Today's #NaPoMo inspiration comes from the 19-foot tall, 10,000 lb. bronze image of a man who in real life was 6'-2" red-haired and weighing about 185 lbs., gazing out from his fine memorial to a nice white house across the Tidal Basin in which he once lived.
"I have sworn upon the altar of God,
eternal hostility against every form
of tyranny over the mind of man."
-- Thomas Jefferson to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Monticello, September 23, 1800
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| View from the middle of the Tidal Basin |
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| A founding father's immutable words |
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| God created the mind free |
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| Ionic, Iconic and not the least bit Ironic |
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| Serene Silhouette |
Jefferson was a great thinker, a gentleman farmer, a brewer, philosopher, architect, and statesman. He is one of my favorite presidents, and a person whose character I admire. Aristotle said, "Plot is character in action." Judging by the arc of Jefferson's life and his many achievements, he has earned his striking memorial and a revered place in our Nation's history.
But, in the interest of #NaPoMo I must ask, was the great one a POET?
"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then
is a good thing, and as necessary
in the political world as storms in the physical."
Yes.... That quote may not be lyrical, but it is sublime. If your mind is not free, when did you cage it?
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