The Lecture
by John W. Corbeil
One feels the sense of urgency
One doubts...fighting the intellect...past experiences.
The leap into the unknown
There is no way out.
One must give....what else
To give of oneself.
Submitting to the pressure.....to give....fulfill
The leap is made.
What lifeline is at hand
One knows...or does one feel?...trust
The students...potential allies respond to the trust
Your honesty blends with their honesty.
They want
But to want.
Your giving blending with their giving
The hurdle of trivia is mutually made.
Down to truth...the gut...the basic commonality
Man’s experience
You are safe because you dared
Dared to give...to trust...to reveal...to become lost.
Unique...beautiful humans
They reached to join.
They are quiet...they hurt
They have been reached
They praise...one accepts
They will know someday.
You are only as they
Just older....more experienced
You have survived
They will survive
You gave
They gave.
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If One is to Live (Part I)
by John W. Corbeil
You...are committed to action
You...are a creature of energy
Your action is linear
To become one with all that is
There is no escape
Of becoming one with God.
You...have been given ignorance
You...have been given the opportunity to fail
You have been given strength
And strength is accumulative
Each failure is a light
Each light a glimpse of truth
Your task...to make a decision
Your task...to make a commitment
You will not be allowed ultimate failure
For you have infinite time
You might die to become
Not once...but many times
For your energy committed
Seemingly in all directions
Is but one path
For you are already of God
Written one night after hearing a lecture by Father McNamarra, the Hermit Priest.
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If One is to Live (Part II)
by John W. Corbeil
If one is to Live,
One must Love.
If one is to Love,
One must Give.
If one is to Give,
One must Have.
If one is to Have,
One must Get.
If one is to Get,
One must Act.
If one is to Act,
One must reach out.
To reach out,
One must have Faith
One must Trust
One must Sacrifice
One must Suffer
One must experience through the senses,
To develop a sense of wonder.
One must gather data,
To combine the seemingly impossible
To develop a personal order
To become a self-power
One must develop tools to communicate,
In order that one may Give
That one may Love
That one may Live.
The Second Commandment
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Morning on the Porch
by John W. Corbeil
Striated clouds
Layer upon layer
Waiting...unseen
Until that center of light
Rises over the crotch
On the torn black wall
A pine...each branch
Candles...pointing up...silhouetted
Deck chairs....like donkeys
Waiting patiently...through the night
To be of service
When the sun is high
Cool...refreshing…moist air
Caresses the body
Up the hill...a cock
Crowing in ecstasy....good morning
Despondency lifts
All says.....be of good spirits...work
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