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Mike Schiller

of

New York, NY, US

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The New Labyrinth

by

Mike Schiller

The first step has been taken
into a different kind of labyrinth
each step, each decision
may involve aspects of existence
unrelated to the effects of taking the step itself
a step might appear to be one thing
while signifying another
Only the guidance of a friend
which led me to make an effort to hear God
was able to help me take that step
It was then God who finally told me to
listen to the advice which had been
dispensed to me
about a month ago by that same friend
"Go to a church as a casual observer
And I know the holy spirit will lead you"
When I did, what initially seemed to be a step
I might take in a moment of religious epiphany
turned out to be a step of psychological epiphany
In order to hear God,
I needed to overcome my fear of rejection
The best place to overcome my fear of rejection
was inside a house of God
Unexpectedly I learn that
a step of psychological cleansing
must be taken before
the step of spiritual cleansing
Yet the psychological cleansing
was achieved in a place of worship
The second step, of religious epiphany,
came later that evening, in the confines
of my own home
at a time when I least expected it
a three hour struggle with myself
over internal issues I had never
foreseen, the religious epiphany
came at the moment I came to
a psychological conclusion
The psychological conclusion was
to continue to follow the will of God
regardless of how uncertain
the outcome may be
Each step appears to be one thing
before the step is taken
Yet turns out to mean something else
once the step has been taken
Now I realize how crucial
each step will be
These two steps were the first two steps
the first two steps in a long journey
through a new phase of soul searching
that has only just begun
For the first time in a long time,
I cannot see the steps coming
I cannot envision what will happen
before it happens
Thus the distinction between this phase
of personal growth
and the previous phases I've experienced.
God's word is getting clearer
but the static persists
when I sleep my dreams are oddly blank
in the literal sense- no longer lucid-
No means by which to know in advance
when the next trial of my soul will begin
and what decision to make when it does
This time I will need to listen carefully
and trust my soul, not my senses
abandoning my instincts
to put full faith into the hands of fate
with deference paid to guidance
and total trust in the combined words
of God, myself, and my friends
for it is the advice of all those I trust which will
lead me to take the correct steps
at the correct moments
Usually, I will only hear one at a time
and invariably, each will lead me
to listen more closely to the others
I shall not ask for my questions may stem
from my instincts and fears
I shall listen for the answers will
inevitably follow when I do
Of course, I realize, this is just the beginning
of a very long chapter yet to be written.

The Silent Eagle

by

Mike Schiller

Eagle, Eagle
Where are you flying to?
Did you abandon us forever
Do you plan on a return
Or should we resign
to a new reality
in which you never existed
in the first place?
What concepts did you stand for
Or were they all just a hoax?
Everything we were taught
our entire lives
just a ruse to brainwash us
into willful subservience
to a corrupt, malicious power core
Does it go deeper than that?
Is even our culture to be trusted?
Or was that manipulated and
Carefully designed centuries ago
So that men would feel obligated
To give up their right to live
And allow themselves to be treated
Like garbage, cast into a hateful
Battlefield because of their gender
Their minds having been shaped
And molded by false macho sterotypes
Making them easier to control
Does it go deeper still, into the rationale
Behind physical "education"?
The great lie that we should strive to improve
Our bodies, and for whom should we improve them?
The lover we will never see again
Once our lives are stripped away from us
Or the military which wants to craft
A controllable population of involuntary "warriors"
Who can be disposed of for profit
While their families do nothing to help them
But stand and cheer and speak vicious words
Like "we’re so proud of you"
What a sick deranged society
We have when a boy’s parents would assist
In the sale and enslavement of their own son
And be thrilled to send him to his death
So they can call themselves "patriots"
Oh, Eagle that flies above us
Explain this to me and maybe I might forgive you
Are we expected to spend our lives defending
freedom?
And when, may I ask is that ‘freedom’ going to
reciprocate?
If the freedom is real then show it to me
Make it tangible so I can feel it
Give people choices and discard all the propaganda
Let people live without peer pressures and stigmas
Abolish stereotypes, grant equal rights to all
Limit the power of lawmakers and judges to that
Which is essential to a democracy, and no more
End the reign of the military-industrial complex
And create a society in which people are accountable
for all crimes against humanity, both those committed
Outside and inside the corporate boardroom
Eagle, now you toss me a strange look
You tell me I’m crazy
Who am I to ask this of you?
Eagle, fair is fair, but I do not see fairness
Not in this society
Not in a society which would force innocents
Onto a battlefield
Not in a society which inflicts death or slavery
upon
the young
That’s not freedom, it’s captivity
Eagle, where are you going?
You can’t answer me, can you?
Eagle, you never really did answer anyone
Eagle, when will you answer to the people?
Or will you ever?

©2003 Michael A. Schiller

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