Poem: The Art of Rules

The Art of Rules

There are no rules to creation,
to imagination,
no limit to the colors,
the mix of song and perfume,
of passion and pain,
no limits to the combinations
of joy and agony
available
to you.

So dance on your canvas,
sing to the night,
glory in God’s palette
and play like a child,
fearlessly frolicking in possibilities.
Laugh

at those foolish
they think the rules matter, for
only two stand,
love, and love.
The rest is imagination
and courage.

About this poem

Everything I used to think about rules is wrong. Far fewer of them matter than we think. There is only the courage to defy them, or surrender to them.

The poem was inspired by my bible reading this morning, Mark:12:38-31, which reads ” ²⁸One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” ²⁹“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[a] ³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^[b] ³¹The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[c] There is no commandment greater than these