this moment in time
opened us to look at things
we hoped could not be
making all see that we care
little for one another, but let’s
fight together for the dream
you and yours (we) can do better
kat ~ 5 November 2016
(Magnetic Poetry using The Love Kit)
For the Magnetic Poetry Challenge by Elusive Trope’s Specks and Fragments.
Happy Friday! Today’s dictionary.com word of the day is another election-themed gem.
According to dictionary.com, Obdurate is defined as:
- unmoved by persuasion, pity,or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding.
- stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent: an obdurate sinner.
It comes from the Latin verb obdūrāre, a derivative of the the adjective dūrus”hard.” In Classical Latin obdurare meant “to harden,be hard,” and also “to hold out, endure.” In Late and Christian Latin, the verb meant “to harden the heart (against truth or God).” It entered English in the mid-1400s.
“Hardened hearts (against truth or God) and stubbornly resistant to moral influence.” Sound familiar? That pretty much describes our current U.S. election cycle. At a time of unprecedented access to knowledge, information and truth we are even more entrenched, so polarized that we cannot even stand to hear an alternative viewpoint. We can’t be persuaded, change is the enemy and truth cannot be known. “What is truth?” I hear this argument every day.
How did we get here? I have a few thoughts on this topic and word of the day…and a few haiku too…
Knowledge is power, limited by those in power, when only the powerful have access.
Information is only as good as its source.
Truth is truth when based on facts, not on opinions.
But then, what do I know? You probably have a few theories of your own. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. I can’t promise it will change anything for anyone else, but it will empower you just for having said it. May we all relearn the art of compromise and the beauty of engaging alternatives.
Peace Out!
Here are my haiku…
An obdurate mind
has one response to the truth…
la, la…la, la, laaaa!
“Because I said so,”
can’t move an obdurate teen,
consider a bribe.
kat ~ 4 November 2016
we cut our teeth reciting pledges,
innocents, reeking of privilege,
wagons hitched to dead stars, dangling
o’er fields gained by sly finagling
sworn allegiance to vain pipe dreams
promises bigger than they seem
dare not question how, why, where?
the what’s don’t matter, for’s don’t care
following suits, confess, repent
incorruptible, heaven sent
slaying the many for the few
to give the piper king his due
try to set sheep and goats apart
but evil lurks in ev’ry heart.
kat ~ 4 November 2016
privilege creeps in
to thwart have nots from having
one must rig the race
kat ~ 2 November 2016
A haiku for Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge, prompt words: Creep & Race. The original painting is public domain attributed to Martin van Meytens.
lullaby
when the night is still,
amber lit, from horsehair walls
memories whisper
century-old tales slip through
the parting of the veil
kat ~ 1 November 2016
(Tanka- 5 lines/syllables 5/7/5/7/7)
like mercury colliding... 