The Tiger Roars: An Anthology of Poems on Emptiness & Richness, Hope & Faith, Love & Soul

By Christian Omlin

The poems in this collection were part of a healing journey without any filtering by the mind.; they brought with them insights, incredible peace, and a new way of living.

The choice of topics for this anthology was not haphazard. The main challenge of this journey was to come to grips with emptiness that seems ubiquitous in this world and the realization that people's emptiness is theirs to own and live with. As this insight grew, it was necessary to find sources of richness in the world in order to find balance; awareness emerged as the main sources of joie de vivre. Early poems on hope and faith pointed the way into the future and built the foundation for acceptance and a new way of living. The final topic of love and soul was very unexpected as it developed as the result of a wonderful change in my life. Through an extraordinary and unlikely chain of events, I met an amazing, generous, warm, kind, and strong woman who is full of joy, love, laughter, and passion for life. Within only a few weeks, I came to realize that she was my soulmate. I never knew that such a love could exist. This anthology is thus also the story of this meeting. The crisis and its subsequent miraculous resolution and journey have redirected my life and my relationships in surprising new ways, giving me new energy, new confidence, and new purpose.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jan 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491887615

Book preview

Prologue

Without a Filter

Matters appear crystal clear before him,

         in a manner they never have.

He reaches deep into his heart,

         and his soul responds.

For he finds riches

         he was never aware of.

Their effervescence profoundly surprising.

They paint a picture

        rich in colors and textures,

        the entire universe unfolding in all its beauty.

Meeting his true self for the first time.

It is awesome and overwhelming yet

        he feels no fear.

He succinctly expresses his experience,

         unfiltered by his mind.

For it is in awe of what it witnesses.

It steps aside and allows

        his heart and soul to speak.

I Emptiness

Seduced by the Basket

The basket appears hand-made and sturdy,

         filled to its rim with healthy and delicious fruits,

         adorned with beautiful flowers,

         surrounded by their sweet fragrance.

Concealing a terrible secret.

For the fruits are

         rotting from below,

         hidden from view,

         their color is brown,

         they smell of decay.

To sustain the rotting, new fruits are needed.

And they come plentiful, seduced by the basket.

Unaware of what awaits them at the bottom,

         the rot slowly creeps onto the new fruit.

Makes them feel welcome, even wanted.

Until it is too late,

         as they reach the bottom of the basket,

         nothing but rot.

The Stick Man

The stick man has no dimension.

He has

        no depth, no color,

        no texture, no substance.

There is no richness,

        only emptiness.

A non-existence.

Unable to perceive or speak truth,    

         he is concerned with but one thing:

         to achieve maximum benefit for himself,

         with no regard or respect for others.

Unable to fill his void,

         he devises elaborate ways of

         deception,

         pilferage, and

         hypocrisy.

He stands for no values.

He has no wisdom.

He has no honor.

Unable to recognize, express or live the

         interconnectedness of the world around him,

         he exists in constant fear of losing it all.

For he has

         no authentic power,

         no source of inner strength,

         no compass,

         no virtues.

Unable to function on his own,

         he seeks the company of other stick men,

         linking arms with his neighbors,

         to form long chains of nothingness.

Each element a carbon copy,

         easily replaceable.

There is no commitment.

There is no loyalty.

Unable to face and accept authentic power,

         the chain attempts to assimilate any invader.

Failing, as they must, they encircle and

        attempt to suffocate him.

There is no life in a chain of stick men.

There is only emptiness.

It easily blows away.

Wits without a Soul

Once upon a time,

          this university stood its ground

          against all forces of evil.

It persevered and it flourished.

It was authentic and true to itself.

It had soul.

It had humanity.

Until the day came, when it sold out

          its principles,

          its values, and

          its ethics.

Replacing them with

         hypocrisy,

         fake values,

         corruption, and

         misanthropy.

For the benefit of a few and

         the loss for many.

This was the day Wits lost its soul.

Surely, it will soon die.

Empty Power

Power based on wealth, position, or influence

         is fleeting.

It has no meaning, no real purpose, and

        it can easily be lost.

It breeds fear.

Exercised in a careless manner,

        without any real impact, serving but one goal:

         to satisfy the ego, to mask the fear.

It tragedy lies in its futility,

         its inability to fill the void.

As the emptiness grows.

Long Live Apartheid!

The place is in a mess.

People do not greet,

         let alone converse.

The program is in shambles.

Factions are fighting.

Favoritism is the norm.

The man in charge is

         selfish,

         incapable,

         abusive,

         even evil.

All is sanctioned, and

         prescribed by the ‘leadership’.

Every mistake in the book is made.

Recent appointments made based on color alone,

         not competence.

The place is on fire,

        about to explode.

They could not care less.

All in the name of equity.

He gently tries to pull the coals out of the fire.

Appointing capable staff,

         their color secondary to their abilities.

He is chided

         We made sure your staff had the right profile!

and

         You are appointing whites like in the old days!

He has not connection to those days.

He was not born here.

He came from overseas.

He just follows the law.

And they continue

         "We are surprised

          at your lack of sensitivity with respect to equity!"

"Equity? Transformation?

         You must be joking!

If Apartheid was about

         keeping large segments of society disadvantaged,

         then it is indeed alive and well here today.

For the teaching is atrocious. The attitude unacceptable.

The outcomes tragic. Most graduates unprepared.

They are still disadvantaged. And nobody cares.

Long live Apartheid!

Nobody Sits in the Chair

He has been the Vice-Chancellor of this university

         for 10 years.

It is a sinking ship,

         the place is in complete disarray.

Staff are becoming sick,

         competent people are leaving,

         incompetent people are staying and rewarded.

Incompetence, deceit, corruption, and racism

         are its hidden values.

The students are suffering in the thousands,

         not only now, but for years to come.

He does not care.

He does not recognize the destruction in progress.

He was in this for himself.

As his term comes to an end,

         he makes himself available,

         with conditions,

         for a new cushy job within.

He does not want to apply for it.

He thinks he is owed this job

         while asserting transparency to be his concern.

All calls for an advert are suppressed,

         citing precedence cases.

He is formally appointed in

         a cloak-and-dagger operation.

For not everyone is present at the meeting,

         yet another example of planned deception.

His friends did a perfect job.

They are experts at it.

He starts his new job

         announcing his need

         for a sabbatical leave,

         so that he may retool,

         to prepare himself for his new task.

For he has neither

         the competence nor

         the vision for his new job.

But he has the right skin color.

He once again leaves a chair empty.

Film Reels in Black and White

For many years, she projected her emptiness

         onto him.

Squashing every growing bud of

         freshness,

         richness,

         love, and

         hope.

So much so, that he believed

         this emptiness to be his own.

He held onto it.

A silent film, in black and white.

Meanwhile

         his uniqueness,

         his power,

         his love,

         were growing in the shadows.

Hidden from view,

         even from himself.

Playing hide and seek,

         peeking out from underneath every now and then,

         to retreat back into