enough! manifesto for artists, writers, & lovers of beauty

Now is the time to say Enough!
to the marginalization of all who walk
the path of beauty and art

To the unyielding duress of seeking to balance
deep and soulful expression
with the strictures of daily existence,
Enough!

To systems and models that devalue
currencies of the heart, imaginings of the soul,
visions and dreams fueled by wisdom, experience,
and an unquenchable yearning
to connect heaven and earth,
Enough!

To the relentless negation
of the unimpeachable sine qua non of
art, music, literature, dance, theatre, and philosophy
in any sustainable, thriving and compassionate society,
Enough!

Now the circle widens
and Venus takes her place

War and weapons take flight,
overrun by devotees with well-honed swords
drawn to uplift humanity and provide succor
to the weak and weary of spirit

Art and Beauty wait in the wings
while commerce clears its throat,
Love and Truth hit their downstage marks
amid the roar of a grateful audience
yearning for sustenance

The irresolute masses ache to suckle
at the teat of your passion!

You who walk lightly in your search
for the Godhead held captive
in every wordstring, every stroke of the brush,
melody’s trill, gentle footfall,
transcendent and lofty upreaching

You who nurture and nourish the divine spark within
even as the crush of containment
augers its way into your softened core,
yet refuse to crumple into the madness

Sing out your art holy and profound!
and know that Creation rests transfixed
in the bosom of your visionary outreach

Do not quell the birthing nor numb the urgings
of your most potent outpourings!
truth lives in every cell,
essential matter of sentient origin

Without art, all is mechanized deliberation
and the tattering of spirit,
without song, silence goes unpartnered
to the allemande

You are the fulcrum
upon which the sublime and sublunary meet
in a shuddering of ecstasy

In you rests the power of all-mighty Creation,
glimmering phantasia of iridescent bejewelment

Arise and bring forth your most splendid manifestations ~
your heart, gentle spirit, soul’s waxing

Enough!