{"id":1004,"date":"2013-08-05T14:04:31","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T19:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=1004"},"modified":"2013-08-05T14:06:32","modified_gmt":"2013-08-05T19:06:32","slug":"poem-infectious-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/05\/poem-infectious-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: Infectious Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hope is a blood-borne pathogen<\/span>
\nThe seed of martyrs<\/span>
\nInflaming that allergy to injustice<\/span>
\nPresent in us all<\/span>
\nInfected by a singular epiphany<\/span>
\nOf friend and foe<\/span>
\nAlike<\/span><\/p>\n

I see hope as an irreducible reality in human nature. \u00a0Just like “Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again” (William Cullen Bryant), hope is rooted in a realm that mere brute force or violence cannot destroy. \u00a0Even in the face of deep despair and generations of disappointment, hope finds its way into our hearts. Hope rises like an infectious weed, out of control of the powers that be that rely on violence to grasp onto control. Trying to describe hope reminds of the description of love in the movie Shakespeare in Love:<\/em> “Like a sickness and its cure together.” \u00a0In this poem I use an analogy and metaphor of hope as an immune response by reality to injustice. Of course, viewing hope as an antidote or a poison or pathogen can be a matter of perspective. \u00a0In the face of objectively crappy situations, hope can be viewed more cynically as Pollyannish. The blood of martyrs can be seen as a tragic waste or as fuel for hope and resistance to injustice. Hopes indefatigable nature can elicit respect and well…more hope. \u00a0While I posit that hope has a mystical quality to it that cannot be banished, perhaps the closest I can get to capturing its essence is the last three lines of this poem where people are “infected” by a singular awareness that friend and foe are one, “alike.” \u00a0 I see hope emerging and growing where this epiphany takes root. \u00a0For instance, I consider “Love your enemy as yourself” as Christianity’s greatest commandment. \u00a0Jesus upgraded the Old Testament’s “love your neighbor” with this greatest of spiritual challenges:<\/p>\n

\u00a0“You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”<\/em> (Matthew 5:43-48, NIV)<\/p>\n

This is the greatest spiritual genius that I have ever seen! \u00a0This strikes me as the most straightforward and simple way to encapsulate one of the most basic tensions in life: balancing self-interest with others’ interests. \u00a0By explicitly linking these two, Jesus harnesses, leverages, and even redeems, the powerfully dangerous\u00a0<\/span>psychological\u00a0dynamics of egocentricity and selfishness. \u00a0No doubt, the trinity of hope, faith, and love is called upon to dare confront such a powerful challenge. \u00a0Of course, the genius and simplicity of this formulation doesn’t make it easy. \u00a0Though in it I find much hope, even infectious hope!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hope is a blood-borne pathogen The seed of martyrs Inflaming that allergy to injustice Present in us all Infected by a singular epiphany Of friend and foe Alike I see hope as an irreducible reality in human nature. \u00a0Just like … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15],"tags":[396,483,204,25,262,341,269,104,392,432,485,317,506,388,482,721,24,359,273,86,306,13,379,354,658,94,110,114,491,395,601,496,502,696,53,237,30,421,163,203],"class_list":["post-1004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","tag-analogy","tag-awareness","tag-bible","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-control","tag-cynical","tag-enemies","tag-evil","tag-faith","tag-genius","tag-hate","tag-heaven","tag-hope","tag-human-nature","tag-injustice","tag-jesus","tag-life","tag-love","tag-metaphors","tag-metaphysics","tag-mystical","tag-nature","tag-perspective","tag-poems","tag-poetry","tag-power","tag-powers-that-be","tag-present","tag-psychology","tag-reality","tag-resistance","tag-respect","tag-shakespeare","tag-short-poems","tag-simplicity","tag-spiritual","tag-truth","tag-violence","tag-war"],"yoast_head":"\nPOEM: Infectious Hope | Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! 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