As the Phoenix Flies

A narrative poem in Iambic Pentameter. My attempt at Sci-Fi Poetry from a humanistic perspective.

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Deserted by dreams of heaven’s azure,
I awaken alone in distant land.
Isolated in sterile vaulted amber.
Tempestuous hell I can’t understand.


Pallid eidôlon shuffling en masse,
Chthonic ichor corrupts men enthralled.
Shredding through effervescent titian gas,
Amaranthine holocaust furor squalls!


What's my purpose here, in nebulous hell?
Diffidence lingers; obscuring my mind.
Descending to subdued tapestry’s pastel,
Join a cortege for resigned mankind.


Each masked, so empty, expression devoid;
Deadened feet to molten cadence low.
A macabre nightmare contorted by Freud.
Forcibly assimilating their flow.


Such beauty in this human condition,
Majestic fury in Hades untamed.
Within me stirs artistic ambition,
Hidden raw zenith to be reclaimed.


No canvas to adorn with this rapture,
But this ephemeral sulphuric mud.
And no brush my bursting heart to capture,
Except the trickle of my fading blood.


To intimate animus I am bound,
Desperation forging my impression,
Pouring with frenzied heartbeat to the ground.
An artist devout to every passion.

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Crimson erupts forth, clouding my vision.
Oozing life-blood, defiling final art.
So abruptly filled with my derision;
Engrossed with vile conflict of the heart.


My dying mind vows to engrave this moment,
Etching it forever, within my soul.
But my breath never crosses the firmament.
Enslaved forever to that console.

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Deserted by dreams of heaven’s azure,
I awaken alone in distant land.
Isolated in frigid vaulted amber.
Roused by brumal ardor, as if by command.


Through distant glass, an image holds me fast.
Across asperous ice clawing the night.
Jove, such sweet love, holds me captive at last.
Surreally binding me to final endzeit.


Cruel ice twisted heaven-bound with malice.
Riotous myriad of vivid maelstrom ablaze.
Transcendence itself pours from Jove’s chalice.
Haunted by perfection; trapped in its gaze.


A culmination of perpetual bliss
Passion for sentiments immaterial
Eternally consigned to reminisce.
I must preserve this mirage æthereal!


A room filled with canvas unending.
Unsure as to why, I never question.
I’ll submit to my purpose unbending.
Giving completely to my expression.

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This is man's eternally paid penance,
For trespassing on the domain of god.
Submit ourselves to omnipresence.
Forsaking souls for life steeped in fraud.
So must man pay for his hubristic claim,
Nevermore a Phoenix reborn in flame.

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Author's Note

The basic premise of this narrative takes place first on Io and then on Europa (two of Jupiter's moons). I didn't elaborate much, but the man is basically a stored persona in a computer database of sorts, which is printed out. This is why each time he awakens more or less from the same dream. I decided to keep the premise a bit enigmatic; the mystery feels more full than any details I could iron out in a narrative poem. Furthermore, I did intend this to be allegorical, so let your mind go wild. I decided to express the 'thoughts' of the console through binary (although I doubt a computer in this time era would be using binary systems), if nothing else I thought it provided an interesting contrast to the 'poetic thought of the artist. For the sake of 'poetry', and aesthetic form, I decided to express all the computer's thoughts in 5 character intervals. All in all, this is not a conventional poem, and I realize that it is not an 'easy' read, but I wanted to try my hand at writing science fiction poetry with meaning; and this is what I got!


The painting was done by yours truly. I am planning on doing a second one (depicting Io/the first scene), but who knows when I will get around to it.

Reviews

[Tai Ryens]

Your technique is quite enthralling (albeit fairly intimidating, at times, to be frank) and very exquisite and intriguing in many ways. It took me quite a few reads to fully comprehend the meaning of your poem (which was absolutely wrong, but I shall state it anyways) and interpreted it as such, taken aback by the devastation and beauty you portray the end of the world as. The arrogance of humanity is quite apparent and the destruction of it is portrayed more like retribution, rather than revenge; the way you portray humanity makes it sound like they are in dire need of karmic punishment, and the nuclear destruction of the species is a godsend. Your speaker, having witnessed the end of humanity's reign, finally meets death and meets Jupiter, the god of gods, pertaining to some afterlife within which your speaker goes to after death.

Lastly, the ending was cryptic— Humanity, finally having mastered the ways of nature and manipulating all the laws set forth by the universe, put to an end by its own hand due to its inability to control its destruction. A phoenix that has died and never will rise again. Well done.

[Zahra]

awesome, wonderfuly crafted. Amazing

[CountNicholasAlti]

This is so intellectually stimulating and pleasing, I really enjoyed this. Your allusions to philosophy and theology were placed perfectly and powerfully. There was raw passion through desperate energy that flowed through this poem. I typically despise sci-fi reads, but this was cosmic horror at it's finest. It was mysterious, had a ominous atmosphere, and even a hint of underlying macabre. I can't even begin to praise your vernacular, it was simply exceptional.

[Aethereal]

I believe this to be a personified computer transmitting in binary code her impression of her trip through the Jove system. This reminds me somewhat of Milton's Paradise Lost, but the flaming angel here is the computer. I write science fiction poems from time to time too.

[Mr Dunne Poetry]

Wow, this is creative. Very impressed :)

[Ai Lun]

You choose your words very carefully. I can tell, due to the cornucopia of subtle connotations and links created by the words used. Very cleverly constructed and a good piece of work all together. Well-penned indeed!

[Frieda P]

Extremely creative, outstanding imagery, the painting is stellar, it's all bigger than life, impressive.

[Michael G. Smith]

I read the poem and did get a bit overwhelmed but I further study the painting when I noticed that it was also your work. The painting is completely awesome!! What was the medium? I am also an artist. I discovered that I can scan a picture if mine blow it up 800% and do different things with it on the computer then shrink it back down to reveal another aspect of beauty.

[Blue]

Hey, this is absolutely a good read! You have interesting and professional wordplay. I'm glad you have messaged me that you sent me an RR. Otherwise, I would have reviewed this whole lot later. (I often received approximately 40 RRs a day and I can barely keep up.)

Anyway, I am very impressed with your writing style and I shall look forward to reading more of your works. I read and review mostly poetry but I make time for short stories if they're really good. You've got talent.

[♔ CrownedDevil &#..]

WOW! That's really good. I enjoyed reading it. Nicely written.

Kaze~

[MsJewel]

Wow! First I have to say your vocabulary is stellar. (I had to pull out the dictionary a few times). Second, your poem is creative and although quite long, held my attention. I can tell you put a lot of work into it - the rhyme and meter are outstanding which gave the poem a great flow. And last, but not least - love the painting. Perfect for your poem.

:) Julie