Talking Back to Parmenides
He was taller than I expected.
Standing at the white city gate
Parmenides of Elea patiently waited.
What year is this? He asked.
2005, I said.
All these years, he murmured.
Yes, I nodded, you were born
More than twenty five centuries ago.
You were writing in hexameters
About the Way of Truth
And the Way of Seeming,
I reminded him.
Yes, I remember that, he said.
My memory is as good as in my youth.
I used to delve into the Enigma of Being
In the quest for finding the hidden heart of
Certainty and permanence.
We were silent for a while.
And then I said:
I read in a Dictionary of Philosophy
That you believe that reality does not change
And is unknowable.
Well, I still believe that, Parmenides said.
In that case let me ask you this:
If reality is unknowable
Then how do you know
That it does not change?
poem by Paul Hartal
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Related quotes
The River of Permanence
It is not possible to step
Into the same river twice,
Said Heraclitus of Ephesus.
Since other and yet other waters
Keep flowing on,
The river is never the same.
And like the river,
Everything in the world
Is in constant change and flux.
Nonsense! Retorted Parmenides
Of Elea. Nothing is in flux.
Things never change, he said,
The world is permanent.
Objects of thought and speech
Must exist all the time.
They cannot change
Because change consists in
Things coming into being,
Or ceasing to exist;
Whereas words have
An immutable meaning.
Of course a table differs from a chair
Parmenides continued,
And so does the nightingale
From the elephant.
Or the land from the sky.
However,
We live in an illusionary world.
Things only appear to be different.
And mind you,
There are no opposites in the world.
For warm means merely not cold
And dark means no light.
More than a century later,
Aristotle scratched his head rumbling:
Is not this talk a next door to madness?
After all even a lunatic
Would not confuse fire with ice.
How can one argue,
From thought and language
As a frame of reference
To the world at large?
How can one reconcile
The existential with the copulative?
The past with the future?
Tell us Parmenides,
How can Socrates be alive
If he is dead?
Yet Parmenides
Remained unperturbed and smiled.
Your logic, Aristotle, is not flawless.
It does not hold water.
Look:
On a deeper level of reality
Things are always the same,
Belonging to an ultimately
Homogeneous cosmos.
In the final analysis
There is neither past nor future
Only an eternal present.
When you refer to Socrates
Your memory unfolds
Not in the past but in the present.
Your recollection happens now,
Right in this moment,
Immortalizing him.
poem by Paul Hartal
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At the present moment, the security of coherent philosophy, which existed from Parmenides to Hegel, is lost.
quote by Karl Jaspers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Which Is Which
> To beware of the truth.
> Is truth...it, self?
> So, what is truth?
>
> Is truth, true love?
> Or...just a reality?
> To be a man...is that truth?
>
> A man...is reality.
> A woman...is reality.
> To be woman...is that truth?
>
> To have more then one partner
> Is a reality of the world.
>
> Which this world agrees.
> Truth is; in my point of view
> Is what one claims to be truth.
>
> But, the truth is whatever you
> Are doing as I speak.
> A woman is good for the soul.
>
> That truth is very bold.
> A man lives for his manhood
> So I am told.
>
> Is it truth or reality?
> Respect is in the middle of the spectrum.
> Male vs. Female
>
>
> That is truth.
> Man being woman
> A reality.
>
> Woman being man...
> She tries.
> Respect cover both the unreal and the wise.
>
> Truth or reality...we never really
> Give it much thought.
> Maybe it was the way we are taught.
>
> Truth or reality...
> Which is Which?
>
>
> whisperkwane
>
> [email protected]
>
>
poem by whisperkwane Lamb
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Change
The other day I walked accross the street
i couldnt believe what I appeared to see...
as I looked at a poor boy who came to me
I asked him his name and he didnt know
he just asked me for change.
I asked where is your mum?
he just asked me for change
I asked where is your dad?
he just asked me for change
I asked will someone come?
he just asked me for change
I asked why are you sad?
with no response to my question there was a pause...
but then once again he asked me for change
see, as i watched him dissapear with his pain
I realised that he actualy asked me...
for a change.
poem by Daniel McCann
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For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing.
quote by H.L. Mencken
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Uto-wind
is it winds of change? the? .why i put 'S' after wind? do you know about it? i am sitting on the beach of young virgin truth born out of revolutionary fear.the nine river is doing its flowing but never drink its water.the tree never eats its fruits.the sky never drinks its water.uto-reality is u-to-reality.
A Reality
If today in your feeling tone I am Saint
then tomorrow if your feelings change
I can then be transformed into Satan.
If I am steady most and not either
then clearly then Reality for me is the same
and your feelings about me must be in disconnect
and not rooted in who I really am.
If Mind changes its stripes
and truth today can become tomorrow false
how then is Mind rooted in Reality, which we agree
undergoes no change.
If spirit too can vacillate from exaltation to low depression
what is then steady most in our universe?
If all of the elements in our periodic table are in constant flux
losing and gaining electrons
and existing one minute but not the next
what then is the nature of any Unchanging Reality?
