Along with my essay on matters of life and death, including suicide, from the perspectives gained on my nearly 10-year-and-counting and never-ending spiritual journey — We Are Only As Sick As Our Secrets Suicide provides no relief at all On ledge imagining end to my pain Pavement streaming toward me will not end fall Just before break solution becomes plain My penance to help others to refrain Thought my loved ones better off without me Truth’s too likely they’ll header into…

Does retributive justice benefit society and individuals, or does it harm both? — Taking the required course in criminal law as a 1L at the New York University School of Law, I learned, or I should say the professor taught the four purposes underlying criminal justice systems, to wit: retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. In my view, these purposes of criminal law can…

An exploration of the topic through monoku — some say suffering exists only in our minds, that’s so zen of them some suffer because life’s purpose is the full human experience karma draws them to it or it to them, yet punishment I say not just the price of admission to the master class of good and evil …

Ambivalence doesn’t mean not caring — it means having mixed feelings about something — I stand with Israel but also pray for peace for all — I woke on October 7th at around 7 am EDT to see alerts on my phone about a Hamas incursion into Israel. If memory serves, the initial Reuters report in my Google News feed indicated 22 casualties. I went back to sleep. A few hours later my 17-year-old son called…

A senryu series on who knows which is which and which is an illusion —

I believe so — others even some I have admired, do not — what do you think? —

Spiritual warrior, with the kindest soul — Like feathers floating on wind, feet danced across ring Ferocious controlled fury, ferrous fists flying Divine grace and gratitude, lionhearted man Ali was all that and more, Beloved of God — Unconditionally, as are we all “Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn’t choose it and I don’t want…

The conceptual evolution I gained from a personal understanding of God through my spiritually awakened experiences outside of any religion — take what you will and leave the rest — “Religion cannot stand Spirituality. It cannot abide it. For Spirituality may bring you to a different conclusion than a particular religion — and this no known religion can tolerate. Religion encourages you to explore the thoughts of others and accept them as your own. Spirituality invites you to toss away…

Marcus’s 2nd downloaded free verse manifesto — Confirmation biased dimwits sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G defiling the beauty of Eden with Narcissism of small differences they cannot taste the venom of their forked tongues Identity politics fools the day Why must the path from separation to wholeness be so fraught with fractures? …