Are you the advanced
one?
The one spotting
inconsistencies
The one who’s jumped
from cage to cage
Suspecting there is no
way
But not sure
But not sure
And why do you jump, Pilgrim?
We are such fragile
things
Pillows are what we
crave
And a nice bottle of
ease
You’ve jumped long
enough to know
On days like this
The forward effort
Takes so much
Depends on white
chickens
On red wheelbarrows
Yet they never turn up
It would seem
It would seem
Probably you wonder
How does anyone do a
damn thing
When their hero has
turned out a coward?
You mull it over
Get distracted by it at
lunch
An hour with the windy
park wind
Tearing through your
sandwich
Hair over your face
Nose runny
Not sure if
perpetuating
The ape shit routine
The trajectory of the
suppose-to
Means you’ve changed
And: Have you changed?
And the suspicion comes
up with the laundry
Is the whole thing a
whirling junk?
Some natural stain
Pathogen of energy
Do you look upon your
old account
As the stumbling
discord
Of some mature dog:
Beat up coat
Ragged yellow teeth
Wistfully thinking
The course of events
Is not karmic
Not a lesson wrapped in
pain
But the dead end
Dead end
But the dead end
Of happenstance chaos
Of sordid laughter
And does a longing
develop, Pilgrim?
A day dream
In far off dystopia
Where the underground
sends for you
Oh, you want it so bad
The channels finally
alerted
To your soft honesty
That deep trying
That story telling
Always present in the
back of the mind
A few tests
They locate your
resolve:
You clean up some
evidence
You don’t snitch
And when a note is left
You follow it
Immediately
The heart up your
throat
Up above the overcast
Up some urban slum
Shambled, empty
Hope on your sleeve
The butterfly euphoria
Atop the roof
A figure waits
And there!
An angel dressed in dungarees
An elderly man smiles
Smiles with his eyes
My God! With his eyes!
Reveals the whole thing
The Angel speaks:
Do you want to know the
reason
For our failing schools
Our failing nerves
Do you want to know the reason
The reason you cannot go on
In this whirling shit
Like a caged
Cage
Like a caged
Yes
Yes I do
This is a very interesting poem. Why is it that there is no answer at the end? God just asks the person if he/she wants to know the reason society is F-d up. The answer is never given, why is that?
ReplyDeleteEleanor,
DeleteThe 'angel in dungarees' is some kind of leader in an underground movement. There is indeed metaphysical connotations because the protagonist (pilgrim) is earnestly trying to make sense of the human condition - trying to figure out what the hell is important - and the fellow he talks to at the top of the building is God like in that he knows the deepest longing of the protagonist (this is because they are like one another). This much points to him being God. Yet he isn't God in a literal sense, just in a figurative sense. It's similar to our friends being 'angels' in a figurative sense.
As far as why it is that there is no answer given at the end of the poem regarding the reason society is fucked up, I believe I can only point to a sort of literary problem. When I wrote this poem I did try to provide some kind of answer. But with this given, I felt that the poem lost its gut, its sharpness, its felt longing.
My unpoetic answer: Because we don't risk our necks enough.
Why do you think its fucked up?
Thanks for reading a poem written by a lowly philosophy student.
By the way,what is Dystopia? And you are very welcome. I enjoy your poetry.
ReplyDeleteOh, by the way, since you asked me, the reason why I think the world is so F-d up is mostly because of the cruelty of people. Dishonest dentists pulling out people's teeth without probable cause; slander; physical abuse; spouses leaving each other for no good reason and friends turning their back on each other. The world is F-d up because people can be selfish and cruel sometimes. I mean, old age, disease and death will always take their toll; but the world would be a much happier place if everyone were nice, honest and selfless. That's why the world is F-d up, Kyle.
ReplyDelete