The March of Time

It's not about who you know, it's about who knows you

Nothing stops the march of time,

Not sword or gun or crafted rhyme,

And the truth we can’t deny,

Is that we all will one day die,

And on that day you will not care,

That life was good and all was fair,

Or that the opposite was true,

And nothing ever went right for you,

King and Pauper, brain or jock,

All will fail to beat the clock,

And no matter what you possess,

Be it much, or else much less,

Naked you’ll stand before God’s throne,

And you’ll pray that you are known,

Your good deeds will fail to win,

A place in Heaven, or get you in,

Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad too,

Or any mantras that you knew,

Will not get you past the gate,

Or protect you from your fate,

Only Christ can save your soul,

From Hell’s fires safe and whole,

You’ll search in vain for another way,

You cannot wait ‘til Judgment day,

To put your faith in Christ the Lord,

Salvation is your faith’s reward,

So save yourself from Satan’s Hell,

Make sure Jesus knows you well

Reviews

[Rachelle]

Faith put into words.
And words put into action.

Love Him. Surrender to His Will and find salvation.

Kudos!

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you for reading it.

[Rachelle]

You are welcome! Luceat lux! Let your light shine!

[Traci]

I like the powerful message in this piece, Eddie. A very strong write, soulful, evoking a deep emotional depth that draws one in, connecting with the words. Regardless of all, in the eyes of God we are equal. Thank you for the reminder. "Salvation is your faith's reward" ..... So well said, my friend.

[Aethereal]

Your poem gets me thinking about the true referent for the symbol "God". Perhaps psychologically speaking God is merely our projected empathy for ourselves. Our empathy for ourselves knows us best of all. Historical Jesus was a Master of Empathy for all of those about him. We thirst for empathy. Empathy is unique to conscious beings, for computers no matter how well they are programmed may never desire empathy from anyone. Empathy is an intangible mystery that’s necessary to our survival as a conscious species. We are all naturally aware of Empathy though we cannot touch it or describe it logically!

[Eddie Davis]

God is far more then just projected empathy. Those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ can attest to His personality and even humor. I am not doubting the importance of empathy between individuals, but the essence of God is quite different, in that there are times when those who are attuned to God's desire are led to do things that are against the common shared 'norm' of human society or custom. This would, in effect, be going against the empathy that you spoke of in this world. The result is that there is a very certain knowledge of the presence of a very real and living God who is not the result of shared consciousness or man's desire for a greater good.

[Aethereal]

What I'm talking about here is the psychological phenomenon of projecting one's own empathy so as to establish it as an imaginary personified Other who has empathy for one's self. Such a personified empathy would have all the characteristics of a Jesus Christ if one adds those characteristics as described in the Bible to one’s mental construct. It's just natural for human beings to do things such as this since they have a thirst for all the Great Unknowns of Reality to have empathy for them so as to lessen their fear of the Unknown. This would alter one's personality for the better by giving one a great sense of value and purpose. This is a psychological species survival trait. No two people imagine exactly the same mental construct, and this is why we have so many different religions on earth. Projected Empathy ties all religions together. Most every child does this automatically when they personify a doll or stuffed bear where they imaging the doll as having empathy for them. Most people grow up, and then replace their dolls with abstract intangible generators of empathy. There’s nothing wrong with doing this so enjoy doing it what ever you imagine your mental construct as! The Jesus mental construct is a rather good one, but their others just as good.

[Eddie Davis]

You are quite mistaken about Jesus Christ, he was (and is) a historical person, not an imaginary personification of one's own empathy. You are attempting to explain something you don't understand by human reasoning and psychology, which is indeed a human reaction to the unknown. However, different cultures have different value systems and so a universal concept that becomes a god is quite a bit different then the real God. Of course I won't be able to convince you of what you choose not to believe, but I can assure you that I have delved far and wide into philosophy, psychology, metaphysics, the occult, and deeply explored various religious systems of the world and none of these various disciplines have moved me or inspired me in any remote way. Jesus Christ is alive and quite real. He is also absolutely different then the psychological and philosophical theories you propose. Look at the other religions of the world; they were set up to try to explain a longing in the human heart for the divine. That longing is not logical from an evolutionary point of view and in fact it would seem to be rather harmful to human beings as it would -- on the surface-- point to their own mortality. This is what you are trying to explain as 'the psychological phenomenon of projecting one's own empathy so as to establish it as an imaginary personified Other who has empathy for one's self'. This is a hunger to touch the divine, and it was put there by God so man might seek him. You of course think this is primitive 'magic' to fight off the fear of the night. But by being so enlightened, does this enlightenment give you peace in your life? Perhaps it does in some way. But on your deathbed, when you realize that you have seconds to live and there is no human way to extend your life, at that moment, this will not seem so primitive and so crazy. Indeed, at that moment, you might just be able to see past your humanistic beliefs and see that there is indeed something beyond this universe. It is the folly of man to think that he has an explanation for everything and understands the fullness of existence. It is my hope and prayer that one day you will try the difficult but ultimately rewarding task of examining Jesus Christ's claims with an open mind and heart. You know, C.S. Lewis was a very well educated atheist who did that, and he was profoundly changed. Your 'mental construct' will not save your soul, nor offer you an existence beyond the bounds of this world. Hopefully you will realize that you can transcend this universe and experience a more complete joy.

[Blue]

In the line "And no matter what that you possess", you might want to delete 'that'. Although the piece is not purely iambic, I think that spare syllable breaks the rhythm.

My favorite lines are "King and Pauper, brain or jock,/All will fail to beat the clock,". It sums up equality and fairness. This reminds us that in the end, rich or poor, we are the same in the eyes of God.

I haven't read any spiritual piece for quite a long time and I'm glad I have now. Also, I am glad that you are back to writing long poems that rhyme. Senryus are nice but I enjoy poems like this more. I remember your poem about 'Mary Mortem' (did I get it right?) which was really good and I've been thinking all this time when you will resume writing in that form.

Nice poem, Eddie.

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Blue, I must confess that Senryus are rather easy for me, but rhyming poems are much more challenging and I tend to rhyme simple words, so I've been shying away from this.

[Blue]

You are doing very well in rhyming poems, Eddie. Believe me.

[Eddie Davis]

Thanks, Blue, you are most kind.

[Coyote Poetry]

Great wisdom in the powerful poetry. I tell people. One day you will pay for the good and the bad deeds. I like the complete poem. Thank you for sharing the outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you for reading it and your kind words.

[Dhaye]

I love to read religious pieces like this, Eddie. You are true in what you said that salvation is our faith's reward.

You are getting better and better, Eddie. This is a splendid piece. And your concept is not just a simple one. Keep writing!

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you Dhaye, I've had to slow down on the poems and Senryus so I can focus on getting my fifth book finished, so I really appreciate your kind words.

[Dhaye]

Sorry, Eddie. I had several attempts to read your books, but I had only started the first chapter, then there lots of chapters and I can't move on ...now I can't relate with your posts. LOL. But I enjoyed looking at the 3D photos posted in your photo album...those characters in your books. I have many writing sites to maintain everytime I am online and that makes my time limited so I only focus on short stories and poems. But I do wish for the success of your books.

Always smile =)

[Eddie Davis]

That's quite all right, Dhaye, I understand.