The Poppet Doll (Part Two of Three)

A Poem by Paris Hlad

PART II

(The Chastisement of Flesh)

And so, I was compelled to live

Within my naked form �"

And I was like a helpless lamb

That bleats beneath a storm

I shivered in an icy gloom

And shuddered in my sleep,

For I had wandered

From the good

Into the dark

And deep![1]

I took no peace

In daylight’s hymn,

No comfort I could take,

As I was fettered by my fear [2]

And tethered to its stake

I did not know

What keys I held -

I only saw the lock,[3]

And in my dullness

Wept alone

Or to the shadows talked!

These days did end

Upon a rack beneath

An olive tree,

When I discovered that my flesh

Was but a curse, not me[4]

I saw it burning in a flame -

A flame that made it seem,

As if I suffered all for naught,

For flesh was but a dream

[1] Paris believed that feeling good about yourself is often a cry for divine chastisement. He considered vanity to be among the most insidious of all sins because the “positive vibes” it engenders are every time based on a lie. Vanity exaggerates the good we do and explains away our every self-serving motivation.

[2] Paris wrote his master’s thesis for the University of Redlands on the subject of fear as the primary impetus for an individual’s good job performance, concluding that it is the ascendent motivator even for those individuals who like their jobs. Other motivators, such as money, good work conditions, etc. are things that provide only minor levels of satisfaction, whereas any threat to job security or status within an organization causes an individual to work harder and perform more diligently. He is “shackled” by fear and “tethered” to his job.

[3] The metaphor of the lock was introduced earlier in “The Keys to the Kingdom.” Paris believed that no true atheist could have more than an indifferent attitude toward his fellow man and contempt for a life process characterized by suffering and death. In that way, the “lock” is similar to what he calls the “existential paradigm,” i.e., birth �" life �" death- (God?).

[4] Paris believed that nothing purely good is engendered in an environment that is subject to the ravages of measurable time. To him, something can be good only if it is constant and eternal. If a thing is inconstant, it is at one time or another a different thing; and if it is finite, it is merely an aspect of the physical world.