I happened upon Peter Pan while trying to convince a group of youths that it has an objective meaning. And while reading Peter Pan's sequels, I came across something very strange. There was mention of a "David", who was, as the author put it, a Moralist. And of course David and he were always making stories, and perpetually having this exchange of ideas... What was funny was that it could have come out of one of my stories. I've come independently to the "David" theme in my writing, and it's interesting to me that someone else has, too. So... why do two completely different authors, two authors from different centuries, even, come to the same, prevailing idea? That there is this person named "David" who has a share in our work. And of course, this Author resisted David--- they were his stories, not David's. Who is David? Why do two people come to this very same archetype, latent deep in the subconscious mind? I had deleted two essays, and I mean to put them both here. There was another phenomena that was quite similar. After reading Seamus Heaney's version of Beowulf, I had written my own version of Beowulf. And, I did what the 9th century author did, I infused Pagan Mythology with Christian Mythology, and then read four cantos of Paradise Lost, and saw, almost eerily, we both we writing the same tradition. His were shape shifting Demons, mine were shape shifting elves using alien technology---both were demonic entities, which, in both, must actually be fought. So, this is two times the state of fact came, that I was independently coming upon things that other authors have touched upon at different times, in different ways... David being one of them, and of course Paradise Lost's mythology, which lined up perfectly with mine. So, I believe this is proof of communication. Which, proves that ideas---I'm not sure why this had to be proved, but apparently it does need proved---actually occur beyond that of the most visceral levels. The fact that I could write something like Hail Britannica, come upon this Davidic Archetype, create Elves---and this is all after reading works of literature like Bulfinch's Mythology, Wordsworth, Beowulf, Edith Hamilton's Mythology, Plato, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, a lot of the Bible, literature like Jane Austen or Leo Tolstoy, etc. etc. etc. I came upon independently two ideas independently reached by other authors. So... there's other things going on here, too, but the real issue is that when I confronted a bunch of young women on Peter Pan's meaning---expressly stated at the first few lines of the novel even---they became disgruntled. They denied that there could be a meaning, and they believed that it was all theory. Right... but how am I communicating ideas I've never entertained independently of having entertained the ideas in their purest form? Simply put, how am I writing about the same things as authors I've never actually read? And that's a question, that no matter what it proves communication. Even the most absurd theory would have to admit there is some kind of communication happening, on a level deeper than the rudimentary one we often associate communication with. And, foremost, why David? It's interesting that David even comes up in Barrie's writing, and in my own fixed beliefs I had believed there was someone named "David" writing my work. And I realized, at the most rudimentary level, there was. David, in Christian Theology---because you can't use Mythology here---is the Messiah Conqueror. He is the coming Christ. He is the Shepherd. And in Ecclesiastes, it has something here to even say: "The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd." So, what it proves is wisdom... universal ideas latent in the human psyche even. Jung would call them Archetypes, I'd call it wisdom. Universal ideas prevalent in writing, and David---when you've gotten to be a storyteller---might just be the Gatekeeper of the stories. You write for Christ. And of course, the author here might be resisting that call, which he says "David is a Moralist". He gives a story, which involves a creative memory---and here I begin to outline, that the story written by Barrie here, the Peter Pan sequel, is not canonical to the actual myth of Peter Pan. It's rather, schizophrenic in its delivery, and maybe the reason why is because it didn't get approved by the gatekeeper, David. Maybe when someone builds a life in stories, they begin to see---if it's truly wisdom---a pattern that must be followed, otherwise the story fails and otherwise looks ridiculous. And often I've found this many times. And we come to the Romantic Poets, often calling themselves prophets, who wrote in styles we'd assume were period. But, I'm writing in this style without having learned it. I don't know how I'm doing it... I really don't actually. I had thought maybe I was plagiarizing, but I had never read anything like Paradise Lost to plagiarize. I did have a dream, once, of Hail Britannica, and it frightened me because I didn't understand what the dream meant. And I had dealt with obscure dreams---which lent to some of my stories---and it's often a wonder to me how this can be the case. Because I don't really recall any kind of reason to have these dreams---there is one obscure memory, and a prayer only to Jesus attached to it---but other than that, there is no reason for me to doubt the dreams' authenticity. So... it's scary to me how this works. But, somehow my stories are communicated to me. And I believe they are given by One Shepherd. If they are truly wise. And that gatekeeper is David, whom we should give the glory to, as in Christ Jesus, Messiah who comes to Conquer. And there is a latent angst in me... it's strange. I don't believe the stories are mine... I believe they are David's. I believe Barrie's stories are also David's, because they are wise. And I think when we rebel against David---or Christ---we tend to lose the authentic ownership of our craft. We begin to question them--- which is often what writers do at some point. I remember Ray Bradbury in an interview saying that he questioned his own words and wordings---maybe because he, in a sense, was trying to wrestle with the ownership of them. Bradbury became a Christian---or rather, always was despite some protest---and I think the ownership of these stories belongs to Christ, like all other things. If we are to be successful, we have to offer the story to Christ, or really anything for that matter. And the fact that people are coming to these notions independently of me, suggests something rather odd and haunting. That is there are prevailing ideas outside of us, and forces outside of our own comprehension. Barrie, J. M.. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Project Guttenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/26998/26998-h/26998-h.htm. 2/13/22. Web.
