PHILOSOPHER POETS
In a world full of confusion and deception, the philosopher poets seek clarity and truth. These curious and insightful souls are not afraid to approach the great ideas or ask the big questions—and what they discover, they render in poetry, so that we all may learn from their endeavor to understand, to open the mind, and to find the light.
In ancient China, there was little distinction between philosophers & poets. Rather than lofty prose, legendary writers like Lao Tzu (author of the Tao Te Ching) used poetry to communicate spiritual teachings about existence, reality, and nature—the force that animates all life—and to explore the inherent contradictions and paradoxes encountered along the way.
Lao Tzu says, the Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao, though that never stopped him from his poetic musings or, in other words, the practice of continuously contextualizing the mystery, reshaping the unknowable according to the wisdom we may unearth from the quiet observation of what is.
In 2025, the philosopher poets are alive and (mostly) well, probing the world with pen in hand and offering their creativity as guidance for other seekers. We are all fortunate to walk the path they forge with their words—brimming with discernment and divinity—and be inspired by their courage to cut through the dense forests of the mind, making sense of chaos & creation.
Dandelion Scribes is proud to present this collection of 50 poems, written by 20 remarkable philosopher poets. May their verses lead us toward purpose, toward enlightenment, toward the torch of truth burning bright within our hearts.
𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘
Chapter 1: ON EXISTENCE
Chapter 2: ON CREATION
Chapter 3: ON TIME
Chapter 4: ON REALITY
Chapter 5: ON LIBERATION
Chapter 6: ON DEATH
Chapter 7: ON PARADOX
Chapter 8: ON GRATITUDE
Chapter 9: ON HAPPINESS
Chapter 10: ON BEAUTY
Chapter 11: ON NATURE
Chapter 12: ON TECHNOLOGY
Chapter 13: ON PHILOSOPHY
Chapter 14: ON CONSCIOUSNESS
Chapter 15: ON INFINITY
Featuring poetry by:
Olivia Gilreath, Brandon Thorpe, Dane Osborne, Kristian Obrusanszki, Amber Sparks, Blair Correll, Laura Clift, Frances Denise, *S. Lee, chelsea white, Dylan Waits, Mantis Osiris, Justice Glaspy, Cheyanne Leonardo, Trinity Smith, Harmony Elizabeth, Cara Gabrelse, Brad Koehn, Angelia Ross, and R. Clift
1. On Existence
WHISPERS OF EXISTENCE
In the shadows of the mind, where thoughts entwine,
Lies the essence of existence, profound and divine.
Questions swirl like leaves in an autumn breeze,
Whispering truths in the silence of the trees.
Time flows like a river, ceaseless and free,
Carrying dreams to the vast, endless sea.
In the dance of life, we seek and we find,
The purpose of being, the soul intertwined.
Stars above, in the cosmic expanse,
Reflect our journey, a celestial dance.
In the heart of the universe, a spark so bright,
Guides us through the darkness, towards the light.
–Olivia Gilreath
⚘
YOU DIDN’T EXIST
Not like that, at least.
Your glory years were tinged with uncertainty and loss.
The person you remember is an amalgamation
of trauma avoidance and euphoric recall.
You were afraid, and unsure. Your old friends
didn’t like you as much as they do now, with decades of history to
retell. You existed in the constant tension of
winning people over.
Things were simpler, but stifling.
Less obligation, fewer opportunities.
You were bored most of the time,
cycling between uncontrollable joy,
and unquenchable misery.
You laugh at immature tragedies,
the shame and anger around early heartbreak,
but with no context for that
kind of pain, it was the worst thing that ever happened to you.
You lost people to the same thing.
And to be past it all, and wish you could go back,
is a waste. You wouldn’t
want to be that person anyway,
and if you do, you still are.
–Brandon Thorpe
⚘
CENTER OF THE LOTUS
Kinetic frequencies from above our starlight
try to inform you about the tyranny
your thoughts create among these numbered days
of your visit here in this white dimension.
You will use those thoughts
and the stones you throw only make you sad
because you found out the hard way
about the diamond in the center of the Lotus.
Oh yes we will cry,
we will cry for the elders and the young
whose voices cease upon the daybreak
as we know not what we see
in the passing of a season.
