The Oath
The oath I've taken is worn,
the reasons have turned to dust
and though my conscience is torn,
the cause is no longer just.
I stand at the precipice of action,
unsure of what to do,
praying for a higher sanction,
in an effort to do what's true!
Oh that I might have known,
the actualities of my cause,
with veracity had I been shown,
there would have been reason for pause.
Too easily the heart moves headlong,
for reasons it grapples to find,
lost in the tempo of blind song,
a rabble marching in kind.
And so I have reached my pinnacle,
low though it may be,
feeling appropriately cynical,
about proud and foolish me.
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The Oath
johnmcvey
Emerson wrote that to be a man requires that we speak fearlessly and forcefully whatever we believe this day, though it may completely contradict what we believed yesterday. This poem demonstrates courage of that kind. You mentioned cynicism, but I believe, and have heard other say, that cynics are often disillusioned idealists. "The Oath" also deals with the dilemma of having made the "wrong" oath in the light of later improved understanding, or simple humanity. Such was the dilemma of the father in the Old Testament who had sworn an oath to make a human sacrifice of the first person he saw if he won a battle. The first person he saw was his little daughter smiling as she ran to congratulate her daddy. I don't remember if he kept the oath or not. Fine clarity of thought and expression, good meter. Technically and conceptually excellent. I'd love to be on your buddy list.
Thank you
I appreciate your interest and am flattered. I would be honored. Thank you