Tag: Self Reflection

Poem

mtaggartwriter2 Comments

Myself asked
what’s so good about a cigar

It calms me down
Unless the smoke rises too fast

and then it’s too late

Myself let the cigar nearly die
and cigar let Myself live

-M. Taggart

Let’s Work At It- Even When We’re Alone. #Poem

mtaggartwriter14 Comments

I love my country.
Sure, it needs some work.
Just like myself.
And just like every single person.
And even though my rough
spots still need to be smoothed out,
I still love myself.
I remember being surrounded
by men on a hot summer day
while urinating in a bathroom
in inner city Baltimore.
I was alone. I could feel one
man’s breath on my neck
while the others started laughing.
I walked out of that bathroom.
I find Baltimore to be a lucid
example of my love for America.
We all need a bit of work.
It’s OK to admit it.
But what I won’t do is hate it, or myself,
for not being perfect when all the while
I know perfect doesn’t exist.
Baltimore is a gorgeous city.
I can’t wait to go back.
In fact, I have, multiple times.

-M. Taggart

Happy Fourth of July!

Dangling Man.

mtaggartwriter8 Comments

I was leafing through Goethe’s Poetry and Life and I came upon this phrase: “This loathing of life has both physical and moral causes…” I was sufficiently stirred by this to read on. “All comfort in life is based upon a regular occurrence of external phenomena. The changes of the day and night, of the seasons, of flowers and fruits, and all other recurring pleasures that come to us. that we may and should enjoy them- these are the mainsprings of our earthly life. The more open we are to these enjoyments, the happier we are; but if these changing phenomena unfold themselves and we take no interest in them, if we are insensible to such fair solicitations, then comes on the sorest evil, the heaviest disease- we regard life as a loathsome burden.”
-Saul Bellow’s, Dangling Man.

I find this to be soul searching literature. This is the philosophy by which I live my life. Hence, my love of a falling leaf. Although that alone doesn’t summarize the depths of that simple thought/phrase. That ‘one’ leaf changed my life. I can only hope we all find a leaf of such magnitude. The proof of all things.

Saul Bellow, along with using a bit of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poetry, masterfully lays out a path for any individual to break down happiness and how to apply it, if so inclined. It’s not the things, certainly NOT the things, we buy and stuff into our already full garages to show to our ‘friends’ just how far we’ve made it; at a very young age I realized just how fake that was while watching adults parade their facades.

As an adult I’ve found that writing is not only my outlet, but a space for my soul to become tangible. Whether my writing is any good or not, well that’s not for me to decide, but I will write. And I will read literature that touches my heart and forces me to look from the page and dive into my thoughts while staring at a blank wall and processing what I’ve just learned.

I wish you all the best,

Matt

I’m thankful for the support so many of you have so unselfishly given me.

poem

mtaggartwriter12 Comments

The sun was out, it was warm,
and the wind was alive-
pushing long stalks of corn
eastward toward the river.
I remember the smell,
and the sight of the dust following
my footsteps; having created a small
amount of life in my wake.
I smiled as I reached the riverbank.
I smiled as I sat on a large rock,
and I smiled as I opened my thoughts.

-M. Taggart

Find Your Mind #pros

mtaggartwriter8 Comments

My friend,
the crow, is perched on a branch
outside my window.
Some fifty feet in the air.
And just now, his friend,
another crow, came to perch alongside him.

They don’t seem to mind about anything.
I like how they do that.
I think I’ll do that too.

-M. Taggart

poem

mtaggartwriter4 Comments

I don’t believe death ought to be what shows us the light.
Wisdom, experience, clarity, truth, self-reflections-
all of which I admire and chase on an ongoing basis.

-M. Taggart