{"id":1216,"date":"2013-11-14T14:20:17","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T19:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=1216"},"modified":"2013-11-14T14:20:17","modified_gmt":"2013-11-14T19:20:17","slug":"poem-pulling-steckler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/14\/poem-pulling-steckler\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: Pulling a Steckler"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pulling a Steckler<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Steckler was the type of guy<\/span>
\nWho would ruin<\/span>
\nThe fun<\/span>
\nOf magic tricks<\/span>
\nEnjoyed by friends<\/span>
\nBy revealing their mechanics<\/span>
\nPartly to annoy<\/span>
\nMostly because he could<\/span>
\nHis routine was so common<\/span>
\nHis act was named<\/span>
\nPulling a Steckler<\/span>
\nSo named by friends<\/span>
\nWith no first names<\/span>
\nAs a young chide<\/span>
\nHe had meticulously dissected<\/span>
\nAlmost two hundred frogs<\/span>
\nA familiar story becoming mythic<\/span>
\nScores of animation erased<\/span>
\nWeather comical or cruel<\/span>
\nSuch carrion luggage<\/span>
\nExacting a price<\/span>
\nHe became all too familiar<\/span>
\nAs corpses became cool<\/span>
\nWith rigid bodies of evidence<\/span>
\nSo much so<\/span>
\nHe became convinced<\/span>
\nThey were never really alive<\/span>
\nIn the first place<\/span>
\nWinning a world without<\/span>
\nMagic<\/span>
\nBanished<\/span>
\nTo a place filled<\/span>
\nWith undead<\/span>
\nNever quite living<\/span>
\nAny warmth met with<\/span>
\nMore heat than light yielding<\/span>
\nA cold and shadowy place<\/span>
\nNeeding no other<\/span>
\nTo take his breath away<\/span>
\nNor confer<\/span>
\nPulling a Steckler<\/span>
\nOut of a hat<\/span>
\nTo be warn<\/span>
\nHis crowning achievement<\/span>
\nIn the mud<\/span>
\nLike a croak<\/span>
\nHauntingly unfamiliar<\/span>
\nIn the passing years<\/span><\/p>\n

This poem is another ode to the strange places that the logic of scientific reductionism will lead us.\u00a0 Many will cross the line from elucidating the mechanics of everyday magic to an all out assault on mystery itself.\u00a0 The worst offenders militantly believe in nothing.\u00a0 Most just can’t make peace between objects and subjects — which is one of my favorite subjects!\u00a0 On a good day, we can avoid hurling high-speed objects at subjects!\u00a0 I find subjects infinitely more valuable and fascinating than objects.\u00a0 The sad thing about the character in this poem, Steckler, is that he alienated himself from other people by missing the whole picture; ironically, by trying to explain the whole picture, as he sees it.\u00a0 I can relate to this passion, if not obsessive compulsive disorder.\u00a0 I am sure that I alienate some with all of my talk about spirituality, the transcendent, and mysticism.\u00a0 My only defense is a claim that open minds focus more on more, and cramped hearts focus more on less.\u00a0 Science without serendipity is like pinching aloof.\u00a0 Speaking of serendipity, I chose the name “Steckler” as a pun on stickler.\u00a0 Being a stickler for Steckler, upon further genealogical investigation, I learned that the origin of the name “Steckler” is a nickname for a person known for making snide remarks<\/a>.\u00a0 May “pulling a Steckler” add to awe, not take it away…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pulling a Steckler Steckler was the type of guy Who would ruin The fun Of magic tricks Enjoyed by friends By revealing their mechanics Partly to annoy Mostly because he could His routine was so common His act was named … 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":[57,9,15],"tags":[294,435,246,431,475,457,438,417,444,445,448,494,658,94,390,93,593,30,545,547],"class_list":["post-1216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-peace","category-poems","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","tag-awe","tag-character","tag-defense","tag-heart","tag-logic","tag-militant","tag-mind","tag-mystery","tag-mystic","tag-mysticism","tag-ode","tag-passion","tag-poems","tag-poetry","tag-science","tag-scientific-reductionism","tag-serendipity","tag-spiritual","tag-spirituality","tag-transcendent"],"yoast_head":"\nPOEM: Pulling a Steckler | Peace, Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! 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