Facing the Demon

 

 

 

I pass broken road signs

glancing at decrepit buildings

fading from once bright colors

to dull reminders of my past

 

A ride down memory lane

serves as self punishment

reminding me how spirituality

should have been first, not last

 

Homeless, poverty stricken humans

with dead eyes and cold faces

struggle in a gloomy ghost town

where drugs have won the holy war

 

Corrupt police, and crooked officials 

seduce the broken-spirited addicts

dangling embezzled drugs as hard candy

to runaway mothers and the lost street w***e

 

Setting my eyes to my higher power

I plead for God to touch my now aged face

realizing the sun shines behind the dark clouds

as God touches my yearning soul and turns it anew

 

I raise my hands and tremble

praying to God relentlessly

realizing the road to recovery is as

the road to heaven, narrow and few.

 

Tears are now replaced with laughter

releasing pain staking reminders

as I thrive in this wicked world

where the sun forever shines behind clouds

 

Reviews

[Bennett Logan]

Wow. This may be my favorite of yours yet. You present a very strong and clear image, but you didn't necessarily tell the reader what it means. It makes for good poetry.

My favorite lines were, "Corrupt police, and crooked officials/seduce the broken-spirited addicts/dangling embezzled drugs as hard candy/to runaway mothers and the lost street w***e." You put the reader right there in the middle of it. Good stuff. Truly.

Keep up the good work, Jenn!

[Dionysus Cain]

s**t this was real good. for real.. i like the world you describe because it is exactly what is going on in this world. it isnt highlighted with colors and sunsets and palm trees . i can see this poem in my head. very good .. very good... the sun always shines behind dark clouds .. yeah.. pretty cool

[Wolfwind Words]

Now that was a wonderful journey through beautifully place words. It carried a strong and valuble message that I feel is so vital to be able ot survive life these days.

It's flow was smooth and the images were solid and stood out in the mind.

An awesome piece!
Aaron Maycroft

[Juan]

The thing that gets me most is that life is hard enough when you belong here and you have shown the other end of the spectrum with this poem. You get but one life, however sometimes you get a second chance at living it. Excellent job...

[Steve Thompson]

interesting

[Blackbirdsong]

This poem was a good journey to take. In Native American storytelling the journey is usually the most important thing. The destination isn't as important as the lessons you learn on the way to getting there. This poem reads like that to me. There are things along the way which that are painful to watch and see, but if we continue on remembering that spirituality should be first we can find joy even amidst all the tragedy around us.

[bluessadmood]

oh God what lovely words ..my friend i forgot about your works
how wonderful this is..how you feel for every ..i know how much misery there
it rips my heart..no body talks about..but a dreamer like you ..yes you do
i pass road signs with faint colors..a ride down memory lane
poverty ..dead eyes..cold faces..struggles
drugs have won a holy war
corrupt ..everybody is corrupt dear..its a corrupt world all around
they seduce the broken spirited..its their evil ways
runaway mothers..street w****s..it should never be like this
setting my eyes higher ..i plead to God
have mercy on poor souls..God..Evil is strong
tears run down..evil world..i known
the sun always hide behind the dark clouds
wonderful work..

[Sun Dog]

This is very powerful!

[G. Harrison Quay]

I like this piece Jenn. I like the depth of thought, the powerful emotion you express, the vivid mind pictures evoked by it, and the way it flows so smoothly.
Beautiful job my friend.

[Captain Blackheart (The..]

A very powerful write, your word portray such a profound and deep picture. A great Job....!!!

[Pax Analog]

"A ride down memory lane/serves as self punishment/reminding me how spirituality/should have been first, not last."

Indeed. The work of the world. Which must go beyond mythic religiosity to avoid causing more problems than are solved.

Your poem is archetypally poignant, dealing eloquently with a perpetual spiritual crisis. I would add, re the latter issue, that God must increasingly be retracted from the clouds and understood as very Source of Being, allowed to be the transcendent identity of all. God Mind is the flash: There is no "Other." This is far more profound and powerful than the puny politics of mythology that religion serves up.

"Tears are now replaced with laughter/releasing pain staking reminders/as I thrive in this wicked world/
where the sun forever shines behind clouds."

Contrary to the casualties of casualism, which includes grinning exploitative sawdust suits as much as the street derelicts, Spirit is having a human experience, not humans having the occasional flash, watered down by egregious bible babble and suchlike.

Your poem is the soul's confessional. Spirit is the sun in your heart as well as the orb in the sky. Higher power is ONLY power, recalcitrant evidence to the contrary.

If I say too much, chalk it up to a sense of mad mission -- I want poetry/poetics to break out of its cage, and I want Spirit installed as existential burning core, not just remaining a Rick Warren-esque chew toy. ;-)