Never a Dull Moment
Posted By Randy on September 10, 2011
As an outdoorsy, self-reliant guy, I carry and use knives daily. In my personal and professional life – which being self employed tends to be the same thing most of the time – it’s a rarity for me not to find reason to use the pliers, Phillips screwdriver, and one or both blades on my Leatherman Charge XTi Multitool in any 24 hour period. If you follow us here at LFM, you’ll also know that I often equip myself with other items of cutlery whenever I believe the trip or situation warrants it, and that Mrs. LFM is cut from the same cloth, although from the end of the roll with the much finer weave.
We live in rural Nova Scotia where people don’t really bat an eye when you whip out a knife, flip open a blade to cut something, and then make it disappear again, and I know quite a few who would be surprised if I didn’t. I suppose one might attract attention if the chore was done at the local post office with a 10″ Bowie knife, but for the most part everybody hearabouts is pretty laid back. Not so for people in more urban centers, nor in many other parts of the world where a lot of government money has been expended in the raising of a generation that now believes that knives are the exclusive province of cutthroats, brigands, and rapists, and are solely to blame for pretty much everything that ails their neck of the woods. Worse yet, The US Department of Homeland security has come out with encouragement for citizens to report any “suspicious” activity that might brand their friends, neighbours, or even family members as potential “domestic terrorists”. Such suspicious behaviour can include being prepared for disasters (natural or otherwise), being self-reliant, and owning anything that could be considered a weapon or makes the observer “uncomfortable”. Interestingly, being a combat veteran can also brand one a potential domestic terrorist, but that’s a story for another day.
I sat down today to write an article about all this but, instead, this poem came out. My brain can be a capricious bitch, but I’ve learned to accept what it gives me.
Never a Dull Moment
By LFM
Oh supple blade,
So pliant and keen,
Tool of man’s motives,
The noble and mean.
Formed to serve purpose –
To part what must part,
To pierce what needs piercing,
To end and to start.
Once crafted of glass
Out of Earth’s fiery core,
Steel now gives you life,
Hist’ry’s rich with your lore!
Servant of Life,
Its protector and taker,
Keen shining symbol
Of mover and shaker.
Faithful minion of chef,
Hunter, soldier, and wife,
Blade without human hand
Will never take life.
Yet a new hew and cry
Resounds o’er the land,
That’s needful of contest
And opposite stand.
I declare that my actions
Speak louder than tools,
Yet notice the opposite
Taken by fools.
Fools needful of shepherds,
That be wolves in sheep’s clothing,
With their sheep soothing words,
Made from honey glazed loathing.
Deciding my blade
Now brands me a threat,
Though I’ve saved many lives
And not taken one yet.
Ignoring that maybe
It serves other reason,
And serves me each day
Regardless the season.
The hammer can kill,
And nail boards down,
One can fill the bathwater
To relax, or to drown.
The automobile,
Seen as daily essential,
Lends itself both to travel
And lethal potential.
So sheeple, now hear me,
O’er the words of your Master.
Before folly greases
Your road to disaster.
You are free only if
You take this thing as true –
All moral atonement you make
Is to you.
Whatever the tool,
Whatever your land,
The moral decision
Resides in your hand.
Evil lives, good men can’t
Ignore this as certain,
They prepare for what’s hid
Behind mystery’s curtain.
But for evil to thrive,
Needs must fools do their part,
So it finds space to grow
And take root in the heart.
Permit blaming a tool
For evil’s inception –
Grant servants of evil
Their most potent deception.
To embrace independence
In thought, word and deed
Is the uttermost threat
To their new “moral” creed.
Yet, steadfastness comes
From the knowing of things,
By head, heart, and soul,
And the power that brings!
Things that can never
Be broken or lost,
Or taken away
By some evil lies tossed.
So take heart my sharp hearties,
And stand now your ground!
Let no lie go unchallenged,
Let but Truth now resound!
In the end, Truth will win
And we’ll drink in the lull,
To moments and wits
That will never be dull!
Wow and WOW again Randy!
That was down right awesome! Beautifully put together!
Your wordsmithing, that creation of words which flow smoothly and that carry the weight of the ages behind them was magnificent. This, my budding Rudyard Kipling is destined to be a classic of the cutlery kind! Much akin to the “Iron, cold Iron is master of them all” epic that I am so fond of. Your verses are a battlecry to sanity and to the sane. Bravo amigo, BRAVO!
A link on me page is due for this gem, say the ever popular Monday edition…
Many thanx for your efforts and insights Randy!
Jak
Jim, you’ve posted my articles on MAAJAK World many times over the years, and we’ve privately compared sensibilities, but to have my poem entice you to make such a glowing comment here is priceless.
By the way, from the last two verses I’ve crafted a toast I invite you and all to use:
Take heart my sharp hearties,
And stand now your ground.
Let no lie go unchallenged,
Let but Truth now resound.
In the end, Truth will win
And we’ll drink in the lull,
To moments and wits
That will never be dull!
Randy
Done with elegance of an ancient court .
Men who live by a code of honor ,..and sometimes die for the same truly understand your words .
I know you put your blades to test and carry with the utmost confidence . We accept nothing that is not worthy of protecting our honor and those in our circle of care .A pretty thing on a shelf is just that .
To be called a sheep dog is only possible with a mind set first ,then a sharp blade . I know I can count on yours and your partner in arms . Salute !!
I look forward to the next time we cross swords and tell tall tales over a flagon of scotch.
Peter
wonderful words Randy!
And to your friend Peter, Hey women live by code of honour too and often die …..I’m just saying…
Oh, you’re preaching to the choir here Val. Actually, I figured this item might appeal to you. Your prowess with the machete is legendary.
[…] So now, let’s take a step back and look at all this from a slightly different perspective. Not everyone in times past had possession of a sword or the skill to use it, even as this is true in today’s world. Even as today, not everyone has possession of a firearm for any reason, let alone personal defense. But there is one thing that was, and still is, universally found in most homes throughout the land – the knife. Such a mundane thing that everyone will need to learn the use of. A carving knife for the Thanksgiving Turkey, a serrated knife for slicing bread, and a paring knife for all those niggling little kitchen chores that call for a small, sharp, and agile blade. If you hunt, camp, or hike, you will carry a knife of some kind along with the obligation to know how to use and maintain it safely and properly. The knife is used and respected everywhere … but unlike the sword, somehow loses this status when it enters the realm of combat. Rather than a valid tool of defense against evil and injustice, it becomes the vile weapon of the brigand, the bully, the thug, the assassin, the cutthroat, and the thief in the night. The “coward” in a movie western who “pulls a knife” on the hero when he starts thinking he’s losing to him in a “fair” fight. But this is more flawed perception and fanciful imagining than truth. You see, the length of the blade is of no consequence. Only the intention and its attendant Art hold sway. […]