Clearly then all is in flux and who I am today may not be
who I will be tomorrow.
Good news this and bad news too, because how can I predict
the who I will be and if I will like Who Now better than Who Tomorrow?
Some question then if all things change, then what then is doing the changing; they point to Consciousness. If things change who is tracking steady-state all that changes and recording it? The self? Is Self and Consciousness that steady state beneath all things changing? Or do they too change from time to time?
Puzzling this.
So when one is told 'Get in touch with Reality' what the hell could that possibly mean-yours, mine today, mine tomorrow, yours now, or yours which will will surely change tomorrow too?
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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You cannot conceive the many without the one.
Plato in Dialogues, Parmenides
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Truth
Truth was there at the beginning of the beginning
Truth was there at beginning of the beginning of the beginning
What was true alone was there
And truth has persisted through the ages
Let change do whatever it can truth alone remains
Change has sprung from truth
For there was nothing else than truth
And change is its offspring
Or perhaps change is truth and truth was change
Change was at the beginning
Change was what is past
Change is what is now
Change is what will be in times to come
Change is Truth
Truth is Change
I welcome truth in every breath
Hail to thee Oh Death
poem by Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
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WiND oF CHaNGe...
Wind Of Change made me a call
To better my life, my inner, my all
To revive my Heart, my Mind, my Soul
Wind Of Change helped me to soar
To leave the cruel fields of War
To knock the Peaceful Heaven’s Door
Wind Of Change turned the last page of sadness
To begin in the Name Of GOD the well of gladness
To forget the mournful years of vanity, of darkness
Wind Of Change brought a warm breeze
To alter my cold, to put my Heart at ease
To give the Peace’s Hand a squeeze
Wind Of Change whispered softly in my ears
“Enigma, I’ll take away all your fears”
“From your cheeks I’ll wipe the trail of tears”
Wind Of Change changed my sail course
Helped my astray boat,
To navigate without Oars
To anchor it to the Right shores…
***WithAllMyRespect
*** ThanksForReading
{January 29,2010 }
poem by Glamorous Enigma
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Reality
Reality is always there.
It never goes away.
You can deny it.
You might not buy it
but reality doesn't care.
It will not change.
It never will.
Our perception must change
or we just stand still.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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Reality Is Killing Lots Of People
reality has been killing a lot of people
those who dare sometimes they do not recover
despite the surrender
hands raised and heads bowed
reality still kills
heads hanging on the gallows
wrists cut and bubbling foams on the mouth
that case of poisoning was never incidental
it was real and true and harsh
but that is what reality does
the only thing that kills reality
is not rage
there is this submission to truth
the gentleness of acceptance
the tranquility of avowal
the simmering of guilt to the divine
the touch of the hand of God
the light eternal
that pierces the darkness of the crevices
of our souls
it is only this
when reality is dead
and you find yourself
alive
beaming with light
teeming with life
so silent in your newly found joy
still unnamed
undefined.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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In Flagrante Delicto
At least the mood swings are still the same,
came home as a martyr in distress - no pill
can stop one from being an idiot - mistakes
proliferate and clearly indicate I can't make
the grade - cannot concentrate
Using the Internet is only sometimes right
and mostly wrong, I can never guess which,
should read the green law dictionary to stop
being caught in flagrante delicto for not
using a really authoritative source
Cannot force myself to care enough about
every little rule in every obscure didactic
book, sorry for myself - just to find my
sorrows disappear, I become as happy
as a woodland sprite because
The world is such a wonderful place, nothing
people can do to me can change the marvels
hidden within reality and though I can never
please my peers being me, I cannot become
someone else, not in a million years
It is a miracle others put up with me, in a just
universe I would have been stoned to death or
cursed for my inability to express in prescribed
terms - I'm privileged to be allowed to live!
poem by Margaret Alice Second
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Just Curious
What don't they get?
'Reality.'
But hasn't it been there?
'It has.
For everyone to accept and believe.'
Then what has been the problem?
'Well...
There were those with money,
Who came to alter reality for decades.
However...
Something has occurred recently,
That has come to change everything.'
What is that?
'It seems that the Sun, Moon and Earth,
Have had other plans all along.
And no one regarded them,
As being thinking entities.'
I see.
So all of their conflicts,
Have generated from myths?
'How am I suppose to know?
I am here just to be a witness.
Remember?
Remember when you retired me,
And so many others...
From those positions as messengers?
Remember when you 'downsized' us?
And outsourced our jobs? '
Hey!
Don't get 'snooty' with ME.
I was just curious.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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In the New Year, Let’s Change …
Change is something that must come;
Change is good for everyone.
Change is something that will come;
Change is one we must welcome!
Change is good if one’s better;
Change is better to be best;
Change is nice if life’s better;
Change is the key to all success!
Let’s change our attitudes in life;
Let’s change our outlooks, behavior;
Let’s change if it can help us fare;
Let’s change the way, we see the world!
But change, we must anticipate in life;
We must be ready to take up change;
We ought to change if change we must;
But let us first believe in change!
Let change not remove identity;
Let change not weaken traditions;
Let change not ‘shake the tree by roots! ’
Let change bring effects desired by us.
