~ In Defense of Memory ~
The jeweled hues of dragonflies,
With wings of thin, spun glass,
Reflected in blue water’s skies,
Remind me: Time is slipping past.
If solipsism is the ultimate truth,
And all we have is self, and now,
Then, what purpose, the trials of youth?
Why remember, if it doesn’t matter, somehow?
I can feel the caress of a summer breeze,
Or hear the life in a hawk’s cried song.
Only pieces of the whole of reality, these.
But are they any less real when the moment’s gone?
Since the past makes us who we are, today,
How can only this moment in time be true?
Without a past foundation, I can honestly say,
I wouldn’t be me, and you wouldn’t be you.
For now, I’ll leave it to butterflies to debate.
Their time is short, and perhaps more precious.
They’ve no need to wonder about their fate,
Like I ponder how living in “just the now” affects us…
~ C.L.R. © 2007
I’m reminded of that saying, “Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.”
~ Dragon's Dreams ~ 
Well- the butterfly is here, not to debate but to congratulate. A marvelous poem -like all the other ones you have written– it has beauty for the soul and profound thoughts for the mind to debate. An outstanding poem -one of your best!
😀 Wow, thanks for the super nice comment! Sometimes I like the older stuff better than things I write lately.
Oh sure, make me look up ‘solipsism’. 🙂
Other than that minuscule detail, this was fabulous! Deep thoughts well said, wonderful. 🙂
Lol. 🙂 Vocabulary is good. Keep in mind that I, too, had to look it up at some point. Glad you enjoyed it, Captain! Thanks for coming by!
I have to agree that this is an outstanding poem! There’s truth in its message and beauty in its words.
Love these especially:
“Without a past foundation, I can honestly say,
I wouldn’t be me, and you wouldn’t be you.”
😀 Thanks very much for stopping by, Reason! So glad you liked it.
and it’s hard to see the future if one is always facing the past ……….. just to play the devil’s advocate *wink*
mostly i am beginning to think symbolism is overrated — butterflies and dragonflies simply pretty … and humans, not so much *can you hear me chuckling?*
and before lose my manners — lovely write. has a soft assertion — and you are getting good enough to publish. a consistency with enough of a tickle. if there is ever a theme or subject that you want to tackle, you could do it. and that makes me sound like a snob ………. oh well, i bow and say you have me beat. my chaos could never be harnessed to quite such a fine direction.
it’s good.
E.
E.
Thanks, E. I need a devil’s advocate. Yes, I very much agree about butterflies and dragonflies – and usually wince when they somehow make their way into a poem of mine, but as you also said, they can be symbols (in this case, they are – of how short their lives are when compared to ours). I’m glad I can still make you chuckle, though! As for publishing…eh, maybe someday. It would be nice, but that’s not my brass ring at the moment and may never be. And I’m perfectly okay with that. Maybe I’ll gain notoriety posthumously, hm? LOL That thought makes ME chuckle. 😀
well so many now working to put a word out there — to be heard over the din is a tad large in the way of projects. 🙂 know what you are saying — the ‘after-death crowd’ is part of my hope, too. good men are noted after death. great men are noted in life and after death. and stunning women are noted for their patience of men more than anything else.
(i wish that were a quote — tempted to fudge and say Mark Twain said that or something ) lol 😀
I can feel the caress of a summer breeze! As the most summer girl alive I felt it all the way! And living in the now, when we have summer is the best I could advice! Lovely Corina!
🙂 Thank you, Blaga! Me, I don’t like summer so much (it’s way too hot and humid down here in the South) but to ‘gather rosebuds while we may’ is definitely good advice! Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment.
I don’t think living in the present moment denies our past nor does take away the responsibility for appropriate planning for the future. It simply means being fully present in the moment. Being conscious. At least, that’s my understanding.
Having said that, it’s a wonderful poem that askes all the right questions. Poem on …
Thanks, Jamie. You’re right, of course, that awareness of the present is really what it’s all about. I guess I still feel conflicted at times (we all do, I’m sure) about living completely in ‘now’. It seems to me that my Ego always fights the tranquility and zen nature of being still and being present…I just don’t want to forget the lessons of the past, nor allow it to dictate my future, if that makes sense. So, yeah…inner conflict, and the eternal quest for balance between all three (past/present/future). 🙂
I like the First and last stanza the best. Don’t like using bugs in mine as well; even pretty ones. Nice write.
Thanks, M. 🙂 And thank you for the visit!