One of the Walking Dead

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? Edgar Allan Poe

If I don’t feel the warmth of the sun

On a sunshiny day,

If I'm too numb to feel

My feet on the ground,

Even when I’m stamping them

Till there's a hole in the soil,

 

What am I but one of the walking dead?

 

Even if I don't see the maggots wriggling

In my muscles and digging holes through my bones,

Still I can't feel the loss

Of the falling skin and the melting marrow,

They are but a mask to camouflage,

A harness of decay, a cape to conceal

 

That I'm but one of the walking dead.

 

Build me inside the wall till I die,

Deprive me the air that makes me walk,

Limping as a crumbling corpse

On the rhythm of my soulless heart,

Then I'll scratch my name with my own blood

On the back side of the bricks of that wall,

Together with a curse that holds me inside forever,

 

Because there's only one black thought

That chews like a raging rodent through my darkened mind,

Because I'm now one of the walking dead,

And it’s burning in my lifeless eyes,

It's the never satisfying hunger for:

'Human flesh!' 

 

© Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

06/02/2016 

 

 

Author's Note

An homage to the famous E.A.P.

Reviews

[KWP]

ooh wow - this is a meal for the senses right here - what amazing descriptions all wrapped up in a feeling of longing for something more without the capabilities to endure the journey to attain such a state of completeness.. well done Rudi really sunk into this one X

[Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere]

Thank you very much, KWP, for the nice comment. Glad you liked it. Have a good day. :) Rudi

[R Smith]

brilliant Rudi, I'm a big fan of Poe, so to me this poem is a joy to read, well done my friend :)

[Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere]

Thank you, Richard, for passing by and reading my poem. Have a good day. :) Rudi

[sinNsincerity]

I know the feeling and think it was so great that you paid homage towards Poe. He's one of the greatest who put their mind on the page. Golf clap.

[Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere]

Thank you, Sin in Sincerity, for your nice words. :) Rudi

[Kelly Scheppers]

You are quite the poet, Rudi. This reads like Poe himself had written it!

[Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere]

That's a great compliment, Kelly. I wouldn't dream to place myself in his shadow. Thanks again and have a good day, my friend. :) Rudi

[JerryB]

I flat-out relate to this somber poem, Rudi. Don't know what the letters, E.A.P. mean. I walked the mean streets of this once great nation for two lost decades. I've pretty much seen it all I guess.

[Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere]

Thanks for the favorable comment, Jerry. E.A.P. are the initials of Edgar Allan Poe, the great writer of dark tales and poetry. There's a quote from him under the title of the poem. :) Rudi

[JerryB]

My, my . . . I am embarrassed . . .

[Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere]

No reason, abbreviations can have a lot of explanations, Jerry. Have a good day, my friend. :) Rudi

[Coyote Poetry]

Very nice use of words. My favorite show is the walking dead. I know many walking dead. Little reason to be alive and well. Thank you my friend for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere]

Thank you, John, for the nice words and have a good day. :) Rudi

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome my friend.