Let changes come in the New Year;
Let changes make a man better;
Let changes better humanity;
Let changes not undo our gains!
Rein in the changes, advantageous;
Bring in the changes essential;
Take up the changes, we must make;
Let changes bolster life’s purpose!
Let New Year change the heart of man;
Let New Year change the mind and thoughts;
Let New Year change our living styles;
Let New Year change our sinful soul.
Let’s change and change the world around;
Let’s change our inner world and home;
Let’s change the things, we need to change;
Let’s change our lack of trust in God.
The more we change, ’tis good for us;
The less, we change, our life stagnates;
Changes are a part of life;
By changing, culture keeps alive!
No change can question definitions;
No change must threaten foundations;
No change shall endanger our lives;
All changes must remain ‘pro-life’!
Change shouldn’t alienate us from God;
Change should not be unnatural;
Change should not increase vice in man;
Change should not derail our right tracks.
Let change bring change in ways we think;
Let change bring success in all fields;
Let change foster more love for life;
Let change take pride and hatred off!
Let changes be for good of man;
Let changes reduce stress and strife;
Let changes make a virtuous man;
Let changes take us closer to God!
Let changes improve air and soil;
Let changes better lives for all;
Let changes never destroy life;
Let changes make earth paradise.
Let change in world give lasting peace;
Let change in heart, more charity;
Let change in rules afford security;
Let change in mankind, integrity!
Let’s change the world for progeny;
Let’s fine-tune changes children need;
Let change the world and make it safe;
Let’s change the landscape if we must!
Let’s change the laws if need be;
Let’s change the rules for more safety;
Let’s change the ways, we view others;
Let’s change the way, we treat brothers!
Let changes come, if they must come;
Let changes reform society;
Let changes lessen anxiety;
Let changes foster love of life!
Dedicated to American Prez. Barrack Obama
the man who hopes to change most things in the world;
Let’s pray his heart must change to bring just those changes
that God would expect him to change,
and not what the world prefers him to change!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 01-01-‘10
poem by John Celes
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But, ancient Greece and ancient Rome - people did not happen to believe that creativity came from human beings back then, OK? People believed that creativity was this divine attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source, for distant and unknowable reasons.
quote by Elizabeth Gilbert
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Thank For Nothing
I'll never take part in the grown population
Or waste my time with further education (hooha!)
To get what we know, is just a big show
Where they want to control
So chained and frustrated
It's all so complicated
Fashion, no passion surrounds me
All I know is I've heard this all before
Reality's a bore (is a bore)
You ask me to believe it (never believe)
Something they provide
Can't bring myself to, to what
You want me to (want me to)
This is who we are and (who we are)
nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change
I can't take part in the business revolution
Or take my chance in the real world confusion
Don't blame us, who do we trust when they're so dis-a-honest
No patience, this nation's obsessed with exploitation
Lying, denying surrounds me
All I know is I've heard this all before
Reality's a bore (is a bore)
You ask me to believe it (never believe)
Something they provide
Can't bring myself to, to what
You want me to (want me to)
This is who we are and (who we are)
Nothing's gonna change
(what!) Don't think you can ignore us (ignore us)
Don't tell me your word is right (word is right)
Don't pick a future for us (for us)
We lack 'cause we're involved!!
All I know is I've heard this all before
Reality's a bore (is a bore)
You ask me to believe it (never believe)
Something they provide
Can't bring myself to, to what
You want me to (want me to)
This is who we are and (who we are)
Nothing's gonna change
Thanks for nothing (I've heard this all before),
Thanks for nothing (reality's a bore),
Thanks for nothing (it'll never be the same),
Thanks for nothing (and nothing's gonna change)
song performed by by Sum 41
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You can change the names
You can change the names
of places and call them,
what you want.
My people who life there,
will still be living there
next year and for many years more.
You can change the personnel
that work for the city
and the inadequate delivery of services
and corruption,
will in time make you
pay a handsome bill.
You can change the names of streets,
and fashion them
to your heroes.
Never could you undo
the acts of those
whose names they originally bared
and everyone that uses them
will still know
what they were called before.
Without fixing the roads
people will remember
about the holes in Slovo street
and the dead robots in Mandela drive,
which will keep them alive
You can change the names of airports
for its better that way,
that the world knows
that they coming
to an new country
that’s has fallen years behind,
from where it was before.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.
quote by Nikos Kazantzakis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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1st of December
You must remember
Tomorrow is the first of December
It is time to start thinking
Of your new year resolutions
Avoid unnecessary temptations
Prevention is better than finding solutions
Give up the cigarette
Forget the day you first met
Give to the poor
Not after but before
Greet the elderly
With respect very carefully
Think of positive change
It is always there at close range
Give up the booze
It only stinks of ooze
Set aside time to pray
Set aside time to play
If you have to
Why not change your ways
Tomorrow is the first of December
Remember, a new beginning
Is always the way forward to winning
Copyright 2005 - Sylvia Chidi
www.sylviachidi.co.uk
poem by Sylvia Chidi
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