Thursday 12 September 2013

Sam Harris on what an Atheist is



"The atheist is simply a person who has perceived the lies of religion and refused to make them his own"

Sam Harris - Philosopher, Neuroscientist

Tuesday 10 September 2013

Hand Axe


In my hand an axe
That once a million years ago
My brother held


Steve D

Aug 2013

Inspired by (and dedicated to) Prof Susan Alcock of Brown University, who in the excellent Coursra MOOC "Archaeologies Dirty Little Secrets" described picking up a million year old hand axe from the surface of Jordanian desert just outside Petra.

Past


You ask who owns the past
And I say I do


Each stone axe you find
Was made to fit my hand
The painted Bison on the wall
Once roamed upon my land


I have prayed in every temple
Stood guard on every wall
I built each mighty empire
Was there to see them fall


I have served both high and mighty
A master and a slave
And fought in every battle
My name’s on every grave


I am the Rangatira
Custodian of this earth
And I am the Pakeha
Who sees another worth


But most of all I am a brother
Who shares his past with you
Who owns the past? you say
I tell you that we do.


Steve D
Aug 2013

Write a Poem



Write a poem
In under 10 minutes
Don’t worry about whether it has meaning
Or a use

But let the words fall where they may
And be satisfied that being written is enough
And when done
Do not read it
Move on

All of life should be like that


Steve D
May 2013

Virgin White



On virgin white
I scratch some lines
To make my mark
With feeble rhymes


Though lines may fade
And bones may rot
The mark remains
Where flesh does not


So when I’m dead
Please don't pray
The body’s gone
But the words will stay


Steve D
Aug 2013

Wait a minute ....



Wait a minute ….
Somethings wrong
Is this the blues or just a song?
The this blues, and the that blues
No it isn’t ….
There ain’t but one kinda blues
So said the Son


Steve D
Jun 2013


dedicated to Son House (1902-1988), a true bluesman

Taps



My taps are marked “hot” and “cold”
So I can tell, before I learn by bitter experience, which is which
Would that life had such labels


Steve D
Jul 2013

Syria




Behind the lens young men shout
“God is great”
Rockets trace their flight
Door to door
Might to right

Flames ooze from windows
Escaping murder
Reaching on
Floor to floor
Gun to Sun

But there the children melt
In mothers last embrace
Inside the burning room
Ashes to ashes
Womb to tomb

And in the sky, the pilot says
“God is great”
Drops the bomb, and that ends that
Eye for eye
Tit for tat

So on it goes
No greatness here
And on it goes the loss and fear
Life for life
Tear for tear


Steve D
Aug 2013

Swim


Swim
Swim for your life
Don’t look
Jump
Learn to be ignorant
Teach to know
Lie to be believed
Never believe
Love to feel pain
Cry to share it

Swim
Swim for your life
Swim as far as you can


Run to slow things down
Stop
Don’t look for the beginning
Find the end
Listen intently to everyone
Know who to ignore
Look in the darkness
See the light


Swim
Swim for your life
Swim as far as you can


Swim till you drown


Steve D 
July 2013

Stein



Stein is incomprehensible and in being incomprehensible Stein is
Incomprehensible Stein is being
Being Incomprehensible is Stein
Stein being incomprehensible is
Is Stein incomprehensible?
Is incomprehensible Stein?
Is being is?
Is being?
Is?

If words are wine and Stein is vine
And if Stein is vine
Then in each line
Do words flow
Words flow …
Words ….
Flow

Steve D
May 2013

A little tribute to the impossible Gertrude Stein. I have no idea what she was on about, but she still sounds great.

Sky TV




It seems I pay 50 dollars
To a Kiwi Corporation
Owned by an Australian crook
So that an American bimbo
Can sell me a steam mop made in China
To clean French windows that I do not own
So that I can see more clearly
The world I paid 50 dollars to avoid
……. I should have bought a blind !




Steve D
April 2013

Imagine


Imagine if we judged students
Not by the answers they gave
But by the questions they asked

Imagine if we judged politicians
Not by their words
But by their deeds

Imagine if we measured a man
Not by his wealth
But by his heart

Imagine if we valued a woman
Not by her looks
But by her contribution

Imagine if we treasured children
The way we treasure oil

Imagine if we asked God
The questions he asks us

Imagine if we stood up
And asked the question why?

Steve D
Aug 2013

Wrath of God


Fear not the Bible
Fear the men who teach it
Fear not the Jihad
But fear the men who preach it


Fear not the wrath of God
Fear the acts of man
Fear not avenging angels
But fear the Taliban


Die not in fear and hate
But live with Joy and love
Live not awaiting fate
There is no God above


Pray not for your salvation
Do right by fellow man
Fear not your own damnation
There is no greater plan


Steve D
July 2013

Farewell Mr Rainbow




Come on team grab a pick
One last time
Dig a trench for Mick

Find a site with Geophys
That he would choose
If the choice were his

Use a map to get it right
Then mark the place
With colours bright
And in the land that gave him birth
Lay a gentle man
In gentle earth

Rainbows never end, I’m told
But at this ones end
Lies a pot of gold

Now clean your shovel and you pick
And down the pub we go
To have a drink for Mick


Steve D
Jun 2013


RIP Prof Mick Aston 1943-2013
Professor of Archaeology, academic advisor/presenter Time Team, all round good sort

Istanbul



Where side by side
Though time divide
Mighty empires fell


That left their mark
In falling arch
And empty wishing well


Where East meets West
Where soul can rest
And streets of honey smell


Where friends are friends
And dreams begin
Of stories yet to tell


Steve D
July 2013