Know Yourself (poem)
By Luke Labern
Why is our default state set
To look for the mistakes we make
And the changes so obvious in hindsight?
I despise this way of thinking
And feel sorry that I imbibed it:
An infant can only resist so much.
I reject it now. Luckily, I keep
Myself far, far away from the status quo
So that I can see the zeitgeist
And learn how to code it
Through violence and passion. I
Have spent too long trying to help
Others, when I might have known
The taste of purest self-improvement.
The die is cast now: let's begin.
I have seen sin but found it lacking:
It was not in the sound of knuckles cracking—
It was in the sound of self-doubt,
Self-criticism, poor excuses and gout
Of the creative faculties:
The to solution such sin results and stems from ease.
Life should not be hard: who thought it should be?
That is not to say that it cannot be tough,
But more that we do not reward ourselves enough.
We strive, and strive, and strive, and strive
Often never appreciating the fact that we're alive
But will not be for long. So fuck,
And fuck all those—including you—who claim
That there is someone to blame
For their unhappiness and emptiness.
The villain is found in laziness, and in the work called "guess".
So let me get this off my chest:
I have know love and been impressed
By me, myself and our
Reputation to be dour:
Beware, you who do not get it,
The man who is fierce yet driven,
For he takes what is not given.
"What's that?" Nothing.
Nothing but wisdom, prowess and power:
Nothing but love, and passion every hour:
Nothing but intelligence constantly improved
Logic constantly proved
Emotion endlessly extracted
Muscles often contracted
A spine called time
And a mind sublime.
Listen. I will not tell you how to live
Unless you see the truth at hand:
To know and love yourself
Is the closest thing there is to ecstasy, planned.
To look for the mistakes we make
And the changes so obvious in hindsight?
I despise this way of thinking
And feel sorry that I imbibed it:
An infant can only resist so much.
I reject it now. Luckily, I keep
Myself far, far away from the status quo
So that I can see the zeitgeist
And learn how to code it
Through violence and passion. I
Have spent too long trying to help
Others, when I might have known
The taste of purest self-improvement.
The die is cast now: let's begin.
I have seen sin but found it lacking:
It was not in the sound of knuckles cracking—
It was in the sound of self-doubt,
Self-criticism, poor excuses and gout
Of the creative faculties:
The to solution such sin results and stems from ease.
Life should not be hard: who thought it should be?
That is not to say that it cannot be tough,
But more that we do not reward ourselves enough.
We strive, and strive, and strive, and strive
Often never appreciating the fact that we're alive
But will not be for long. So fuck,
And fuck all those—including you—who claim
That there is someone to blame
For their unhappiness and emptiness.
The villain is found in laziness, and in the work called "guess".
So let me get this off my chest:
I have know love and been impressed
By me, myself and our
Reputation to be dour:
Beware, you who do not get it,
The man who is fierce yet driven,
For he takes what is not given.
"What's that?" Nothing.
Nothing but wisdom, prowess and power:
Nothing but love, and passion every hour:
Nothing but intelligence constantly improved
Logic constantly proved
Emotion endlessly extracted
Muscles often contracted
A spine called time
And a mind sublime.
Listen. I will not tell you how to live
Unless you see the truth at hand:
To know and love yourself
Is the closest thing there is to ecstasy, planned.
A Poem,
Published 23 October 2015
Published 23 October 2015