<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Intoxicating Clarity]]></title><description><![CDATA[Black coffee and metaphors ]]></description><link>https://www.intoxicatingclarity.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3LOQ!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2319de9b-8f06-463d-b3d6-f5c887202f0a_1600x3487.jpeg</url><title>Intoxicating Clarity</title><link>https://www.intoxicatingclarity.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:17:21 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.intoxicatingclarity.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Robert Kwasny]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[intoxicatingclarity@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[intoxicatingclarity@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Robert Kwasny]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Robert Kwasny]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[intoxicatingclarity@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[intoxicatingclarity@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Robert Kwasny]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Preamble: An Ornament of Rhyme ]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;The Builders&#8221; by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]]></description><link>https://www.intoxicatingclarity.com/p/preamble-an-ornament-of-rhyme</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.intoxicatingclarity.com/p/preamble-an-ornament-of-rhyme</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Kwasny]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:01:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2319de9b-8f06-463d-b3d6-f5c887202f0a_1600x3487.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;The Builders&#8221; by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow </p><blockquote><p>All&nbsp;are&nbsp;architects&nbsp;of&nbsp;Fate,<br>Working&nbsp;in&nbsp;these&nbsp;walls&nbsp;of&nbsp;Time;<br>Some&nbsp;with&nbsp;massive&nbsp;deeds&nbsp;and&nbsp;great,<br>Some&nbsp;with&nbsp;ornaments&nbsp;of&nbsp;rhyme.</p><p>Nothing&nbsp;useless&nbsp;is,&nbsp;or&nbsp;low;<br>Each&nbsp;thing&nbsp;in&nbsp;its&nbsp;place&nbsp;is&nbsp;best;<br>And&nbsp;what&nbsp;seems&nbsp;but&nbsp;idle&nbsp;show<br>Strengthens&nbsp;and&nbsp;supports&nbsp;the&nbsp;rest.</p><p>For&nbsp;the&nbsp;structure&nbsp;that&nbsp;we&nbsp;raise,<br>Time&nbsp;is&nbsp;with&nbsp;materials&nbsp;filled;<br>Our&nbsp;to-days&nbsp;and&nbsp;yesterdays<br>Are&nbsp;the&nbsp;blocks&nbsp;with&nbsp;which&nbsp;we&nbsp;build.</p><p>Truly&nbsp;shape&nbsp;and&nbsp;fashion&nbsp;these;<br>Leave&nbsp;no&nbsp;yawning&nbsp;gaps&nbsp;between;<br>Think&nbsp;not,&nbsp;because&nbsp;no&nbsp;man&nbsp;sees,<br>Such&nbsp;things&nbsp;will&nbsp;remain&nbsp;unseen.</p><p>In&nbsp;the&nbsp;elder&nbsp;days&nbsp;of&nbsp;Art,<br>Builders&nbsp;wrought&nbsp;with&nbsp;greatest&nbsp;care<br>Each&nbsp;minute&nbsp;and&nbsp;unseen&nbsp;part;<br>For&nbsp;the&nbsp;Gods&nbsp;see&nbsp;everywhere.</p><p>Let&nbsp;us&nbsp;do&nbsp;our&nbsp;work&nbsp;as&nbsp;well,<br>Both&nbsp;the&nbsp;unseen&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;seen;<br>Make&nbsp;the&nbsp;house,&nbsp;where&nbsp;Gods&nbsp;may&nbsp;dwell,<br>Beautiful,&nbsp;entire,&nbsp;and&nbsp;clean.</p><p>Else&nbsp;our&nbsp;lives&nbsp;are&nbsp;incomplete,<br>Standing&nbsp;in&nbsp;these&nbsp;walls&nbsp;of&nbsp;Time,<br>Broken&nbsp;stairways,&nbsp;where&nbsp;the&nbsp;feet<br>Stumble&nbsp;as&nbsp;they&nbsp;seek&nbsp;to&nbsp;climb.</p><p>Build&nbsp;to-day,&nbsp;then,&nbsp;strong&nbsp;and&nbsp;sure,<br>With&nbsp;a&nbsp;firm&nbsp;and&nbsp;ample&nbsp;base;<br>And&nbsp;ascending&nbsp;and&nbsp;secure<br>Shall&nbsp;to-morrow&nbsp;find&nbsp;its&nbsp;place.</p><p>Thus&nbsp;alone&nbsp;can&nbsp;we&nbsp;attain<br>To&nbsp;those&nbsp;turrets,&nbsp;where&nbsp;the&nbsp;eye<br>Sees&nbsp;the&nbsp;world&nbsp;as&nbsp;one&nbsp;vast&nbsp;plain,<br>And&nbsp;one&nbsp;boundless&nbsp;reach&nbsp;of&nbsp;sky.</p></blockquote><div><hr></div><p>T Total Tommy&#8221; by Mickey Newbury but listen to Jamie Lin Wilson&#8217;s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qA1SEb0e60">cover</a></p><blockquote><p>To the sad-eyed, misinterpreted<br>Hung-up child of clay<br>So the drunken poet's pretty words<br>Didn't help you find your way<br>Was it your mistake for thinkin'<br>That he was born before his time<br>Or was it his for thinkin'<br>He might save you with his flimsy rhyme?<br><br>T Total Tommy took a toke of tea<br>Black cats backin' up a big oak tree<br>Tick-tocks tickin' out a tune on time<br>Last words lookin' for a line to rhyme<br>Saw a fish swimmin' in the seesaw sea<br>But me, well, I'm only lookin'<br><br>I see so many with no place tonight<br>Their sleepy heads to lay<br>With pen in hand, I take a stand<br>I got nothin' deep to say<br>Some words are better left to whisper<br>Only to the wind<br>Some m&#1077;n kill with bullets, Lord<br>Others use a p&#1077;n</p><p>Sidewalks singin' of a troubled time<br>Small talks marchin' to a nursery rhyme<br>Day trippers trippin' on a mornin' high<br>Stopwatch watchin' for a chance to die<br>Bad dogs barkin' up an empty tree<br>But me, well, I'm only cryin'</p></blockquote><div><hr></div><p>&#8220;Waiting&#8221; by John Burroughs</p><blockquote><p>Serene, I fold my hands and wait,<br>Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea;<br>I rave no more &#8216;gainst time or fate,<br>For lo! my own shall come to me.</p><p><br>I stay my haste, I make delays,<br>For what avails this eager pace?<br>I stand amid the eternal ways,<br>And what is mine shall know my face.</p><p><br>Asleep, awake, by night or day,<br>The friends I seek are seeking me;<br>No wind can drive my bark astray<br>Nor change the tide of destiny.</p><p><br>What matter if I stand alone?<br>I wait with joy the coming years;<br>My heart shall reap where it has sown,<br>And garner up its fruit of tears.</p><p><br>The law of love binds every heart<br>And knits it to its utmost kin,<br>Nor can our lives flow long apart<br>From souls our secret souls would win.</p><p><br>The stars come nightly to the sky,<br>The tidal wave comes to the sea;<br>Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high<br>Can keep my own away from me.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>