Desire

Rot slow, or burn fast

In the end it all

Belongs to the worm.

~

To dream is to strive

To strive is to cling

To cling to the purpose, or goal.

~

Which may be no more

Then taking

The next breath.

~

Into a great caldron

We are born

Knowing nothing

~

But the dream of being

And the rhythm of a heartbeat

Joined by a desire for breath

~

We gulp our first taste of life

From shearing pain

Into blinding light.

~

Complete confusion

With a reoccurring hunger

First in our belly, then our mind

~

Giving birth to desire

First for food, then to know

For the material and then the sublime.

~

Moving into a world of me and mine,

Feed me, hold me, clean me

We shout to the world,

~

And our world responds

Our needs are met

And our desires grow.

~

To stand on our own feet

To take our first step

Becomes our burning desire.

~

This leads to the disappointment

Of our first fall

And the pain of out first failures.

~

But soon to be overcome

By the magnitude of our successes

As we move from walking to running.

~

Now as we achieved this goal

A new ambition to express ourselves

Leads us to babble

~

Then to form words, to express desires.

While screams and tears

Worked well to show disappointment.

~

And laughter and gurgling

Could show contentment

We wanted so badly

~

To express the entire range

Of what made us happy or sad,

And strived to gain the words to do so.

~

Mommy, Daddy, look at me

Mine, no, give me,

Our own desires were our only concern.

~

Still we scream and cry

And learned to sulk

And to manipulate.

~

To lie and deceive,

“I didn’t do it!”

We would scream.

~

Because we had learned

Our decision had consequences

That we sometimes wished to avoid.

~

“That is mine” we would lie

For we had learned

Deception could gain our desires.

~

“I won't ever do it again”

We meant it when we said it,

“I am so sorry”

~

We learned that contrition

Could bring forgiveness

And abate the punishment.

~

We learned our parent’s beliefs.

We learned our community’s values.

We agreed or disagreed,

~

And learned to walk our own paths

As our desires dictated,

Some into salvation, others into perdition.

~

Each clinging to our beliefs

Walk in the caldron of beliefs

Being buffeted by the actions of others.

~

They lied to us.

They betrayed our trust.

They stole from us.

~

As we went forth looking for love.

We heard the word

From our cradle.

~

And as a child thought it was one-way,

We did not have to love

Like we were loved.

~

Then our heart was broken,

Our dreams were shattered

By the actions of one we loved.

~

Our happiness we had put

Into their hands.

They had to conform to our plan.

~

And when they did not

Our heart was broken

As our desire died.

~

And came to the conclusion

That life is naught

But the Devil’s Dream.

~

Not seeing the Potter’s Hands

As He shaped us

As He would have us

~

By other’s action,

And our reaction to others

What we have become is formed.

~

We go out and act

Each act has a reaction

Which limits our range to act.

~

But we each walked the path

That was ours to walk.

Everything was for a reason,

~

And that reason goes on

Through the pages of History,

His Story.

~

Until we find ourselves

Right here in front of these words

Wondering where our world has gone.

~

The grave beckons

And the worm awaits us

In the dust from which we came.

~

Every head will bow

Every mouth will confess

And we will all be blessed.

~

Until then we must live

And live the best we can

For we are driven by desire.

~

Everything comes to go,

It is in attachment that pain of the heart lives.

If it is born it will die.

~

Every desire comes to life,

And will die in fulfillment

Or be lost in disappointment.

~

Every sadness come to life,

And will stay alive

Until devoured by time.

~

Each happiness is as fleeting

As the rising sun

And as morning goes, so will it.

~

Be in the world, but not of it

Our Lord advised us.

Easier said than done.

~

Life is all about learning to live,

And His Rod and Staff comfort us.

The Lord chastens the ones He loves.

~

And He will leave all He loves

To save His one lost one.

It is in our blindness that we see.

~

A world so hostile and mean,

Whose god is the Devil,

And evil is its way.

~

But when we lied we were lied to.

When we stole we were stolen from.

As we sowed so we reaped.

~

But we do good things

That was mixed with our bad,

Like the wheat and the tarts.

~

The Lord forbade His servants

From ripping our bad intention

From our hearts.

~

Least it harms our good intentions.

But let them grow together,

Let the heart find its way.

~

Rather He said that in the end

Our goodness would be separated

From our badness.

~

To let us learn to forgive

Those who harmed us and

To let us treat others as we would be treated.

~

To help the stranger

Forget the wrong

And remember the good.

~

Though broad and easy

The way to damnation

His Rod constricts, and his Staff controls

~

Till we find our world so strait and narrow

With no way to go,

But the way before us.

~

So let us rejoice in this

A day the Load has made,

And trust in His way.

~

~

~

©

Rexx