Pathetic prose and paltry poetry
‘tis all that escapes the cage within me
Noisy numbers, withered flowers
‘tis all that remains of the hopes that plagued me
Being is burdened,
‘til death embraceth me
If questioning would make us wise
No eyes would ever gaze in eyes;
If all our tale were told in speech
No mouths would wander each to each.
Were spirits free from mortal mesh
And love not bound in hearts of flesh
No aching breasts would yearn to meet
And find their ecstasy complete.
For who is there that lives and knows
The secret powers by which he grows?
Were knowledge all, what were our need
To thrill and faint and sweetly bleed?
Then seek not, sweet, the “If” and “Why”
I love you now until I die.
For I must love because I live
And life in me is what you give.
~ Christopher Brennan (1870-1932)
Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the
Verities and Realities of your Existence.
The Bliss of Growth,
The Glory of Action,
The Splendor of Beauty;
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And To-morrow is only a Vision;
But To-day well lived makes
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!
~ Kalidas
If I walk on broken roots, and you on two feet, am I not to be walking because I do not walk like men do?
If I stand with my roots in the ground, and you with your two feet above soil, am I not to be standing because I do not stand like men do?
Why are my gems stolen, my fruits eaten, my flesh torn? Why are my children crying, why are yours? Why do you weep when the sky weeps for me, why do you laugh when the sky laughs at you?
O, tell me, why are my bones exploited for heat, and then my whole family pitied from the very thing? Why do you throw me in fire, but grow helpful when the fire is thrown into me?
Why do you trifle with scrawny, strewn limbs and use them as tools? Why do you steal babes from the nesters to please your own follies?
O, man, tell me so, why is that we are not let to stand? If you will destroy me, leave not even my roots. Burn me, light me all, let my ashes bring life.
Let us not be stood without will and planted by paved roads and lit lamps. Burn us down, burn us up, do not let me leave my bounds.
Let us be, let us move. Let us stand and walk, breathe and beat, wake and slumber. Let us be everything, let us free. Let us free like your men.
On the occasion of my death
how will I be remembered?
Will it be sobs and soaked handkerchiefs
or will it be laughter and heads
shaking in collective acknowledgment
to the silly and completely ridiculous
stories that will be told?
On the occasion of my death
how will I meet the one that will
usher me through the crossroads
of this life and the next?
Will it be with a bang, with a
silent whimper, or with my forehead
to the clouds a grin upon my fading
mouth and my hand reaching out first
to take her hand before she asks
for mine?
Will it be painful, will it hurt, will
I scream for it to be over or will
I, pushing through frozen bits of frozen
moments, understand the reason for the pain
and the explanation behind the hurt
and instead turn and bask in it, the final
sensation this skin and these bones will
ever feel this beautiful lap through
a breathtaking life.
On the occasion of my death
what will be the weather on the instant
and dizzying transition into
the occasion of my rebirth?
Will I enter through a storm
or through the gentle breeze of a sunny
day? Will the rain drops be my baptism
and will my first scream be only the echo
of my last scream in the flesh I used
to wear, and wear proudly?
On the occasion of my death
will the explosion be felt across
the planet or will it be the
single falling star spied by a single
lonely soul sitting on the roof of
some creaking house in the cool early
Autumn night? Will they feel me flicker
and fade and burst back into glowing
life or will I just fall into line
as the next star in a line of many
that make up some constellation?
Will sailors guide themselves by me,
will two young souls freshly in love
wish upon me when I come out while
the blue still hangs in the sky
and will I feel those wishes?
On the occasion of my death
what will become of all
that was? What will become
of all I was to be
on the occasion of my death?
I often think of the boys who were attracted to me simply out of the virtue that I was introspective and elusive. They didn’t want to be with me because of my questionable beauty, my wavering intellect, or my neutral morality. It was primarily because I was dramatic in my constant reflections. Everyone, regardless of their good or bad humour, has a place deep down in which they question their existence and their inherent value. The size of this place differs from person to person, but it is nearly always there, to even a minuscule degree. And here is me, who is nearly totally filled with this place, whose quotidian inner monologues consist almost solely of “Why am I alive?” and “Why won’t I die?” I suppose many people find refuge in someone whose very existence is defined in this questioning, and in a sense someone like me can reflect that loneliness and pain that is so common in everyone. Perhaps I am a temporary relief, a bandage for your loneliness. I am a form of comfort, of release, in your infrequent quests for appropriation. And yet, one can only be introspective for so long, and that is why people grow tired of me. Initially, I give an air of quiet desperation. Since with me, every moment seems to carry the gravity of eons of absolution. This adds virtue and magnitude to your being. But in the end, we all become exhausted with purpose. In the end, we all want the complacency of boredom. And that is why most people forget me after a while.
No I’m not a beautiful person, I’m sorry.
I’m not special, or full of light and laughter,
with a smile delicate as fine Venetian lace.I’m not the soul who lights up a room
whenever she walks in.
I carry a little darkness, a little storm cloud.
I’m rather plain, and that’s ok.
but my eyes are large,
they have seen beautiful things
and my ears are like a fox’s
they catch the whispers you dropI collect beautiful things
like a magpie, I’m lining myself
with lovely
to make up for the lack of my own.
You don’t know me.
To know me
you have to love me.
You can love me.
Come here and love me.
Allow this
introductionstartto be our blank canvas of
loveart.Let me
sharepaintlovebeauty
withinacross the gentle rising of your chestwith the gentle
rhythmsstrokes of myhearttongue.And if you like you can unravel the stitching,
poking holes where you see fit,
desired effect of
lovepaint seeping through.We can share this
adorationartas we trickle it across the floors,
splashing it around with our
heartsfingers.We can fill the days with it,
blissful as it soaks into all the trees,
enchanted as the flowers turn an aquamarine,
inspired as the raccoons turn a vivid blue.
We can recolor the dirt and granular rocks
with a more desirable and inviting hue
so that both children and grown ups alike
will
dreamplay in sand boxes,enlivenedfascinated once again.If you’d like it swim in indigo oceans
and witness chrome red
passionslaughterwe can decorate every facet of this world
with our display of uninhibited
amourshades.Or if you’d prefer to create a more introspective
romanceart we can keep the tints within,as we discover the bronze and sapphire dyes of our limbs.
This is
loveart and this is an expression ofartlove.If you’d like to
explorecreate all you’ve ever dreamt to seecome here and
loveget to know me.by: me.
9.22.11
* This was the most enjoyable piece I’ve yet to write. I feel happy 🙂