Enduring

A meditation on values

Most start out looking for something

Greater,

Many end up settling for the mere

Cessation of pain.

It is a long road from night to night,

And many are the voices which whisper,

All is vanity,

So that every star is obscured by cloud,

And all the sweet wine turned to vinegar.

Even so, let us light a candle as the

Darkness looms,

For to finish the race with faith intact

Is itself a reward,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

And more to be valued than diamonds.

Author's Note

The integrity of the spirit is inestimably more valuable than acquisitions.

Reviews

[lightsong]

How warming dear John :)

First, Kitty told me to send her (Hi) to You, and she said she will try the site, but I still miss WN and all whom are there, wish soon it will come back, I feel each there have a role, though many great writers have left, You, like always the clear inner voice, the one with the great message for a better world, and I hope You will find here too those who will appreciate Your humanistic message, You told me, " to write beautiful words is great, but to write words which help other is greater ".

Back to Your poem, I like Your new title, it gives the poem the message You told me about, many lost their way though the trails of life, many stuck in pain in routine... and each day became the same, each year sound the same, until life passes like a glimpse in our eyes, may be if we also stick to stuck in that little flame of faith, we might change the path... little faith over little faith... over... become a big one.

Thank You for being here, and wish You will like it too.

Always, Littlesong🌼

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, LS. I find myself going back to a few themes over and over. I hate to be repetitious, but some things can't be said enough.

I am still getting used to this site. I do hope more of the WN group will try it, at least as a stopgap until WN finally gets its act together.

[lightsong]

Don't worry about being repetitious, some people even when they know the thing, they need to hear it from another one, and as You said, some things too, can't be said enough, and need to be rememinded with.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

came over to check out your very first post. straight out of the gate you came in bursting. this poem was riveting start to finish. i paused in the middle, thinking This is great!
have your views changed since penning this verse?
you are extremely prolific and i doubt i'll ever have time to read through your whole catalogue. please feel free to send me specific recommendations.

Ern.

26.11.2020

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Ern. If you are interested, you might take a look at "Solace." Always thought it was my best.

[Anita Frader]

Optimism and faith are close cousins I believe.
I always enjoy your meaningful writes. Thought provoking.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. All things will leave us but what we are, and that is immortal,

[Patricia Wedel]

dear John... it is more Enduring to be Kind than to be Famous. A Prayer is a Lovely Pearl... and Jupiter in your Hair means you will be in Heaven before the Devil knows you passed. Amen, Pat

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn..]

John,

A most supportive statement of the resolve of those who's lives consist of moments totally dependent upon their commitment to their faith ...

Nothing I could, or would, attest or, attain to, but I do respectfully look over the shoulders of those fine folks who do ...

Truly, a fine write of a well written piece of Poetry ...

Marve

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Marve. Faith does not have to mean attachment to a particular religious creed. Perhaps the most profound act of faith is simply not giving up on life itself.

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn de Graham]

John,

As a Moderate in an Extremist far Right & Left world, I seek logic and reason's middle ground: Some Thing or Other made all that we see as you and me ... But, because (as an Ex-Preacher/Minister) I do not support Organized Religion, the Right accuses me of being an Atheist, so I get bashed by the "Religious," Right ... At the very same time, I have Atheists who accuse me of talking in Religion's Circles of attempting to lead them back to the primrose path of Blind Faith in Organized Religion's teaching and baseless doctrines ...

The Atheist (I respect the views of Atheists, even agree with a few of their God-LESS conclusions: God does not love you, and he/she/it is f*****g merciless as mass murders and acts of genocide do attest as evidenced realities of Life being transformed into bloodstained Death) perspective seek to give an open ended answer as how we all came to be here: The Universe of our existence just happened ... Hmmmm ... There is no such thing as time, because time is a Man invented concept, and the Universe of our existence has just always been here ...

I can easily accept the notion that time does not exist, but in the mind of Man ...

But ... We do see and witness Stars die, we do assign stars a quot of Life-Spans, we do take note that nothing in our Universe lasts FOREVER ... There is no such thing as any concept's sense of forever ...

But there is, Fuel Expenditure ... Yep, just coined that all too surreal real of reality's reality terminology ... Why do people die? ... Body could not maintain ample production of necessitated fuel, which concluded in a Fuel Expenditure amassed to sum of not breathing, any more ... Maybe time does not exist, but cessation of existence in the same atomically molecular, and chemical form does damn well exist ...

