True Glory

Napoleon survives within the grave,
Inscribed in glory, monuments of stone,
Inspiring young Frenchmen to be brave,
Remembered from old Clio’s noble throne.
Yet some do not survive from ages past,
And yet they strive for virtue all the same,
Some brave misfortune with a valor vast,
To love and serve, and earn a silent fame.
Yet glory does not live in halls of stone,
It reigns in majesty from far above,
For ‘tis not money, fame, or battles won,
But sanctity and virtue, holy love.
True glory rests not in the halls of men,
Beatitude exceeds their fallen ken.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-August 14, 2009

The Fire Pyramid

As flames ignite the driest wood and grass,
Enchanting it with nature’s passioned blaze,
So man must dry himself, throughout his days,
Preparing for a love that none surpass.
As heat may kindle embers in the grass,
Awakening the strength of passion’s rays,
So she must touch his eyes, a foreign gaze,
He burns not for himself, but for the lass.
As oxygen feeds fire, as a gas,
Providing an environment ablaze,
So fate or providence must weave its maze,
To fuse the souls like powder into glass.
As firestorms fail never to amaze,
The three combine, and triumph in the blaze!
-Tyler William O’Neil
-August 13, 2009

Ascetic Hedonism

The Buddha sees a world of ugly joys,
A satisfaction never reaching need,
And so, forsaking pleasure in his creed,
He turns within to find an inner poise.
The Hedonists see beauty in the noise,
A satisfaction greater than their need,
Embracing sin, they do an evil deed,
But seek beyond the self for higher joys.
Yet both confront a problem ever new,
The goods of pleasure cannot be denied,
And yet they sweep their lover in the tide,
Divorcing him from pleasures good and true.
We seek true pleasure not in lust or pride
For blessed joy we trust The Holy Guide.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-August 12, 2009

Love is Calminian

Did Paolo put Francesca in a sack?
Or Romeo imprison Juliet?
Or did they sing of what we ever lack,
A joy untasted, passion’s silhouette?
Tis true, a wooer must awake the wooed,
And breathe a newer life into her bones,
Yet when she lives, we must not then conclude,
That he will take her even when she groans.
No, he will value her decision yet,
And give his rapt attention to her call,
As Romeo to silent Juliet,
He cannot dance if she deserts the ball.
So God awakens us and woos us still,
Until we live anew, or have our will.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-August 3, 2009

The Easy Life is Not Worth Living

The hammer hits the anvil, stroke on stroke,
The pick dislodges monsters of the earth,
As human muscle fells the mighty oak,
The final threshold breaks, a new rebirth!
The burning flames of virtue form a man,
His brothers sharpen him with every word,
His actions rise atop where they began,
To fly on wings like freedom’s noble bird!
Yet indolence draws humans to the grave.
With food and drink and merriment alone,
They cannot love or serve, are never brave,
More motionless than monuments of stone.
So heark and hear that ease is not the goal,
For virtue, truth, and service form the soul.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-May 30, 2009

The Middle Way

As virtue constitutes the noble act,
And character arises from its vote,
So choosing one, the human makes a pact,
Becoming what he’d chosen to promote.
Deficiency degrades as excess rules,
Above the demons, man is less than God,
So he must rise above ignoble fools,
And bow before a higher ruling rod.
Indulgence desecrates his noble form,
Degrading life and salting virtue’s seeds,
While Pride defeats desire to reform,
And strips Nobility from all his deeds.
The path of virtue, narrow straight and true,
Fulfills the ancient and is ever new.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-May 29, 2009

To Brave a Newer World

Embrace your dreams, oh child-heart renewed!
Cast off the horrid burdens of the past,
For I will give you money, health and food,
A stimulus that shall forever last!
You shall exult within your ecstasy,
As melodies and pleasures sate your need,
Indulgence will replace your industry,
A better high than beer or dope or weed!
So generous, we’ll give you thoughts to think,
And nurture language with a watchful eye,
Our protégés shall fornicate and drink,
While words against them are a hateful crime.
For Liberty you never need to fight,
Enjoying it, instead, shall be your right!
-Tyler William O’Neil
-May 27, 2009

The Deeper Symphony

Without restraint all passion waxes cold,
For he must lay the wood before the flame;
If sparks ignite a twig, ‘tis not the same,
As pyramids of arbors burning bold!
Disorder is a terror to behold,
The mark eludes the man with broken aim,
For vision’s bind when focused on a dame,
And Truth obscure to spirits uncontrolled.
Adventure calls the master of the soul,
For he designs an epic from the flame,
Constructing for his tapestry a frame,
Investing romance for a tale of gold.
So wax your ears from hot cacophony,
Surrender to the deeper symphony.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-August 7, 2009

Beati Mundo Corde

To him all things are relative indeed,
For he does not relate to certain truth,
Revolting with the fickleness of youth,
Embracing man or woman for his need.
The wiser fool acknowledges the deed,
It soon repels and sickens him, forsooth,
And yet, behind him, evil seeks the youth,
Aspiring to wake his dormant greed.
Pure sancitity reviles such a deed,
Aware that sin obscures the seeker's eye,
Below, he turns his vision to the sky,
And learns the secret Truth of every creed.
Man uses his own heart to be the eye,
The pure in heart can see beyond the sky.
-Tyler William O'Neil
-August 6, 2009

The Middle Way

In modern flesh the ancient foe attacks,
Ensnaring all “minorities” in one,
Romanticism lurks behind our backs,
Dethroning Reason’s order and the Son.
Yet reason loves the world and not its Lord,
Adoring vicious passions with its heart,
Despising charity to make its hoard,
Surrendering the mind to money’s art.
As Aristotle, we must love the mean,
And mercy mixed with justice must prevail,
Awarding industry the golden green,
And giving the unfortunate their bail.
Thus shall we honor He who reigns above,
Establish Justice and forgive with Love.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-July 10, 2009