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THE POET AS SCIENTIST

THE POET AS SCIENTIST, THE POET AS SCIENTIST

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The Geek's Raven
[An excerpt, with thanks to Marcus Bales]

Once upon a midnight dreary,
fingers cramped and vision bleary,
System manuals piled high and wasted paper on the floor,
Longing for the warmth of bedsheets,
Still I sat there, doing spreadsheets:
Having reached the bottom line,
I took a floppy from the drawer.
Typing with a steady hand, I then invoked the SAVE command
But got instead a reprimand: it read "Abort, Retry, Ignore".

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Form input - by Günter Born

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

What if Josef Stalin's mother hadn't brought him up to believe he was anointed by God to save the Russian people?

Now, how, you ask, do I know she did this? What historical documents am I referring to, I hear you mutter to yourself. Well, let's take a look at this poem Stalin wrote when he was 15 years old, and was studying at a seminary to be a Russian Orthodox Priest. The Wanderer He knew all their homes Spurned from their doors His old balalaika Strumming its tones His song -- As pure as the rays of the sun! A subtle truth A silent dream And, of a sudden Their stony hearts Beat in time! Their minds Immured in darkness. No greater glory For the people of his land "Here's your bowl of Hemlock," they said, "You are damned, Drink deep, Your song, we know not, And your truth, is NOT!" Now, clearly the writer of this poem has one Hell of a Messianic Complex for a 15 year old boy, even one studying to be a Priest! There's some persecution mania there too, of course. If you think you're Jesus Christ, there are likely to be a lot of people who don't quite agree, and you're going to find yourself rejected a fair amount. But, where is this coming from? Well, let's consider Stalin's situation. A five foot three inch tall ethnic Georgian with webbed feet and a useless left arm, whose wastrel father had deserted the family and been killed in a drunken brawl. Stalin is supported by his devoted mother doing odd jobs to keep them alive. What is Stalin's mother going to tell her son? "Josef, you are special. You will be a priest and save our people. That's why God has made you as you are. You are bearing your Cross, to bring God's truth and light to the world, Josef. You will endure and survive, Josef, to save the Russian people. That is your quest and purpose, my dear Josef." And, thus, we have Stalin's career, personality, and life, in a nutshell. As expressed in his own poetry. Thoughts?

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