A Poet’s Progress

I

The sky

Was scarlet-red

In the evening

In bed

You were reading

Edgar Allen Poe

Describe that

Feathery fiend

Then you slept

And you dreamed

Of a divine

Heavenly scene

Rivers that shined

And evergreen trees

Such a shame

To wake up!

Oh, how you wish

That you never

Did leave

But stored, like gold

In your mind's

Treasury

Are the most

Sublime memories

Of the gorgeous views

That you witnessed

More beautiful

And exquisite

Than any

Picture shown

In a Louvre exhibit

Oh that magical land!

More dazzling, than

A treasure trove

Of Azure jewels

And luxurious riches

The wonders ended

When in a second

You awoke

To chilling reality

A splash of ice

That hits you cold

But the dream

Felt so real

As any written prose

Or work

Of fiction told,

By Hemmingway

Virginia Woolf

Byron, Homer

Whitman, Goethe

Shakespeare’s scripts

Coleridge’s poems

A perplexing dream

Stylistically similar

To the imagery

From Egyptians

Who depicted

Their religion

In hieroglyphs

And Inked

Inscriptions

Different signs

And symbolisms

Images of beasts

With eyes and lips

Resembling

A flying sphinx

And slimy lizards

Slithering on the staff

That was Osiris’s

But there’s

A difference

Between myths

And lies

There are lies

That are from

The fiery pits of Hell

And, well…

Hell itself

Is just another lie

That Christians tell

A question

For Christians:

Is God so sick

So disturbed

In the mind

That he would

Punish His own

Creation

That He birthed

And designed

For an unending

Unceasing

Interminable time?

II

After the dream

So whimsical

And gorgeous

You’re awake

Quickened

From sleep

But feeling sick

And nauseous

Within the sheets

You twist, writhe

And wriggle

In contortions

Memories flood back

You remember how

As a kid you were

An orphan

Not dissimilar to

That narrative

Of which

Dickens was

The author

Far from rich

You were the poorest

The most pitiful

Of paupers

Dwelling in

The mire of society

Sold as a slave

For a pittance

A sixpence

Was the highest

Bidding

That was offered

As you grew

You became

A criminal

So villainous

and lawless

Pocket-pinching

For a profit

Eventually you were

Seized

And then imprisoned

In the quarters

Of a filthy dungeon

Littered with corpses

Withering

And behind

The partitions

In the shadows

Hidden

Were the officers

Who were strict

And grim

Despotic

With force

They'd hit you

With their strong fists

Then make you crawl

And kiss the floor

With sore lips

Alone

In the dungeon

You received

No visitors at all

III

Lying in bed

Reminiscing

While outside

The sky, it thunders

“What’s real anymore?”

You silently wonder

The storm ends

The rain dries

And drips

Then

In a kind

of seismic shift

You slip, into a vision

Standing on a path

That’s lit up

With six torches

Far away

A glimmer glows

You venture forth

With timid, slow

Footsteps

Not much quicker

Than a tortoise

The very opposite

Of bold

You’re cautious

And not without

Reason

For there have

Been those

Who’ve travelled

On a similar road

Those pilgrims

Were unfortunate

To be turned

To blocks

Of rigid stone

As if they’d been

Transfixed

By those sisters

Called The Gorgons

From the north

A blizzard blows

An invigorating wind

That flows

From corners

Of the earth

It’s more than

Physical

It’s spiritual

And causes

All the ghosts

That once

Were living

To be arisen

From their coffins

You witness this

In awe

While frozen

In a stiffened pose

Then clearing

Your constricted throat

You utter,

“That’s a miracle!

Of biblical proportions!”

Still frozen

Twitching, hurting

But once your blood

Begins to circuit

You continue searching

Venturing on a ridge

That’s split

One misstep

And you could slip

Into a gorge

Into the jaws

Of monsters

Hissing in the pits

Carnivorous lizards

And insects

Slithering in a swam!

Such a bitter

Gruelling journey

There's no

Imminent reward

But you regard it

As your mission,

So important!

And now the stings

Of hornets

Are burning you

They're so hot

But you’re determined

And you won’t stop

Till you reach the finish

Or the pinnacle

You’re climbing

Up steep mountains

Towards the light

You saw at first,

That glimmered

Like a diamond

Down into the valleys

You meet with villagers

Residing

In a settlement

Not unlike those

Pillaged by the Vikings

Reluctantly they

Point you onwards

To a city that is shining

“Come with me!”

“No! The life we’re living’s

Quite alright

“In that city might be Life

But we can’t risk it

For anyone who visits

Has to die!”

Leaving them behind

Feels wrong to do

But that light

It grows more

It's calling you

So you go forth

In strong pursuit

At any cost

You want the Truth

While those villagers

Have sought, to stew

In self-imposed

Deluded hell

In 'fire' that can't

Be soothed

Or quelled

But you, desire

To lose yourself

So you carry on

The search

While those villagers

Will eventually be

Carrion, for birds

IV

Dawn, it comes

And birds, they sing

Their morning song

You're trawling on

You keep your course

But take some time

To breathe and pause

In a crater called,

'The sea of God'

You need relief

From evil thoughts

Besieged by taunts:

“You think you'll make it?”

“You need to stop!”

“You look so frail,

And weak, and gaunt”

You don't answer

There's no use

Trying to speak

Your chords

Can only

Utter speech

That’s hoarse

The glimmering

Light's still shining

It seems to say,

“Keep coming

Till you reach the source”

Emerging out

The crater

You see beyond,

A massive land

Throngs of creatures

Clasping hands

You hear their songs

Cathartic chants

And hear the stomps

Of marching bands

Playing flutes

And piccolos

Allegro, and fortissimo

Now,

Not so far away

You see, with

Crystal clear

Of vision

A host of riders

Nearing your position

A person at the front

And six or seven

Knights are riding

In a singular line

Behind him

They look so strict

But blithe

You fix your eyes

Upon their finery

Exquisite fabric

Stitched and sewn

Gilded folds

Of crimson-rose

Without hesitance

You make a swift

Approach

Fall down, to kiss

The king’s ringed toes

Exclaiming,

“Oh! This journey

Was so mystical!”

Perplexing as

A cryptic code

Without following

That glimmering glow

I wouldn’t see

Wherewith to go!”

It was Him

But in ignorance

You didn’t know

That the One

Before you was

The King

The King of souls

Then, behold

The knights unveiled

A sizzling coal

And gave you liquid

For which

To drink it, whole

You flinch, and gulp

But this gift

Turns your filthy sins

To glistening snow

One knight

Steps forth

To address you

Not once does

He stutter while

He's speaking,

“Welcome!”

“To the other side

It's Eden!

Where there’s

Constant light of sun

Where, the night,

It never comes

And you never

Have to run

From those

With weapons

Knives and guns”

“You had to lose

Your family, house

Possessions

Wife you loved

Everything

You left behind

You had to die

To come.

All for an

Infinitely

Better life.”

Satan,

The prince

Of clever lies

And all those

On that side

Deem you as a loser

But they’re lies

So never mind

For everyone

In heaven, cries:

“You’ve won!”