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

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