#fanaticism
We all have seen
people,
places,
and different situations
that questions
everything we have learned,
believed,
seen,
and heard.
It is up to us whether to
label those things
as mere fallacies,
or to uphold them
as utter truths.
But this isn't always the case.
The process of acceptance
is not always easy.
It involves a lot of self-berating,
self-loathing,
listless moments,
melancholic states,
and finally,
reluctant adaption,
to the current norms,
notion,
and societal views,
that forces us to change
our views,
our versions of truths,
our perception of reality,
and our own self-image.
We must always beware
those situations; let it not
deter you.
For, dear, you are
what you are,
and what you believe;
your conviction,
your truths,
your freedom from
these mind-altering moments,
will not be taken away from you.
Do not let yourself
be washed away
by the waves of
fanaticism.
Dec 20, 2015
Dec 20, 2015 at 11:39 AM UTC
~
*Prelude of light
The sublimation hour
In this ruined house
Before meaning comes
(The world is full of
Abandoned meanings)
A slight grip, a gentle hold
And the trembling of glass
Circles of privacy
To shine, to hide, to cross
From the only window
Burning sanctuary
Heaven come crashing
The thicket is no sacred grove:
A chronicle of early failures
But within reach
Of future mistakes
Even the darkness has arms*
~
Oct 2, 2022
Oct 2, 2022 at 3:06 PM UTC
Who's wearing sundays
Songs jejune peruses;
May her corsage roses
Dress the fine arrays!
And gathered 'round strays,
Each of them amuses
Their eyes with their noses
For depots off ways.
The fantastic plays
Out of them her bruises;
Songs fed by drunk proses
May enchant in rays!
Apr 25, 2021
Apr 25, 2021 at 11:39 AM UTC
The church was started years ago.
My brother was a charter member.
But, he’s been a first class ******
Since as long as I can remember.
At first I thought it was hilarious,
And thought not too much of it.
But, I quickly found it nefarious
And told my brother to shove it.
Their services seemed rediculous,
The chants re-written bible stuff,
An attempt to cover up that they
Are doing something iniquitous.
“He that believeth in us shall prosper
Those who revile us shall not.
Go and suffer not the poorer
For heaven is for those who have got.”
My brother quotes this stuff to me
And gets angry when I question.
I have tried hard to make him see.
He takes it as an imposition.
They work to take over Congress
So their church can get paid money.
The plan is to clean up the DC mess
So religion is the richest industry.
I asked him if the church has plans
To share some of that with them.
He laughed and clapped his hands
And said they were going to pay him.
He would be blessed by their deity
For being a righteous servant.
All he had to do was maintain piety
And be Holy Church rules observant.
They were to vote down everyone
Who had another way of seeing
And to vote for their guys who run
Then, claim the rest are not human beings.
By this time I was no longer listening
Because I thought his intelligence gone.
But a close replay of his rambling
I realized it’s all close to going on.
The people in charge really are
Seeming to be saying all of this.
They’re selling us to the guards
Without even that dreaded kiss.
We are close to those wacko creeps
Controlling all of our land of freedoms
And ripping us all off while we sleep
Then even outlawing any kind of wisdom.
Feb 8, 2017
Feb 8, 2017 at 2:02 AM UTC
These are English translations of Voltaire, one of the world's most prolific, best and most influential writers. Voltaire, born François-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), was an amazingly prolific writer who produced works in nearly every literary genre, including poems, plays, novels and novellas, satires, parodies, essays, histories, Bible criticism, and even early science fiction!
Les Vous et Les Tu (“You, then and now”)
by Voltaire
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Phyllis, whatever became of those days
We spent riding in your carriage,
Lacking both lackeys and trappings,
Accompanied only by your graceful charms
And content with a humble supper
Which you (of course) transformed into ambrosia …
Days when you abandoned yourself in your folly
To the happily deceived lover
Who so earnestly pledged you his life?
Heaven had bequeathed you, then,
In lieu of prestige and riches,
The enchanting enticements of youth:
A tender heart, an adventurous mind,
An alabaster breast and exquisite eyes.
Well, with so many luring allurements,
Ah! what girl would have not been mischievous?
And so you were, graceful creature.
And thus (and may Love forgive me!)
You know I desired you all the more.
Ah, Madame! How your life,
So filled with honors today,
Differs from those lost enchantments!
