Philosophical Poetry Quotes

“Once individuals become too ‘religious’ about a certain belief or reality tunnel they tend to subconsciously lose sight of the bigger picture. Be it faith, atheism, patriotism, veganism, cross-fittanism among a multitude of other isms and schisms, teachers and followers alike often cannot help but become dogmatic to a considerable degree. This happens when they don’t, at least occasionally, pause, reflect, or question — themselves included — which leaves them blinded by an illusory light at the end of their tunnel. The more certain they become regarding holding absolute truth, the more they drift away from truth; for absolute certainty remains life’s biggest illusion. The key is to do whatever you feel like doing without the need to shove it down others’ throats. And those who vibrate at similar frequencies will eventually find you.”
― Omar Cherif

“I Am the City

The spaces between streets,
The lights that bloom on corners,
The lines that hold us together.

I may be a name,
I may be a crossroad,
I may be a saint.

I am a city.
I am a name.
I am.”
― Laura Chouette, The Willow Song

“What speaks slowly becomes bold.
What begins as a letter becomes a book.

Whoever crosses a line is a poet.
Whoever is a poet becomes a revolt.”
― Laura Chouette, The Willow Song

“The writer seems to have a certain responsibility towards the reader.

You see, I myself write to explore my wandering thoughts and fleeting emotions. Therefore be able to cognise, ponder, and reflect, in hope to comprehend my mind and inner being a little bit better. I write to know myself. I write to keep my (in)sanity. Put more bluntly, I write because I must.

When it comes to sharing the writings, I don’t do it to convince anyone with anything nor to prove any views. There is nothing to sell. I do it to offer the readers and the world a chance to enjoy my point of views — along with my sense of wonder, curiosity and confusion. I share so they may think for themselves; for them to question everything; for them to find their own Truth. I equally share so that those who think alike know they are not alone. For I am you and what I see is me. Not just as a reflection of humanity, as a writer or thinker, but also as a provocateur of a sort.”
― Omar Cherif

“We teach by learning as we learn by teaching.

We cannot expect to serve humanity or help it evolve as long as our cup is empty. Fill it with whatever virtues — and vices — you may see fit, then you can do The Work. Go out and do, learn from the doing, then share your findings while teaching from the knowing. Without inner substance, you see, there is nothing to pour but regurgitated, exhausted material. And nothing gives a man more credibility than saying “I have been there”. For experience cannot be studied or bought, which is why it is the mother of all wisdom. Make it a conscious choice to replenish your cup… until you become the cup.”
― Omar Cherif

“The strongest souls are those who help others through their storms while they themselves are going through their own. The strongest also tend to be the gentlest.

Seemingly paradoxically, to be whole with a strong resilient character means to likewise be somewhat fluid, flexible, fragile — just like water. Rather than rigid and unyielding, being brave and tough includes being tender and sensitive… as well as a certain level of softness.
Those who are truly aware of their own strengths are comfortable in their own skin. For they have nothing to prove to themselves before the world, you see. That raw honesty, that courageous nakedness, also makes them vulnerable, which is not some kind of weakness as sometimes portrayed. Vulnerability here is actually a sign of strength and a highly attractive quality in humans. It makes them relatable, familiar, and accessible to their fellow Earthlings, allowing both sides to connect with each other on deeper, more authentic levels. This very transparency equally offers the opportunity to see a reflection of oneself or parts of oneself in others.

Vulnerability is powerful as it is sexy.”
― Omar Cherif

“Hearts that bend can always mend.”
― Omar Cherif

“Let your Soul be your pilot. Enjoy the ride by sticking your hands, head, and tongue out the window.”
― Omar Cherif

“Sometimes it’s wise to let the liar think that you believe their lie. Because it gives you an advantage by allowing you to make your next move in peace — without awkward confrontations. Thereby by playing a fool you fool the fool who’s trying to fool you.”
― Omar Cherif

“The less needs, the more at peace we become.”
― Omar Cherif

“Nothing too good or substantial can come out from people always agreeing with you. To grow means to be challenged — at least on occasions.”
― Omar Cherif

“Drumming for me is not just mere fun. It is a cathartic, therapeutic, meditative practice, even spiritual. Without playing at least once a week, usually on the beach, my thoughts become discombobulated — full of words and concepts and analysis, including some nonsense, too. Music then comes to the help by lighting up the neurones of the brain which start firing up as soon as I decide to go drumming. And natural highs don’t have lows. Rather than thoughts, drumming is how I connect with my emotions, process and regulate them. I also get to commune with Mother Nature and its great outdoors. Like poetry in motion, the system is then alchemically recalibrated… until the next jam.

“The highest goal of music is to connect one’s soul to their Divine Nature, not entertainment.”
— Pythagoras”
― Omar Cherif

“Seeing yourself as half a person who can only become whole through being completed by another half is a waste of essence and potential. It is the greatest of illusions as it is an inevitable way to spend your entire life feeling incomplete and insecure. Someone fixated on being completed by a partner already feels incomplete. Even in a relationship, they would still feel they’re not good enough. The reality is, none of us is truly or essentially incomplete. Rather, we are works of art in progress — constantly evolving. If you must seek, look for another awakened whole so that you may amplify your wholeness together.”
― Omar Cherif

“May you always value the simple little things in Life. For they make a big difference and hence are the most essential. Simplicity, in actuality, tends to be deeper than complexity. ‘Tis the reason why that which is simple often passes unperceived by the complex. If we look around us, we’ll find that the more one masters a certain domain the more simplification they will strive for.”
― Omar Cherif

