Ignorance And Fear

[Carolyn Marie]

IGNORANCE AND FEAR

by Carolyn Marie

Ignorance and fear walk hand in hand,

Their influence spreads across the land;

Since time began they've cast their spell,

And in their wake left earthly Hell.

A hundred thousand years ago,

We cowered at the sky aglow,

Wtih stars that shone, pinpoints of light,

Cast fearsome shadows in the night.

We knew not what brought the rain,

Or why wind and fire brought such pain,

With cause unknown we sought surcease,

To evil's malice that rent our peace.

Explanations our minds provided,

Demons, monsters, gods were sighted

In sky and river, land and tree,

Imaginations set them free.

Town and village brought us near,

But lurking still, ignorance and fear.

Disease and death, famine and war,

The breeding ground for devil's lore.

To please the gods, make sacrifice,

To end our troubles, cease our strife.

Find a scapegoat, one we hate,

Give to the gods to ease our fate.

Whom to choose to give their life?

Slave or woman will pay the price.

One who differs from the norm

On their head will burden borne.

Modern times have come at last.

We laugh and joke at fears long past.

But always lurking, always near,

Ever last ignorance and fear.

A scapegoat still we need to find,

To cause us to relieve our minds

Of modern evils, modern woes,

To fight new demons, fight new foes.

Find who's different, find who's strange,

Cull them out, we will arrange

To blame them for our darkest fears,

And make them pay, as yesteryear.

Ignorance and fear walk hand in hand,

Their influence spreads across the land.

Of us they're ignorant, that we know,

And fear us too, now danger grows.

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[Sally]

My Sweet Carolyn,

We are entering into our dark period aren't we.

It is a very good poem and speaks volumes not only of the nature of hate but your feelings of dread that their ignorance brings.

Cheer up sweet sister,

I too have felt those pains but all will pass

And this will too as the sand fills the glass

Soon to be seen as in a bright light

Far from the torturous term of night

Fear into its shadows returns to hide

Waiting for someone with fear inside

So gather your strength and all of your resolve

Within you is the only way this puzzle to solve

So stand at the edge of the darkness with me

There is nothing there to hurt us don't you see

We have here within us the God given right

To be who we are and to share in their light

We offer no threat no menace or danger at all

So smile and be cheerful against hatred's call

We stand as we are sisters and brothers

To share this world with all of the others

With no need for hatred and no need for fear

We live in peace we have always been here

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest KellyKat]

Both beautiful poems ladies!! If only mankind as a whole could learn from its history and rise above our most base flaws. Luv Kat

[Carolyn Marie]

Thanks, both of you.

Sally, you amaze me constantly with your ability to improvise on the spot. A master at work!

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Donna Jean]

What wonderful poetry here...

Carolyn...you lead off with the most thoughtful imagery...and it made me think a lot..

And Sally...yours complimented it beautifully!

I liked reading these poems...

Now I can dry my eyes....

Donna Jean

[Guest Elizabeth K]

my

A double treat! I liked the theme as it really shows we are cavemen that just happen to be able to fly to the moon and back. Sometimes I think we dual-natured transpeople are the future of mankind. But even our male/female melding sometimes carry the old trappings of human nature. We are just better able to see the weaknesses and failures of humanity. And conversely, our beauty and successes.

So when I am dancing in the moonlit glow from the orb upon which we cavemen have walked - begging the moon-goddess to shine favorably upon me and my kind - I will most certainly feel the chill of the past - a wind that has blown across our shoulders for eons and more - the hatred and spite of those who look upon anyone not exactly as themselves, as inferior, decadent... the cause of all the troubles of their mortal existance.

I pray the unbelievers will open their eyes... a bit... a tiny bit... and see the shadows of our individual souls mingled together in a common lifeforce - on the ground, in the moonlight.

As the shadowy forms of dark ghosts dancing upon the earthen surface - we we appear much the same.

But the dream of understanding and a shared brother/sisterhood is as fragile as the night air, and as pale as the moonlight. Fleeting... a whispy vapor and a fading glimmer.

Those doubting pause... and blast out...

Blaming the place, the time - blaming those not themselves. Certainly it must be the fault of something, someone. Who shall be the scapegoat tonight? Is it the dancers? It must be the dancers!

Certainly the dancers.

Elizabeth

[Guest Emily H]

History is like a sine wave. Up, to a peak, down, to a negative peak. the history of humans hes seen a couple of highs and lows. I believe, we are heading for the low.

I loved this. I had a horrible day today. thanks for this.

[Guest ~Brenda~]

Carolyn hon,

Very good, serious, dark, and deep poem

Sadly, it is still the nature of humankind to distrust what they do not understand.

This behavior must come from the primordial.

Even those (who from the outside would appear identical) have discord with each other and find reasons to not trust one another.

In spite of how dark things seem today, I have hope that humankind will evolve past this level of understanding.

I am confident that humans will break free of the chains of ingorance and fear.

I see a future where humanity has reached that level of complete dominion in understanding of life, the universe, and sprituality.

We arrive at last back to the garden.

Brenda

[Carolyn Marie]

I am confident that humans will break free of the chains of ingorance and fear.

I see a future where humanity has reached that level of complete dominion in understanding of life, the universe, and sprituality.

We arrive at last back to the garden.

Brenda

I hope you're right, Brenda. We evolve slowly, and the mind more slowly than the body, I think. Whether we evolve fast enough to avoid killing ourselves

off is an open question, but I try to stay optimistic. You know I'm a Trekker, and I do believe our society has the capacity to reach that mythical

level of existence.

I studied anthropology and continue to read extensively in that field. You do see patterns of behavior that don't change much through the millenia,

despite our advanced technology. Religion, when all is said and done, is different only in type and technology from the world of shamans and

superstition. We choose to believe we're more advanced, but take away the printing press and other modern trappings, are we really??

Carolyn Marie