Who are they?

Who Are They?
By Jim Hattabaugh
18 May~ 2004

Unhonored lives from days of yore~
Bask on shores of unopened doors~
Risking all on their mystery ships~
Slipping farther into obscurity with tightened lips~
Presence of rememberance is afar~
As history holds reality ajar~
Holding the keys to death or life~
They move in shadows without light~
Cornered in the dusk of doom~
While waiting for the final blast of gloom~
Whether they are or not or never were~
As future approaches they sharpen their spurs~
Forgotten ghosts of the past~
They will once again be called to mold and cast~

Jim Hattabaugh
18 May~ 2004

OK, because of my back I cannot wait any longer, and you get your wish. As when I wrote this it was as raw as could be. That is I wrote it without really looking at each individual word, but I knew it was what I needed to say and was going to change 2 words (which would not change the meaning one iota) I changed 2 words.

First, if you’re interested I’ll explain how my writings come about. 1st way is I have a thought, a thought or rememberance of an event in my life, something that has just happened in the world, and so on. The 2nd way is I just feel like writing, and I will get pencil and paper and write the 1st line that comes to my head. In this poem I pre-decided that I would write the 1st two lines that came to my mind. In this way of writing (which I like better because it takes “Me” places rather than me taking it somewhere)

OK, after the 1st line I must be honest as I wrote it warriors/soldiers/veterans came to my head, yet I blanked that out and wrote the 2nd line that popped in my head. After examining the 2 lines the whole thing changed~ not dramatically, yet importantly different.

Unhonored lives from days of yore~ Translated out to: All lives since day one or atleast until some form of grup living or tribal living was established on earth.

Bask on shores of of unopened doors~ Translated out to: The early tribes/peoples learning of themselves, and their innate human emotions.

Risking nothing on their mystery ships~ Translated out to: Surviving and learning to survive(still early man) still in mystery of their existence, and meaning here on earth.

Slipping farther into obscurity from tightened lips~ Translated out to: Still on the theme of earliest man learning to survive they often would not share as a necessity to survive (thus tightened lips)

Presence of rememberance is afar~ Translated out to: pertaining to not learning from their mistakes, and becoming beastly in nature/ learning to hate/fight/kill

As history holds reality afar~ Translated out to: as they progressed or digressed depending on ones outlook that their history of the fact that their hearts would have guided them to rightousness, and brotherhood, and that was a reality, yet they ignored their hearts and went with their primal instincts (Thus history was held ajar.

Holding the keys of death or life~ Translated out to: Although man knew in his heart and soul that sharing and communing they would achieve a better life together still they went with their primal side rather than their intellect side(thus, holding the choice of life or death in their hands)

They move in shadows without light~ Translated out to: Man progressed, yet still chose to live in the dark in terms of choosing still to not gravitate towards light (wisdom)

Cornered in the dusk of doom~ Translated out to: Paralyzed or caught up in this primal side, as if doomed to never see the light(again wisdom,of a higher power)

While waiting for the final blast of gloom~ Translated out to: Inside they knew, man has always known in the deepest reaches of their beings that they were self-destuctive as a race, yet turned away from love, and kindness, to only covet, and war. (thus, the final doom still awaits us)

Whether they are or not or never were~ Translated out to: symbolizing regardless, man would have taken the same road had he to do it all again ( it in a way symbolizes the “Fate” of his existence.

As future approaches they sharpen their spurs~ Translated out to: Through mans existence throughout even today, he continues to ignore his recidivism (Recidivism: the tendecy to relapse to a previous condition) and condinues to covet/war/kill

Forgotten ghosts of the past~ Translated out to: Again mans refusal or inability to love in mass, and fulfill the meaning of civilization

They will once again be called to mold and cast~ Translated out to: This is my favorite line that was given me, as men as sheep in the final analysis will war again basking in recidivism, yet to learn much on his journey here on God’s earth.

See, it is simple, and it can be taken in many ways. You in your 1st analysis blew me away with what you saw and felt in the words. It’s all a matter of our own experiences, and how we as indidviduals see our world, and the world past and forward.