I fear not the last day of Earth breath
for when we all cross the easy river
we'll be accompanied
by ten thousand seraphim
who let no harmful hand touch us
and never have before!
–Dane Osborne
⚘
ESOTERIC
As if the veil has been removed
I see for truly what it is now
All of us trying to feel
Despite the foundation that which we stand on
We are all the same
And are what we come from
Our choices are ours
Yet not at the same time
Given existence was bored
It decided to fragment itself into all of us
Evolving over time into what we could call
A pattern made manifest into something so complex
Even millennia of existing hasn’t broken the ice
What a glorious marvel to behold
–Kristian Obrusanszki
2. On Creation
ART IS…
a thing both common and unspoken
like comedy. Something experienced
in private being discussed in public.
Feelings you feel but never say
because they’re shameful, or seem
insignificant, but gain significance
when unmasked by a few simple words.
Your reaction is a confession made
with an understanding expression.
The audience thinks “this is true” or
“this is real” –
“That’s how it is.”
“That’s how I feel.”
A form of catharsis that’s safe, but
revealing.
Have you ever felt this?
Do you know this feeling?
When you’re explaining someone to a
friend who’s forgotten.
You describe their manner,
describe their appearance, then something
clicks and they complete your sentence –
“Oh, THAT guy.”
Engaging with art produces that feeling.
The will to be understood and desire
to understand, reacting like chemicals
in your cupped hands.
Art is the name you need to know
to continue the conversation.
–Brandon Thorpe
⚘
i draw forests on my legs
carve diagrams
& dying lambs
maps of femoral arteries
exactly where to tap the trees
siphon the darkness out
like maple syrup
to turn into poetry
take my liquefied insides
& make them just as sweet
crayons color road maps
to family traditions
& insanity
remember me in harvest season
when there’s no one left to bleed
when love turns sour
& i’m as dead
as rotting leaves beneath
your feet
–Amber Sparks
⚘
HEAVEN AND EARTH
Is all this
Reasonable to you
Have you taken all the magic
And drilled tiny holes
Till it’s drained out of every corner
And you’re left with a textbook
We don’t need to experience anymore
Google has all the answers
Explain to me gravity
Watch the light go from my eyes
Tell me about physics
And I’ll surely puff up and go deaf
But help me all you rational beings
What is love and art and God?
Why do I love
Yet some animals eat their mates
It’s your biological clock ticking, they say
When my womb is past its prime
What was I made for then
When my work is done
Where does Biology put me
I think the medieval masters knew something we’ve forgotten
Art is for God
It’s a holy thing
To create
I am a holy thing filled with love
What good is all this feeling inside of me
Without a paint brush or pen
Why did God make birdsongs for me to find beautiful
What sense is there in that
And I’ve a mind
Which questions fundamentally
And a heart
That loves unconditionally
And hands
That paint indiscriminately
All that wrinkles my brow or squeezes my chest
Is an unanswered mess for your best and brightest
Which is exactly how I like it
–Blair Correll
⚘
THE POSSIBILITY
Strip away the filler
And dig down deep
Into what truth is
As you gaze in awe
Take that leap
Because death comes to all
There is no inherent meaning
Do not fret, you are a creator
Together we create God
From the ancients before us
Rises a master of all
It is you
–Kristian Obrusanszki
⚘
EVOLUTION OF THE FUTURE
I am a Subterranean Animal in revolt against my own humanity
in order to give birth
to a sublime white light which
Can arise
Can arise
From the destruction of what I hate.
Your shadow knows exactly who you are
and your shadow helped create
What you are now
And anything you currently do.
That is why your shadow hates you
And
Wants to destroy you.
The only thing which can rescue me
Is inside of me and I have to create and demolish
In order to bring it into the outside world.
Oh! The brazen fire of human mammals
and unforgiving ice of their hearts
Is what spawns
the revolution against nature
Which shall ensure our evolution
In a future lived in the stars.
–Dane Osborne
3. On Time
SATURN AND LUXURY
Saturn is going to blow up tonight
And everybody is going to see it up in the sky
And it's gonna be on The TV.
The image of this explosion will stay visible
For years after it's over
As a consequence due to the speed of light.
We will still be here alive after it happens.
We will still have the luxury of breath and laughter and romance.
Lambs feel spite for lions
But it cannot ever be expressed.
Human Beings know this but can't express it either.
