Search Results for: Daniel Weiss

Divides Time | Daniel Weiss

That Which Divides

As I wended my way on the winding, wooded Highway One,  
Towards Jerusalem , while light was shining from the sun. 
Triumviral in belief, the City of Gold,  
Which just happens to be a few thousand years old.   

I arrived at my college and gazed upon the quad, a 
     sea of color. 
At least it makes life a little less duller.  
Attire in various forms, all red, blue, black and white. 
At the very least nobody is thinking about who to smite.  

Milling around and convening, together but separate.  
Acting out of true nature, and not as some replicate. 
Learning the lessons of life, 
In order to lead others without strife.   

Hijab or turban. Kufi or kipah. 
Some spotlight divergence, others to the obsession, 
Until it becomes a woebegone regression. 
I, for that matter, prefer to concentrate not on
     ‘that which divides’,  
But rather focus my energy where commonplace resides.
Spirit of a Place
Painting
©2021 Gerry Shepherd

Time is the Final Currency

Dedicated to the late David Crosby.
A line by David Crosby, 
That isn’t meant to be somewhat frosty, 
Who sang about a voice too distant, eyes too blue. 
Laughing in the sun, living a life so true. 

If only I could remember my name,  
And all my fellow travelers, what are THEIR names? 
I can recollect flying eight miles high, 
As it inspired me to let my freak flag fly. 

If you find yourself in the shadow or the shade, 
The message is out there, if only it could be conveyed. 
‘If the blue tones make you lonely, and lonely leaves
     you scared’,  
Sing out loud till the light shines on you, till everything
     is repaired. 

Time is the final currency. 
So, shouldn’t we spend it a little more frugally? 

Fear echoing her anguish cries,  
Singing on a blue moon, ‘behind blue eyes’. 
And somehow she knew… 
And the Hero, he just knew… 

Lights in my mirror, increase my paranoia,  
Towering like a giant Sequoia,  
It’s something suspicious, something we cannot ignore. 
We’ll intuitively think, ‘we’ve all been here before…’ 

We’ve all met a man who said he knew what was going on. 
How it’s gone forever and been a long time gone. 
Time is the final currency. 
So, shouldn’t we live life with a little more
      sense of urgency?
Audio ℗1971, 2021 Atlantic Recording Studio
Music and Words ©1971 David Crosby

©2023 Daniel Weiss
All rights reserved

Daniel Weiss…

…Daniel Weiss was born in Hollywood, CA, graduated as a psychology major from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Received his PhD at the Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet, Kiel Germany in linguistics. He has been a community organizer, musician and Waldorf teacher.

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Big egos, little egos | Daniel Weiss

Humility

Big egos, little egos. Egos wandering all about.
When conceit becomes arrogance, 
One turns into a swan without elegance.
A red herring, shining but pungent,
Glittering, with an acridity and without alacrity.
Humility, without humiliation, is the noblest goal,
Protruding above the surface like a sandy shoal.
An act of servility, leads to a state of humility,
Encouraged to overcome one’s inner swine.
And in the enigmatic aftermath,
King Midas, Icarus and Prometheus, all forgot to stay on the path.
The Pool that Echoes Life
©2022 Gerry Shepherd

Johnny Quest

A hero for the Boomers,
Could become one for the next generation of TikTok Zoomers?
What is your quest?
Is it the task that you do best?

Let’s not judge our tokens, like Hadji, for their identities,
Rather, because of their propensities.
Find the valor of Race Bannon,
And fire it into the world like a cannon.

Confront Baron von Freulich,
And do it with a little cheek.
Look and assess the situation,
Thusly, contributing to his abdication.

Become loyal like Bandit,
And let your consciousness be expanded.
Then you’ll be like Johnny Quest,
With a pluck to which the world can attest.

©2022 Daniel Weiss
All rights reserved

Daniel Weiss…

…was born in Hollywood, CA, graduated as a psychology major from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Received his PhD at the Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet, Kiel Germany in linguistics. He has been a community organizer, musician and Waldorf teacher.

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Waking Up One of Us Boys | Daniel Weiss

A Man and His Past Watch the End of the World
©2022 Gerry Shepherd

Waking Up with the Man

One day, on our way, we saw the Abjected.
The Man, the downtrodden, suspicion subjected.
In the inner city, in the alleyway, in the park and on the street,
His eye is always on the beat.

Widespread panic, universal appeal,
A few hucksters capitalizing their spiel.
Empathy given, souls being sold,
Power arrangements annulled.

Visions of justice, without redress,
Undermined by the darker side of the human spirit.
The Man, the Abjected gazed at each other,
And couldn’t tell the difference between one another.

One of US

I began a journey one fine day.
A village appeared on my way.
As I approached, the guardian told me I needed a blouse,
Handed me the garment and told me to enter the house.
But my garment wasn’t exactly fitting,
So, I was told when I was sitting,
I wasn’t one of them.

Accordingly, I continued on with my quest so dear. 
A town emerged on the horizon so near,
The guardian told me I needed a cup made of clay,
Handed me the cup and told me to stay.
But my cup wasn’t quite right,
So, I was told with all their might,
I wasn’t one of them.

Thence, I wended my way.
A city centered on my route the map did say.
The guardian told me I needed a nose made of paper,
Handed me a paper nose and told me to enter.
But my nose was fastened loosely,
So, I was told profusely,
I wasn’t one of them.
I descended again upon a valley,
The number of which I could not tally, 
A simple gathering in the center,
Which I was told I could enter,
Without condition or a certain term,
I could stay awhile they affirm.

Boys Will Be Boys

Little boys running with gun toys, boys will be boys.
Bang, boom, burst, whatever their thirst.
Fire as the purge, now easily available at an urge.
Fire, thusly urged, hidden, concealed and obscured.

The King, the Warrior, the Magician, the Lover,
Quintessence of supremacy, confronting the new heresy.  
A Force of Nature gone amuck, barely concealing its agitation.
A Force awaiting its transformation.

Archetype of the Sun,
Elucidate, explicate, exuding, the mushroom cloud is looming.
Bomb, blast, bash, dark fog descends upon the cash.
When Crude becomes the new Golden Calf.

The art of manliness, gone array.
Splintering into esoteric groups like shattered glass.
Alas, the King, the Warrior, the Magician, the Lover are still running with toys,
And all we can say is: ‘boys will be boys.’

©2022 Daniel Weiss
All rights reserved

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Daniel Weiss…

…born in Hollywood, CA, studied psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Received his PhD from the Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet, KIel, Germany. Lived in Germany from 1982-2003 and was in Germany during the Cold War, the Reunification of Germany and the uniting of Europe. He was a community organizer for the new Jewish Communities in Schleswig-Holstein in Germany as well as an interviewer for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. He was also a klezmer musician in Germany, taught at Waldorf Schools in Germany, and worked in speech recognition for 18 years.

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