If only the river water
washed off the veils
we use to cloak ourselves
even though
the human stains
we attempt to hide
with immaculate cotton
wick to the weave
like pious blood
blossoming into the world
thus shouting
I am a Sinner
when the only sin
is covering up
to hide the shame,
fruitlessly believing
your innermost thoughts
might escape
the notice of the divine.
copyright © 2021 Kenneth P. Gurney
I washed
my shame
with color-safe
bleach
and dried it
set on permanent-
press.
I hung
my shame
in my closet,
adjacent to
three, white,
long-sleeve
shirts.
My shame
hung
on a cedar
hanger
so moths
would not
eat holes
out of it
and spoil
its sky-jump
color knit
for when
my mind
is a whirl
of dervish
circles.
copyright © 2020 Kenneth P. Gurney
My guilt goes off like
an egg timer
and I can’t
for the life of me
remember
if my guilt
was destined to emote
for the death
of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo
or Cubs fans’ view of the Amazing Mets
in nineteen sixty-nine.
I researched
gene therapy
and CRISPR
to determine
if there is a genetic-switch
that may be turned off
to end guilt in humanity,
but leave shame
unchanged.
copyright © 2019 Kenneth P. Gurney
POSTSCRIPT
Okay. I have no reason to feel guilty about the death of the Archduke and the start of world war one, because I was several decades away from being born. The Cubs late season crash and the surge of the Mets to take National League pennant and then the World Series is something I took on responsibility for because I was a young teen and associated my sports team performance to my life and actions. If I had not shoplifted from a hobby shop a plastic model of a British 6-pounder anti-tank gun, the Cubs would have cruised to victory and the Mets would have finished second.
Actually, if we could eliminate only one, guilt or shame, I think we should eliminate shame. I use the definition of guilt = I performed an act that was wrong, compared to shame = I am what is wrong with my actions. Brene Brown has a really good TED Talk on Listening to Shame.
I am a little past 6 months on this blog entry per day business. Writing enough poetry to keep up with it all is an interesting exercise on stream of consciousness, poetic forms (I have not dropped into haiku and lunes to keep it going), my active imagination (thank you surrealists for encouraging imagination) and persistence. I thought I would write some essays to go on off-days from poetry, but the Postscript portion has taken the place of separate entries.
I think the TV news should speak more to climate change and species extinction and the threat to the viability of humanity with too many humans on a planet.
Love & Light
Kenneth
Umflop 