Immortality

To be awake is to be alive. I have never yet met a man who was quite awake. - Thoreau

don't need no bible

no stained glass to peek

no candles to light

no bill shakespeare to tell me what's wrong or right

will instead of might

so keep your shackles

your city of jackals

and your faithless fire that no longer crackles

you'll find me in the park

down by the water

stick in hand like the elite

basking in the sun

humming a favorite song

praising the almighty

with the birds and trees

wide-eyed and free

as i was born to be

Author's Note

“God himself culminates in the present moment, and will never be more divine in the lapse of all the ages. And we are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality which surrounds us. The universe constantly and obediently answers to our conceptions; whether we travel fast or slow, the track is laid for us.” - Thoreau

Reviews

[lightsong]

Outstanding dear Pete, breathtaking your last verse is. in the first place, it was in our essence, in our core, we born with it, but it's our choice to keep and grow that faith, and it's our choice if we want to lose it into some faithless actions, situation or people, it's our test. and instead of going into the past and what happened there, what about doing something good for real right now? how that would be peaceful and blissful? God is perfectly presented in our now moment. not before nor later.

[Pete]

you remind me that a single act of kindness can change the world. like tossing a pebble in a pond - it ripples outward. your comment ripples thoreau in the second quote. you are right on the mark. thank you ... :)

[John the Baptist]

The quote from Thoreau at the beginning was interesting, in that he said he had never met a man who was quite awake. Ironically, that is how the Buddha described himself: "I am awake." Perhaps that is the real meaning of immortality, becoming awake. It certainly reflects the spirit of the last lines.

[Pete]

many people are like the walking dead. interesting that buddha said that, course he was so fat he couldn't get out of his own way. Just kidding. thanks for "weighing in" j the b ... :)

[Fran Marie]

when one feels the
freedom being in
and communing with
nature and all lively
creations.he/ she is
feeling the divine
presence of God.

[Pete]

you've got that right fran. no argument from me. good to hear from you and thank you for stopping by and sharing ... :)

[Poetic Beauty]

So what I like about this is that this poem shows that the narrator is the closest to God when I’m nature and creations.

I’m a spiritual person. I believe in God and Jesus. But I have a hard time with religion.

[Pete]

like my muse thoreau, i am a transcendentalist - i believe that god speaks and pervades through nature. he is in it because he created it so to speak. i appreciate your thoughts on the matter and sharing. thank you ... :)