Wallflower

I hear voices, a cacophony of noises

A roar of people, their yells in a swell

None of them differ, all sound the same

They ask of me to be just like them

 

Bereft of purpose, shorned of intent

Easy lives, squandered in mediocrity

And when death does come as the end

It takes their sorry lives away with pity

 

Ah, this world, what does it take

Is it fortune it wants, or is it fame

I’d risk it all at the toss of a coin

And lose everything to start fresh again

 

These people: their kings and queens

Their pretty houses and their petty sins

Mean nothing in the infinitude of time

So much left unsaid, so much left unseen

 

The prism of life, how cuts it across time

Leading mortals to their fates destined

Only those live, who are true to their selves

For the soul cannot see, if the heart is blind

 

Author's Note

“One ought to hold on to one's heart; for if one lets it go, one soon loses control of the head too.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

Reviews

[SLW]

This is so philosophical: an existential style exploration of the self. Some of my favourite lines are:

I’d risk it all at the toss of a coin
and lose everything to start fresh again

These people: their kings and queens
Their pretty houses and their petty sins
Mean nothing in the infinitude of time
So much left unsaid, so much left unseen

This section in particular was just inspired. These are lines that are going to keep repeating in my mind.

[Ramya]

The powerful words pack a punch...a wonderful read!

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Siddhartha,

A beautiful work, My friend. Very insightful.

I especially liked the third stanza:

"Ah, this world, what does it take
Is it fortune it wants, or is it fame
I’d risk it all at the toss of a coin
And lose everything to start fresh again"

This is so Kipling as in his poem "If":

"If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings...
.
.
.
...you'll be a Man, my son!"

Greatly enjoyed. Beautiful sentiment. Kudos and high marks!

Very best regards,

Rick

[John Jackson (El Juero)]

This one builds fast, and maintains a high level of in your face truth throughout.
The flow easily keeps pace with the subject matter, timeless and shameful that it is.
Excellent workmanship here...Thank You.

[An owl on the moon]

What a vast philosophy that flies us over time and space... You speak of life and death, and our narrow perspectives on the world... So profoundly moving.

[Marie]

Glad to see you've written something; I look for your poetry every day. It's hard not to listen to the outer voices; the world wants so many things of us...