{"id":2206,"date":"2016-04-12T14:36:32","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T19:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=2206"},"modified":"2016-04-12T14:36:32","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T19:36:32","slug":"poem-gift-hoarse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/12\/poem-gift-hoarse\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: Gift Hoarse"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dumb bell rang<\/strong>
\nAs he looked<\/strong>
\nThe present<\/strong>
\nLike a gift horse in the mouth<\/strong>
\nAnd in every witch way<\/strong>
\nReckon as knot so fine<\/strong>
\nLooking forward and backward<\/strong>
\nOf what might be<\/strong>
\nOnly seconds<\/strong>
\nAs has been<\/strong>
\nA head and behind<\/strong>
\nAnd in know time<\/strong>
\nLooking down<\/strong>
\nThe apple of his eye<\/strong>
\nGiven in digestion<\/strong>
\nAnd looking up<\/strong>
\nThe wrong end<\/strong>
\nAs scene through faulty means<\/strong>
\nOnly now<\/strong>
\nAs passed tense<\/strong>
\nOr posterity perfected<\/strong>
\nAs dumb founded<\/strong><\/p>\n

This poem is about living in the present, the eternal now.\u00a0 Like they say: if you have one foot in the past and one foot in the future, you’ll crap on today.\u00a0 In this poem, it happens by looking up the wrong end of a gift horse.\u00a0 \"That<\/a>Many moral lessons are more easily grasped as cautionary tales, rather than straightforward instructions on wise weighs.\u00a0 This paradox linking foolish and wise is elicited by the first and last lines of this poem, which, not surprisingly, employ puns to say two opposite meanings in a singular phrase.\u00a0 The opening line, “The dumb bell rang,” signals both complete uselessness, a bell that cannot ring, and a call to silence, as a way to better experience the present.\u00a0 The last line, “As dumb founded,” wraps up with the twin perplexity and wonder of realizing that silence can offer a quality of experience that will only be degraded by the static of past thoughts and\/or the noise of unrealized futures.\u00a0 May you find yourself, completely, in the present, that is your gift right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The dumb bell rang As he looked The present Like a gift horse in the mouth And in every witch way Reckon as knot so fine Looking forward and backward Of what might be Only seconds As has been A … 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":[9,15,1],"tags":[428,460,635,608,155,658,94,491,7,131,529],"class_list":["post-2206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","category-uncategorized","tag-experience","tag-foolish","tag-future","tag-gift","tag-moral","tag-poems","tag-poetry","tag-present","tag-puns","tag-silence","tag-time"],"yoast_head":"\nPOEM: Gift Hoarse | Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings, Uncategorized | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"POEM: Gift Hoarse, Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings, Uncategorized, Experience, Foolish, Future, Gift, Moral, Poems, Poetry, Present, Puns, Silence, Time Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! 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