The Perils of Selfish Love

Libidinous is he who seeks his gain,
Embracing beauty for desire’s sake,
Bequeathing misery in his own wake,
Disgrace shall etch the meaning of his name.
Poor duty claims the spirit of the same,
In fear all expectation soon shall break,
For he again is seeking his own sake,
And short of glory, virtue fills with pain.
Superfluous appears the lover’s game,
For it excels all reason and debate,
No fear can rule him, neither any fate,
He loves her for herself, and not her name.
A mystery that baffles every greed,
Love self and fail, love others and succeed.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-July 25, 2009

Love is a Refining Fire

Two strangers nod across a great divide,
They neither know nor wish the other’s good,
Nor urge their “friend” to virtue, as they should,
And though they work together, they are blind.
True brothers come, departing as the tide,
Yet each to each is better understood,
As iron sharpens iron, as they should,
They boost each other’s heart and soul and mind.
The wife who knows him best is never kind,
Her love embraces him and does him good,
Yet pressing him beyond where he has stood,
And while devoted, it is never blind.
True love is fire, cleansing every soul,
It shall not be content ‘til we are whole.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-July 24, 2009

In Praise of Eros

The tyrant Youth destroys the human heart-
Awaking errant passions yet unjust,
Distracting students with the lover’s dart,
Insatiable, miraculous, and just.
For rising to his place, the human stands,
While being, he majestically becomes,
Desire marks his glory, and his chance-
He lacks divinity, to it succumbs.
The pinnacle of life is not despair,
But reaching ever higher, does it bow,
For Man to live, he must receive a share
Of future, past and ever-present now.
Oh Eros, you who ever vex our hearts,
Continue to unleash your holy darts!
-Tyler William O’Neil
-July 3, 2009

Law: the Scientific Boredom

At Jericho they circled walls of stone,
With risen staff they saw the ocean rise,
And yet they doubted not the flesh and bone,
But marveled at the God who ruled the skies.
At Bethlehem the Cause became effect,
At Calvary their very Maker died,
And yet for Caesar did they genuflect,
Refusing to, in charity, confide.
Yet when an apple falls toward the earth,
And when a rock makes cities into straw,
They trust their very senses for the truth,
Proclaiming that these constitute a law.
Men trust their power, doubting all beside,
So faith and wonder bow before their pride.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-July 22, 2009

Subjective Objectivity

Subjective good may vary man to man,
One loves a dollar, one a platitude,
Yet all agree on what they should demand,
For some love even evil as the Good.
Experience may yield quite different views,
As age will often disagree with youth,
Yet all perceive what it is good to choose,
And some love even falsehood as the Truth.
How varied are the things that smite the soul!
One loves a woman, one the music's pull,
Yet all converge upon a common goal,
And some love ugly things as Beautiful.
So while, assenting, subjects give their nod,
They love the very attributes of God.
-Tyler William O'Neil
-July 21, 2009

The Love of Nature

August, the Noble Prince now bows the knee,
His promise of eternal joy resounds,
He offers her His mighty majesty,
Releasing her from all infernal bounds!
All maidens whisper of His handsomeness,
Each heart enraptured in His brilliant light,
She fantasizes of His tenderness,
And longs with all her being for His sight.
Yet when He offers her unending love,
She laughs and says, “oh, just a dance will do,”
She knows with all her heart, it’s not enough,
Preferring fantasy to what is true.
So men pursue the attributes of God,
Their hearts desire He whom they forgot.
-Tyler William O’Neil
February 22, 2009

What ring may best a marriage?

To walk the streets of gold through pearly gates,
Jerusalem descending from the clouds,
To sing, forever loosed from earthly weights,
And enter heaven, chanting holy rounds,
To see our fellows passed beyond the grave,
Discourse with saints and poets and the like,
To wink at ancient heroes, ever brave,
And meet that blessed land, where is no night-
T’would last a second if He weren’t there,
And glory would be lost for Heaven’s King-
We soon forget the focus of our care,
As wives forget the husband, love the ring.
Our hope is paved not with the streets of gold,
Our glory and our treasure is our God.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-July 19, 2009

Identity

As flows a river so does rush the sun,
Ancestral honors dribble to their doom,
The present ecstasy wells forth, undone,
And future generations flood the tomb.
Mankind was fluid, is and is to be,
The self of yesteryear became a daze,
Each moment, for a second, he is free,
Tomorrow and eternally, a haze!
Yet certainty illuminates the mind,
The visage of the lion and the lamb,
Though all that is about him may unwind,
He still can say the sacred word, “I am.”
Though one may never touch a river twice,
Existence cannot be a game of dice.
Tyler William O’Neil
March 27, 2009

A Tribute To Disgrace

In order to secure all freedom’s boons,
Establish justice and give her a voice,
We must not overlook each woman’s wounds,
But give to her the liberty of choice.
Yet equal are we born, and equal die,
And freedom must extend to every soul,
We cannot suffer any genocide,
Regardless of the target or the goal.
Yet even if no murder is implied,
And fetuses are just a bunch of cells,
Abortion should disgrace all women’s pride,
For they who kill their children kill themselves.
So even if it finds morality,
Abortion cannot square with dignity.
-Tyler William O’Neil
June 2, 2009

Terra Nostra

The tyrant ousted, liberty restored,
A senate and a legal code assumed,
A nation strong in virtue, soon the lord
Of mare nostrum, sea by land consumed.
Yet liberty fits not the world entire,
A few self-governed men can rule a state,
Expansion soon makes liberty expire,
Debauchery and Caesar are its fate.
Augustus worked to fix the malady,
Surrendering his station as the king,
Yet Rome was irredeemable indeed,
And Caesars ruled ‘til Oadacer’s sting.
Perhaps the land by two seas flanked is wise,
To leave its conquests free to rule their lives.
-Tyler William O’Neil
May 8, 2009