Shove It

Be yourself- not your idea of what you think somebody else's idea of yourself should be. - Thoreau

Push Comes to Shove drawing by Frank Illo

Tell me of that which brings a tear to your eye.

Press the fruit of your heart and pour out truth's spirit like a fine Chardonay.

Don't let a covetous world steal your essence.

Be stoic as a tree.

Dance in your underwear under the moon's spotlight.

Play air guitar.

Sing when there's no song.

Your stage is thou.

Take a bow.

Toss a halfpenny in the air and catch gold.

Carve your name in eternity.

Join faith's fraternity.

Throw down a glove.

The time is now.

Push has come to ...

... shove ...

Author's Note

"Remember that the smallest seed of faith is of more worth than the largest fruit of happiness." - Thoreau

Reviews

[R.E. Ray]

Pete, another extraordinary poem. I think this is my favorite part: "Press the fruit of your heart and pour out truth's spirit like a fine Chardonnay... Don't let a coveting world steal your essence." As I've mentioned in other reviews, I find appeal in the transcendental nature of your work and that of Thoreau. I also like the simple art (so fitting for a Thoreau man) and the music. A fine work in all aspects.

[Pete]

i just can't escape the influence of my muse nor do i desire to. thoreau was an individualist willing to go against the grain and live his beliefs and passions - folks frequently laughed at him and thought he was looney. he went into the woods, built a shack, lived there alone for 2 years writing and was as self-sustaining as possible (growing his own food, etc.) he would peek under rocks to see what was there. he discovered many species of life and was among the the first to warn of man's detrimental impact upon the earth. he was even against the railroad when they came through to lay tracks. as he wrote in his journal:

"I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms." and that resonates with me and has significant philosophical meaning to me ... :)

[R.E. Ray]

I can relate, Pete. I have similar admiration for other writers. I always enjoy reading your work.

[John the Baptist]

The clangor of the world, especially in the internet age, can be overwhelming to the individual. One is constantly exposed to one faction or the other waving its own flag and damning all dissent. This offering encourages individual expression in the face of all that. No matter how much your own truth diverges from this fad or that, plant your standard and stand by it. Mr. Thoreau knew all about the dignity of the individual.

[Pete]

as you point out - there are constant pressures all around us to conform to this or that and to do this or that. it's not easy to go against the grain although some of the most successful, satisfied people have done just that. old bill shakespeare wrote, "to thine own self be true."

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." -2 Timothy 4:7