In response to rozk

[avevale_intelligencer]

A friend tells me that, if there is no soul,
There is no clash of body against mind.
I hate to be contentious, but I find
The case is rather different, on the whole.

For flesh and mind are clashing all the time;
The flesh says "eat!", the mind says "lose some weight."
The mind cries "run!", the flesh drones "vegetate,"
The soul is no wise guilty of this crime.

Am I the athlete who desires to run,
Or else the slugabed who yearns for quiet?
Do I crave food, or would I rather diet?
The I that speaks is both, and neither one.

When flesh and mind contend with shouts obscene
I place the soul--the self--smack in between.

Comments

[rozk.livejournal.com]

The body and the mind are the two hands
that weave the self between them, interplay
a dialogue that may change day to day
creates consistency. Self understands

what neither flesh nor mind can apprehend
yet is a fiction and a referee
yet needs to be reined in. So fluently
its guesses become fantasies and end

in things we cannot know, that are not there
-God, Hell and Heaven - all ways to deny
the simple tasks life gives us. Mortify
the flesh, confuse the mind. Hope and despair.

The self's a servant. Use it, never let
it rule, or you will die full of regret.

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

*applauds* Adding to memories.

[filkerbaby.livejournal.com]

This is brilliant. Please continue.