when I was a kid, in my dad's garage was hung a poem.

[Javaman]

when he passed away, I made sure I got that poem.

it was on the wall for so long I had to peal off the wall.

I reframed it, now it hangs in my garage.

No Man is an Island'
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

John Donne

If I didn't have my health issues. I would go to Ukraine to fight.

[redwitch]

1. I think I would have liked your dad very much.

Probably my favorite poem.

[secondwind]

2. Lovely reminder of your dad.... you are blessed....

[Hugin]

3. To the point.

This is currently relevant in so many ways.

[lucca18]

4. Beautiful poem!❤️

How thoughtful of you to have it framed, and to have it hanging in your garage too!

[Lonestarblue]

5. What a wonderful memory of your dad. So glad you were able to hold on to it.

[niyad]

6. so absolutely true.

[captain queeg]

7. Yeah Hemmingway liked that poem too. The first time I saw it, or maybe it was just a few verses.

[Hekate]

13. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Hemingway takes it title from this piece

[Captain Zero]

17. that poem is the page before chapter one starts,

In Hemingway's novel by that title.

FYI:
The Americans who went to fight in the Spanish Civil War were called 'The Lincoln Brigade'.

The novel,
'For Whom the Bell Tolls' is set in Spain during that war.

Hemingway was there.

[orangecrush]

8. Bravo

[Karadeniz]

9. I have thought of that poem often lately!

[littlemissmartypants]

10. ❤

🌻🇺🇦❤🇺🇦🌻

[Delphinus]

11. Thank you

There is such truth in that poem.

[Hekate]

12. I love that piece. Thank you. One minor correction: it is "manor," like a house...

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.
― John Donne, No man is an island – A selection from the prose

[Javaman]

21. I pulled it off the internet. some computers bad transcription. LOL nt

[Hekate]

22. I'm glad you shared it & the story about your dad. It's a priceless memory.

[SheltieLover]

14. Ty for sharing!

[calimary]

15. Classic.

Defying the very essence of the Republican founding philosophy:

Every man for himself;
Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps;
Don't go asking anybody/me for help;
I don't believe in handouts.
It's their own fault that they're poor (it just means they're lazy);
Rugged Individualism!

Also known as:

You're on your own;
Get for yourself;
Sucks to be you;
and my dad's all-time favorite: IGMFU ("I Got Mine, F-U" ).

Also in defiance of anything in the Bible, or the teachings of Jesus, Whom they claim to worship (as YOU worthless lazy godless freeloaders obviously don't! Besides, haven't you heard? God wants you to be RICH!).

As to that last one, I spent too many of my "Wonder Years" in Catholic school. NEVER ONCE did I EVER hear anything like that "God wants you to be RICH!" crap. We were taught that Jesus hung out with the poor, the sick, and the outcast. All our Bible and New Testament studies confirmed and reinforced that.

[erronis]

18. Thanks Cali Mary - seems there is no rhyme or reason to the republicans - except greed and spite

Just like their platform for governance - lacking any substance except hatred of the others.

[Evolve Dammit]

19. Sounds like a wonderful "role model". And "Jesus don't like killing." I don't know where religion

is headed, but some of the so-called Christians are totally contrary to any teachings.

[jaxexpat]

24. Good stuff, Calimary.

As much as the world takes me away and drags me down, I still find legitimacy and some solace in the concepts of Jesus' teachings. BTW, I hold the book of Revelations, written and canonized by madmen, has lured more away from Christ than any other element of literature. It veritably creates, in the minds of the half-witted, a new anti-Christ every 5-10 years. And since one half-wit is equal in volume to a world of intelligent silence.........well, there you go.

[llmart]

16. That's just plain beautiful.

Did you ever ask your Dad about why it was there? Just curious.

[Javaman]

20. he was an enormous fan of John Donne.

He was a crazy Sicilian Dad. LOL He hated war but always felt that we are all part of something bigger and if war ever visited us or people we love; we have to help them.

He also had a small book of poetry also by John Donne. I keep it here on my desk as a constant reminder.

my dad, as most dads are, was very complex. He bestowed upon me one of my favorite quotes, "Poetry is the food of the soul". I don't know if that was his originally or he pulled it from somewhere, but I have carried that with me my whole life.

so, when I feel down or lost, as we all sometimes get, I read poetry and it feeds my soul back to health.

[Hekate]

23. Poetry

Yes