Honesty’s doing nothing you’re ashamed
to talk of; otherwise you’re being gamed
by a smooth angel with a cloven shoe.
Man, know thyself; to thine own self be true;
accept you’re not some other one’s ideal
from their religion or philosophy;
accept your thoughts are yours, impure and real
with lust, greed, envy, anger, vanity–
normal in that we’re powered by an ape’s drive
that needed those traits to survive and thrive.
Whether you act on them’s different again.
Do nothing that, if done, would make you lie–
but don’t be shamed you’ve had the thoughts within.
Don’t stifle, don’t suppress, and don’t deny.
Acknowledge, but don’t act. In that’s no sin.
*****
Published in Snakeskin, January 2018
Photo: “Here is contained ‘Self-Liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness,’ this being a Direct Introduction to the State of Intrinsic Awareness, From ‘The Profound Teaching of Self-Liberation in the Primordial State of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities.’” by Wonderlane is marked with CC0 1.0.
Form in Formless Times 
Robin, I like your poem. If you email it to me, I’ll be glad to publish it and give you another swing in our Spotlight. Your poem reminds me of things I have written myself, over the years, and translations I’ve done on the truth and how to present it…
Blinding ignorance misleads us. Myopic mortals, open your eyes!—Leonardo da Vinci, translation by Michael R. Burch
Elevate your words, not their volume. Rain grows flowers, not thunder.—Rumi, translation by Michael R. Burch
The above is good advice for poets, I believe.
Truths are more likely discovered by one man than by nations.—René Descartes, translation by Michael R. Burch
No wind is favorable to the man who lacks direction.—Seneca the Younger, translation by Michael R. Burch
Warmthless beauty attracts but does not engage us; it floats like hookless bait.—Capito, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I find the translation above to be good advice for poets. I know formalists who insist that poetry should sparkle like a cut diamond, but their poems lack warmth. I have long preferred poets who can communicate emotion.
Love distills the eyes’ desires, love bewitches the heart with its grace.—Euripides, translation by Michael R. Burch
The best poets had a “lover’s quarrel” with the world. They didn’t settle for creating brilliant but sterile artifacts.
Experience is the best teacher but a hard taskmaster.—Michael R. Burch
Fools call wisdom foolishness.—Euripides, translation by Michael R. Burch
My objective is not to side with the majority, but to avoid the ranks of the insane.—Marcus Aurelius, translation by Michael R. Burch
The above has been my guiding principle as a poet, and explains why I have been banned from the websites of ErraticSphere (Eratosphere) and the Keystone Scops (the Society of Classical Poets).
The enemy is not without, but within our gates; it is with our own complacence, our own folly, our own cutthroats and criminals that we must contend. — Cicero, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The most dangerous words ever uttered by human lips are “Thus saith the LORD.” — Michael R. Burch
LikeLike