Flowers and Runners (Considering Ecclesiastes)

January 4, 2024 Ben Plunkett

This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.
Ecclesiastes 7:29

Flowers and Runners

I have heard its voices;   
I have seen its forms;   
a dark decked, decadent temptation.  
Tell me, is it evident? 
No, it lurks in the  
waters, waiting in the streams.  

Citizens search for their trivial, 
tool-like trinkets crying, “Phooey!”  
and “I am infinitely lost!” 
mankind has denied his destination;  
it is difficult always staying  
fully afoot without a target. 
Mankind – gender-inclusive – readies races,  
handing holds and setting marks. 
That reminds me of the  
stalwart soldier-runner of Marathon:  

Adrenaline-driven, ran an entire  
twenty-six miles sounding victory.  
Whispering, “We…won,” the guard –
first to declare victory – tumbled  
forward and he finalized, dying  
with completion of his calling.

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Ben Plunkett

Greetings from the booming metropolis that is Pleasant View, Tennessee. I am a man of constant spiritual highs and spiritual lows. I pray that I serve God at my highest even when I am lowest.

Ben was a founding member of Rambling Ever On and a regular contributor and editor until his untimely death in April 2020.

We wrote a tribute to him, but the best tribute you can give him would be to read all the wonderful poems, short stories, book reviews, theological essays, and ridiculous satire pieces he wrote for us. Pass them on to others and maybe allow Ben to inspire you to write something yourself.