The Flame of ideas
Once an idea has been lit
The match cannot be unstruck.
For the brain is dry tinder
And the flames will run amok.
Trails of petrol between us
Take the form of words.
Flames jump from mind to mind
As hot as searing swords.
We set the world alight
With the ideas we concoct
Delving into mysteries
That we have then unlocked.
Sometimes we create
Religion, philosophy and politics
That tyrannise the people
With a bunch of wicked tricks.
Sometimes we create answers
To problems in the world
And make life much better
With the truths we have unfurled.
If only all our ideas
Were all for the best
Those flames could burn fiercely
Nobody would be oppressed.
Opher – 12.11.2019
Human beings are very much a duality. We are so good at solving problems and coming up with ideas. The only trouble is that not all our ideas are good ones.
These ideas and inventions spread like wildfire. They have created our success. They have also created much misery.
Often we cannot tell if an idea is going to produce something beneficial or destructive. Only time can tell. I mean, is the idea of god a good one? Or the invention of the atomic bomb?
Was language a good thing? Or writing?
Once an idea has been unleashed we cannot uncreate it.