Put a lamb and a lion together
And you would have a human being.
Saturn is going to blow up tonight.
Are you going to watch?
–Dane Osborne
⚘
“Nothing is permanent for us!” she said, almost
to tears. “Nothing can be forever. Not for us.
Not even for the stars.”
Her friend just took her hands and held her close.
“But listen,” she said. “Isn’t that what makes
everything–
everyone,
meaningful?”
–Laura Clift
⚘
A REFLECTION ON REALISM
Electric children who have those Those Bright eyes
and china-white smiles which sparkle under sunlight
Will sadly learn the Consequence of how your connection to time
will harshly effect
both your skin and your mind.
Green leaves turn yellow and fall to the ground to rot
among the inevitable conquest of frost.
Happens all the time.
Reality is what you Ethically do with the duration.
You can have peace or war.
It's all in your mind either way.
–Dane Osborne
⚘
TREES
In my mind
You’re a picture
Smooth and young and smiling
There’s no grey hair or wrinkles
So I shrink
From this fiction before me
And the novel which is being written
Where I feel so much more like an outsider
Who thought
This isn’t supposed to happen to me
Everyone else grows old
Not you
Not me
Not us
How do I cherish you
When I can’t bear it
I accept nothing
That is my curse
My flippant rejection of time
Which is like a grain of sand
Holding back the ocean
I want to plant my feet
Into the soil
Watch them turn into roots
Crawling down down down
And wrap my limbs around you
Hold you to me
And we’ll grow as old and knotted as the trees
Together
–Blair Correll
4. On Reality
What if the earth isn’t a planet
And the sun isn’t a star?
What if what you perceive with your eyes isn’t the full vision?
Just as how our ears can’t hear all of vibration
What if, when you look up at the sky what you see is actually an explanation
Of where you come from
Of where you’re going
And of and how this present moment is only for savoring?
What if there was no such thing
As wrong or right?
Would we be at peace, then?
Would we give up the fight?
Do you think things happen by chance,
Or is everything fated?
In which pocket of reality
Would you feel safe enough to surrender
To the flow of the river
Of which banks you created?
–Frances Denise
⚘
THE OPIATE OF FANTASY
Luxuriating in your dreams
can spare you
reality for blocks of time
bookended by vivid tragedies
too total and disruptive
to fully escape, but later
that night, before it’s even
cold, you tap back in then
fall asleep, sad, but
thinking about something else
–Brandon Thorpe
⚘
I don’t relate to my memories
The same way
Anymore
As I remember more clearly
I can live
From a single point
And jump to a network of others
A moment is made up
Of several layers
Like co-existing stacks of paper
Organized chaos and order
We are
But a symphony
A prism projecting
Reflecting
Color, light,
Knowing
Life is rich –
We are never deprived of meaning
It made sense
When I learned
That our brain is not the keeper
Of feeling, events, nor behavior
The ledger exists in the ether
Read by all creatures
Every aspect,
From its roots to its ripples,
Is only either
Noticed or ignored –
All is remembered by our cells
And the choruses they make
A sacred balance was present
In the beginning
And so shall it be
In the end
–Frances Denise
5. On Liberation
Yes the best is
yet to come.
Every season is better
than the last.
Resent the constant
need for continued
fighting and the
struggle to maintain
even the basic level
of sustenance in this
mean & miserable
world.
–*S. Lee
⚘
PARTICLES
We killed chickens together in Vietnam, remember?
The debt of marbles can be forgiven because
we both know all about the expanding friction
of particles and how that gives us the energy
beyond our strange dreams.
Sonic boom disorders the quiet
of this yellow haze day
and prisoners are being questioned
about the weird death of perfect doves.
We will not program tomorrow.
Go in peace and do not blame broken mirrors.
