Monday, November 19, 2007

The 5ifth Soliloquy *

Day I … Hard Decision Making…

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same…

Robert Frost

Day II… Despite the Certainty …

I am elegantly frightened

I wonder what the future holds

I hear those who guide me whispering silently, be bold

I see the golden path wanting my footprints

I want to be strong

I am elegantly frightened

I understand my infinitive, ebony errors

I say soon you’ll be sparkling

I try to dodge falling boulders as I climb my mountain

I hope I never slip and fall back again

I am elegantly frightened

Jessica Peeples

Day III… The Striking Truth….

Life is not poetry,

Said my old man in his somber voice.

Life needs purpose, goal, substance,

You know what I mean.

Then why can’t life be poetry…

Mine is.

Masami Kohno

Day IV… Major Setback…

I many time thought Peace had come

When Peace was far away-

As wrecked Men- deem they sight the Land-

At center of the sea

And struggle slacker- but to prove

As hopelessly as I-

How many the fictitious shores-

Before the Harbor be-

Emily Dickinson

Day V… Despair Drowning…

[Pain] has no Future-but itself-

Its Infinite contain

It’s Past- enlightened to perceive

New periods- of Pain

Emily Dickinson

Day VIFinding Land

The wheel is set in motion; hope it is your day

You’re stuck in the middle of somewhere

A place you cannot stay

Anticipation haunts you and failure feeds your pain

Your dark clouds have no silver lining

But success you must gain

The hands of time keep turning and your lot stays the same

Don’t stop trying to change the picture

Beneath that iron frame

You did not light your fire so they could kill the flame

Don’t lose the passion and desire

Come on, try again

We all don’t walk our desired path

We all don’t live our fantasy

We all don’t reap our labor’s fruits

We all don’t reach to the tunnel’s end

Yet we dream…

Yet we dream…

Joel Aaron

Day VII…The Big Bang…

Tell me I am weak,

It only makes me stronger.

Tell me I won’t succeed,

I will only break your limits.

Tell me my dreams are foolish,

I will make them come true.

Tell them to put me in chains, and I will break them.

Tell me I will never amount to anything,

And I will be the next role model.

For every person who has ever made a mark in society,

There are at least 10 people who tried to suppress them.

So get in line and take a number.

Matthew Duncan Malone

Day VIII…Invincible Power…

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing their and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowances for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tiered of waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream- and not make dreams your master;

If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same:

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken

And stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them:” Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings- nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth a distance run-

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And- which is more- you'll be a Man my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Day IX… The Peaceful End…

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Some where ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in the woods and I-

I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

* These poems were assembled in the summer of 2004 to describe the 5 years I spent studying Architecture at the University of Jordan

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