Enlightenment!

No one walks anywhere anymore.

My self portrait

_________________________________

Waves rolled across the horizon

through afternoon darkened black sky

The world we came to know shut down

as storm winds counted time gone by

 _________________________________

I walked outside just for awhile

to see what the damage had done

Only to find neighbors talking

it was so nice to meet each one

 _________________________________

We lead cold insulated lives

tucked safe and away from others

Too many electronic toys

to visit with our own brothers

 _________________________________

I noticed we don't build sidewalks

no one walks around anymore

Too afraid of the evening news

to dare visit our neighbors door

_________________________________

My friends keep their children hidden

schedule play-dates with one and all

To visit with their playstation

just to await their friends next call

 _________________________________

All you see in the news is fear

"be afraid foolish, there's no hope

Don't build friendships with your neighbors

they might just give your children dope"

_________________________________

We watch as our children grow fat

pretending we don't fear the truth

Yet we remember riding bikes

through the creek that ran in our youth

 _________________________________

When was it that we stopped running

then gave up hide and seek till dark

Too afraid of our own shadow

to let children play in the park

 _________________________________

I don't know what we were thinking

sitting with friends all day at work

Where we hire our private trainer's

to make us look like we don't shirk

 _________________________________

But that one day the power died

I knew the depth of our mistake

We should turn off the fear mongers

for salvation of our souls sake

 

Tate

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Author's Note

I find that great moments of enlightenment often come in the times we least expect them. Then in a moment of Zen brilliance things are made so clear. This is one of those times. The United States news organizations in my opinion are all about fear and ratings of the same. If you subscribe to their theory Susan Smith could be your neighbor. We spend litteraly billions on defence to allieviate our fears over the present state of terrorism. Yet more are killed by our own guns in our own country every year than have been killed all together through our history from terror. Here's an idea quit giving money to the rest of the world. Bring home most troops. Spend those billions finding a way to keep us from accidently killing ourselves! If the rest of the world wants to kill themselves, let them! The tribes of Afganistan have been killing each other for at least 1500 years. We cannot change the way they think or act anymore than we change another in a relationship. I see this all the time people thinking they can change their partners through their influence. It never works it never will, anymore than abstinance has been able to stop pregnancy over the centuries. Meanwhile we go into recessions that effect the entire world. Think of what a great life it would be if we could fund humanitarian aid to our own country, our own retirees. There are as many baby boomers ready to retire soon as all those who are already retired. We need to let the immigrants back in. We need them to support these new retirees. The Government has swelled to twice the size it was in 2001. These people don't pay Social Security taxes. They are payed by us and they invest in a different way for retirement. If this keeps up the only good retirement will be a government job spying on your neighbors.

Reviews

[Bud]

I'm sure I have enough thoughts and opinions on this to fill a novel or two. I'll save you the grief, here. LOL Man, Tate! How you have hit such a crucial, critical, and most detrimental point of truth here, my friend. I feel no pen could capture the truth of today's society any better. My heart jumped a time or two recalling how I, myself , have pondered this very thing. I'm as guilty as the next. Letting the news and like media dictate, brainwashing me with fear to the point of nearly being a recluse. Yes, I hear the cry, my friend! Indeed I do, for I am crying with you! I remember that wonderful park two blocks away, with a beautiful creek running through it. The one I used big truck inner tubes to float down, with the homemade paddle I fashioned out of an old pair of cross country skies. The tail ends nailed to an old shop broom handle. The same creek I spent many hours alone...when even then danger was known to lurk in the evening times before and after dusk. My second home that taught me many, many things concerning life for an innocent young boy. Lessons that last a lifetime for the better of good. I remember unscheduled (excepting for when it was school time) playing times. The only time mentioned was how long I could stay. I pushed to the limits there. I remember never having heard of supervised play times, outside of recess at elementary school. Sad times, that an understatement concerning what has been lost, and rendered being a mere memory for the more fortunate of us. When did we lose that control? How did we let it happen before our very eyes? What were we thinking, as you Masterfully asked here? No apology to our children or any other to follow them is enough to forgive us of our detrimentally grave error. A shame we are sure suffer judgment by those of the Highest Creed! We deserve it, though we knew not what we did. To think, that is just a slight memory of one particular area I claimed my stomping grounds. Doesn't even include the res to the neighborhood and the many, many places I traveled alone. By today's standard, the police would be looking for me with the expectations of the worst. I was out getting the most important and most valuable lessons anyone can learn...form life and nature. The Master of Masters. I do not mean to carry on, but obviously you have one of those with this one that just begs to hear a response from the readers who do remember. This is, also one of those Magnificent pieces that makes a reader yearn to go back for just one day, one hour if that is all that is allowed. Never mind any heartaches or the like. Give one hour of those days, and that would last me forever! How lucky and blessed we were. Who would have, who could have ever thought or imagined times would come to this so damn fast! Keep up your usual and most Delightfully Outstanding works of art!