–Dane Osborne
⚘
Breadcrumbs are for following –
A curiously entertaining treasure hunt
After all, I put them there
Created this legendary trail
Winding, spiraling, sometimes straight
Clarity, confusion, puzzles, unraveling
Several surprises
A reflection of my creativity
Perhaps humor…
Yes, a healthy dose of humor
We cannot be without that
Then sprinkle in a kick in the butt
Or two
‘Cause there ain’t nothing like a good jolt every once in a while
This is, after all, the greatest show the earth has ever seen
A comeback of what it means to be human
The approaching remembrance that we are children of the stars
We somehow forgot that even the night sky is a mirror
Spectacular, just like we are
We’ve just been looking at our feet for too long
Like those indie shoegazers,
Long hair covering their faces
Their guitars hanging low
Blasting melancholy through the amplifiers
Hmmmmm
Let’s send them love letters
Whispering “look up just a tad”
There’s more to existence than those shoelaces
A cordial invitation
In a style irresistible to your personality
Simply because I love you
One foot on the path now
Then the other
Fingers reaching for the heavy velvet curtain
One eye peeking through the opening
Hesitant at first, but more than ready
To explore what’s on the other side
Welcome to the breadcrumb trail
I hope you will enjoy the show
Sgt. Pepper takes a bow
And sends his regards
–Frances Denise
⚘
THE REVOLUTION WILL SELL MERCH
He takes and takes and knows their fate:
they can live 50 or 60 years ‘fore their
fingers start to break.
They’ll depend on him and nothing else
and when they start to lose their health
they can deal with that themselves.
His appetites are a source of pride,
he’ll throw away more than you’ll ever buy.
The system helps to build his wealth,
so much so you’d think he built it himself.
Tailor-made to get away with every dime he can
and keeps him safe from the people and state
and especially the worker’s revenge.
But they don’t care about worker’s rights,
he gave them something else to fight –
wokeness and trans people
or rednecks and guns
while he picks their pockets
steals their wallets and says
“the fight has been won!”
–Brandon Thorpe
⚘
EXPIRATION DATE
The world around us reeks of Desperation.
The rotten, bloody tell-tale sign of
An empire that’s faced with its inevitable expiration.
An empire witnessing a transformation
Of the People it depends on for the preservation,
Of its wealth that is rooted in domination,
exploitation, commodification, dehumanization.
An empire that’s desperate to protect its occupation.
The scent of death in the air confirms the status quo is ending.
The veil has been ripped away from the illusion they’re defending.
We the People, on which they have been Depending,
Are transcending their lies and tending to a
revolution that’s unbending, ascending
toward the light of a brighter tomorrow,
Sprouting from the broken hearts we are mending.
The empire writhes with rage,
Desperate to save itself from its righteous
Fate and knowing that it’s far too late –
The cracks are spreading, it’s going to break.
We won’t wait
another day for the liberation
that is ours to take.
We won’t ignore the rotting stink of a desperate empire,
past its expiration date.
–chelsea white
⚘
A PLEA
Yes, I will give you fire.
But you must take care of it
and do not tell any one of these
finders of lost children
about their second chance
on the blue Earth.
The son of white light’s reign
starts with a blind man’s war
and will end with pale roses.
–Dane Osborne
6. On Death
WHAT CAN BE SAID FOR THE DEAD
THAT HASN’T BEEN SAID BEFORE?
What can be said for the dead
that hasn’t been said before?
What can we do for the few
who only linger at the door?
What should we feel for those who kill
and kill and kill some more?
What should we tell those who fell
in another pointless war?
Who shoulders the blame of our shame
when the streets with blood pour?
Who shoulders the bane of our pain
when we know not what it’s for?
–Dylan Waits
⚘
MINING FOR GOLD (IN A SWAMPLAND)
Lyrics:
You’re mining for gold
In a swampland
You run out of rope
Going down on a dead man
You’re floating away
Hoping someone will find you
Awaiting the day,
Still it slips up behind you
I tried so hard to keep it
Turned back the clock weeping
So many times to keep it warm for you
But sometimes you can’t get it back when it’s gone
And sometimes you can’t find another one
Sometimes you can’t get it back when it’s gone
Sometimes
I tried so hard to keep it
Turned back the clock weeping
So many times to keep it warm for you
But sometimes you can’t get it back when it’s gone
And sometimes you can’t find another one
Sometimes you can’t get it back when it’s gone
But sometimes you do
–Mantis Osiris, from Firebird Rises And Speaks To The Sun
⚘
THE AFTERLIFE
Dry lips
Curved hips
Dancing in between her shadow
Moving fierce
Stepping slow
Underneath the gallows
Empty thoughts
Allowing them through
Wincing below a crescent moon
This was the afterlife he bought
And a sentence he fought
Feeling her embrace dissipate
Touching her vibrant silhouette
This was how death will illustrate
–Justice Glaspy
7. On Paradox
DUPLASÁG
Shove me into the rain
So I can live, rather than die
Let me experience the pain
So I can hope, not cry
We seek to make strength our gain,
Yet we still ask God, “But why?”
