a faceless man (the blocks)

two characters from a previous write (faceless man and the kid) return to inflict mayhem

a man now known for absent face

has turned spent love to violent

(words) deeds.

the blocks, once so carefully arranged,

are swept away by an arm of straw

to skitter ‘cross the floor like teeth

dislodged by selfish thought,

his stock in trade…

his hell-bent rage.

 

the kid now works apprenticed hours,

to burn and learn malevolence;

the hurt once caused by fevered love

has turned that warmth to glacier

spinning, deranged and much too fast

to care about discarded blocks that, once

akin to order, now are shifting shape.

 

the faceless man’s complacency

toward this change of light turned dark

is called success;

he views the kid, now proudly carved

to his own likeness;

his arrogant sneer,

his cackling laugh.

 

dan © 2015

Music: "Eyes Without a Face," by Billy Idol

Author's Note

Reviews

[B]

Oh how wicked .....

What a great piece .... You capture selfishness perfectly well in a poem

And i like the suspense building up

[dan]

N., Yes selfishness is an insidious beast. I believe at least a little bit lives in each of us, but we control it best we can by allowing natural empathy drag that selfishness out into the sun where it can dry up and allow us to care for others as well as ourselves. Thank you for the warm review. take care...dan

[B]

I do believe in being selfless
And what is meant to come will come

No need to go out there and get it

Dan you are a beacon of wisdom i must say

I have truly enjoyed reading all your reviews
You have so much that people can learn from :)

[dan]

That's very nice of you to say, thank you. take care...dan

[....................]

the proverbial straw, the apple from the tree and an inevitable fate accompanied by a song from an artist who is still performing the same old songs... makes me wonder, dan, why we have trouble breaking the cycle sometimes... your write has left me pondering my own distance form the tree that bore me... great work, sir!

[dan]

FT, As is your usual, your interpretation is very close to the message I hoped to impart with this particular write. I believe that any interpretation arrived at by a reader is correct, the purpose of my writing and sharing is to cause the reader to stop and think, deciding for themselves what the piece means to them. Thank you for sharing your views! take care...dan

[...]

Dan, another remarkable look into the depth of your creative outlet. We are all pieces of our environment . The spreading of the disease...

[dan]

lynn, I am glad for your review, I always respect your viewpoints as they are usually very close to my thought process as I wrote the piece. take care...dan

[RiverRei]

That was really cool. It's a message of apprentice turning angry and bitter like his master. At least, that's what I got out of it. It's a shame that this can be necessary to keep our society going. I hate the idea that people have to end up bitter and unhappy for the good of society. I can definitely see why my poem reminded you of yours though. Lovely piece, thank you very much for sharing. I'm sorry it took me so long to read this. :(

[dan]

River, No need to ever apologize for "took me so long to read..."; don't worry, I'm on no time deadline. 8^) Your brief description of what you saw in the write is a very nice interpretation of the piece, and really representative of what I had in mind while I thought of how I could build this write to make sense (it IS one of the most abstract pieces I've ever written.) Thank you for taking the time to determine your interpretation and subsequent review. take care...dan

[ANTO]

A once happy family - torn asunder by some kind of malevolence - infidelity - murder - leaving two very disenchanted human beings with a chip on their shoulder. The man sees the kid adopting strategies which will protect him (even if it means hurting others) but which will ultimately destroy him - but not before causing considerable collateral damage in a lifetime as payback for 'Life' screwing with the man (and by extension, the kid)
Darkest of your writes I felt, Dan.
Love the sneer connection with Idol - Class !
:)

[dan]

Anto, Yours is by far the best interpretation of this write that I've had sent to me, almost exactly what I had intended for the meaning. And until you mentioned it, I hadn't even thought of the sneer being connected with Billy Idol (whiplash smile). Your reviews are always so spot on, your insights are always amazingly on point. Thanks so much for continuing to review my work. take care...dan

[Matching Socks]

I get a vision of an evil greedy stock broker and apprentice.
Loosely reminds me of Scrooge and his assistant.

[dan]

I like your interpretation, and I always believe that each individual reader's interpretations are correct. Just as many people can view works of art and see different things, I believe that if 10 people review my poem and come up with 10 different interpretations then my write did its job. Thanks so much for your review. take care...dan

[jacob erin-cilberto]

this is tragic...the son raised by the abusive father becomes a reflection of same...the father sees his son as if he is looking in a mirror...and he is sardonically proud.

[dan]

That is a very intriguing interpretation. I had something a little different in mind, but if that's the way this piece made you feel then you are 100% correct. In fact I like your ideas better! Thanks for your insights, which are always so analytically precise. take care...dan

[modtoddinc]

I am struggling to understand this write... perhaps I need to go back and read the earlier writing? I see the kid becoming the faceless man... yet the metaphors confuse me: straw arms/blocks... teeth dislodged by selfish thought...

[dan]

Todd, Reading the original piece in which they were featured would give you at least a glimpse, a hint at the dysfunctional dynamic the two inhabit, and that continues here. I really don't like to reveal exactly what I'm thinking as I write these things; I prefer that the reader interpret the piece in the way they see fit. But I'll give you a basic outline here. In the original piece (a love poem for my wife called, "her face.") the faceless man and the kid (who is basically the faceless man's apprentice, protégé) are intruders in the poem. My intent was to actually have people read 'her face' and think, "Did he mistakenly put these characters, from another poem, into this one?" When it is carried over into this poem, it is intentionally ambiguous...the imagery has a method to the madness but it is also intentionally vague (I wanted this to read like a fantasy piece, kind of an "Alice in Wonderland" type of farce, an absurdity). Now if you wish to go read, "her face," in which the two are a bit more clearly outlined, then read this again to see if the imagery makes more sense (there really is discernible meaning to them). If not then I apologize because I don't wish to reveal more, as I plan on featuring them one more time in the near future (a trilogy?). Thank you for taking the time to read and comment, and I hope you continue to visit to read my work. They are usually a lot more direct than this one. take care...dan

[modtoddinc]

thank you Dan, I will read, and continue to visit... no need to apologize. Thank you for all your work and sharing.

[Nadia Gerassimenko]

I LOVE BILLY IDOL TOO *SWOONS*! Ok, crazy fanatic girl moment over. Now to serious business...

You mention this is about two characters from a previous write, but I was unable to find it. I just wanted to get better acquainted with the prehistory.

Well either way, what I imagine here is a world where people lose face, they lose whatever humanity is left of them. And the perfect example is of that faceless man. He may have been a humane human once, but now he is an invisible man in fancy clothes spreading awfulness to this world. And the kid, I suppose, has no one else he can look up to. Somehow it's a little easier for him to emulate the faceless man, since there's no eyes that would penetrating one's heart with emotions. I could be so far off!

[dan]

Nadia, That's actually a pretty good read on the dynamic that exists between the two characters. The previous write was a love poem to my wife called, "her face," in which the faceless man and the kid were actually supposed to be perceived as intruders (maybe from another poem) who take up a whole stanza having their complex meanings opened up for analysis. (Strange, I know). You did a nice job on figuring out the relationship between the two; kind of like the truism that states: "Two wrongs make a right." Thanks for the great review. take care...dan