Category: VERSE

ACTS OF REBELLION

In an uncaring Universe , Kindness is an act of rebellion -not of weakness

For if you are cold and unfeeling like everyone else , you are taking the easy way out

In a world swirling with hatred , Love is an act of rebellion -not of weakness

For if you join in the general hatred , you are taking the easy way out

In a world that takes itself too seriously , Laughter is an act of rebellion -not of weakness

For if you think no end of yourself like everyone else , you are taking the easy way out

In a world that worships strength over everything , Vulnerability is an act of rebellion-not of weakness

For if you don’t want to understand real strength , you are taking the easy way out

In a world that is so sure of itself , Doubting is an act of rebellion -not of weakness

For if you have chosen to forget how to question , you are taking the easy way out

In a world full of cynics , Hope is an act of rebellion -not of weakness

For if you chose to have nothing to look forward to , you are taking the easy way out

In a world full of hardened people , Compassion is an act of rebellion -not of weakness

For if you chose not to feel other’s pain , you are taking the easy way out

In a world peopled by narcissists , Empathy is an act of rebellion -not of weakness

For if you chose not to think beyond yourself , you are taking the easy way out

The world is unforgiving of rebels , the world is afraid of them

The world values sameness over everything

You can always chose to take the easy way out and be like everyone else

More often than not , if you rebel you are hurt

More often than not, if you rebel you lose

But you don’t always do things to win , you do them because you just have to

The world may not value rebels , but it is rebels that it needs the most ,now more than ever

Don’t take the easy way out.

Be a rebel.

THE CITY OF GOLD

Yonder, in the distance was the City of Gold , A city of riches and of Wonders, I was told

Only the best and the brightest lived there , and the citizens lived with nary a care

So I set out for this wonderland , for this city of riches, for this place of wonders

It was to be a long journey and an arduous one , and I had my heart set on the prize to be won

I passed through vast beautiful meadows ,where fairies danced and unicorns pranced

I passed through wondrous valleys ,whose beauty took my breath away

I wanted to tarry a little , I wanted to bask in this beauty

But I told myself , there is enough Beauty to be had in the City of Gold

So I took out my own two eyes and threw them away ,

And now that I was blind ,I wasn’t distracted by the beauty on the way

As I traveled along , I heard music , beautiful and soul stirring

It sounded like the Angels were playing the Harp , and the Muses were singing

I wanted to tarry a little , I wanted to listen to the Music

But I told myself , there is enough Music to be had in the City of Gold

So I cut off my own two ears and threw them away

And now that I was deaf , I wasn’t distracted by the music on the way

After a while , I had thoughts , some deep , some shallow

I had ideas , some coherent , most of them random

I wanted to tarry a little , I wanted to think about what I was doing

But I told myself , there is enough Purpose to be had in the City of Gold

So I took my own brain out and threw it away

And now that I was brainless , I wasn’t distracted by Ideas on the way

Then after a while , I started feeling bad, I missed my Home and my mother

I missed my friends , but most of all I missed my senses

I wanted to tarry a little , I wanted to bathe in my sadness

But I told myself , there is enough Happiness to be had in the City of Gold

So I cut my soul out and threw it away

And now that I was soulless , I never felt bad along the way

Thus I traveled long , Thus I traveled far , And thus I am still traveling

I am not sure how far away still the City of Gold is , I am not even sure where it is

I may be blind now , I may be deaf and I may be an unthinking , unfeeling zombie

But I still hope to find the City of Gold one day  

So I carry on traveling ,with nothing to distract me on the way

LIE TO ME

Lie to me , beautiful Muse , Lie to me ,

Lie to me , as we walk together in your pristine woods

Lie to me , as I watch you speak , only half listening as I marvel at your ethereal beauty

Lie to me as we lay together , looking up at the stars

I know the Truth already ,  I only seek Lies from you

Don’t show me a mirror , O Muse , and don’t tell me I am ugly ,  I know that already

Instead paint me a portrait , a portrait of a handsome prince .Make me believe I am that Prince

Don’t laugh at my life , O Muse , and call it pointless , I know that already

Instead tell me tales , where I slay Dragons and save the townsfolk .Make me believe I am that Hero

Don’t call me names , O Muse , and tell me I am unlovable , I know that already

Instead spin me a yarn , tell me how easy it is to fall in love with me. Make me believe I am that Lover.