An Afterlife? I can't say ... I write and teach against making un-provable claims ... But I damn well do hope to be wrong ... Who the hell would not!

Thus and hence theretofore, I am not an Atheist, but I do not believe in Blind Faith ...

And yet, logic & reason's common horse s**t sense dictates that there is, must be, that which I choose to term as: A Creator of all that is and will ever be ...

As a result of the religious/atheist bashing that I do receive on a most regular basis, I have chosen to make the attempt to find some middle ground terminology that miraculously will not piss either side of stupid extremes off ... And since the world seems to operate and function upon threes of trinities that I have also coined as Taxes, Tithes, & Lies, I have created three terminologies to assign as what I call Safe-Names as means to refer to that essense and viable question as to: How the f**k did we get here, and where the hell are we all going?: A Generative-Source, An Ultimate It, (and for the snooty uppity a*s Scientists & Scholars) An Extant Catalyst Reactant Ultimate Source Point Of Origin Of All Existence ...

Sheeesh!

And all because religious folks want to beat nonbelievers over the head with God, and Atheists seem to be in danger of a mental meltdown should they come to find that some thing, some where, of some how, created or fabricated, imagined of simply f*****g lied in lying to us all in us foolishly thinking that we exist ... When we don't (I tend to fight against that thought, personally), and so, here it is in a condom's nutshell: Religion exists in fear of finding out that there is no God ... Atheists exist in fear that there is a God ...

The controversy is baseless and meaningless: We are here! ... How, why, for what purpose (need there be one), we just don't know, may never know, but a*****e Religion-ists & Atheists want you and I to think that they know in a ridiculous attempt to convince you and I of that nothing that that do know: Zilch's Nada of Zero ...

To believe in the magic of Organized Religion requires Blind Faith ...

To believe in the bullshit's lack of logic and reason of Atheism requires Blind Faith ...

Because Atheism is, in fact, a Religion in and of itself: A God-Less Religion ...

I say, f**k all religion, but permit it, allow it, and never ban it, whilst encouraging all Humanity to embrace all Humanity as Man with a better plan than fussing and fighting over matters of which no one has a f*****g clue as to the answers to ...

Marve

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn de Graham]

By way, you are a good man, John ...!

[Neville]

I find myself here because I wanted to see where you are coming from John .. and was not disappointed .. indeed, in fact, I think perhaps within your authors note, I may have found a little bit more of my self ..

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, N. If you can come to that last doorway free of bitterness and disappointment, you are richer than
Rockefeller ever dreamed to be.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and what could be greater than a cessation of pain? asks I....

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, j. Now that you mention it, I kind of enjoy it when I'm feeling no pain.

[M. J. Smith]

So often, I have heard stories on the street of this was not the life they wanted. They once had ideals and beliefs. But nobody cared. And they simply gave up, turned to drink and drugs. It breaks a Drifter's heart to hear these tales.
A rosary, a Bible, I have the tangible objects of my faith. They remind my heart that something greater still exists. There is still beauty in the world for those who seek.
Wise words well written, my friend.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. I have nothing against the goods of this world. They were meant to be enjoyed. Still, they are shifting sand, and will not stand by us in the end.

[M. J. Smith]

I was born in poverty. I had almost nothing growing up. My relationship to things is they are things. They can be replaced. Our memories, our knowledge, our experience, these are irreplaceable.

[William Michael Reeves]

I felt like you were writing about death in this. Maybe I'm wrong. 'Finishing the race' and the 'cessation of pain'. 'Long road from night to night'. Excellent line!

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. Death is inevitable, but if we have kept the faith until the end, that in itself is a victory.

[Kathy Van Kurin]

'Enduring'
John the Baptist,
I appreciate your title. That all by itself colors how I translate your poem. I felt hope was also an important strand running through this.
first line:
"Most start out looking for something greater."
Yes, optimism is a wonderful thing. Why, as we grow older it can be difficult to keep believing that life is good. so many are disillusioned. I appreciated your poem very much and nice to meet you!
I do not think Iv'e read your work before and thank you for coming by and reading one of mine.
Blessings,
Kathy

[Lyn Anderson]

a tall order indeed. Intact faith? Possible for some, I suppose, but for many just a dream.