Shadow vs Light

Intelligence vs wisdom

Is in the questions you ask people

A monster vs a warrior

Is in the reasons you make enemies

A parent vs a guardian

Is in how you treat your children

Virtue vs vanity

Is in how you pick your battles

A man vs a boy

Is in how you treat your losses

Arrogance vs humility

Is a thing I keep forgetting

Author's Note

Reviews

[Gee]

Arrogance and ignorance are stand out traits amongst upper management in the construction industry. Seems the less you know the higher you get, promoting to keep them out of the way is the only logical explanation for their high wages and lofty positions.
Pigeons and statues, us the statues. They fly in, briefly, s**t on us from a great height then f**k off again, thankfully.
Morning, hope all is well.

[Davidgeo]

I'll have to avoid that industry if I ever find myself looking for work in your neck of the woods.read moreI'll have to avoid that industry if I ever find myself looking for work in your neck of the woods.

Thanks for your comment, have a glorious evening!

[C. Lee Battaglia]

I got really lost on this... could you explain this for me?

[Davidgeo]

How you deal with things is what makes you... it really is that simple. I kept it pretty vague so the reader could insert their own obstacles. For example... intelligence vs wisdom... an intelligent person is academically sound, a wise person is both academically sound and moral. For comparison's sake consider a lawyer vs a philosopher or a trauma surgeon vs a plastic surgeon, the motivations are different and have different value or stigma attached to them. Now, dependent on what you value the better end of that comparison can be different. The rest of the poem are just different versions of that theme.

[C. Lee Battaglia]

hmmm thats interesting... maybe you could add some more detail so the reader can sense and feel it. I feel like this has potential to become a great piece of art.

[Davidgeo]

That's not what kind of poem this is. Sometimes too much detail detracts from the poem. I'm not a "pretty beautiful flowers in a sensuous meadow" kind of writer. I rely on concepts firmly rooted in psychology/philosophy/sociology/philology mostly.

[C. Lee Battaglia]

ok. I mean yeah everyone writes differently. I just haven't really seen anything like it.

[Davidgeo]

Really? Keep reading. You will. I'm not original.

[C. Lee Battaglia]

Haha I didn't mean original... I meant it as a compliment!

[Davidgeo]

I'm always bustin' balls C Lee.... never take me too seriously. That's a different kind of fun for me that never ends well.

[David-Tyler]

This was kind of cliche just to be honest. There's no art in this, there's no beauty, feelings, this isn't even poetry. For just throwing words together, I suppose it was alright, but anybody could have wrote this. I want to read something that only an individual could have wrote. I understand this review is harsh, and probably isn't what you wanted to see, but I hope it helps!

[Gee]

Light the blue touch paper......

[David-Tyler]

What do you mean?

[Gee]

Methinks the reply to your critique will be well worth reading :)

[Davidgeo]

The problem with your review isn't the harsh nature, it's the sophomoric and thinly veiled motivations behind it. "There's no art in this"... what does that even mean? Talk about cliché... you sound like a hipster freshmen college student. As far as anybody being able to write this, yeah, you're probably write... I'm not a professional poet. Are you a professional poet? You're probably in the wrong place then, we're all amateurs here so you will probably only be disappointed in us lowly scrub poet wanna-be's.

I enjoy harsh reviews with substance. Your review did not have substance. (I can tell you're lashing out because I politely called one of your poems boring.)

[David-Tyler]

Okay, you want to make this personal. That's cute. First of all, before you act like I'm childish, you need to run yourself through a grammar check, buddy. Write, and right are different; if you're going to insult me, do it properly. Now, I know my word choice is a little common to say the least when I say there's no art in this 'poem', but that's because art is about more than just a message. All this poem was, in a nutshell, was throwing words together that sounded pretty. I know I throw words together that sound pretty, but it always comes out to mean something, or provoke some feelings. I just about fell asleep.

Yourself, as a self described amateur, doesn't have time to defend someone else's clumsy writing. You need to work on your own 'art' before you both put me to sleep. I could barely even read yours due to improper formatting. I think if I had to choose between you, or a slow kid fresh off the short bus to write my eulogy, I'm picking the slow kid.

The whole point of this website is for us as authors to come together to learn from helpful critiques as well as gain encouragement from others. I understand you found one of my pieces boring, not every body sips the same cup of tea. However, you need to think twice before trying to beef with somebody when you can't even speak English.

[Davidgeo]

Ha... you think typos are personal?

Look kid, if you keep letting yourself get this worked up over a random review from a stranger life is only going to get harder for you. How long did it take you to come up with that thesis on why I suck as a human being? Think about all the others things you could be doing with that energy.

Try harder to be less of a jack a*s.

[David-Tyler]

Your reading comprehension is far below average. That translates to you keep losing to that slow kid. I never said the typo was personal. However, you keep making personal digs at me. That's okay if this is how you act when confronted with negative feedback. It explains a lot. However, I don't know you, I don't know if you do suck as a human being. On the other hand, you do suck at taking negative feedback thus far, and writing. I understand what I've said, and how I've formatted it seems like it takes a lot of energy for you because of course it would take a lot of energy for you to sound like you have half a brain! For me though, it's just an every day thing.

Your parting advice is cute, but I'd have to find a better teacher.

[Davidgeo]

Ah.. well, I guess I'll have to work on my reading comprehension then. Tomorrow's an ab day but I think I can squeeze in some reading comprehension training as well. Thanks for the heads up champ.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i worked for a couple bosses who were like this, but have known many other people...control freaks and users...both we can do without...but the combination? ugh.

[Mari' Emeraude]

Oh this was such a great verse with a title that reeled me in like a fish!! Haha!!

[Richard McLin]

All true battles and explained so elegantly. Great piece.
-Richard

[Davidgeo]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by Richard.

[Ayvid N]

Arrogance is not a bad thing. Misplaced arrogance is. The poem strikes a chord. We must be more introspective.

[Davidgeo]

Self confidence and pride is what it's called when arrogance is a good thing. The word arrogance by definition is an offensive display of self importance. Arrogance is a bad thing... every time. Self confidence is a good thing... every time.

[Ayvid N]

Is there a thin line between them? I think sometimes one should let others decide whether one is arrogant or just self-confident. I'm often told I'm being arrogant by my mother when I just try to put my point across. That too quite patiently :)

[Davidgeo]

Sure, they share a lot of similarities. Viewing someone as arrogant or self confident usually has more to do with the expectations of the person making the statement and various preconceived notions. It is always up to others to make the distinction... but the fact remains... arrogance is, objectively speaking, a word with negative connotations by definition. Arrogance is a bad thing, self confidence is a good thing.

[Anjali]

Good! I loved the concept and theme of this poem... Quite unique. Very nice!

[Davidgeo]

Nothing we write is truly unique. Everything I write is just a paraphrasing of a larger reading remembered over my own lens of time.

Ha... I'm just f****n' with you. The real inspiration behind this was marijuana and youtube... no more, no less.

[Anjali]

Ohh ok. Nice!

[AllenS]

Me too!
Enjoyable comparisons!

[Davidgeo]

Enjoyable is only apt half the time. Two thirds if you're lucky.

[Anise]

What we are or how we behave sometimes requires conditioning or what could be called 'experience'.
No one gets it right straight out of the gate. Nice poem. Nuggets of truth.

[Davidgeo]

Michael Jordan missed more game winning shots than he made. What made him great was that he hit those shots when it mattered most;
intelligence vs wisdom i suppose.

No one ever does get it right straight out of the gate (not including inherited wealth). It makes me happy you understand my writing.