The Man in Black
There was a man in black
Who sung of Gabriel’s Trumpet;—
A prophet he was, who sung sad odes
Of those about to die.
Some elves peeped through the walls
Spying the songs he’d sing.
He sung his sad odes
But the elves, having power over time
Went back and sung them
First.
Then Albion’s Queen saw this thing;—
When times are tricked,
She investigates the matter.
She found the man innocent,
And therefore, let him sing his sad odes.
For, none could understand his odes
When the elves sung them.
They needed the man in black
To understand.
Idea Theft: It’s Called Art
A thought crossed my mind today about Plagiarism.
Suppose a Russian author stole my best book.
Then, he gave it to Reddit.Com to eviscerate.
Then the trolls eviscerated it,
Making it incomprehensibly different
To my masterwork.
Would he have really stolen my idea
If it’s totally different?
Sure, there might be zombies
Underground tunnels and people living inside of Subway stations
But, truthfully, nothing is the same.
Is it truly plagiarism
Or is it high art?
Michelangelo sculpted sculptures
Of the Greek molds and casts
Making reproductions at first
Which were in similitude with their
Original art.
With a novel, you cannot do this.
Rather, elements or ideas get borrowed from one author
To another, and then get shared
Passing down ideas from one person to the next.
It’s a lot like sculpting.
Yet, I have a hunch someone scalped my one manuscript
And wrote a few famous novels.
I’ve looked at them,
Seeing them all over the place.
They are not my stories.
Just some of my ideas
Which I ought not own.
Surely, I write myths about Robin Hood
And Beowulf, stories which are shared.
I write stories about Iranian myths
I’ve never seen my words in print.
It’s always someone else’s story
Which borrowed my ideas
To make theirs.
How they get it?
Who knows… but it’s not my story.
Where we confront problems
Is when I cannot publish my story
Because of them.
When I cannot have my words in print
And be read, because they plagiarized me.
All I care about are my words,
And my stories.
I copy Robin Hood and Medea
I copy some elements of Vampires and Werewolfs.
And I make my own stories with them.
It’s called High Art…
My story is not in Russia,
It is not in their Subway Stations,
It has really nothing to do with a famous author
I was enlightened to today.
My story is not in a Maze,
My story is not about men shrinking
To have lots of money…
Though each of these
Have borrowed something of mine…
Should it be copyrighted?
Maybe they came about independently
Because maybe archetypes exist.
Maybe notions produce art.
Or, maybe someone copied my manuscripts
And went to Reddit.com
And changed them.
Regardless, it’s not my story.
I’m flattered someone would make their own
So long as it’s not Capitol City
Or my Freelander Civilization;
So long as the themes are not American
And the love story is about Marc and Erin.
Surely, I don’t care about a wood carved bear
Because my story has nothing to do with a maze,
Though it is a metaphor about hell.
I did think about shrinking men who wanted to enrich themselves
With shrinking, namely, that’s why they have Galaxy Rings
In Fairyland.
But, it’s not my story.
Stories need shared,
And that’s why I love Japan
With tons of Gundam Animes
All by different producers.
Just, the guy who made Gundams should make some money
On it too. That’s all I’m saying;
People ought to read a work if it’s quality.
But, they don’t. And a Copyright system
Isn’t going to fix that.
Really, human corruption has been around for a long time
And intellectual property is airy.
An invention of a log splitter,
If the man who was the genius behind it
Didn’t get paid,
But some other thief did
I call that corruption.
If both men got paid,
But one made a Ford
And the other a Chevy,
And the other a Honda
And the other a KIA
I call that capitalism.
So long as men can eat from their labors
Which they do under the sun.
Just don’t steal my Ethos
And we’ll be fine.
Don’t steal my Pathos
And we’ll be fine.
Don’t steal my Logos
And we’ll be fine.
Let Kairos be damned
It’s Because of him
I’m poor.
A True and False Prophet
There was a prophet whom everyone said was crazy.
Every prediction he said, so said the people
He had gotten wrong.
He even once said that the heavens would pour down fire
If the peoples did not repent of their actions.
Haughtily, the world looked,
And no fire rained from the heavens.
There was another prophet whom everyone said was in his right mind.
Every prediction he said, so said the peoples
He got right.
He even said that fire ought to fall down from the sky
For it would be good for the peoples if it did rain fire.
Haughtily, the world looked
And then desired with their whole hearts for fire to rain down from the heavens
Like Sodom’s Brimstone
For they enlarged their stubborn hearts as if they were gods.
The first prophet was visited by brethren
Of the Church of Christ, to spy whether he was mad
Or truly a prophet. They saw him
And not much greatness was perceived in him
For every proclamation he made was wrong.