Don’t be cross with me , O Muse , and tell me I am vindictive , I know that already

Instead , tell me a story , where I have grace enough to forgive my enemies. Make me believe I am that Saint.

Don’t ridicule me , O Muse , and call me short sighted , I know that already

Instead give me a false account , where I have wisdom and foresight beyond my years. Make me believe I am that Prophet

Don’t look down upon me , O Muse , and call me a coward , I know that already

Instead tell me a fib , where I face down entire armies alone. Make me believe I am that Brave -Heart

Of what use the Truth , when it only paralyzes. Of what use is it , when it only ties you down

Instead , beautiful Muse , let me soar . Tell me Lies and ignite my mind .

Free my imagination , O Muse , it is now held hostage by the Truth

The Truth is arrogant , she thinks she owns Reality

Make me believe your Lies , beautiful Muse , and give them power ,And together let us watch these Lies remake Reality

Lie to me at Dawn , beautiful Muse , then again at Dusk

Lie to me in cruel Winter , then again in sweet summer.

Lie to me till I find Beauty . Lie to me till I find Purpose

Lie to me and watch me find Love. Lie to me and marvel at me finding Grace

Lie to me so you can bask in my Wisdom. Lie to me so you can take strength in my Courage.

Lie to me beautiful Muse , till you no longer need to Lie to me.

DEMONS

We live together , the creatures and I , we have always lived together

They are vile , these creatures , and hateful .They make for really bad company

I hate them and they hate me , but I doubt if they will ever leave

We now have a bond that is forged from hatred ,which sometimes is stronger than the bonds of love

Let me tell you about these creatures

First there is The Scaly One , he is the ugliest of them all and the sneakiest

Creeps upon me , when I am least expecting him ,when I am happy , when I am laughing

He throws a  hard punch and runs away

As I am reeling , my head spinning , I can still hear his maniacal laughter

I call this one Self Doubt

Then there are the Twins , they are dwarves really , they are small but they are heavy  

And they like to climb on my shoulders , one on each side

I can barely take a step forward ,

And the more they sit , the heavier they get and once they get on I just cant shake them off

I call them Guilt and Regret

Then there is the Magician , he transports me at will

To a cold place where it is always twilight

I have walked here for miles in all directions, but there is never a soul in sight ,

Just a vast misty landscape, that goes on forever and ever and ever

I call this one Loneliness

Also , there is the Hypnotist , he looks disgusting

His body covered in bright red sores , yellow fluid leaking from the pustules on his body

Bloodshot eyes and always shivering

He gives me his disease whenever I pass him by

My body burning , there are pustules on my body and my sores are festering , I am crying in pain and misery

I call this one Self Pity

And finally there is the Woman , the most beautiful I have ever seen ,

Long lustrous hair , and always dressed in green

Everything is brighter when she visits, Everything is lighter

And all the vile creatures run away skulking , looking for corners to hide in

But don’t be fooled , she is the worst Demon of them all

For she doesn’t stay very long , and when she leaves , the vile creatures come back

They are stronger , They are meaner , They are viler

I hate her the most , for she mocks me , by showing me what could be but what perhaps will never be

I call this one Hope.

DON’T LISTEN TO THEM

They are telling us to stay positive, comrade

To not pay attention to the virus, to think happy thoughts, to not spread negativity and fear

Don’t listen to them, comrade, don’t listen to them

For staying positive is the worst insult you can visit upon the dead and the suffering

For staying positive is the worst form of escapism

Those asking you to stay positive, want you to think only of yourself, they don’t want you to feel comrade

We have to feel now, comrade, feel deeply, feel till our very souls combust

So whatever you do, comrade, don’t listen to Them

Instead….

Sob, comrade, sob

Sob for the departed, comrade, sob for the sufferers, sob for their horror, sob for their terror

Sob till your heart breaks into a million pieces, comrade

Then gather those pieces and sob for your broken heart

Seek out the wail of the ambulance, comrade, was this the 10th or 12th time in the last one hour?

And wail in solidarity, bawl like a toddler, thinking of the life that could very possibly be extinguished

Could it be a 30 year old with two infants, or a 50 year old who is the sole breadwinner?

Or possibly a 20 year old whose life has not even begun or perhaps a 80 year old grandmother?