“You are a sage and you are a lunatic. You are also the One capable of transcending this seeming duality just by observing the observer.”
― Omar Cherif

“Everyone has a story if we are willing to listen. Similarly, behind almost anything and everything there is some interesting story awaiting its storyteller.”
― Omar Cherif

“Being a decent and sensitive human being who aspires to do the right things in life has nothing to do with nationality, ethnicity, religion, skin colour, or creed. It mainly depends on the level of empathy and compassion you possess; how you treat others, including old people, children, and animals, also the weak, the vulnerable, and the less fortunate. To be kind and gracious in one’s interactions and relations without expecting anything in return — be it a divine reward or otherwise — and without fearing retribution of any sort. For it’s not our beliefs that actually matter, it’s our behaviour. Love is all there is.”
― Omar Cherif

“Being a decent and sensitive human being who aspires to do the right things in life has nothing to do with nationality, ethnicity, religion, skin colour, or creed. It mainly depends on the level of empathy and compassion you possess; how you treat others, including old people, children, and animals, as well as the weak, the vulnerable, and the less fortunate. To be kind and gracious in one’s relations and interactions without expecting anything in return — be it a divine reward or otherwise — and without fearing retribution of any sort. For it’s not our beliefs that actually matter, it’s our behaviour. Love is all there is.”
― Omar Cherif

“Getting married for the wrong reasons is often rectified by getting divorced for the right ones.”
― Omar Cherif

“She dances with her demons
While her angels sing along
Wears her skin so boldly and beautifully
Juggling two rights with every wrong.”
― Omar Cherif

“What Other Can a Man Lay but Tragedy?

What other can a man lay but tragedy?
No other thing would be ripe in time.

Grief is a flower that blooms often,
And sorrow is the rain that waters it sometimes.

Each man reaps what he once sows—
With pain, and some with bitter ease.

The sky above every head of gloom
Grows thicker with clouds and earthly deeds.

The field does not bloom in summer
But on the last day of every man's each.”
― Laura Chouette, The Willow Song

“The Word by Stewart Stafford

Though you have lost me, now you see,
My prophecy to thee proved ever true,
Absolving your wrongs done to me,
In verdant fields of harmony anew.

If I stayed, they said you would pay,
In excoriating loss, I secured your sanctuary,
I am the sentinel that prepares the way,
Evolving beyond the dusty ossuary.

Tongues with riddles lie in their reaching,
By living, know your false self’s meaning,
Insight doth bloom through time’s enduring,
Our Spring lamb in lush meadows weaning.

© 2025, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford

“Cycle of the Midnight Ape by Stewart Stafford

Janus creature of paradox,
Liquid hostage of conscience,
Swinging midnight's ape,
On cartwheel chandeliers.

This being's bender reveal —
Of the existential, maddening itch,
To sling aside life’s burdens,
And slake its raging thirst.

An anthropological anomaly,
Naked in its contradictions,
A déjà vu loop grinds on,
This peerless hellraiser royal.

© 2025, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford

“Most people either live in the past or in the future. Those who dwell on the past tend to be depressed — suffering from their memories; those who overthink the future tend to be anxious — suffering from their imagination. In that regard, the procrastinator and precrastinator are two sides of the same coin; both resisting the present while disregarding or perhaps forgetting that neither the past exists anymore nor the future exists yet; that the Here and Now is where time essentially exists. It is when nothing and everything are happening. For each and every moment is an eternity on its own.

Only the few who realise this nugget of truth are able to enjoy the present moment. Only them find peace of mind. The quintessence of being, you see, lies in fully living the multitude of this timeless Here and Now — what there is and all there is.”
― Omar Cherif

“No matter how deep the hole you’re in, if they’re not throwing dirt on you yet then keep on keeping on.
On the other hand, we should always lift people up, but only if they’re not dragging us down.”
― Omar Cherif

“Amidst the gears that imprison,
the soul awakens
when it remembers
it was never made of iron,
but of light —

and the key
has always been within:
consciousness.”
― Phoenix Moon

“The only reality in which you will truly fit is one you have created yourself. Surround this manifestation with those who celebrate the fiery light shining out of your soul. Those who feel summoned to fan your flames and dance within them. For there is nothing like finding fellow humans who vibrate at similar frequencies and whose passions vibe with ours.”
― Omar Cherif

“Antiseptic Awakening by Stewart Stafford

See the rainbow spattered
With dark blood moon juice.
This creeping haemorrhage,
A lacerated spectrum merged.

Bruised trickles not halting,
Violations in crimson stealth.
Impotent, alleged lifeforms,
Ashen foot-dragging below.

Casually surrendered hues,
The arterial strain's zenith.
No colour in cheek nor sky,
Bleached by antiseptic snow.

© 2026, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford

“The Karmic Heimlich Manoeuvre by Stewart Stafford

A gargoyle’s face of stone,
Grimacing back at me,
Each wrinkle a flagellant scar,
From a Caesarean decree.

Denial’s chant, the siren’s call,
Jockeying to ride meeker backs,
Perpetrators and their victims,
Fallen bodies upon the tracks.

Deep slash from a traitor’s blade,
Gatecrasher from a coroner skit,
Staggering down the Via Dolorosa,
Guiltiest choking on a peach pit.

Then karma’s trapdoor gives,
The past never a partner barred,
Hubris’s caw now a trembling chick,
Wet noose in the hangman’s yard.

© 2026, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford

“And Sartre’s resonant voice declared:
"Freedom?
It is the choice of your own noose."
And I have made my choice.”
― Muhammad Ijaz Ul Haq, Sapphire: The Blue Testament