The Eternal Forge
A Philosophical Canticle
Beneath the vaulted stars, where silence weaves
The threads of mortal dreams and fleeting griefs,
A voice ascends, from clay and fire spun,
To chant the truths where human souls are won.
Love craves action, trust begs proof’s clear sign,
Sorry carves redemption’s steep incline.
In conscience’s crypt, at midnight’s solemn toll,
What whispers stir the embers of the soul?
I am the athlete, sinew shaped by strife,
A stoic’s mind, unbowed by mortal knife,
A warrior’s spirit, forged in battle’s glare,
A poet’s heart, where galaxies would dare.
This is my mark, the summit I pursue,
To sculpt a self where dreams burn ever true.
Yet some, in shadows, nurse their self-wrought chains,
Unforgiving of the wounds their hands ordained.
Judge not my saga by the page you spy,
One chapter’s hue cannot my truth belie.
I turned from chaos, chose peace o’er rancor’s din,
Kept distance where disrespect’s dark roots begin.
Some seethe because my truth their lies confounds,
Their fury flares where verity resounds.
For truth, though cloaked in malice’s cruel art,
Outshines the fables woven to tear apart.
Condemn ere seeking, and ignorance ascends,
Einstein’s admonition through the ages rends.
The devil, sly, applauds our proudest deeds,
His whisper gilds the thorns of vain creeds.
No candle dims another’s fragile flame,
Yet fools with blades draw blood to stake their claim.
The wise, with measured cuts, sever folly’s tie,
And rise, unshackled, toward the open sky.
Narcissists spin lies to guard their hollow throne,
But truth’s keen edge will crack their heart of stone.
Count not another’s sins to claim your grace,
Sainthood dawns where self’s own faults embrace.
Burn not yourself to warm a frigid soul,
The young await their knights, the old, their role—
They are the cavalry, through trials they ride,
No grudge endures till words have clarified.
When clowns usurp the halls of kingly might,
No crown they wear, but jests in garish light.
Control’s a veil for those who’ve lost their core,
And distance kept in pain must bar the door.
Shrink not your dreams to fit a cramped design,
But forge conviction where your stars align.
Facts stand stark, opinions bear life’s weight,
Ignorance blinds, and folly seals its fate.
Fear of pain is pain’s own shadowed root,
Orwell’s stark cry: Deny the eyes’ pursuit.
Obligation chains from without, but know,
Commitment blooms where inner rivers flow.
The past, a realm where strangers’ echoes fade,
Some swear to need, not love, till needs degrade.
What we permit, we let in silence thrive,
Grammar’s sharp quill makes clarity revive.
Resentments fester, anger hastens doom,
Gossip’s venom poisons every room.
Truth’s fleeting sting trumps lies’ eternal cost,
A bank’s grand theft makes guns’ small crimes seem lost.
Choke on greatness, spurn mediocrity’s crumb,
Right needs no wrong to make its anthem hum.
When sums unravel, subtract to find the core,
The joyful weave the best from what they store.
Wanting’s a spark, change fans it to a blaze,
Surrender all but will to claim your days.
Normal’s a cage: debt, desks, and hollow homes,
Guilt marks the deed, but shame the self entombs.
Reinvest the soul, let dividends unfold,
Old bricks rebuild the house of tales retold.
Hope outruns the scars experience wrought,
Loss yields to loves unlooked-for, newly brought.
Strangers bloom to kin, then fade to mist,
Time shifts the heart where love once clenched its fist.
Be no vile fool, lest fools your circle bind,
Be a rainbow’s arc in clouds another finds.
Live with mind mature, yet heart untouched by guile,
What you craved was but a shadow all the while.
Anger’s ember sparks a shameful fall,
Two graves await where vengeance heeds its call.
Beauty we chase, yet bear it in our breast,
Cease judging self, and world’s scorn finds no rest.
Wisdom knows I’m naught, love claims I am all,
Between these poles, my life’s great tides enthrall.
Conscience murmurs soft in night’s embrace,
What does it sing to light the soul’s dark space?
Friends, the clan we forge through fleeting years,
Change worlds by acts, not words drowned out by tears.
Those who dance seem mad to ears unblessed,
No music stirs where fear has built its nest.
A life’s true measure lies in hearts it sways,
Justice sleeps till outrage joins the fray.
I tend my own green plot, no envy’s sting,
Be true, or fade to naught, a hollow thing.
Mutual hearts share effort’s equal load,
Strip dignity, and ruin’s seed is sowed.
Secrets fester, victories wrongly claimed,
Prejudice weds the ignorance it named.
Superstition chokes where doubt should breathe,
The nomad drifts, no root to interweave.
Friendship springs from being one to give,
Youth’s fire squanders, wanderers yet live.
Expectations wound where hope should lift the soul,
My kin sank deep, yet I reclaim the whole.
Sweet deceit may soar above the base,
But truth’s the pulse where hearts in rhythm race.
