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David et Goliath (Archangel Edit)

Archangel Michael

Cheer me on, Oblivia
as I wind up from the knees
to rend from Earth this nemesis
of everlasting peace

Aiming at the nose bridge
of the Grand Chaos Machine
bracing with the groundswell
fully charged, I launch again

Swing that arm around now
Come on David, let her fly
Holding up your left hand
as a shield against the sky
watch that middle finger
you must use it as a guide
Clean your stones; less friction
Count, release and it is done

Lead, my faithful vanguard
Gather, kindred, go that way
On your trusting footprints
shines the mighty light of day

Come on, children, walk this way…

 

♝

Note: I wrote this poem at the end of March and hid it, thinking I would never need to publish it. Clearly, I was kidding myself. Tammy, and Jeanne, this poem might be all I can do. Photo credit: Archangel Michael defeats the Evil One, St Michaelis Church Tombamasta, Hamburg, Germany; image via Pinterest.

By ΠιCΘLΞ

Life is short, so let’s be decent.

110 replies on “David et Goliath (Archangel Edit)”

Powerful. I do feel, though, that we are caught in a trap of violence, begetting more violence. I wish that we could address the roots of the disease rather than continue thrashing ourselves against the symptoms.

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Thank you, Carrie. It’s true that we are not fixing anything by applying excessive force. Part of the problem is that we live in a world of top-down power and base ambitions on “having” and “having more” as opposed to “serving” and “serving more”. With the former, someone is going to feel left out and marginalised. When we “serve” everyone can “have”.

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SB, what a powerful poem and I think it is perfectly complemented by your choice of image. Thank you for sharing this gem.
With the present state of affairs around the world, I ponder whether David’s Goliath is indeed a Hydra. No matter though, I believe both were vanquished.

Love your work.

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Thank you so much for reading. The Hydra reference is well understood. I agree because it is evident that quite a number of opportunists are aligning themselves with certain groups or causes as justification for maiming and killing. What’s equally appalling is the lack of empathy I’m witnessing. Newspapers are gleefully reporting on complaints such as, “My shopping holiday’s got spoiled by terrorist attacks.” Because, priorities. Meanwhile the bad guys are hard at work and they know we’re too self absorbed to see them coming.

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Sensationalism is the currency of our times and media houses are the biggest peddlers of it. There are barely two news services that I can trust to provide a complete and impartial view of events. You are so right: we continue the self centrism and leave ourselves exposed to nasty surprises (maybe the news isn’t close enough?) We live in interesting times, as the curse goes.

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True word on that curse, mGm. And you are so right about not being able to piece two sources together. Imagine living in a country where the news is double filtered, recycled and phrased to maintain tranquility. It reduces stress but keeps people disconnected from the world at large. Here’s to a better week ahead. xo

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It’s disturbing to think about it but yes, the disregard for others’ pain and suffering is shocking. Engaging in thought helps us to become more conscientious.

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violence creates violence. I dont know how to escape this. There is no single one you can fight. There is no Name to it really. Is it something to do with your techincal development, IT, the Games, Internet…? Who knows really. And declaring full war against terrorism creates new deaths. It is not the fight we must wage, but find “new” ways. The spiritual way for instance…

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I appreciate your thoughts. I agree that violence begets resentment and fuels vengeance. At the same time, sitting on our hands and allowing people to destroy us won’t work, either. It is often necessary to say “no” in a forceful way. There are many non violent solutions. Passivity is certainly not a solution. There are ways of being firm without violating others’ rights.

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Please don’t feel hesitate to publish n to share your beautiful poem, Sister. 😊 Talking about David and Goliath, I’ll add the history of it according Islamic history. David is one of the prophets, a strong man who could kill Goliath, and goodness will (kill) the badness (evil). We all need to live in peace.

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Thank you so much. Your encouragement means a lot. Peace is what we all want but achieving it seems like a lot of work. Have a peaceful and creative week ahead, sister.