This hulking guardian with the powdered hair
Who lies incessantly at your door,
Phyllis, is the very avatar of Time:
See how he dismisses the escorts
Of tender Love and Laughter;
Those orphans no longer dare show their faces
Beneath your magnificent paneled ceilings.
Alas! in happier days I saw them
Enter your home through a glassless window
To frolic in your hovel.
No, Madame, all these carpets
Spun at the Savonnerie
And so elegantly loomed by the Persians;
And all your golden jewelry;
And all this expensive porcelain
Germain engraved with his divine hand;
And all these cabinets in which Martin
Surpassed the art of China;
And all your white vases,
Such fragile Japanese wonders!;
And the twin chandeliers of diamonds
Dangling from your ears;
And your costly chokers and necklaces;
And all this spellbinding pomp;
Are not worth a single kiss
You blessed me with when you were young.
TRANSLATIONS OF VOLTAIRE EPIGRAMS AND QUOTES
Once fanaticism has gangrened brains
the incurable malady invariably remains.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Love is a canvas created by nature
and completed by imagination.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
If God did not create us, it was necessary for us to create him.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My only prayer to God was, “Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.” And he granted it.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
God is a jester performing for an audience too frightened to laugh.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Doubt is an undesirable condition, but preferable to ludicrous certainty.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Faith is believing what reason cannot countenance.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Life is a shipwreck, yet we must sing in the lifeboats.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Every man is a product of his age and few are able to rise above its misconceptions.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Judge a man by his doubts rather than his certainties.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The secret of being a bore is to reveal everything.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Common sense is uncommon.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Once fanaticism has gangrened brains the malady is usually incurable.
—Voltaire, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Keywords/Tags: Voltaire, Voltaire English Translations, Voltaire Poems, Voltaire Epigrams, Voltaire Quotations
Jan 10, 2025
Jan 10, 2025 at 2:35 AM UTC
ধর্ম মানে তুমি বৌদ্ধ, আমি খ্রিষ্টান,
ধর্ম মানে তুমি হিন্দু, আমি মুসলমান।
ধর্ম মানে টিকি আর দাড়ির গোঁড়ামি,
ধর্ম মানে তুমি ভুল, ঠিক আমি।
ধর্ম মানে এক নিরাকার নার্সিসিস্টের দাসত্ব,
ধর্ম মানে তুমি মিথ্যে, আমি সত্য
ধর্ম মানে চিন্তার পরাধীনতা,
ধর্ম মানে তোমার ধর্মে আমার অসহিষ্ণুতা।
ধর্ম মানে মানিনে আমি বিজ্ঞানের তত্ত্ব।
ধর্ম মানে হোক না আমার ভাষা অকথ্য।
ধর্ম মানে আমি মানবো না যুক্তি,
ধর্ম মানে শুধুমাত্র আমার ধর্মেই মুক্তি।
ধর্ম মানে আমার ধর্ম শ্রেষ্ঠ,
ধর্ম মানে তোমার ধর্ম নিকৃষ্ট।
ধর্ম মানে ধর্মগুরুর চোখরাঙানি,
ধর্ম মানে তুমি কিছু জানো না, আমি সব জানি।
ধর্ম মানে প্রশ্ন করা পাপ,
ধর্ম মানে চোখ বন্ধ করে অন্ধকূপে ঝাঁপ।
ধর্ম মানে আমি সংখ্যাগুরু, তুমি সংখ্যালঘু,
ধর্ম মানে আমার ফাঁদে তুমি ঘুঘু।
ধর্ম মানে ছবি আঁকা বারন
ধর্ম মানে শিল্পীসত্বার হত্যা অকারন।
ধর্ম মানে যদি করো নবীর অপমান
ধর্ম মানে আমি শয়তান নেবো তোমার প্রাণ।
ধর্ম মানে হতেই পারি আমি অমানবিক
ধর্ম মানে কিন্তু আমিতো ধার্মিক।
Nov 4, 2022
Nov 4, 2022 at 1:01 PM UTC
You embrace a dark character
and call it my flaw.
Demons in your eyes,
I cannot tell
if you are telling lies,
if you realize what madness you spread,
or have the worms
burrowed so deep into your head
that you truly believe
such severely stupid things.
Aug 3, 2016
Aug 3, 2016 at 6:36 PM UTC