Recluse or Revolutionary…Peasant or President…
Am I a hermit or a hero?
I fight between being either
The tendency to withdraw from the world
Versus the want to help people
To concern only with myself, or
To slay the dragon for the village
Am I a recluse or a revolutionary?
I fight between being either
The tendency to withdraw from the world
Versus the want to enact change
To shut myself away, or
To courageously confront
Am I a peasant or president?
I fight between being either
The tendency to withdraw from the world
Versus the want to leads us into a new one
To plough the fields and be content, or
To navigate rough seas for the many
Two ends of the spectrum
Two tails of the distribution
Either end of the tunnel, but
It’s not a choice of Dover or Calais
Either/Or, The Sickness Unto Death,
I fear and I tremble as I take a leap of faith
The Karamazovian paradox –
Can you be both ends simultaneously?
I’m more Ivan than Dmitri, but
I’m more Alexei than both
For even a monk needs adventure
And not the confines of a monastery
Wise words for the ages
So spoke the sages
Obi-Wan when he fell
“Even in a palace it’s possible to live well”
A heroic hermit, that’s what they’ll call thee!
Well of course I know him…he’s me.
Hermit or Hero.
A poem by Martyn Foster.
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