Shadow beings lie within us, waiting
to make their presence felt; to bend the truth
till our conscious minds are set in turmoil
by unaccustomed promptings of temptation.
We feel the warmth of all their whispered goads
which hold us, teetering on wisdom's brink,
ready to misread a situation;
to falter in our stride and lose the way...
It's then we have to choose to take control,
to push our finer instincts to the fore -
ignoring what might be the easy choice -
and strive, however hard, to do what's right,
with no regret, no thought of recompense
except a well earned sense of justice done.
Oh, Tess! I've decided to re-post an edited version of the illustration and poem I did first time around. Full marks to anyone who spots the changes to Mag 224 and apologies to Rene Magritte...LOL
How different would our world be if all would live by the principles set out by this poem.
ReplyDeleteIt has a 'hymnal' quality, wise words too.
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating how easily we can believe the lies we tell ourselves. Very interesting, and wise words!
ReplyDeleteTry as I might, Freya, your blog won't let me leave a comment, no matter how persistent I am......
DeleteI think just like the painting we can easily be trapped in the mirror world.. but we have simply to turn our eyes and we can find the truth.
ReplyDelete"Shadow beings lie within us..."
ReplyDeleteThe word "lie," in your first line, shapes so many thoughts and questions in my mind: are the shadow beings lying about what they are doing? Maybe just lying down and waiting for something before springing into the light? Are they lying about the reasons why they are lying down and waiting? Lies lying in the shadows...
I truly enjoyed this.
I think we all have a shadow within us
ReplyDeletebut, we need to take control and find
the light..
i think the hardest thing to do is to fight the "shadows" within...
ReplyDeleteExcellent- I sure wish our "fearless" leaders would strive for this!
ReplyDeleteGreat poem!! The last stanza particularly, I would love to listen as a world leader shared this inspiration .. a JFK kind of person?
ReplyDeleteLoved the possible shadows within us and the wisdom shown.
ReplyDeleteI found the last verse very powerful.
So well done Jinksy. The second stanza is stirring and triumphant - how much a nicer place this world would be if we all had that zeal, the desire to do what is right.
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
We do have a tendency to misunderstand.
ReplyDeleteShadow being certainly do live within all of us. Wonderful poem.
ReplyDeleteStriving to do what's right isn't easy, but it is a good feeling. This is a great piece of work.
ReplyDeleteA fine moral compass you have , Jinksy, mine is an iphone App...bind them in the triangle and keep them thiere !! !
ReplyDeletePenny thanks for the advice I have been using better grammar in my poetry. If everyone did the right thing this would be a wonderland.
ReplyDeleteHi Jinksy, a great poem and really enjoyed your powerful words and images here.
ReplyDeleteExcellent...and well worth dusting off your first offering!
ReplyDelete