Friday, December 23, 2011

What Is Truth?

Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position. - Mohandas K. Gandhi

What a word is truth. Slippery, tricky, unreliable. I tried in these books to tell the truth. - Lillian Hellman

In matters of the heart, nothing is true except the improbable. - Madame de Stael

Wiki says: Lillian Florence "Lilly" Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American authors of plays, screenplays, and memoirs, linked throughout her life with many left-wing political causes.





A poem written after midnight in winter...what do you expect? At least Lillian also believed truth is a snake. I found that quote tonight but I wrote the poem nearly two years ago.

What Is Truth?

The truth is a snake
of many colors, and eyes
that flash cold and hard
if there is no heat,
dim sun above stormy clouds
and me at a loss
fearing the sharp bite
of all the serpent scaled hues
and the snaky breath.

February 6, 2010 12:30 AM

We know who Gandhi is, and I have introduced Lillian, but who is Anne Louise Germaine de Staƫl-Holstein?

6 comments:

  1. Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position. - Mohandas K. Gandhi

    What a word is truth. Slippery, tricky, unreliable. I tried in these books to tell the truth. - Lillian Hellman

    In matters of the heart, nothing is true except the improbable. - Madame de Stael


    oh! thank god! what was my greatest criticism is a natural state. (? and !)

    this has plagued me. this has been used against me, sometimes by others, sometimes by myself. now i see that all things are comprised of their sister opposite. how could truth be anything other than snake-like?

    merry christmas, christopher. i laugh. just now i see you under the streetlights with other people - a story you told me, i think, last year. i wonder how many christmases we will spend together like this?

    love!
    erin

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  2. Yes, a natural state. Many people consider the civilizing of the world an attempt to relieve us of the consequences of our natural state. They will insist that if you leave things alone to develop naturally you get "nasty, brutish and short". This is particularly true of the so-called "Conservative" positions, this distrust of the heart of men and this insistence on control. Equally, the so-called "Liberal" will tend to believe the heart of men trustworthy and to be helped along by judicious controls. Neither wants anything to do with leaving us alone to dance with truth.

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  3. In addition to earning the moniker of the woman whom Napoleon hated most, she is also remembered as the champion of liberal republicanism and the empress of a vast realm of intelligence, talent and grace. article

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ah, see how the Ghost materializes at just this moment.

    On this Christmas Eve, I do hope you find the elixir most excellent, the ectoplasm scintillating, the echoes of Christmas past and future to reveal the way things really are.

    Thanks for the links, which I hope others will follow. I followed them last night and thought I would throw out the question rather than the answer. She was the Diva of Pop in her age. Not the best artist but the best at managing the crowd.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Greetings:

    Happy Holidays.

    Got talent in short fiction? check out our short story slam week 17 prompt today,

    Sample something new is a way to escape boredom,

    Hope to see you be part of our short story slam team.

    Best!

    Enjoy A Blessed Winter Break.

    xoxox

    ReplyDelete

The chicken crossed the road. That's poultry in motion.


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