[Barbara Walker]

Oh Tate, I feel like I have been alone for so long and then, I read your words! The first time I heard the term "play date", I laughed. Then, I found out they weren't joking! When I was growing up, no one ever went inside until after porch lights came on. Hide N Seek in the dark was the BEST! Running barefoot, drinking out of hoses, clipping playing cards to out bicycle spokes.
Now, they protect children to the point of being ridiculous! I have actually seen with my own eyes, knee pads for babies learning to crawl and helmets for their heads!
Then, they came up with that concept that EVERYONE is a winner! EVERYBODY gets a trophy! You do not have to practice and work hard to get to be the best player, they are ALL best players! I could go on and on but you KNOW what I mean!

[Valentine]

How true..I can remember summers so full of outside fun..playing hide and seeek..tag..3 feet in the gutter..building bonfires..climbing trees for tree tag..No street lights except on the main highway..life was so much fuller and nicer then..I wonder just how much man has destroyed by his inventions..Nice one Tate..Kathie

[lee von cleef]

Power, My mind is on Bird hunting right now,I have not shot a bird lately with much more then my hand,But after 9/11, I was in northern Oklahoma, knocking on farmers doors,no one turned me down,Bugger ,Ink, and I , could not believe how the spirit flipped two weeks before people set us away,chilly cold ,we were invisible.

Economics; start with being responsible for yourself,then your kids,then your neighbor,
Praise all that is good,and listen well, open your heart,and teach people to think.
Finally teach people to feel poetry in them selves,Yep, Tate more Tates and we will be OK

[Tate Morgan]

Thats a kindness i won't soon forget friend. Thank you

[spiritwind]

you have written the gospel truth here, Tate

[Writer *78*]

Nice the first few stanzas made me think of Hurricane Sandy and how my family was without power for 5 days straight all we did is go talk to the neighbors while kids went to school so I get you there Tate. Well done.

[Enid Blake]

I avoid the media, a refreshing poem to read :)

[Geon Quuin]

Beautifully written. It made me enter my introspective mode. Thought provoking and probing. I like it.

[Carolann Dowsett]

Wow this one really hit home. With young children it is true we don't trust any more but it is for good reason. It's sad that we can't allow our children more freedom but the world is a scary place now and they really are not safe out in the streets alone. I think the best thing is getting out there with them as much as we can until they are old enough to go out in groups. As for the neighbors well I still chat to mine but it's not friendly as it once was. We have grown into fearful, suspicious human beings and unfortunately its because of the suffering a lot of us has experienced first hand that makes us feel like this. An amazing write Tate.

[Tate Morgan]

We are a scarier place because we scare ourselves every night on the evening news if we were a bit kinder this would never have happened i think

[Carolann Dowsett]

Yes it's true the media are all about scaring us silly, but still bad things do happen, take it from me, I know. It's better to be at least a little cautious.

[Leigh]

This poem opens with the first two stanzas as quite abstract and descriptive poetry, which is then casually interrupted by the real world of your neighbours talking, which then in turn leads to the highly relevant subject matter of our world today, this is a brilliant way to bring the reader in, which you have done.

[Tate Morgan]

Hi Leigh nice to see you thank you

[michael.c.m]

Tate, you have a way with words, entwining the emotion like a vine running thru and defined in meter. You have a good point about "fear" here. We are the "prey" and news agencies and the government seem predator-ish lately. Even ads task our fears. Now the "treat the symptom, not the cause" aspect of western medicine is being applied to the gun-control issue. If there is a sickness in this country, it was brought to us by our own media and government. Be well, Tate. No fear.

[Tate Morgan]

Michael so long since last we spoke. Be well my friend I agree with you on the problem

When you are but old and feeble
with your grandchild upon your knee
Tell your stories, of life's glories
show him the scars so he can see

A life spent cowering from pain
will so leave you aching inside
The best gift you'd miss, from life's kiss
knowing you never even tried

Tate

[michael.c.m]

amen to that. Life is for living, such that one may die well.

[Tate Morgan]

I would think my life a failure if in the end I had nothing to say but that "I wish I had".

[michael.c.m]

:)