ATKM Dramatic Monologue

I am caught between what is right and what is wrong

Doing neither I bid a sirens song

Yet do the latter and my conscious broke

And the former labeled as a choke

It wasn’t to be this way when it begun

Three fathers yet as good as none

Crippled by allegiance to the crown

Being slowly yet silently dragged down

The years have flown since initiation

And now I do sit at this station

Of right and wrong, good and evil

Never governed by the steeple

But rather by the one who bought me

A petty sum brings me to a knee

For in a candid test a fate

The father I’ve been seeking now forsake

The straw that broke the camel’s back

Has hindered my accordance to this track

Of love I am indeed a victim

Stolen by the once trusted kingdom

Satan’s work is seldom scene

But rather manifested in a dream

Of years before my life was bore

Another bid adherence swore

Yet not to the same set of hands

Instead to a woman in different lands

To which my namesake has belonged

Indeed the servant had been wronged

So a quest embarked upon never conquered

Finding her a fallacy concurred

But in history we find ourselves repeated

Time is a force, not defeated

The same mistakes that came before

Indeed came knocking at my door

But in the end the past redone

And the king’s swan song has been sung

Taken not by mortal justice

But instead by a man always trusted

Vindication, yet not so sweet

For I too have taken the devil’s treat

In the end what’s done is done

Summarized not by simple pun

But by a spider and a twitch

Undone I’ve been by my own niche

College Essay

It has always been power that man has craved the most. More than love, money, earthly possessions, or happiness man yearns for power. It is an abstract concept not done justice by a dictionary definition or the mores of great men but rather by the touch of a hand and a beat of a heart, for power comes in all forms. “Vires, Artes, Mores” should not be read in its literal sense for that would little do it its proper homage, rather it should be viewed as a guiding principal in the lives of the common man, something to strive for, something to earn. As a derivative of power it should be seen; power in every sense of the word.

I claim not to have power over any man on this earth and nor do I desire it, rather I covet power in myself, for only through true belief in ones self can he ever hope to lead others. Vires is a quality I see a great deal of in myself. As a recipitant of Lee County’s “Do The Right Thing Award” I was publicly recognized for my contributions to the community, but it is not recognition that a person in the true embodiment of Vires strives for. Rather I found strength by visiting the poorest of the poor while in China. I had made the trek with hopes of meeting my newly adopted cousin and had instead encountered a myriad of life’s lessons all at once. One of these lessons was to learn to appreciate every moment we have on this earth because only too many, both foreign and local have felt the pain of loss, dereliction, and neglect.

Man is nothing without knowledge; this simple statement highlights the need for not only Vires but Artes as well. Intellectual pursuits cannot be limited to the concrete confines of a schoolhouse; they must be widespread and far-reaching. This is something I have always believed. Perhaps this unquenchable thirst for knowledge is what led me to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine over the summer of 2008 where I and my fellow scholars were treated to a up close and personal look into the present day medical profession in America. My cerebral search expanded upon my return when I enrolled in a class to become a Red Cross certified Lifeguard and first aid applicant, adding to my budding interest in the protection of the community.

Finally it is Mores we look upon to find the true strength of a man, his character. In my pursuit of Mores I have chosen consistently to lead by example, whether it be going far and beyond the necessary levels of community interaction, serving as president of my school’s “Fishing Club”, organizing the F.I.V.E. Freshmen Retreat, or contributing as a Student Ambassador for Bishop Verot High School I find that actions, not words define who we are. In the spirit of this belief I choose to think not on “Vires, Artes, Mores” as singular entities but rather as a united message of power that every man can achieve with an earnest drive to do what’s right.

A Game of Ease

It’s been rumored by a thousand men but touched the ears of none

Brighter, crisper, more antiseptic to hide our problems

Easier it would be to cower in the shadows while the armies of Allah rage

Smarter to relinquish hope and lay down arms against oppression

 

Brigades! Blasphemy! Brother!

In death we are equaled, in separation strengthened

It will come in your darkest hour and raise you to the highest mount

Fear not the end rather the beginning

 

Nature will triumph over all

The only hope is in the last real assurance

The only hope is in the one true promise

At the end you’ll face the deific gates or plunge the sirens call

 

Two ways out one way in

One departs with honor, one in disgrace

There can be no common ground in the true existence

We strive for victory; we strive for physical manifestation of joy

 

It is monetary happiness you seek to find, so pillage and plunder; your soul

Nothing in life is free of its celestial price tag

Trivial in the pursuit of life, yet like Egyptian cotton to the creator

Steal, cheat, lie; in the end it’s all a game