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Saturday 25 August 2012

Promises

All promises are pie crusts,
nothing more, my Granmama would say -
than things intended to be broken... but meanwhile,
she would add,
 they serve a useful purpose.

To me, they're not so glib,
not pies you said you'd bake,
then failed to keep your word,
unable to deliver.

Think logical
and operator
bits of a computer language:
IF... Then... Else...
So for example:
If man fails to tackle Global Warming
Then the planet will reject him.
Will reject all life.

This is the promise mankind cannot break.

So promises are prophesies.
My Gran and I agreed
in thinking them conditional.
.............................................................
Written for Brian Miller's Theme Thursday prompt.

18 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Ouch. Prophesies are always doom and gloom. I am not arguing with this one, just identifying that for me at least the word has only negative connotations.

It is a bit like the phrase 'life's like that'. It doesn't refer to the days when you wake up in a good mood, the sun is shining and you have nothing but pleasure ahead. Instead the phrase is designed to encapsulate the days when you step out of bed into a pile of freshly deposited cat puke and things go down hill from there...

Mrsupole said...

I think that promises are best to not be made, then no one gets hurt by a broken promise and no one feels bad because they did not keep it.

Hope all is well with you and that things are going good.

Thanks again for playing with us for this weeks Theme Thursday.

God bless.

Dulcina said...

"Promises and pie crusts are made to be broken", wrote Jonathan Swift: your grandma remembered well.
Only God's promises are prophecies.
Man's promises are ropes of sand.
All prophecies are promises, but not vice versa.
And yes, thinking logical, promises are tied to a condition. I agree with both of you.
:)

Brian Miller said...

ugh man...i like your gramma...she tells the truth in creative ways....global warming is an interesting one to choose for inclusion you know...ha...many dont take it serious at all....promises as prophecy...hmmm...i like them better as pie crust, though sadly we eat them with hope...

Daydreamertoo said...

Well, we are smart enough to know all of these things now but, we (the rich elite which run everything in the background) seem so in love with money, they don't care about the planet and think they can control it as much as they control everything and everyone else. When you know they are trying to control the weather now too through EMP pulses then, you know the planet, as you sa, will reject us in her own attempts to survive.
Nicely said Dave, a lovely between what is happening and your Grandma's pie crust.
Great read, thanks.

David Cranmer said...

"All promises are pie crusts" may be the best opening ever, Dave,

Claudia said...

i like your gramma's wisdom...and i like how you think on and come to the promises are prophesies...conditional...yes.. i would agree on that as well

Grace said...

I like the use of your Grandma's pie crust ~ Conditional or cannot be broken? She was wise...

Enjoyed your share Dave ~

Anonymous said...

Wonderful. There was a great article in the NY Times yesterday about all these guys, mainly Republican, on the congressional science committees - complete deniers of global warming, evolution, etc. Crazy and so dangerous.

A very interesting combination of factors here. k.

Jim Murdoch said...

A thought-provoking piece this. I am not sure that Man’s obligation to tackle global warming can be viewed as a promise. She is our mother (as in Mother Earth) and it is our duty to take care of her. My mother never needed to make me promise to care for her in her old aged. It was my duty. As for whether all promises can glibly be regarded as conditional, maybe nowadays when no one blinks an eye when a marriage contract (or most any other contract) is broken. I wonder how many people go round saying, “My word is my bond”? Not so many these days. Honour is not what it was.

Carl said...

Friday a closeup detailed portrait and Saturday a broader theme. Is there no topic or subject you can not shed light on with your pen?

kaykuala said...

It's nice knowing a grandma was instrumental in imbibing good deeds to be followed.It helped to mold good characters out of us. Nice write Dave!

Hank

Ygraine said...

I hadn't thought of it before, but there are so many broken promises these days, aren't there?
Sadly, it seems our word is no longer our bond in twenty-first Century society.
And when you associate that fact with Global Warming, well, that is positively terrifying.
Time for more responsibility, I think.
A brilliant write, as ever, Dave:)

Leovi said...

The promises of politicians are words to the wind, we inevitably to the destruction of the planet.

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

Dear David, after this poem of yours once more the Poet echoed in my ears:

"What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present."

Mary said...

I do like the idea very much that promises and prophecies are both conditional.

I would also say that they are dependent on who the promiser is and who the prophet is. Some promises are 'good as gold.' Prophecies? I'd say there isn't a prophet living today whose prophesy I would put any stock in.

Unspoken said...

Hah! Yes, on global warming.. the earth is speaking. Love the pie crust play on promises. Oh, I didn't realize that was Brian's prompt. I liked it!

Dave King said...

The Elephant's Child
True prophesy is more of the IF... THEN... variety. It can be dark or light, positive or negative. It doesn't have to be of the Biblical variety.

Mrsupole
I agree that in the normal course of daily to and from they're best not made. And by politicians they are best not made.

Dulcina
Thanks for this - some food for thought, here.

Brian
My Gran added her own bit - but in the meanwhile they serve a useful purpose. She thought that the most important part of her saying. I was never quite so sure.

Daydreamertoo
I think if she was alive now she'd say that all our pie crusts have been pretty much broken.

David
Thanks for this - done me a power of good, that has!

Claudia
Thanks for this. Much appreciated.

manicddaily
Dangerous is right. There's been so much rubbish talked. I know it's the silly season, but it's becoming difficult to know when to take them seriously.

Jim
Much thanks for this. The promise as I envisaged it, is Nature's promise to man, not the other way around. If this, than that Else something other. That's the conditional bit.

As for my word is my bond and honour is not what it was: quite agree.

Carl
The fact that you see light ther encourages me no end. Thanks Carl.

Hank
Thanks. Yup, a greal ole Gal!

Ygraine
Absolutely so. I think too of the wealthier countries pledging money for overseas aid, then not stumping up.

Leovi
Words to the wind puts it exactly.

Tommaso
Very apt. This says it with more precision and more clarity than I could muster. Thanks once again.


Mary
I woud agree with al that. Thanks for.

She Writes
Welcome and thanks so much for this. Good to have your thoughts.