First published on November 2011.
by Malcolm Gillies
Musician and Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University
Tagged under higher education
What are you?
“You are what you eat”.
So I learnt in biology.
But the world is getting fat.
And running out of food.
What are you?
“You are what you think”,
the philosopher smugly opines.
Can I ever know what you
really think? In fact, do you
know yourself?
What are you?
“You are only what you
are, right now”, shouts the
exchange trader. There is no
past. There is no future. Just
the present. Your present value.
Who are you?
Who, me? I’m BAMAPhD.
Because you are your
qualifications, in the
directory of life.
Who are you?
I’m a musician. That’s what
I like to think, anyway. I dream
in sounds. I think through
sculptured time. I am harmony,
and dissonance.
Who are you?
Yes, you! Well, you are who you
are. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Just you, without even your
clothes. Or your Blackberry.
Why are you here?
I didn’t have any option,
honestly Officer. My parents are
to blame. They caused me to
happen. What choice did I have?
Why are you here?
Because you told me to,
and it’s 3 o’clock. You
have power. I have none.
Must I obey?
Why are you here?
Well, I have to be somewhere.
If I’m not here, I’ll be there.
But then, there will be here.
Boy, am I confused?
Education?
To eat better, think better,
be better
Education?
To train, have a career,
find yourself
Education?
To fathom people,
time, place.
Life: A Know Play.
Malcolm Gillies © 2011
Creativity Money Love: Learning for the 21st Century by Creative & Cultural Skills is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Illustrations by Paul Davis - http://copyrightdavis.blogspot.com/