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atheism
November 2009 
Happy Birthday Philip Appleman ...
Posted on Feb 8th, 2008
by 
Naumadd
Naumadd
On this day in 1926, novelist, scholar, poet and freethinker Philip Appleman was born in Kendallville, Indiana. I've only recently become aware of Philip's wonderfully inventive, lyrical and freethinking poetry. It's personally important to note his birthday today and to include two of my favorites of his here for others either familiar or unfamiliar to enjoy. Perhaps it will serve as some impetus to creative thought and work of your own.
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Last-Minute Message for a Time Capsule
I have to tell you this, whoever you are:
that on one summer morning here, the ocean
pounded in on tumbledown breakers,
a south wind, bustling along the shore,
whipped the froth into little rainbows,
and a reckless gull swept down the beach
as if to fly were everything it needed.
I thought of your hovering saucers,
looking for clues, and I wanted to write this down,
so it wouldn't be lost forever --
that once upon a time we had
meadows here, and astonishing things,
swans and frogs and luna moths
and blue skies that could stagger your heart.
We could have had them still,
and welcomed you to earth, but
we also had the righteous ones
who worshipped the True Faith, and Holy War.
When you go home to your shining galaxy,
say that what you learned
from this dead and barren place is
to beware the righteous ones.
-- Philip Appleman, from New and Selected Poems, 1956-1996 (University of Arkansas Press, 1996), by Philip Appleman.
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A lot more can be found about Philip Appleman at PoetryFoundation.org .
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O Karma, Dharma, Pudding and Pie
O Karma, Dharma, pudding and pie,
gimme a break before I die:
grant me wisdom, will, & wit,
purity, probity, pluck, & grit.
Trustworthy, helpful, friendly, kind,
gimme great abs and a steel-trap mind,
and forgive, Ye Gods, some humble advice --
these little blessings would suffice
to beget an earthly paradise:
make the bad people good --
and the good people nice;
and before our world goes over the brink,
teach the believers how to think.
O Karma, Dharma, pudding and pie,
gimme a break before I die:
grant me wisdom, will, & wit,
purity, probity, pluck, & grit.
Trustworthy, helpful, friendly, kind,
gimme great abs and a steel-trap mind,
and forgive, Ye Gods, some humble advice --
these little blessings would suffice
to beget an earthly paradise:
make the bad people good --
and the good people nice;
and before our world goes over the brink,
teach the believers how to think.
-- Philip Appleman, from "Five Easy Prayers for Pagans"
______________________________
Last-Minute Message for a Time Capsule
I have to tell you this, whoever you are:
that on one summer morning here, the ocean
pounded in on tumbledown breakers,
a south wind, bustling along the shore,
whipped the froth into little rainbows,
and a reckless gull swept down the beach
as if to fly were everything it needed.
I thought of your hovering saucers,
looking for clues, and I wanted to write this down,
so it wouldn't be lost forever --
that once upon a time we had
meadows here, and astonishing things,
swans and frogs and luna moths
and blue skies that could stagger your heart.
We could have had them still,
and welcomed you to earth, but
we also had the righteous ones
who worshipped the True Faith, and Holy War.
When you go home to your shining galaxy,
say that what you learned
from this dead and barren place is
to beware the righteous ones.
______________________________
A lot more can be found about Philip Appleman at PoetryFoundation.org .
Access: PublicTagged with: birthday, Philip Appleman, novelist, fiction, non-fiction, poet, poetry, freethought, freethinker, atheism, atheist
Excellent - I was unfamiliar with Appleman. Thanks for introducing me.