Black Dogs

Black Dogs

Black dogs live within us.

Satan’s beasts strain at the leash,

Waiting for their chance to strike;

To devour human nature,

The human heart,

The spirit; the soul.

To swamp our consciousness

And overwhelm us in fear.

 

They stand across our path

When our faith is shaken,

Heads stooped, black eyes menacing;

Sensing an easy kill.

Striking terror,

Removing all hope

Of our own redemption;

Helpless we stand transfixed.

 

Yet are we just easy prey,

To stand subdued to fate?

When in our mortal being

Lays such an awesome power.

Seek out your strength,

Liberate your sword,

Release your Godly self,

And cast out those savage creatures.

 

3^rd April 2010

Reviews

[X]

So awesome. Yet again another poem that blows me away- not purely in terms of relating to it and how well you continue to portray these emotions but also just the imagery, and the idea behind this poem. We do all indeed have our own demons, black dogs, devils, whatever you may call them, and it is important to be able to conquer them, or at least know how.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Hi X I am so grateful for your many great reviews. I must apologise for sending so many R R s but Leslie accused me of only writing erotica and I felt I needed to be seen in a more balanced way.

[X]

Haha no problem at all John. We are all in this together.

[Leslie Philibert]

Another well written poem

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you, thank you, thank you Leslie

[bob, small b. aka invs]

this reminded me of a native american fable i've heard where a grandfather is explaining to a small boy that inside each of us is a white wolf and a black wolf and they are constantly at war with each other. the child asks the grandfather which wolf will eventually win the fight and the grandfather tells the child "the winner will be the one you feed".

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Wow that is a powerful fable. I based this on Ian McEwan's wonderful novel of the same name.

[LA Lorena]

Liberate your sword. Loved this line. After reading mostly erotic offerings from you, this line conjures up meanings not intended by this particular poem, and makes me chuckle. Beware, the dog has teeth John. Zip it back up, and grab your gun! ;)

Okay, seriously now, I liked the message here. We do posess the inner strength to fight thru demons, both internal and external. This poem expresses this most powerfully.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Hey yesterday I was accused of only writing erotica so I have sent out some of my other work to try to dispell this myth lol!

[LA Lorena]

I know. People tend to only read what is on your first page, and not dig back a bit. Thanks for providing me with the shovel and reminding me to dig deeper.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Hey keep digging!

[AYVID N]

Black Dogs are very reminiscent of Satan / Devil and his evil forces. Very precise and apt imagery. Its each man's fight with his Black Dogs within! You were wonderful with this. 100/100

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you kind Divya, it was insired by Ian McEwan's book of the same name.

[quinfinn]

in some of us more so than others, but the fear ...i believe, is contingent upon individual awareness or the lack thereof. this is wonderfully demonstrative of human nature and ancient inbred instincts. although learned behavior does contribute. well done!

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Yes I agree. It was inspired by Ian McEwan. Thanks Quin.

[Kajal Gulabani]

Very powerful. You do have an art of creating a splendid visual through words.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you so much Kajal.

[Kajal Gulabani]

My pleasure John. :)

[KarinaT]

Good reminder of our own power over our fate and future x

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Based upon Ian McEwan's book of the same name.

[Leigh]

The thought of a black dog casts a strong image and immediately makes a strong point for you to start your poem from, this speaks to me of the id, the uncontrolled instinctive part of our brains.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thanks Leigh, so are you a psychotherapist or shrink?

[Leigh]

$100/hour :-)

[SHEEMA HUQ]

there is something significant about the phrase, 'black dog' referring to those suffering with bi-polar disorder, this is powerfully written John

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thanks Sheema.