For All Saint's Day (Nov. 1), I've chosen to write of my patron saint, Jeanne D'Arc, whose spirit I've called upon on a number of occasions for strength and perseverance. 

Joan of Arc's Death at the Stake  by Hermann Stilke (1803–1860)    

Jeanne D’Arc

Stalwart, spiritual,

she engages

an army

of anxious souls.

Her fate: rejection

inflamed 
by the ignorant

transporting her

to glorious praise

from Love’s Source.

Courage endures

through

fervent benevolence.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos  

To view a website devoted to Jeanne D’Arc:

 http://www.jeanne-darc.info/

Thomas Paine and Revolutionary Consciousness: A Lesson for Twenty-First Century Readers

Thomas Paine, Rights of Man (photos from Google images)

Thomas Paine differentiates between natural and civil rights of man, with the latter originating from the former. He interprets the aristocracy’s use of language as a means of establishing a sense of power. Echoing the consciousness of the eighteenth-century philosopher, John Locke, Paine elucidates for his readers an emerging global consciousness in Rights of Man:

The progress of time and circumstances, which men assign to the accomplishment of great changes, is too mechanical to measure the force of the mind, and the rapidity of reflection, by which revolutions are generated:  All the old governments have received a shock from those that already appear, and which were once more improbable, and are a greater subject of wonder, than a general revolution in Europe would be now…. what we now see in the world, from the Revolutions of America and France, are a renovation of the natural order of things, a system of principles as universal as truth and existence of man, and combining moral with political happiness and national prosperity.[1]

Our politicians of the twenty-first century could do well to consider Mr. Paine's words. These fundamental beliefs authentically provide his readership with contrasting attributes of the narrow vision present in governmental hierarchy in contrast with those belonging to humanity in general. A correlation between humanity and nature formed the consciousness of revolutionary thought, which eventually fed into the elaborate (and beautiful) artistic, musical, and literary expressions of romanticism.

It's October 18, 2023. Are we on the brink of realizing free expression, found within the core of human creativity....or... are we on the brink of a constrained life experience, found in a contrived order as the result of total control of the human mind? 

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[1] Quoted in Foner 536-37.

Anaphora Poetry

Below, is a poem written in the Anaphora poetic format. I took the photo in Dublin a few years ago at an international street vendor competition. Observing this 'fairy' with the many children she attracted was magical.

For Giveness

Given 

from the heart,

given with humility,

given freely,

this gift of joy

is a given 

that another will 

give
passing the gift
forward.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

Phonology

                                      I took this photo of a street musician in Dublin a few years ago

On the topic of phonology or phonetic consciousness, the study of way humans combine  sounds to create linguistic patterns, I give you a brief excerpt from my book: Innovations in Rhetoric in the Writing of Sydney Swenson (Lady Morgan, 181-1859) and below that, a poem I wrote entitled, Consciousness. Enjoy! 

Steven Pinker discusses the impact of phonology and semantics as individuals experience sensory connections in their formation of new concepts:    

The phonemes and syllables in a word contact their counterparts in memory piecemeal, more and more of them finding a match as the milliseconds tick by. As soon as all the pieces match some entry, the irregular form linked to the entry is fetched and shunted to the vocal tract. While the lookup is in progress, the inhibitory signal sent to the rule box gets stronger and stronger, and when all goes well, the rule is braked to a halt. 

At this point, the individual synapses in the brain connect the familiar sound with a specific memory. 

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[1] Steven Pinker, Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language, (New York: Harper, 2011), p. 130.

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Consciousness

Jung's is collective

containing collaborative

but chaotic compositions

carefully calculated

to create clear cut

caricatures of cranial

cacophonies in crazy

and occasionally corny

creatures who care

about causes and effects.

But mine is coincidental, 

caught between 

casual and coiffure

occasionally quirky

consistent and tranquil

cautious,  concerned

a creatively concocted 

course of action, 

convoking acquaintances

to collaborate and affect.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos