Soulless Respect Poem by Richmon Rey Jundis

Beneath the shadowed canopy of aged trees,
Confucius stands in reverence, silent, still,
His hands a bridge between the worlds unseen,
As incense curls and offerings are laid.

With measured steps, he honors those long gone,
A tribute paid in food and fragrant smoke,
Yet deeper still, a lesson quietly taught,
In ritual's grace, true courtesy is found.

For courtesy without the soul of ritual,
Is but an empty shell, devoid of meaning,
A mask adorned for vanity's own sake,
A hollow echo in the halls of time.

But here, amidst the whispers of the past,
Confucius speaks of balance, harmony,
Of giving not beyond our means, but from
The heart's true wealth, in humble gratitude.

No lavish feast, no borrowed wealth on show,
But simple offerings, sincere and pure,
For in the quiet dignity of giving,
Resides the essence of respect, of love.

And so he stands, amidst ancestral shades,
A sage whose wisdom echoes through the ages,
Teaching not just in words, but in the art
Of honoring the past, with reverence.