Journey

life and death.

 

Journey

A new world awaits us on the other side;

free of care,

free of want.

Where Blue Jays fly and rabbits run.

Paradise.

It’s a word,

but does it exist

in this world of pollution,

dilution,

and an ultimate solution?

It does.

Not physically,

but mentally.

A place where all the bad goes away

and all the good springs forth to be seen again,

again,

and… again?

Hey, this isn’t paradise!

Paradise isn’t in my mind, for nothing new is in my mind

where the Blue Jays fly and the rabbits run.

Nothing new,

because it is all based off of what I know in the real world.

The living world;

and I know nothing good in the real world.

But…

For all those who think there is an ultimate solution.

A conclusion.

I’m sorry to say,

I don’t think there is. 

No solution.

No conclusion,

because if there were a solution to everything… the world would be Hell.

That’s right,

I said it!  

The world would be Hell!

“would be” because there is no solution to everything.

If the noise dies

and the vision fades

and the feelings die,

then what is left,

but darkness?

Pure darkness.

Where sense’s are numb and mind is sharp.

What is worse than not knowing?

Certainly not,

Knowing?

If you can move, you can react.

If you can see, you can dodge.

If you can smell, you can enjoy.

If you can feel, then you can love…

Love what?

This world of hate stinks of pollution,

family dissolution,

and self execution.

What is there to love?

Something new.

There is nothing new!

How do you know?

I have seen!

Seen what?  You have seen only what is around you, what about beyond you?

There is nothing beyond me!

You are selfish.

Everyone is selfish!

Then you are everyone?

No!

Then who are you?

I-I am someone…

Are you?

Yes!

Why?

I have seen!

Seen what?

I have seen rape.

I have felt brutality.

I have heard the screams,

the cracks,

the pops,

the reports.

I have felt the shockwaves,

and, the flicker of life as it flees from one’s body.

Is that it?

That is enough!

You are ignorant.

Stop pestering me!

You have seen but half.

Come and see the other half.

There is no other half!

There is.

It is the half that is not cast in shadow;

the half that is lit;

for there can be enjoyment,

excitement,

and contentment. 

You just need to find it.

It doesn’t exist!

It exists.

It may be hard to find, but it is there.

Where?

In your heart.

The heart is a muscle.

It is more.

No, it’s nothing more.

Sweat hard enough and you will smell it.

Dig deep enough and you will find it.

Work hard enough and you will grasp it

And when you grasp it… don’t ever let go.

I’m afraid.

I never said it would be easy.

I’m alone.

Then you better find a friend.

Where?

Down that path.

What path?

The one if front of you: life.

Author's Note

yeah... not one of my best pieces. Then again, I'm not a poetry buff, this kinda just randomly came through tonight, and I figured it was good enough to be considered a free verse poem... god knows it's nowhere near a real poem.

Reviews

[Raef C. Boylan]

I'd go along with this being 'free verse', yeah, because it flows quite freely, kind of like thoughts were penned straight onto paper, but at the same time it isn't sloppily formatted, there is some structure and organisation. So maybe we shouldn't slot it into a genre just yet?
I found this quite an interesting read, watching how your narrator dealt with these thoughts. I've made the assumption that your narrator is the non-italic lines, although it could just as easily be the other way around, or even both italics and regular, e.g. conscience talking to him/her, or the negative side of a personality vs. the positive.

"because if there were a solution to everything� the world would be Hell."
I wrote a poem a while ago about perfection being the wrong state for our world to aim for, because as nice and safe as it sounds, the lack of problems would be a problem in itself [also, perfection being a subjective concept]. This idea from your poem reminded me of it.

I really like how you've explored lots of different topics here, throughout this dialogue/internal dialogue.
It's not amazing poetry, as you say in your description, but with some work - if you decide it isn't a free verse piece - it could be.

Thanks for posting this.

"The one if front of you: life." (if = in?)