Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Old Ottawa

Moon's the brightest light tonight
Orion's out as well
My headlights shine on Old Ottawa
I've missed this place like hell

The crickets chirp and dead leaves blow
As I approach this lonely shack
The door opens easily, as if to say
"It's been awhile; welcome back"

I step inside and the room wakes up
As I turn on the light
And my mind is stirred with memories
Like shadows in the night

The Christmas lights, the wooden bunks
The marks on the wall: still there
I grin to myself as I drop my things
And step out to the cool night air

It's good to have a quiet place
A getaway you hold dear
Once again, mine is Old Ottawa
And I wish you all were here

Monday, March 16, 2015

Springtime in Michigan

Gray and brown
Both in drab concert
A bleakness has come down
Duller than the desert

The robins sing its praise
Through early morning haze
As mankind bats an eye
And sees not what is nigh

So rise up in delight
At your self-wrought blight
Prepare your choicest mode of slaughter
While winged dunes take flight
Voices rolling in meaningless laughter

And now proclaim your victory
Over Mother Nature, see
How humbly, on her bended knee
She worships you sarcastically

Monday, March 2, 2015

Knowledge

So, I am most of the way through the collected works of Poe, and I have noticed many of his cultural criticisms still hold weight today. Currently, I am reading through "The Colloquy of Monos and Una," and one character is in a monologue describing man's thirst for knowledge. Here is a selection:

"Occasionally the poetic intellect - that intellect which we now feel to have been the most exalted of all...occasionally did this poetic intellect proceed a step farther in the evolving of the vague idea of the philosophic, and find in the mystic parable that tells of the tree of knowledge, and of its forbidden fruit, death-producing, a distinct intimation that knowledge was not meet for man in the infant condition of his soul. And these men - the poets - living and perishing amid the scorn of the 'utilitarians'...these men, the poets, pondered piningly, yet not unwisely, upon the ancient days when out wants were not more simple than our enjoyments keen - days when mirth was a word unknown, so solemnly deep-toned was happiness - holy, august and blissful days, when blue rivers ran undammed, between hills unhewn, into far forest solitudes, primaeval, odorous, and unexplored."

He goes on to describe "knowledge" as "the leading evil." Reading this is astonishing to me, as his words seem only to have gained application and wisdom after all this time. Man's thirst for knowledge has been at an unhealthy level for a long time, and our power over the earth far outscales our discretion.

This would be an appropriate time to say, "It's not that I don't like progress," but I can't actually bring myself to say those words. What we view as "progress" only occurs at great cost to our planet. All of our inventions and great strides, while rapidly increasing our knowledge and capabilities as a race, are destroying the planet right now. We take too much, and often what we do give back is even more destructive. Even as I write against these things, I am using coal-powered electricity and thus supporting the destruction of the mountains which I claim to love so dearly.

We cannot live without causing at least some sort of small-scale destruction (just the act of walking is technically destroying one thing or another underfoot), but the effects of our "progress" on earth are now far beyond a small scale. Modern culture needs a new perspective on what makes real progress. I applaud those people who are now living simple lives, consuming less of the world's resources, and giving back in positive ways to both their communities and the world at large. We need more of those people. I hope myself to begin living such a lifestyle, as soon as I find the faith to let go of the system I rail against.

Here is an applicable movie scene. Take a moment to listen and glean the important principles.

Jurassic Park - Lunch

If you know me well enough, you probably know about my obsession with Jurassic Park. Here's something you may not know: my love of this story runs deeper than just loving dinosaurs. The previous scene is, in my opinion, the pivotal scene of the whole movie and contains the central message. Yet even after hearing it, how many of us would wildly support a real-life Jurassic Park? We agree for a moment with Malcolm, but when it comes to real application in the world, we can usually find ourselves siding with Hammond.

I'll leave you with the most poignant quote of the scene:

"What you call science...I call the rape of the natural world."

Peace.