If I had the belief
had the guts to be street-wise,
could save my own spirit
from those pernicious, damned white lies,
I’d grasp it with both hands
and take the world on my plate
adopt the mentality,
eliminate the disparity
that pervades every alleyway, back street and door,
I’ve said it too many times
from down here, from the floor
that the shadow that dogs us,
pulls us down to the ground
is the vague sense of emptiness,
the lack of completeness,
the dullness, great sadness,
the all-pervading madness,
no – there ain’t no Messiah
at the bottom of that glass,
or in that last chocolate chip cookie
I’m adding to my ass,
no, where we’re all going
– those silent, straight rows –
won’t give us the second chance,
we can’t repeat the romance,
do it all over again,
have just one more, sweet last dance,
excuse our poor ability,
blame our short life’s fragility,
nobody will do it for us, it’s a tragedy
of giant proportions
we can’t believe the distortions
the hard work is necessity
and we must do it ourselves –
be our own self-believers
and lovers, and fighters
for at the end of my journey
when the white light is calling
the one, the last judge on my mind
will be me.
Veritas
———-
This week, on dVerse Poetics, Anthony has asked us to write a poem using at least 5 of the words below:
– Messiah, Allegory, Luminous, Plate, Shadow, Door, Persona, Glass, Vitiligo, Epochal, Pernicious, Warmth –
What a collection! I didn’t really have a particular idea in mind before I started, but then, as is often the case, my poet brain took over. It’s a bit of a rant – about trusting yourself, about not buying into consumerism, about feeling free to be your true self… Lots of issues, mixed up in one, big old chunk of words. I think I’m still considering Claudia’s question yesterday about how real we get in our writing. And I just know that each poem offered up by the dVerse community will be vastly different. A great prompt, Anthony!
Please pop over to dVerse to see how others have taken the bait – and enjoy!
Freya Writes... 
Freya, this is one of my favorites ever written by you.. yes the rant works so fine, the rhymes.. this has some rap elements I think… excellent rant I would say (and I agree with the sentiments too)
Thank you so very much, Bjorn. I am honoured 🙂
Real life sucks. That’s why I write!
Personally, I’m an agnostic. I believe there’s something beyond all this, but I don’t claim to know or understand what it is.
Thank you for visiting The Netherworld!
Me either – I have not a clue! You’re welcome…
yes – no one will do the things for us – and if we want to see change – we are the ones that are supposed to take steps in the right direction – important to trust ourselves as well – and if we do we can make a difference – loved this freya – cool thoughts – cool beat and cool use of the words!
Thank you, Claudia. I had great fun writing it!
I tend to believe that one who questions the world and does not take life and what it offers for granted is far less likely to fall prey to consumerism and uniformity. In the end we are the ones responsible for our actions but I still hope that something bigger than us awaits at the end of our life journey.
Yes, I think you’re right – we must keep on questioning.
I have a feeling that you and I are approaching the same thorny question about the brevity and purpose of life from different angles.
Yes, I do believe you are right.
no there are no messiahs found at the bottom of those glasses….and this world could use someone willing to illuminate the dark places…and bring a little hope….but if someone did it for us…we would fall back into the same depravity….well worked on the word list freya
Yes, we have to learn by doing, not by being told. Thank you, Brian.
Hi Freya, I believe for sure there are a lot of things we have to do for ourselves. One of them is to make decisions about what we believe and whether we believe there is a messiah at the bottom of the glass or not. But, ah, I believe in those second chances. I have had a few of them in my life. When the white light is calling, I hope there will be someone there besides me. But we def have to decide for ourselves….
Yes, there are second chances – right up until the last minute. But after that, no more.
Freya I thought you did wonderfully well. I like how you come to the conclusion that it is you in the end who decides. Well done.
Thank you, Michael.
Wow…the rhythm and rhyme in this is fabulous. This would be great as a spoken-word piece.
Thank you! I plan to record it and add it to the post over the weekend.
I love this, it reads so powerfully, like a mantra or manifesto. And I so agree, we must be able to look ourselves in the mirror.
Thank you, Kelly!
I love how at the end, you say the only judge on your mind, is yourself… so many aren’t brave enough to have that kind of mindest, and put their source of confidence in the hands of total strangers.
Thank you, Anthony. It was a great prompt to work with. I have to rely on myself – at the end of the day, there’s nobody else.
This is so good, Freya. I love the voice that you adopted for this. It felt like I was really listening to you expound.
Thank you. Yes, it is my thoughts, just wearing different clothes! 🙂
Your poem here speak truth, justice, and hope for all generations.
You brought a big smile to my face. 🙂 I love this poem.
Thank you, Charlie!
This is like a stream of consciousness writing ~ I love the raw honesty 🙂
Thank you, Grace!
Boiling with energy and passion and awareness. Bravo!
Thank you!
I adore the “guts to be streetwise” line and the whole poem really does rant and take off on a nice flow. Like the comments too, about how “real” are we in our poetry… Missed that prompt, but glad you mentioned it here.
Thank you, Margaret – I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This is a rant, a lioness roar, a she wolf’s howl; it is beat poetry, it is rap, it is street music, it is blank verse smeared with several kinds of spontaneous rhymes; it pulsates like snare drums, & stings like a sermon; it is all this & more, dragging me back from the door, making me re-read it, re-ride it.
I’m glad you enjoyed the ride, Glenn! And I loved your beat-esque comments! 🙂
Excellent use of the words…clever and nice flow!
Thank you, Cressida!
Take the bulls by the horns! Never ever put trust on strangers. One needs to effect change within one’s capacity. Wonderful word craft Freya!
Hank
Thank you, Hank!