Friday, December 16, 2016

I Wish I'd Written This

How to Live Forever

 By Buddah Moskowitz

“Well,
not every experiment works.

We try and learn from the stuff
that doesn’t work as well.

Not everyone can discover penicillin,
you know.

So,
even though you still
have not unlocked
the mystery of mortality
perhaps,
you amused  yourself,
and that’s something.

The captain said
“the reward is in the doing,

and if that’s not the truth,
then you
better find something else
to do.”

Whatever you’ve got
in front of you,
lowly and modest
though it be,

experience it,
live it,
inhale it,
jump in it
and splash about
and from that

make something
that will outlast you:

the best would be
if you made
your life
a glorious gift,

freely given
to everyone.

It would be
so beautiful,

that your love would
outlast you,
outlive you,

and that’s’ how
you live
forever.”


Buddah Moskowitz, whose blog is called I Hate Poetry, nevertheless manages to produce poems that other people don’t hate a bit. He often follows the prompts at dVerse, so you may be familiar with his work already. You may even have seen this recent piece. In fact I know several of our PU people, including me, have commented already – but I think this wise and lovely message deserves a wider audience. And, with the holiday season almost upon us (at least in the Western world) I thought it would be nice to present something positive.

This poet prefers to be known only by his pseudonym, and by his blog profile pic of Michelangelo's David run to fat, which always makes me smile. But he has supplied some information:

"Buddah Moskowitz has been writing "poetry" since 1978 and hopes to someday write well enough to lose the ironic quotation marks.  He writes mostly as a form of therapy and tries to be amusing and accessible in his works.
His favorite form is the "poemonologue" – writing designed to be performed in character, which builds on his love of theatre, stand-up comedy and performance art.  
When he isn't writing, he works in higher education and co-teaches the Family-to-Family education courses for the National Alliance on Mental Illness with his beloved bride.
His dream is to perform his poemonologues on Broadway, preferably on-stage, inside a theatre."

Self-deprecating he may be, but there is nevertheless a serious commitment to his writing revealed in that statement, and in the fact that he keeps on doing it. 

If you haven't discovered him yet, there are lots more gems at his blog.

Meanwhile, thank you Buddah, for giving us such excellent instructions how to live forever!


Material shared in 'I Wish I'd Written This' is presented for study and review. Poems, photos and other writings remain the property of the copyright owners, usually their authors.

11 comments:

  1. Oh I love this!!❤️Thank you so much for featuring Mosk this week, Rosemary😊 his verse makes me want to shed my worries and strive to see the good in everything.. "It would be so beautiful, that your love would outlast you, outlive you, and that’s how you live forever" sigh..lovely!!❤️

    Okay I'll be travelling early morning on Sunday, afraid I won't be able to attend poetry pantry😓 but no worries I'll see you all after the break❤️ until then.. take care and happy holidays!!❤️


    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  2. Thanks for the kind feature!
    Happy Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Holidays!

    Love, Mosk the Humble

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  3. I like the message in this poem, Mosk! Thank you, Rosemary, for this poem. It is a wonderful poem to savor at (nearly) the end of a poetic year.

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  4. I love this so much, Rosemary and Mosk! I always smile when I read your work, Mosk. You know the human condition from the inside out. Somehow, in my features about you, I didnt know you like doing performance poetry, and loved the wry "preferably on-stage, inside a theater", as opposed to on the streets. That is the kind of humor I appreciate so much in your work. Yay. This was fun!

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  5. OH what a delight to read Mosk again....I love his work! Perfect words to live by in this poem.....

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  6. Thanks for featuring The Buddha. I have been reAding his poetry for some years now, and find him a wonderful down-to-earth poet.

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  7. what a wonderful poem to share...thanks Rosemary for featuring Mosk's poem...

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  8. I truly wish I had written this, emerged as I am where the dignity and depth I get from working alongside other oppressed peoples in the USA is often the only award--two steps back for every step forward. Witness President Obama and the Trumpish Hate backlash, witness the "Why are you still talking?" response and degredation of women like Hillary Clinton. witness the complete rejection of the change Berny represented. Groan. A friend comforted my tears recently by saying that my life will be seen as a gift. As I inhale and plunge and swim and sometimes drown and need rescuing--I pray that we can, indeed, be gifts to each other. Thank you, Posemary and thank you more than I can say for your poem, Buddah.

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  9. This is a wonderful example on how depth can be penned with simple words..

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  10. I always enjoy reading Buddha's poems. He is truly talented. I enjoyed this one so much. Glad you posted it. I think we all benefit from the wisdom it contains. Thank you Rosemary.

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