Know Thyself – The Enigma of Ancient Wisdom (004)

Table of Content:

• [004.1] Know Thyself
• [004.2] Devotion
• [004.3] Astonished
• [004.4] Beggar

I. Know Thyself / Know Thyself (004.1)

Know Thyself

A beggar, a prince and a poet.
Arrive at the same time in town.
The beggar looking for food.
The Prince, a kingdom and crown.

“Why are you not hungry?” he begs.
“I live in a world without need.”
“Don’t you want your own Kingdom?“
“Why would I want to make the world bleed?“

The beggar and prince both baffled.
Look at each other in surprise.
‘Oh my god, I’m a beggar…’
The Prince orders both our demise.

Mako The Poet

II. Know Thyself / Devotion (004.2)

Devotion

I hate when woman congregate,
but keep their mouths to themselves.
I decide to occupy the garden,
watch some crawling shelves.

I dream of touching my woman,
the same way I grab my beer.
Imagine the horror of bottles,
discussing the mouth they fear.

Women talk and talk and talk,
exchange tearful emotion.
I pop the cap of my bottled beer,
drink with endless devotion.

Mako The Poet

III. Know Thyself / Astonished (004.3)

Astonished

You leap onto my lap a cat.
Besotted with pleasure and rum.
I protest to reading a script,
but my hand is already on your bum.

You spin and purr and tease.
Your mouth kisses both my knees.
Angered, I grab your cast.
You respond, as if hit by a blast.

Astonished, I stare at your face.
Shocked… surprised by what I see.
“I hate you, you fucking bastard!”
And the lioness sets herself free.

Mako The Poet

IV. Know Thyself / Beggar (004.4)

Beggar

You sit on the side of the pavement.
Your back a display long broke.
I stare at you, this old man…
A ruin of what was once awoke.

In your dreams you’re still a boy,
but your arms and legs won’t move.
Stained coat, lonely trousers,
defeat, decay, dirty your groove.

“Please sir, can you spare me something?”
With a shiver I realize who you are.
Your eyes see only this dimension.
Known to a soul torn by a scar.

A body they chose not to love.
A mind they chose not to see.
I fall onto my knees and weep.
I am the beggar that is thee.

Mako The Poet

–

The timeless Wisdom of polymath Benjamin Franklin, writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher.

“Freedom of speech is the great bulwark of liberty; they prosper and die together: And it is the terror of traitors and oppressors, and a barrier against them. It produces excellent writers, and encourages men of fine genius.”

“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics and limited monarchies derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates.”

“If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.”

“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”

“Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech; which is the right of every man as far as by it he does not hurt or control the right of another; and this is the only check it ought to suffer and the only bounds it ought to know…. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freedom of speech, a thing terrible to traitors.”

“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.”

“Where liberty dwells there is my country.”

“Security without liberty is called prison.”

“They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

“War is when the government tells you who the bad guy is.
Revolution is when you decide that for yourself.”

“Little minds think and talk about people.
Average minds think and talk about things and actions.
Great minds think and talk about ideas.”

“Beer is proof that God wants us to be happy.”

“To find out a girl’s faults, praise her to her girlfriends.”

“If better is possible, good is not enough.”

“Common sense without education, is better than education without common sense.”

“Common sense is something that everyone needs, few have, and none think they lack.”

“Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle.”

“When you’re down to nothing, God is up to something. The faithful see the invisible, believe the incredible and then receive the impossible.”

“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain – and most fools do.”

“Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who kept their swords.”

“I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them comfortable in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.”

“In my youth, I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”

“Out of adversity comes opportunity.”

“Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes.”

“Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.”

“Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor liberty to purchase power.”

“Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.”

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

“It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.”

000 001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018