One Hundred : Four By Six

A Valentine’s Day poem?

Certainly. (Who needs clichés)

ONE HUNDRED

He was seventy-two
While she was twenty-eight.
A round number – Perfect!
Though only they thought that.

Disgusting: Four By Six

DISGUSTING

You call it disgusting
But was it disgusting
Up until the moment
You called it disgusting?

Sunday Paper Wizardry: Four By Six

SUNDAY PAPER WIZARDRY

We see nothing as is
Before cloaked in spin
Then reject it as cheap
Or call it minimal

Doublespeak: Four By Six

DOUBLESPEAK

It’s a dangerous world
Or so the News tells us
Looking for terrorists?
Check out the Pentagon

Poets Out Loud: Four By Six

POETS OUT LOUD

Let’s share our poetry
For without that I fear
It might quickly descend
Into onanism

A Work In Progress: Four By Six

A WORK IN PROGRESS

Nothing wrong with people
Genocide wouldn’t cure
Just need to be patient
They are working on it

Paranoia: Four By Six

PARANOIA

When you really don’t trust
Anyone the last thing
You want to tell them is
That you don’t trust them

Without Bars: Four By Six

WITHOUT BARS

Prefers to drink at home
The alcohol’s cheaper
And being by yourself
The company’s better

Skin Deep: Four By Six

SKIN DEEP

Complexity can be
Such a burdensome gift
So sympathise with those
Who prefer the shallows

A Condensed I Ching: Four By Six

A CONDENSED I CHING

Circumstances vary
Winds and waves come and go
To be firm and correct*
Always an advantage

~~~~~ ~ ~~~~~

* “‘Firm and correct’ is a meaning of the character zhen 貞. It means that you have to be steadfast in your character, not wavering, and do the right thing at the right time regardless of your personal desires. It is a moral quality.

This however is not the original meaning of zhen in Chinese divination manuscripts. The original meaning is something like ‘to address a statement to the oracle.’ In the old days you did not ask questions but you addressed statements containing a wish or desire: ‘would it that I become king’, for instance. More generally said, zhen implied that you consult the oracle.

Somewhere during the Han dynasty I guess this meaning was discarded and replaced with ‘firm and correct’ which better fits the Confucian doctrine that was in vogue at that time.”

– What Does ‘Firm And Correct’ Mean?