Chaos Theory
You
are human.
A hot light caught in flesh
bound to the necessity of choice,
given cloudy human eyes
and told to make life.
There is no happy
refusing.
The imperative is toward order
so that every fleck
and piece
party to this planet
can cohere in purpose.
Undone it bends the back,
with the weight of chaos
too heavy to fight,
only visible
as a glowing lie
that slides
quick or slow
towards an extinction
where
the intent to kill
meets the need to die.
You,
you chose long ago.
You know the force that swings
the hangman’s rope,
the grave that grows the flowers we become.
You know
the rot that must be cut within the rose
You even know
how clean to keep the blade,
every potion to hold back decay, every weapon against waste,
every fire that burns in the winter of the heart.
The need to die
called your name and you refused,
because you know these things
without words.
because your answer
was to live.
April 1991
wow. intence verse...i esp liked...
ReplyDeleteOnly visible
As a glowing lie
that slides
Quick or slow
Towards an extinction
where
The intent to kill
Meets the need to die
nice one shot!
amazing! love how the intensity builds. the photo is perfect!
ReplyDeletethank you
The stanza that begins with "You know/ the force that swings the hangman's rope" is my favorite. I'm in love with it, it's perfect.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for nominating me at One Stop, Hedgewitch! I was really tickled about that.
Thanks Brian & Hope.
ReplyDelete@ Shay, Muchas gracias and I'm glad you like that image. re: OneStop, you're v. welcome. Your Dr Phil poem alone deserved it.I'm still picturing him in hell with the Texas Longhorns, Anita Bryant and a certain someone from Alaska who'll no doubt end up there one day.
One of the most intense with reason poems I have read in a long time.
ReplyDeleteAnother one today that I would wish "I had written".
Girl, you hit me straight to the gut with this one.
Lady Nyo
Love the layers in this piece.
ReplyDeleteNow that's a poem. Intense, vivid, powerful--I could attach any number of such words to it. Thought-provoking is perhaps the best, the most fitting; I read it twice, let it spur the debates in my head, let it spur my thoughts to paper. Very well done.
ReplyDeleteAgree with all of them.Real intense!So much power in every word.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Jane.This is one poem I do wish I've written myself.Thanks for sharing!
Powerful one shot!
Thanks much for the very kind words and thoughts. I appreciate them all, and the time and effort that goes into them.
ReplyDeletewell damn
ReplyDeletecertainly not a fluffy one ;-)
wonderfully dark and shocking
just my kinda poem ;-)
@Tracey And I was trying so hard for that fluffy thing...not. Thanks for stopping by, m'dear.
ReplyDeleteWow. Great stuff here! I keep reading it again, and each time I catch more of the layers. Really nicely done! Nice to meet you.
ReplyDeleteHuman, cloudy human eyes, chaos, hangman's rope...
ReplyDeleteI think the logical choice is to live!!!
thanks for sharing with One shot
Nice eulogy, well-written.
ReplyDeleteExcellent poem. Great expression, a captivating read. Well penned.
ReplyDeleteAnita Wakeham aka Aquarius63. :0]
Many thanks all, much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWonderful use of language. I like the central theme of Life as an inevitible force.
ReplyDelete(Yet Death is also inescapable)
Nice One Shot!
this just made me smile... its THAT beautiful! :)
ReplyDeletewow - read it twice - so much in this poem - and i love that last line!!
ReplyDeleteWonderfully dark imagery. Took me back to lonely late night walks in the French Quarter. I probably should have known better. But found myself drawn to darkness just like I am to this poem.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks. This was a poem about someone who really overcame things in life no one should have to, and helped me in the process. Glad to know it has meaning for others as well.
ReplyDeleteDear Hedgewich
ReplyDelete"Your answer was to live".. a great thought provoking verse.. your words were so beautiful like in the line..'The intent to kill
Meets the need to die.'
Perfect. I enjoyed it so much...
Thanks for sharing..
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com
that was a damn fine, powerful, purposeful read...kinda...why worry about it..its not as if we are going to get out of this thing alive!!! thanks for sharing pete
ReplyDeleteThanks Pete & Shashi. Glad you could stop by. This week I particularly enjoyed Queen of Battles, from you Shashi, and your stark, strong Christmas Wish on the overlooked,less saturated-with-cozy side of Christmas as well, Pete. Both are excellent, speaking poems.
ReplyDelete