Thomas Aquinas and the World’s First Limerick
Mordacious Limericks about Greed and Materialism
When it comes to sizing up an aphorism of pre-Socratic philosophy or summing up a treatise of German idealism, nothing beats a pithy limerick. But sometimes it takes a little more substance, something along the lines of a lyrical allegory, to get the point across.
This is one of those instances where I’ve decided to forego the quick limerick in favor of a long-form poem. Still trotting on anapest feet, the Tale of the Wonder Twins explores themes of parenthood, sibling attachment, psychological development, spiritual maturation and cosmic interdependence.
Whether you’re lamenting a loss or enjoying the company of your soulmate, I hope this poem can offer another shade of meaning as you move through your daily routine.
The Tale of the Wonder Twins
In a faraway land where the people are wise
Lived a hopeless romantic with tears in her eyes
Her belly was swelling, increasing in size
No thanks to the soldier who’d sundered the skies
He was touched by the gods, like a half or a fourth
But this father absconded and vanished up north
Alone and with child, with unusual girth
The mother gestated and waited for birth
She kept on expanding, what else could she do?
Till at last it was clear she was pregnant with two
And a dozen weeks later her due date arrived
But to break her heart worse, only one twin survived
Now the tears really flowed like a flood from below
Although one twin is better than none as you know
And as this one grew strong on a diet of love
His sister ascended to heaven above
But the union was forged deep inside of their mother
So each of the twins held a piece of the other
In his formative years he enjoyed their connection
His guardian angel employed her protection
From unearthly places she offered her graces
By keeping him safe in those vulnerable places
At night in his prayers he confided his fears
His innermost secrets for only her ears
And it’s clear his survival depended on her
He lived and was healthy and grateful for sure
On entering manhood his appetites changed
His passions they shifted, his heart rearranged
In the empty space there where his twin would have been
He longed for a partner who matched him within
Like someone he’d known all his life, maybe more
The one with the key to his storybook door
And rather than envy, the twin she could see
That a lover on earth would bring joy to all three
As time shuffled onward, our man grew content
Thinking less of his sister and all that she’d meant
Evermore distant and deaf to her realm
He labored for lucre, alone at the helm
Pursuing the one-sided glory of matter
While sister, forgotten, grew sadder and sadder
The profits and losses he tallied by day
As meaning and substance just drifted away
Till at last at the crossroads of pride and regret
Came a voice that he’d thought he would never forget
Whispering softly with timeless awareness
And god given knowledge of virtue and fairness
Like a window to heaven that drove him half blind
Then opened his eyes to the great Buddha Mind
In the twilight of life he was free from illusion
But old age eventually brought some confusion
Till a glimmer of light penetrated his room
To comfort his soul from the imminent gloom
No need to resist the unstoppable doom
United again as they were in the womb
Further Reading
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