These two sonnets complete 13 Virtues listed by\u00a0Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography, plus\u00a0one. I added on Courage. I added a parallel opposite vice to each virtue. The series is going on hiatus for now, see you later with more virtues and vices. The first sonnet is dedicated\u00a0to former POTUS John F. Kennedy, who wrote a book titled Profiles in Courage and it is also dedicated to Ukraine President Voldymyr\u00a0Zelenskyy, who shows the meaning of courage to the world today.<\/p>\n
Diamonds of Courage<\/strong><\/p>\n Diamonds of Courage have many shining facets No Cowardice Allowed<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cOld friends, they shine like diamonds, old friends you can always call…\u201d\u2014Guy Clark (1941-2016 )<\/em><\/p>\n From those first shaky steps when they\u2019re learning to walk Joey ‘Pepe Batbon’ Connolly (Special to the Saipan Tribune)<\/strong> These two sonnets complete 13 Virtues listed by\u00a0Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography, plus\u00a0one. I added…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":355846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[26,23672,23673,13843],"class_list":["post-365336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-cnmi","tag-lvnv","tag-nola","tag-pepe-batbon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nthey contain other virtues in many phases
\nthey shun lies trying to be Honest as it gets
\nthe truth may hurt but showing Courage amazes
\nas scales of justice weigh and balance information
\nHonesty with yourself summons Courage to fight
\nfacets of Kindness and Patience help the situation
\nshowing Empathy for those who are suffering is right
\nHumility helps when your lack of Courage is failing
\nand learn the joy of winning the sorrow of defeat
\nout in the turbulent seas of life we all are sailing
\nas strong currents of emotional Courage we meet
\ndiamonds of Courage shine light in all directions
\nuse it to find the Courage of your own convictions.<\/p>\n
\ntoddlers show Courage
\nFrom taking their first steps when landing on the moon
\nastronauts show Courage
\nMarine scientists descending into the deep dark seas
\nof the Marianas Trench show Courage
\nCaring for loved ones suffering\u00a0from Alzheimer\u2019s,
\nfamilies show Courage
\nSpinal injury paralysis victims who won\u2019t walk again
\nshow Courage every day
\namputees, cancer survivors, school bus drivers
\nshow Courage every day
\nStephen Hawking immobile, speechless, in a wheelchair
\nhad the Courage to study the universe !
\nstanding up for what you believe in, God, family, country
\nshows your Courage
\nhave the Courage to say, \u201cI am Proud to be Me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nJoey aka Pepe Batbon is a retired educator who taught in the CNMI, NOLA, and LVNV. He is a sonnet practitioner who enjoys stargazing.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"