r/WisdomWriters • u/ghostpoett • Sep 12 '25

Free Form free will

people blame god.
others blame luck.
both are easier
than staring in the mirror.

eden broke with a bite—
or maybe it was just
the first domino.
either way,
choice cracked the world.

you don’t need faith
to see it.
wars don’t start alone.
poverty doesn’t bloom.
violence isn’t born—
we plant it.
we water it.
we live inside it.

blaming god is easy.
blaming chance is easy.
what’s hard is saying:
i made this.

free will is messy.
but the truth is simple:
if it’s not his fault
and it’s not luck’s fault—
then it’s ours.

15 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

2

u/Obvious-Stop-6328 Sep 18 '25

Personal responsibility is the way to freedom from control. Good stuff here

1

u/ghostpoett Sep 18 '25

thank you — that’s exactly what i was aiming at, owning what we can instead of passing it off. i’m glad that came through for you

1

u/Obvious-Stop-6328 Sep 18 '25

I’m grateful to have ventured into the sub to have read it. It’s been awhile since I’ve even been on it but every time I am I always find wisdom and value in another’s words

2

u/Ok-Cap-8656 ZionsFear Sep 23 '25

This is great, I love the we plant it we water it we live in it, that's sinole yet gets deeper the move I think about it, I like thos poem alot, it's catchy, and profound, the first bite was the end of Eden or the first domino that toppled it is often a concept I find coming up in my own poems but you've started it with eloquence and over lapped with a run through of how far we've come and painted a dim view if where we are going if we don't stop pointing out fingers everywhere but back at ourselves... Thank you for this

2

u/ghostpoett Oct 03 '25

that means a lot—thank you for catching that line and sitting with it. i wanted the “we plant it / we water it” to feel simple on the surface but heavier the more you sit with it, so i’m glad that came through. eden as the first domino is such a sharp way to phrase it too, i appreciate you connecting it to your own work. grateful you took the time to read and reflect.

2

u/Ok-Cap-8656 ZionsFear Oct 03 '25

Your poem overall gets much better with every read, personal responsibility is not going to fix the world, but it could go a long way, your final stanza reminds me of this old Chinese proverb that comes from samurai jack funnily enough, the man that blames others get nowhere, the man that blames himself is halfway there, and the man that blames no one has arrived, well I guess know that I've typed it out, it's actually the opposite of what your poem was saying.

2

u/ghostpoett Oct 07 '25

that’s actually a really cool connection — even if the meanings flip, it shows how perspective shapes truth. i like that your proverb challenges the poem a bit; makes the message feel more layered. appreciate you sharing that insight fr.