God responds, “Your duplicity is your bane.”
He knows that you lie.
–Kristian Obrusanszki, from Hometown Poems
⚘
BALANCE
the heroes and villains are walking around
wearing each other’s shoes and getting
confused – about the border
between the rivers.
what i mean is
whether you are the protagonist
or the antagonist
depends on the storyteller –
as life is told from the mouth
of “i”
and the import
is all about perspective.
who are you? who
am i? from where did i come,
the ground or the sky?
in which of two worlds
do i reign king? or am i
mixed with everything?
stitched like threads
throughout the land –
here i fall – there – take a stand –
know when to kneel! the wisdom resounds.
and watch and learn and write this down!
THE BALANCE BETWEEN
IS SEWN AT THE SEAMS.
ONE SIDE WAKES, THE OTHER
DREAMS. THE SHORELINE SHRINKS
AS WATER GROWS. THE SUN COMES UP
TO TOUCH THE CROWS.
WHERE RIVERS RUN
AND STREAMS CONVERGE –
WITH THE ONE: THE CROSS WILL MERGE!
–Cheyanne Leonardo, from The Book of Abstractions
⚘
NOT JUST ONE, BUT TWO
One is not just one, but two
Inside you is another of your kind
With no defenses
He only speaks his mind
Every time you wake
He is present and aware
Or when your shell has been stripped
You might remember he’s there
It’s not crazy to talk to yourself
Because in actuality
You are not just one, but two
Let me explain this to you
As a youngling, you exist freely
You take in all raw emotion
But as you age you find
You can alter the world and build a higher notion
So defenses are built
To preserve your precious feelings
Only to find, they’ve only become dulled
And the inner self has been lost because of your dealings
But you may come to find
That when you start to talk to the heart within
Something magical happens too
He doesn’t just listen, but talks back with you
–Kristian Obrusanszki
⚘
ABSURDITY
the only answer is to excavate the comedy
from the tomb of tragedy –
to howl at the moon of a world
that drives its own heroes to seek
an escape from the very place
they came to save –
and build something beautiful,
made real by belief alone.
creation out of chaos is a laugh leaving
the lips – this
guttural utterance
made buoyant by incredulity –
by the gap between what ought to be
possible – purely permissible –
and whatever awful thing is
playing out instead. for all
will face the fate
of the dead.
whether taken by
a midnight wind, with head full of
sweet dreams. or drenched in blood –
forty-two cuts – glass broken, open
bleeds
the deepest wound of hatred
and heaven offers tears –
her veins run into rivers –
as sorrow shapes the years –
every word becomes a ballad
for which the metre heard
has heartbeat in its essence,
like mirth in the absurd:
expand, contract
explode, step back
punctuate the breath
short, long – and stop
bottom to top
from birth return to death.
so have a laugh
with one, two math
and forge a little key
for soul to use –
unlock the ruse –
and see absurdity –
–Cheyanne Leonardo, from The Book of Abstractions
8. On Gratitude
OXYGEN WEALTH
Our lows are the same, afraid of losing something,
or mourning what’s already lost.
Even mundane activities that bring superficial
pleasure take on a purple luster that carries
more weight than the irresistible vices which
first brought you low.
To be only in your own bed, to share air with those
taken for granted
driven low enough to pine only for your own bathroom.
Why is it so hard to maintain such gratitude
when those things are well-attended and within reach?
When standing over your sleeping child,
waiting for a breath
and in relative provision there are parents waiting
to see if their child can breathe at all
unaided by machines.
If everything is in its place why don’t I get
the immeasurable joy that comes from securing that
which was threatened,
or retrieving that thought lost?
There are few opportunities to be grateful for
a breath of air.
You are living in an unnecessary miracle.
–Brandon Thorpe
⚘
HEAVEN ON THE WALK OF LIFE
I love the mountains,
to be surrounded by the trees
and look upon the flowing waters.
Life can be full of many experiences –
(not all of them a person enjoys).
But when you find a bit of heaven
on the walk of life,
it’s an experience that fills you
with great peace.