Yet, when he spake, the children of God trembled
For fear of God’s wrath.
The second prophet was visited by the same brethren
Of the Church of Christ, to spy whether he were a prophet
For they neither considered him mad, nor a false prophet.
They saw much greatness in him
Enough to bring down fire from the heavens.
Every prediction he made came true.
Yet, when he spake, the children of God became haughty of heart
Desiring in their hearts to become gods.
Which prophet, do you suppose
Had done the will of God?
The one who spoke, and all men trembled
Though not one word of his came true?
Or the prophet whom everyone adored
Because he could tell fortunes,
And make their hearts haughty because of mammon?
Yet, Christ said this: “I give this generation only the sign of Jonah,”
Whom Jonah set three days in the belly of a whale
Before going to Nineveh because he considered he’d be made a fool
When his words would not come true.
And surely, his words did not come true
Because God was merciful to Nineveh.
Woe to that people whose prophet’s words come true
If the prophet’s words are to turn the peoples off of the narrow path.
For the peoples adore great spectacles, but cannot tolerate a poor man
Whom the whole world despises because of the inconvenience of what he says.
Yet, blessed be that prophet who speaks a word,
And it does not come true
If it is spoken to warn the peoples of bitter trials ahead.
For a prophet ought not seek destruction,
But rather to preserve the life of his peoples.
And a prophet’s fear
Is to gladly be made a fool for his prophecy.
It’s All Lies and Changes;
Don’t listen to anything you see in the Media.
It is all lies, it all changes.
It’s an attack. They are publishing lies about the president.
I read the Mueller Report at the Book Store
And the conclusion has clearly changed!
Stop believing anything you see or hear.
The Modern Monkey King
He held no real title.
He turned over a new leaf.
He went from being the most evil
To a righteous son at least.
Now I perceive the tale
And realize something true:
The Hero is now the villain
While the Villain has turned good.
The Titular Prince—
I am quite impressed with
How the Gospel is here so shown—
Not that a sermon can be preached on it
But it shows how bad men can really grow.
For the Prince had taken his warships
And so destroyed many moons;
While the hero, that good man
Had defeated him to prove.
The prince had stolen many lives
Many trillions, it is true.
But, the good man’s good
Turned him to here prove
His strength in battles crude.
His goodness had corrupted him
For evil he nare understood.
Thus, his pure heart nearly destroyed him
And his whole entire troop.
The prince, with family, with lover and child
Saw this righteous man so careless
Gambit his whole world for vile
Tests against a stronger foe.
For the righteous man
With no sin, had only wanted to test
His strength in battle; in battle lust
He went to beat his many foe.
Yet the prince, who tasted great evil—
Now slowly turned to good—
Knew that this was wasteful,
For at war’s outbreak would
The righteous man now see
He wanted to test his strength of army
But nearly plunged his nation to the sea.
Finally, the good man,
Believing himself pure
Turned himself to a Baalim
So truthfully sure
Of his own good deeds.
The wicked man, who tasted evil
Knew how wicked he
Our hero became.
A titular prince is just a pauper,
So he spent it with his family.
Thus is the message
Of the gospel of hope.
Great good which never knew evil
Will in the darkness grope.
For a heart that does not wise
Know that they are bad
Will in the end be callous
And also be God’s foe.
Save Your Servant Israel
LORD, to where do I turn?
LORD, to where do I turn?
Do I turn to the north?
Will my help come from there?
Do I turn to the south?
Do I turn to the king?
Do I turn to the earth?
What is underneath the earth?
From where does my help come?
Idols do not set before my eyes
I have heard your voice
Idols do not set before my eyes
And I, LORD, I am a listener ready to listen
I am a sheep ready to be set down
In the pasture.
Where does my help come?
Surely all other gods are wolves
Ready to steal
And destroy.
Surely all other gods deceive
And surely they say, “Do some little bit of evil
“So that your will comes to pass.
“Love your life so much
“That you will do this little evil
“And your desire shall surely shine forth like the morning star.”
Yet, LORD, if there is error in my heart
If in my way are stumbling-blocks
Surely You shall remove them.
Why do I, LORD, why do I excel above other men?
Am I something which men look to and say
“This man is my example.”
Surely not, LORD, for You are the example
You are the path set before our feet.
If all else follow after vain idols
I shall surely stay steadfast in Your love.
For where does my heart lean?
If there is a company against me
I shall call upon you early
I shall, before the war
Constantly speak into your ear.
Who are the men who trouble the meek?
Who are those who cause trouble for your servant Israel?
Surely they shall be set forth ablaze
And shall burn for eternity in hell.
Yet, I, I shall listen and wait upon You.
For my salvation is like a wellspring
And my heart a steadfast servant.
Though the company does not believe my words
Though they say, “He lies, there is nothing good in him,”
Though they wait for my feet to stumble
And though they make a diligent watch for sin
LORD return upon their own heads their mischief.
For dreams they accuse Your servant
While they walk forth in slander and murder all the day long.
How long shall the wicked prosper?
Surely you shall not let your servant see decay.