None of them needed to die, comrade, not this way, so sob knowing that

Sob for every life lost, comrade, like you have a lost a loved one , Sob till you have no tears left and then sob some more

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Rage, comrade, rage

Rage, knowing that your rulers are murderers, Rage, knowing that you are living in a failed state

Rage at the senselessness of it all and Rage further at insensitivity wherever you see it

Rage at those for whom deaths are statistics, rage at those 1 percenters

Rage at excuses, comrade, and rage at the emperor who is building a new palace for himself

Rage at yourself, comrade, knowing that your rage is not nearly enough

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Be ashamed, comrade, be ashamed

Know your privilege, comrade, and be ashamed of it. Think of the problems you obsess over and be ashamed

Know that your problems can never match up to those of the suffering, and be ashamed

Be ashamed comrade, for did we not cause this, you and me?

We asked for temples comrade and we got them, but, comrade, where is our God now?

Is he not happy yet, comrade, how many more temples does it take to bribe him?

Be ashamed comrade for our silence and be ashamed for not asking the right questions

We are helpless now, comrade , but we  were not always helpless. So be ashamed of that.

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Be kind, comrade, be unfailingly kind

Be kind, knowing that that is the least we can do. Be kind, knowing that everyone is waging a hard battle

Be kind, knowing that, we are on our own and all we have is each other.

For, make no mistake, comrade , the Gods have forsaken this land ages ago and have left no one in their stead , so be kind

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Love, comrade, love

Love with all your being, love with all your generosity, love with passion,

Hold your loved ones close, comrade, protect them .Love them like you are going to lose them tomorrow

Love enough so that you are able to forgive, but comrade, forgive discriminatingly and forgive but never forget

Forgive the man, but never the deed, may be even the deed, but not the creed

Love, comrade, love freely but make sure not to squander it.

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Cheer, comrade, cheer

Cheer for the tireless front liners, cheer for the medicine men and women, cheer for the volunteers

Cheer for the acts of kindness, cheer for the utter selflessness, and cheer for their existence comrade

Cheer and tell yourself comrade, “There but for the grace of the volunteers, go we”

Did I say earlier comrade that the gods have left no one in their stead? I stand corrected, we have the volunteers, comrade, we have the volunteers

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Think, comrade, think. Think, learn and know

Morbidly seek out knowledge of suffering comrade, every death, and every desperate gasp for breath

Learn about this till your brain screams for you to stop, till your heart threatens to break, till your very soul shivers, and then learn some more

For that is our penance, comrade, make no mistake .The penance of the fortunate, of the privileged

Think, comrade, think.

 Comrade, those asking you to think happy thoughts, those asking you to stay positive, don’t want you to think . They don’t want you to feel. They don’t want you to know

And comrade, we need to know, we need to think, we need to feel

We need to feel till our souls combust, we need to think till our brains explode

Let us self-immolate , comrade ,let us burn with the constant refrain , “Never Again” , “Never Again” , “Never Again”

And from this crucible of ashes and debris, something new will emerge, something better

Let us be Phoenixes together, comrade

For, comrade, if this doesn’t change us, then nothing else will

And if we don’t change now comrade, I am sorry to say, we might as well have not lived.

So, comrade, I beseech you, don’t listen to Them

I AM…

I am a pale shadow. I am a poor excuse. I am a bad joke.
I am what I am , what could have been and what perhaps could never be.
I am somone else’ idea. I am nobody’s creation.
I am the living ,waking , walking lie that I tell everybody. I am the eternal truth about existence.
I live everyday longing to die some day. I die everyday hoping to live one day.
I am childishly naïve. I am obtusely cynical.
I worship false Gods. I drink putrefaction for holy water without flinching.
I hearken to false Prophets and get coached in convenient values.
I scale false peaks and wonder why I feel emptiness and not exhilaration when I reach the top.
I am the abyss that could never be filled. I am the full cup that is afraid to empty itself.
I am the happiness that is not my own. I am the accomplishment that I do not care about.
I am a virus trying to infect the world. I am the safe haven in a zombie infested world.
I am a pitiful platitude. I am putrid pain.
I am the vulgar opulence of illusory success. I am the miserable poverty of shattered dreams.
I am Gollum’s obsession. I am Smeagol’s longing.
I am half forgotten dreams. I am half remembered lore. I am half whispered ideas.
I am foolish farsightedness. I am frustrating tunnel vision.
I am half blind , half dead and fully awake.
I am schizophernic and we attend my funeral everyday.