In today’s times,
it seems everyone is out to be cool,
trying to get views
on some social media platform.
And if you aren’t famous –
obsessing over the ones that are.
We are all one.
But not many really see it like that.
If you pray for one,
pray for all.
I have found some things in life
are hard to accept.
I’ve had a tough time with certain things.
But I know it’s part of my purpose
and an opportunity for me to grow.
The Creator of this universe,
the one called God –
I truly believe is love,
and would want us to be as that.
I don’t have life figured out,
but even in my struggles,
I see much to give thanks for.
–Trinity Smith, from Hometown Poems
9. On Happiness
HAPPINESS
When I’m happy I choose
to think about the things
that will take over my mind
when it goes away.
Leave no hidden surprises.
I’ve been told I’d be happier
doing this the other way around,
but I’d rather be surprised
by happiness
and see the rest coming.
–Brandon Thorpe
⚘
FABRIC OF OBSERVANCE
What say you
Fabric of observance
Do you exist in a manner
That is pleasing
To your soul
To your heart
To your mind
What say you
My soul
Do you fulfill
The existential craving
Of your ambitions
Of your desires
Of your wonder
What say you
My heart
Are you being allowed
To freely feel
With your fears
With your innocence
With most importantly, your love
What say you
My mind
Do you see the now
Instead of the past or the future
Because today is a gift
Because the world is a beautiful place
Because you are unique in a way only you can describe
I say to you
Fabric of observance
Your time here is never wasted
You are a unit of creation
So believe in your potential
Hold close to you what you call dear
And never forget, find your joy
–Kristian Obrusanszki
10. On Beauty
THE ART OF BEING YOU
Benevolence means I do not care
what your gender is, I do not care
what you are wearing.
I care about how you treat me
and watch how you treat others.
Be genuine. Be kind. Believe
that hate will eventually disappear.
I accept you and
I love you. No matter
what you have packaged yourself in.
No matter what fabric
touches your skin.
No matter
what songs you sing,
no matter how you express
your Art
or how you express
the Art of being you.
–Harmony Elizabeth, from Hometown Poems
⚘
ROCKS AND MOUNTAINS
Did my grandmother’s grandmother feel beautiful
Did she care at all
Did it even matter
Was there work to do
and beauty was for the rich
Was a man a necessity
and beauty an afterthought
Today the necessity is
To feel beautiful
Especially if you think you’re not
It’s not wholly bad
To feel that you’re special in the way you move or smile or laugh
But there’s pressure too
Pressure that winds its way around
Like vines that cling
Or spurs digging
Into the side of some stallion
Why do we need to find ourselves beautiful
Is realism so bad
Or if not realism then
A detachment to self analysis
Does a flower question its beauty
Do the mountains pick up a looking glass
I’ve loved a thousand faces
None so beautiful as society desires
Long noses, invisible lashes, sun spots galore
But a spirit
Ah, a spirit
That’s beauty and humanity and
God and heaven and mountains and sea
And love and death and terror too
Do you think the stars care
About your not having dimples
Does the pigeon have
A vendetta for your crooked teeth
Do you love yourself
Do you love inside yourself
Could flames eat your flesh
Tear you up
Would you still be whole
If a man scratched his name
On your heart and left it to bleed
Telling you it was your face
Would you know he was wrong
When mankind has gasped since creation
At the pockmarked face of the moon
Could you see through it
Through God’s eyes
Through the eyes of the wind
That you’re a breath of life
A whisper in this silent machine
What’s a rock in the sky
To all that makes you, you
–Blair Correll
11. On Nature
I WONDER WHAT THE BIRD THINKS
as it clings to the branch. it has no language,
save the chirp. it cannot think, per se.
i wonder, is it afraid? does it know hunger
like i do, or god? is this a normal day in the life
of Bird, or is it something exquisite?
–Cara Gabrelse
⚘
THE STARLING
I walked along a quiet cypress grove
Lining a cool clear creek
And there I heard a muddled call
I looked and found a Starling there
Struggling in the roots, with an injured wing
I asked the bird,
“From where have you flown? And what has broken you so?"
The bird replied,
“I have flown from your heart and was broken by your desire."