Sartre’s sharp barb: The idle rock the keel,
Revolt’s no spark where poor can’t claim their zeal.
Humble self, or life will bend the knee,
Choice grows light when paths no longer flee.
Rain falls hard, yet warming’s not its source,
Forgive for peace, not for another’s course.
Truth needs no ledger, standing pure and lone,
No bloom takes root in arseholes’ barren stone.
Surrender’s not defeat, but story’s close,
Learn joy unscripted, love that freely grows.
Imagination builds or breaks the mind,
Anxiety’s the specter it designed.
I am not your thought, but what you deem,
Your view of me becomes your waking dream.
Forgive the wrongs, do more for those you raise,
Seek pardon where neglect has dimmed your days.
The human race is all, its triumph sweet,
Perseverance crowns where frailty’s faults retreat.
Linger not in waiting’s sterile room,
Acts deafen words where whispers face their doom.
Love’s barren fields yield no eternal gain,
Happiness, not spite, dissolves the chain.
Persist to seize, stay constant to retain,
Past lies undo the truth you would sustain.
Judge not by answers, but by queries wise,
Happiness a path, not prize to seize with eyes.
Divorce’s jihad trades wounds none wish to bear,
Integrity’s the board where souls repair.
Truth, like verse, is scorned yet purely gleams,
Keep swimming, let the heart weave endless dreams.
No tears, no rainbow; no spark, no life’s refrain,
Are you alive before death stakes its claim?
Turn the page, let stories soar anew,
Two fractured souls can forge a bond that’s true.
Dream on, explore, let age not quench the fire,
Freedom’s not indifference, but choice’s sire.
Art heals the scars it dares to bare once more,
Doubt slays the dream where failure keeps no score.
Optimism drives where hope begins its song,
Worry’s but a shield for rains that never throng.
Love’s excuses veil the truths we shun,
Christmas amplifies the heart’s vast pendulum.
True love returns, its orbit ever fixed,
Defy your bounds, let spirit stand unmixed.
No fault to cast, yet all must bear the weight,
Values, not creeds, carve paths to righteous fate.
The circus lingers though the beast is gone,
Stand firm, let haters falter in their dawn.
Raise words, not voice, let rain make blossoms thrive,
Success is courage rising to survive.
Loyalty’s no shackle, let false feasts decay,
Trust builds slow, time’s truth will light the way.
Faith sees dawn where darkness clouds the mind,
Doors life seals? Reopen, seek, and find.
Courage speaks soft when roars have lost their might,
Patience in lack, demeanor in delight.
Let beauty, terror, all in tide arrive,
No feeling’s final, every dawn’s alive.
A strong man shapes his chains to pathways free,
Quakes make refugees, yet tourists we may be.
Shun the bleak, their woes eclipse the light,
Winter’s disco tent spins joy in endless night.
Today’s the gift, the now where all is sown,
The past is dust, tomorrow’s yet unknown.
Wise hearts speak truth, while fools but chase the sound,
Love and loyalty in belonging’s vow are found.
Cling not to those who need your fleeting spark,
Clean hands alone can point where truths embark.
Camus held life dear through cosmic silent scorn,
Nietzsche urged: become what you were born.
Equal rights, not boons, love’s anthem sings,
Pain and joy entwine where greatness springs.
Faith lights the void where reason wears its mask,
Integrity’s the feast where souls unmask.
In shadows, light; in grief, a smile’s soft bloom,
Life lingers still, though death may weave its loom.
Listen to grasp, not merely to retort,
Give praise, take fault, let ego’s reign fall short.
Seek possibilities, let problems fade to gray,
Nerves may fray, yet will shall carve the way.
Speak, though unease would bid your tongue be still,
Nightmares yield to joy’s unshackled thrill.
Fools drag you low, their cunning born of years,
Do common acts with flair, and awe appears.
Spirit’s the path through hell’s unyielding gate,
Love’s brief spark outburns forgetting’s weight.
Gratitude’s humility, no tale to weave,
Deep love grants strength, deep loving dares believe.
Karma serves no choice, yet rights the scales unseen,
Ties, not ink, mark thieves in power’s sheen.
Paranoia’s truth may haunt the watchful mind,
Bleak souls drag down the hope they leave behind.
Humanity’s the creed, love’s law the call,
Someday the reckless see their ruin’s thrall.
Doubt’s sharp pang trumps certainty’s blind creed,
Contempt before the quest sows folly’s seed.
Luck’s a fleeting breeze, but grit ignites the flame,
Today’s the gift, the now bears no one’s blame.
Wise words bear weight, while fools but prattle free,
Love’s belonging shapes a deeper destiny.
Life’s not the breaths we count, but those that steal,
The measured pulse makes fleeting moments real.
This is the soul’s great forge, its timeless hymn,
Where love and loss in righteous chorus blend.
Happiness the journey, courage lights the way,
In every heart, truth’s seed shall bloom always.
Conscience sings, the heart breaks free to soar,
In life’s vast dance, we are, and evermore.