Friday, August 03, 2012

CCCLIII - The Compass Metaphor


Poets United has the prompt 'Compass', moral or otherwise.
And yes, I know penguins are at the south pole, not the north.
It's a simile, OK?

The Compass Metaphor

Honestly, the needle swings
And shows the way to head;
Through bad lands or the oceans,
To bring you home to bed.

But unbeknownst to the traveller
There is a shocking inner plot:
The needle doesn’t point to north
But to a more attractive spot.

And there’s worse to come
With this little swinging guide:
We almost never go where it says
But go, tangentially, to the side.

If we always followed the needle
We’d have just one place to go
And see little groups of sailors,
Clumped like penguins in the snow.

This is where that much loved metaphor
Begins to get in strife;
When they talk of a ‘moral compass’
To lead you through your life.

We each develop our values
From the soil in which we’re grown.
True morality’s a pure fiction
And the magnetic pole’s our own.

By looking at our needle
We can sense where danger flowers;
The compass gives us bearings
But the course we plot is ours.

.
---


© 2012   J Cosmo Newbery
---



Print this post

15 comments:

  1. How very true. You learn what you live and then live what you learned.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I look forward to reading your poems... you are very talented with words. This one has a poignant message... and true.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Loved the metaphors... yes, we are our own moral compass and it's up to us whether we follow the right direction, or not ...Nicely said :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. There is a lot of life wisdom in this poem! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  5. A poem which could be a guide to most lives. Erring off the path at times, yet learning and moving on...
    All part of the journey itself..

    Eileen

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, J Cosmo, I agree with you. There is more than one 'right' moral compass. What is right for one is not necessarily right for the other!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That last stanza was the clincher for me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts ~ Enjoyed this ~

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thoughtful.

    I like this one. You tackle a 'big philosophical topic' neatly in 7 stanzas. If only the political and religious pundits of our day could do so with such brevity and clarity !!

    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  9. I enjoyed the rhyme and the last stanza splendidly wrapped it all up!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you. Succinct, elegant and true.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Excellent use of the prompt and some very smooth lyrical verse, really enjoyed reading this morning.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Excellent writing, love the flow.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I loved this fourth stanza:

    If we always followed the needle
    We’d have just one place to go
    And see little groups of sailors,
    Clumped like penguins in the snow.

    Great imagery. It made me laugh out loud when I read it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I really enjoyed this. Great rhymes and a perfect ending, gave me a smile this morning :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I loved your take on the prompt! The cute penguins and the plot being ours~ :D Well Done

    ReplyDelete

You've come this far - thank you.
Take your time, look around,
There is lots to see.