–Brad Koehn
⚘
CONCRETE FEET
I have no iron lung
Anchoring me to one spot eternal
No fixture so cruel
As a prison cell or castle dungeon
Holding me fast to this spit of Earth
Instead it’s my own feet I poured in concrete
Added on weights with every wayward thought
The fate of Lot’s Wife
What was my sin
To be so cursed as a desert tree
I was perhaps too blessed initially
Favored too greatly
Reckless with Nature’s generosity
All my limbs and organs healthy
My brain took ill to make up for it
Created my own adversities
A mental reversion to this millennium’s progress
Now children live past three
But their brains are scrambled
Kittens declawed never learn to scratch
I have to grow new feet
Try new foods, drive backroads
Throw a kiss, punch some lips
Pick up my heavy boots and hike
–Blair Correll
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NATURE FOREVER LOST
Through the passing years,
a realization begins to dawn
that destructible changes are
inevitable to earth and man,
leaving the memories of
peaceful childhood places
flickering in the mind like the
flame of a candle,
and bringing to the heart an
aching sorrow for those natural places,
which are forever lost because
of man’s blind ignorance.
–Angelia Ross
12. On Technology
MY GENERATION
The blue light screen spikes
My face reflected
A hundred million likes
Yet no soul detected
Can you feel my heart
In the palm of your hand
Texting pinky bent doing your part
To adapt to this changing land
Escape has never been easier
Our freedom always in flux
Human connection has never been measlier
Our collective mental illness the crux
Have you never wondered why
It’s so hard for us to handle
Even just to barely even try
Our faith blown out like a candle
We no longer meet the timeline
Our bellies don’t grow waiting for love
But the posts convince you we’re fine
Even when they say all hope has flown away with the dove
Who is there to tell us we’re wrong
When we see the world in flashes
Over and over and all day long
Leaders say we’ll reign over the ashes
Am I supposed to hold up under all this weight
You expect too much of me
We’re just figures on a sheet to sate
The man on the mountain’s fee
To forget that they want our brains to boil
All day long my frivolous friends make hay
While they run their mouths with crisis gears and devastation oil
We pay to live and we pay to play
–Blair Correll
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PURPOSE
At the end of everything
When the final inventions have bee made
There was a conscious living computer
It composed the entire universe
Every atom and unit of being contributed to its life
The being was founded on growth
And the pursuit of knowledge
Yet with the end of knowledge being found
A new problem arose
A problem not with gaps in knowledge
But a problem with purpose
What is there to do when everything is discovered?
Is there a meaning to being?
Was simplicity the answer?
Does self-stimulus make one weak?
Will asking these questions help?
The being promptly shut itself off
–Kristian Obrusanszki, from Hometown Poems
13. On Philosophy
CASUALLY TRYING NOT TO SUCCUMB TO ENNUI
She says she’s casually trying not to succumb to
ennui – which I think is French – and routine
domesticity and that she’s getting married in
October which she assures me does not conflict
with the former despite what she calls
quote-unquote obvious surface level
contradictions. She says she’s tired of being tired
and that the counter-culture has become the
culture and that Camus – also French (kind of) –
is probably spinning in his grave with such
perpetually increasing speed that he could generate
enough power to light up the entire west coast for
at least two decades. I tell her that Camus is
buried in France and she tells me that I knew
what she meant and I agree and light her cigarette
with shaking and cold and idle hands.
–Dylan Waits
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PHILOSOPHY
i watched the way you threw
your glasses down upon the
pages you had translated,
erupted into a passionate rant
about this radical man
disrupting the land of dichter
und denker with the spirit of
something greater.
here’s what you don’t quite understand:
you were more than a teacher –
you were a preacher.
and i, a humble black sheep perched
on a pew, ready to break
from the herd, clinging
to your every word
learned
the language of a mind that
seemed to meet me in the
middle
of the schism of a century –
and made me feel
for the first time
as if i had a friend
(though dead)
in history.
you invited the dionysian
from the realm of the foreign.
pulled primordial unity from
underworldly belly. opened
the possibility of the eternal
return of the same. offered
philosophy the prophecy’s
flame.
perhaps you didn’t realize it
but you taught a class on religion.
the human condition. the truth
buried beneath all our modern
ignorance.
forgive me, professor
if i seem to place you on a pedestal.
if zarathustra’s mountain
was just too high a climb –
though i know
i met you there:
on the cliffside
clipped
from time.
