry and Poems, Polynesian, Postion, Real, Return Home, Sacred Duty, Save, Slack Key Guitar, Spirituality, Step, Strife, Symbolic, Tale, Temple Stone, The Islands, Travel, Ukuleles, Unison, Way of Life, Writing
Leave a comment
First Principles: Yesterday Is Not Ours To Recover, But Tomorrow Is Ours To Win Or Lose
“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” – Lyndon Baines Johnson
Posted in First Principles
Tagged First Principles, Lose, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Ours, Recover, Tomorrow, Win, Yesterday
Leave a comment
Thought For the Day: All That Happens To Us, Including Our Humiliations, Our Misfortunes, Our Embarrassments, All Is Given To Us As Raw Material, As Clay, So That We May Shape Our Art
“All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.” – Jorge Luis Borges
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Art, Clay, Embarrassment, Happen, Humiliation, Jorge Luis Borges, Misfortune, Raw Material, Shape, Thought For the Day, Us
Leave a comment
ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 