Hemp Industries

Intentions
Ideology of Ideals with Reality Check.
Manifesto of Responsibility, Respect, Rights, and Reason!
by Gerhard Fuerst

Welcome back, Gerhard Fuerst, Mr. Michigan Heart on his Sleeve. New Year's sentiments we can all find worth taking in. This latest poetry at least partly in response to my entreaties for poetry that evokes images of a freedom-filled, benevolent future... such as that inimitable ode to liberty—The Freedom Bell—he initially sent based on an heroic achievement of the past. [It reminds me, too, that as a publisher of sorts, I must always respect, when donning the inevitable editor-and-critic hat: "Caution, flesh and blood person on the other end."] The title, Intentions, is a provisional one and may change per instructions from the author. The images are from the author.

This is how I wish the world to be.
A place of beauty,
kindness, calmness,
tranquility, peacefulness.
Roses are my favorite flowers,
but they grow on stems
with sharp thorns,
so as to warn persons:
"Handle with care.
Grip and grab, only if you dare!"
This is what one quickly learns,
so that caution is best
rather than hasty handling,
via quickly and edifying discerns.
I am known as
"Der Rosenkavalier!"
Roses I give to those I love,
to those who are dear.
Thorns are carefully removed.
Thus, so no-one comes to harm.
I also write poetry, in order
the hateful, the vengeful,
and the warlike
to disarm.
When I see wrong,
I call it what it is.

What I've seen, learned
and experienced
in my long life:
there is struggle
there is strife,
there is suffering,
there is pain;
and it is a fact
that mere naive blissfulness
is a sentiment
which alone solves nothing,
and is utterly wasted
and in vain.
The world I yearn for,
the world I dream about,
the world I prefer,
exists only in dreams,
and you find in reality
only tiny bits and pieces
here and there.
So I do what I do.
I search for the truth.
I call things
what and as they are,
and in doing so,
I am neither uncaring, unkind
nor ignorant or uncouth.

I am a whole person.
I am my own man.
I have my opinion and values,
based on experience and knowledge,
which not everyone will accept or please.

I prefer honesty.
I am a man of peace!
Additionally, I practice
diligently and consistently
what I profess and preach:

I detest war,
war lords and war-mongers,
I detest lunatics, liars, louts and thieves.
I detest propagandists, petty ideologues,
punch-drunk, greedy and power-hungry plutocrats.
I detest and combat
fraud and dishonesty,
wherever it rears its ugly head,
and I try to replace it
with public appeals
for decency, civility and charity instead.
I detest those who are
perpetually poised to pounce,
to discredit, to diminish, and to denounce.

Yes, I am a dreamer,
but not a schemer.
I search both for beauty and truth.
I see that as my mission
and purpose in life.
What do I from others expect?
Perhaps a bit of patience,
thoughtfulness, and a tiny measure
of mild-mannered respect.
I too cherish and champion freedom,
I believe I have delivered plentiful proof!
I write what I think,
and I say what needs to be said.

There now, I have once again
clearly and succinctly
stated my point(s) of view.
In doing so without fail,
no-one did I insult,
verbally assault or assail!
I hold no grudges,
and the rest...
or anything else is now up to you!

I am not a man
of power or might
I am merely a poet of a sort,
perhaps pitiful and pedantic,
attempting to say
and to do
what I consider to be
good, just, and right

Gerhard A. Fuerst 12/31/2010

###
2011 January 03
Posted by The Coffee Coaster™ w/permission of author
Justice | Freedom | Gerhard Fuerst | Freedom Bell | Dreamers | Poetry