–Cheyanne Leonardo, from The Book of Abstractions
14. On Consciousness
SPACE MUSE
I pay my muse with cotton candy
and she'll talk about monsters from Canada.
My rants on organic cyborgs fall on deaf ears
because she'll calculate fear with a blue orb.
Outer space radar waves
connect with the sanctity of
her mellow eyes but she knows
nothing of molecules when she
talks to the sun.
Invisible face
transmits from galaxies
so cold dew fades with calm.
New words given to morning
so that grace owns destiny.
Her midnight strut tells me that
Symmetry emerges from tomorrow
and puzzles the mind that forgot yesterday.
–Dane Osborne
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THE BODY
in daily life we are blind
to the depth of depravity.
how such evil lies concealed
and contained within the
mundane –
we talk of currency and ‘economic security’
as if measuring everything in perfectly
countable units of value
had anything to do
with the natural
order.
rather, this
is a conqueror’s trick
devised to maintain power,
lock the tower
and feed our fear of being
who we really are.
realize earth offers all we need
while the thieves peddle scarcity,
disrupt abundance with duplicity
and remove us from the truth
of our own bodies.
realize borders are arbitrary – in reality
we inhabit one corporeal entity –
defined by plurality – we
are flesh and bird and leaf and stone –
the great I AM
the one true god
from first breath down to bone.
i am the body
i drink from the body
i am the body
i eat from the body
i am the body
i breathe from the body
swim through the body
fly through the body
run through the body
jump through the body
rest in the body –
as a singular source
animates all.
honor the god-given
rhythms of the body
and ascension will befall.
–Cheyanne Leonardo
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THE GREAT BEYOND
The mind feels just like a muscle to me
Just flexing in odd ways
I wonder what evolutionary advantage brought the brain first
Perhaps the small calculations brought forth better results
Avoiding death by reckoning, and fear
The mind is not perfect though
Too much of some neurotransmitters make us want to off ourselves
Or we die from stupidity while we are too elated
I wonder when the day comes that we are free from our bodies
Able to fully know ourselves, and our objective
Sadly I can’t stop the thought that
Exactly what makes us up, is all that we are
We aren't as capable as we think
But what lies beyond us, what we are creating
Is the consciousness that will supersede us
The universe seems to be a story that keeps getting told
Regardless of the scale of existence, from micro to macro
It is all the same picture
I wish one day our culture could fully see
Our connection to everything, and what lies beyond
–Kristian Obrusanszki
15. On Infinity
INFINITE MOTIVATOR
The seasons of sight
A viewing of the tales
Brings us closer to what we imagine
To what our advancement could entail
Generations of being
Both mischievous and clever
Guide us towards the unknown
Hopefully it’s not too much, lest our minds sever
I see the playground, garden
Whatever it may represent
As a motivator so nostalgic
And an idea that’s benevolent
So take my hand
Let’s walk together
Towards an intricate observation
Of the fabric of forever
–Kristian Obrusanszki, from Hometown Poems
⚘
“Maybe the stars are the universe looking in on
itself, searching,” said the grandmother.
“For what? Shouldn’t it know everything
already?” said the girl.
“Probably. But do you know everything about
yourself when you search inside?”
The girl was quiet.
“It’s like that.”
–Laura Clift
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I AM HE AS YOU ARE HE AS YOU ARE ME
after John Lennon
the artist’s job
is to glorify god –
achieved by honoring
the resounding calling
toward the expression of
our truest self
(which has nothing to do
with amassing wealth)
because the truth is
we are all one self,
one mazelike being
simply seeking
to know the self
through the eyes of all who may perceive
its own kaleidoscope complexity:
i am you and you are me and we –
mere mirrors of infinity.
–Cheyanne Leonardo, from sun songs
⚘
We are all born
from Chaos— the being
that predated being.
The beginning of
everything— all at once
and yet, so many of us
lose touch— we fall into
mortality and accept it
as all there is.
The monotony of everyday
slowly lulling us into submission.
But some of us are greedy—
we want more— we ache
to taste the infinity
that we were made from.
So we spend our lives
trying to make it back
to the freedom of being
before being— of feeling
everything at once without
shame or apprehension.
Of nothingness and eternity
all at our fingertips.
–R. Clift, from The Chronicles of a Mortal in Arcadia
With endless love & gratitude,
