Tuesday, January 22, 2013

A Black Cloud Meets a Silver Lining

waving candor
grieving fully-
postulating gestures
impressions etched
into glass
cold and frozen
destined to break
destined to break

smiling lasciviously
cultured-refined
predatory masks
are invisible, until
the moment strikes
shark-tiger-crocodile skin
leopard-piranha-lion's roar

and when it does, victims fall
defenses drop, ease is made
trust is gain, safety is but a word
tomorrows a casket that
bears someones name
names are but recreations of characters
names carry history but only if memories suffice

You never know who your villain shall be, perhaps it's a devil,
perhaps it's an alternate you, perhaps it's a friend or a lover, a doubter or an acquaintance you just made

don't take liberties on today
for you don't know
what date there'll be
on the page of your
obituary

Oh, how depressing
what words are spewed with shades of coal
how can one live in such a fashion
betting on an inevitability solely not to be wrong
what kind of lyrics?
what kind of song?

Breathe deep
mouth to diaphragm
Breathe deep
hold for ten seconds
and spew your negativity away
dream
dream
dream
then wake up and dream some more
and find that happy door, that leads you to a place of glad

You're too oblivious to see the serious nature
that bows before us now
have you not been paying attention
the world is falling apart
The planet is dying
the wells are drying up
the flu is everywhere, infecting
perpetuating a sickness that is but the beginning
to an end that will be before us before you think
natural disasters are cropping up so quick
the supply is in demand
but machines supply the labor
unemployment rates skyrocket
arguments are all that is salable
to a mindless generation of
hands-out sheep, willing to beg
for whatever pile they spew upon your
dirty plate

But what is gained from speaking so
find a joy in life, any joy and 
if that evil does come true
then, well, then you will have loved
something, and that something
will carry you on through
and if finality is the dish
served warm
then hold on tight
to all the positive memories you 
have worn while letting
those destructive songs cease to play
for once we're gone, so are they
just believe and pray and pray
it'll be all right 
no matter what end comes our way

hopeless optimist
I pity your shock
when the bricks crumble
and you fall down and down
as I doubt the life you've lived
will take you anywhere 
and then you'll frown and remember
the warnings you were given yet
chose not to heed…pathetic, that's what
I see

And here we have it
those who cannot negate the
optimistic cry, eventually
turn to slander and negative barbs
I'm so sorry you live the way you do
but chastise you I will not
for you make your choices and 
I'll make mine, I pray
for you the best and hopefully
you'll find something to live for,
something to deeply love while you can.



For this week I had the idea of a poetic dialogue between an eternal pessimist and an eternal optimist.  Not sure how I feel about what I wound up with, but in any case, satisfied that idea to some degree.

19 comments:

  1. ha...that would be an interesting convo to continue to follow...the duality of life....i rather like...

    don't take liberties on today
    for you don't know
    what date there'll be
    on the page of your
    obituary

    it made me stop and think....

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  2. I liked this quite a lot. It started off very strong and the word-flow was strong throughout. The whole part up to "and find that happy door, that leads you to a place of glad" was outstanding, really enjoyable to read with a lot of vigor.

    I also liked the variation in line length, such as the paragraph in the first section. I was a bit skeptical of the right-margin at first, but then I realized how it works as a dialogue and enjoyed that first.

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  3. very cool dialogue...the ideal would be to meet somewhere in the middle maybe..ha..love the idea fred...way cool..

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  4. You're too oblivious to see the serious nature....ain't that the truth! Fred...this is fantastic...and if I might be so bold to share an amazing song writer with you (assuming you've not heard him already) Check out Dallas Green's City And Colour...The Grand Optimist...not as crunchy as most of what I listen to....but brilliant none the less...and one I get the sense you might well relate to ;)

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  5. A very dense piece of writing here, Fred. It is interesting to contemplate villains and just who they are. Sometimes I think each person is his/her own worst villain.

    And in your last stanza you so rightly wrote about each person making their own choice. Indeed, and each must be prepared to live with them...somehow.

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  6. like the talk between the two, as it sure shows the mindplay we all have in our head. Some just choose to listen to one or the other, but fun to see them both at play, the grey area can be murky too though.

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  7. A silver lining is usually carried by another black cloud though. I find myself leaning on one side and then the other in pretty much the same way, winding through the white space between these two voice-masses. I do have a tendency to fall towards negativity especially when I find that forcing myself or even trying to be optimistic feels more like a denial. The way I sometimes react to really positive people is the way the black cloud speaks, like "just wait till you find yourself in the pits, then we'll see how you hold up that ever-positiveness." Both side has its own blindspot too, as each points out to the other.

    This dialogue seems familiar and relate-able to me.

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  8. I like the inner dialogue, that tug of war... it's best to try and focus on the positive but sometimes that's really hard... great perspective and write.

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  9. A clever back and forth. I agree with Brian about those specific lines re obit.something I trying, usually unsuccessfully, to keep in mind. K.

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  10. What a clever idea. Form and flow definitely related a conversation between opposites. I suppose each of us will find our own selves within these lines.

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  11. This is cool. There is a truth in this poem--that I hope is heard and received. There is a certain ignorance that seems to permeate the middle class American culture.

    A balanced life sees both the silver lining and the black cloud.

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  12. I like this. It's a dialogue similar to my inner thoughts at times. You really have a good debate going here. I think though, ultimately, regardless of our end, it's better to be happy than to live in constant fear.

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  13. Very lively conversations Fred, between the optimist and the realist ~

    Each of us view life, good and evil thru a prism of our values and hopes and dreams ~ I too can relate to both sides, but I am tipping more to the hopeless optimist ~

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  14. safety is but a word . . . i love a good dialogue Fred . . . a good way of unearthing
    difference and opposistion and perhaps a final
    synthesis . . . great title for the piece too

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  15. This is so clever and I like the way you used the shape of the poem to distinguish the narrators. This is a "go-back-and-read-again" poem!

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  16. I enjoyed this back and forth. I'm not sure whose got it right though—of course I tend to live in shades of grey, somewhere between black and silver.

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  17. "tomorrow's a casket that
    bears someone's name"

    Those lines really stuck with me. I think we're all guilty of forgetting that time is not a guarantee. Kind of sobering but also a little kick to keep going, to keep working on the things that matter :)

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  18. Names carry history only if memories suffice

    This worked so well, I felt as if I was arguing with myself. Jeeze... What a ride

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  19. oh this is wicked cool... please let there be a part2! :)

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