Jack Pelham

Finding no hope
In the beginning,
Some turn to the end—
Clamoring over the Revelation
And eager to find in it—
Or perhaps to imagine—
Something more promising than
That tired, old Genesis—
Long-since abandoned
As of no particular intrigue.

For they are not interested in
Living out their own quests
For which they were made—
But in slipping in upon
The glorious ending
Of someone else’s.

And they have missed—
I think—
The very point of being.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,…

Genesis 1:26a. NIV. See chapter.

He’ll not understand the end
If he has not given himself over
To the beginning.

I’m as practical and pragmatic as the next guy, so when something’s gone wrong, I can often find a suitable workaround. I can even make do with said workout for some time, if need be.

He decides to tell himself what he is like,
And then to believe it.

And he thinks this settles the matter—
As if he could not possibly be wrong.

But he could.

*I chose the image simply because it’s a man looking into the mirror. It just happens to be a depiction of Socrates, however, which fact I didn’t put in its caption for fear of it having any sway over how this piece might be read. The work is listed as: Socrates Looking in a Mirror, print, Bernard Vaillant, after Jusepe de Ribera (called Lo Spagnoletto)

Atop his body sits a box so important
That he takes it with him wherever he goes.

If you want to hide a treasure
Where few are likely to find it,
Hide it behind the work
That few are likely to do.

The help of competent friends is a blessing
That those without it can hardly imagine.

It is a common perversion of humans
That they should hate one injustice,
But not another.

People are just too afraid
Of truth
Of growing
Of interacting
Of being wrong
Of learning anything
And of making any changes.
They are much more comfortable
Half the time having their eyes shut than opened.

People talk of giving their all
As if they really know
How to do that.