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My pleasure Sis SB. Exactly….!! And thank you for your sweet words. This week n the next week will be busy weeks for me. I just started my routine,, going to school again. 😀

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Magnificent. Wonderful imagery, the surge of power, strength and determination is palpable. So too is the resolution for hope and peace…powerful and poignant…love this work of the heart. Thank you for sharing.

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Thank you so much for your support. I am very happy this resonated with you. In this era of aggressive retaliation, it is important to notice the distinction between the suppression of oppressive forces and anarchy. Anyone who wants to hurt others for the sake of it can now affiliate themselves to a certain cause as an excuse. That, in my mind, is true evil.

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Thank you. I was worried that it was too long. It does feel cut off but this is to create a feeling of continuity. This kind of story plays out over and over again in life and throughout history.

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Thank you so much. It took hours and some rather odd search terms but I found my Archangel. I edited the poem to a Prokofiev symphony to fix the pacing. I am very happy you appreciate the “largeness” I was trying to achieve.

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Always interesting trying to read your take on poems and thoughts of the happenings in the world. The comments and responses are very encouraging to understand how small the world really is.

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Thank you for reading, Sam. The world is safe and unsafe at the same time. Recent events should remind us that there is a lot of good in ourselves and that we should share this with others.

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Thank you for reading, Jacqueline. The current situation is dire and staying mindful and compassionate is a form of resistance to these dark forces threatening to overtake us. Have a peaceful week ahead.

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Only the sculptor could definitively answer that question for you. However, my interpretation is that torn feathers are the result of an intense battle. We come out damaged by negative events but, if we allow it, embracing our human frailty may make us more compassionate individuals.

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It’s perfectly fine, Jeanne. Thank you so much. When you post the response, I will update my post with a link to yours. Your consideration is much appreciated. I am looking out for the pingback notification. xo

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Beautiful 🙂 No Goliath can kill the Sun nor Stars with only height barely above the frail hands of mankind.

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Thank you, Tammy, for the support. One person can cause a lot of chaos and yet their reach is limited when you look at in that sense. Thank goodness for that. We can aim higher and perhaps noticing that our boring, petty nonsense is mucking things up might be the catalyst for change.

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Thank you so much for that interpretation. It is true that there is going to be battle fatigue. It’s the zombie apocalypse we dread. That thought was present in my mind when writing the poem. Which is implied by David launching again with new, clean stones (polishing and refining his technique). This is why a chorus of cheers (one voice- a groundswell of support) is so important. Otherwise, motivation drops and we fall into despair. Sticking together keeps us moving forward.

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I am not sure how to answer your question, as the story of David and Goliath is a widely known one, even in non Christian cultures. As for the modern references, this is an aggregate for the past month alone. The most recent one took place on Saturday and before that, on Thursday.

Turkey – Thwarted coup

Nice – Bastille Day attack

UK – Hate crimes after the Leave vote (Brexit)

USA – Orlando, Florida – Nightclub shooting (PRIDE event)

USA – Dallas, Texas – Sniper at (Peaceful) Black Lives Matter protests.

Iraq, Jordan, Libya, West Bank – Suicide bombings, assassinations and other incidents involving civilians.

As for the implied death threat, a reading of the Bible story may fully clear up that misunderstanding. I am sure I have forgotten some other recent incidents but instead of writing a long-winded summary in prose, which is certain to overwhelm readers, I chose to publish a poem about how survivors are determined to live in peace. We all do what we can to further the cause for world peace. Or, at the very least, we say we do.

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Maybe… We live in violent times. As per our Hindu system of belief, we are living in KaliYug. Kali here is not to be confused with the Goddess Kali. Anyway, this is the fourth of the ages, and is the dark one.

It is said that, at the end of this age, Kalki – the 10th incarnation of Vishnu – will come and destroy the world, and hopefully a new age of peace will start.

Let’s see.

The apocalyptic prediction on Nostradamus is yet in the future

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