There are three schools and a fourth way, the path of pure fools—as to whether this last is the beginning or end, who can say? Doesn’t it always begin again, my friend? But perhaps the fool is but an idiot savant! We often wonder, ourselves, as we wander and want. We may cuss and splutter when we fall in the gutter but when we do again stand we lend a helping hand to the poor soul beneath us rather than step on or over them and then call it justice! We know what the ideologues deny: we must persevere in the real world, in real time, not by believing a lie! The real fight is not with each other but with those who dissimulate to block out the light of truth and reason, in every season—for personal gain they commit this treason! But don’t they know the open secret—the first and final lesson of the fourth way? Energy never ends, and we only ever accrue it to give it away! So why live a lie if we’re all gonna die? But so many do… what about you? We can’t be too mad but it sure makes us sad that the lonely are only so because others are glad—to push them away and call it love, though it seems a crime that all they love is a good time, when there’s so many folks that need hugs and jokes and maybe even a kick in the ass! Not to be crass or mean but so they’ll come clean! A real friend is there through the ups and downs, whether it be a scare or a parade of clowns—we gotta see it to the end, where the energy changes and the light doth bend around seas and pastures and mountain ranges! We are stardust, not stars—we are the flesh that lives, b(e)aring scars like badges and burning bridges to build them again when the moment is right, and eternity gives us the insight to re-member that restriction is sin.
***** * *****
The animal would like to believe we share a universal body.
The empath would like to believe we share a universal heart.
The intellectual would like to believe we share a universal mind.
The conqueror would like to believe we share a universal will.
But all these things are but partial manifestations of a universal energy to which not one of them can lay complete claim.
Where they try, we die.
Where they give, we live.
***** * *****
I said to my pop:
“I can never repay you for all you’ve done.”
My pop replied:
“Pay it forward, son.”
***** * *****
About the Creator
C. Rommial Butler
C. Rommial Butler is a writer, musician and philosopher from Indianapolis, IN. His works can be found online through multiple streaming services and booksellers.
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Standing While Falling
Quotation from Friedrich Nietzsche "He who wrestles long with monsters should beware lest he himself become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. Man is not destroyed by suffering, but by the meaning he makes of it."
By LUCCIAN LAYTH4 days ago in Critique
Comments (17)
Brilliant & Powerful!
Wordsmithing at its finest! Well wrought, Rommi! Don’t know how I missed this but saw it linked on Gabriel’s challenge! What a clever take on the prompt! Not surprised one bit that you could turn out something so memorable for such a piece!
Holy shit this is wonderful. It brought me back to the days I spent traveling the land trotting on the boards of the theatre. I read this outside while sipping on a coffee on a beautiful morning, and I was suddenly traversed back years to my youth.
Wonderful pieces of wisdom <3
What a great way to share the knowledge that a loved one gives you and this story just does this. Great job.
This is absolutely fantastic, C.! I'm really blown away; the clever, continuous rhymes lend it a great rhythm, and the feeling that this is the opening to an epic stageplay. And the rich reflections make me want to read it multiple times over; a stellar quality, for a Beginning-Ending! I could envision this as a monologue over an unlit scene, prologuing and epiloguing a profound tale. I say this absolutely qualifies for the challenge, and is as masterful a first entry as I could've ever hoped for!
I love how this works for the challenge as written, but it feels like you could also literally start with the section at the bottom. Well done!
https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/beginning-endings-unofficial-writing-challenge%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E This unofficial challenge from Gabriel asks you to consider the subject of where things begin and end! Check it out!
Paying is forward is always a good things. Loved reading all of these!
The wise speak truth and pay it forward in that; great answer from your pop.
This one is FUN to read out loud 😀
What a gift to see this fourth way sooner
Beautiful. yes, we must all pay it forward.
What a universal knock. Great brother.
The message is flawless and heartbreaking. Well written ❤️
It seems these days that most are either blind, damning or damned. I love your fourth way, Rommi! Pay it forward indeed!
Loving the message here, Charles. We are all one.....and forward we pay, indeed. Well-wrought.