I am an enigma unto myself

I am an enigma unto myself.
Who lives behind these dull orbs of bright blue?
Someone or something I don't even know.
Who is this "I" I keep referring to?

I am an enigma unto myself.
I do things and say things I don't understand.
Strange thoughts race around inside my head.
Is it ever possible to know me?

I am an enigma unto myself.
I look in the mirror, and wonder who
Could be staring back at me. A stranger
Who's vaguely familiar. Is it really me?

I am something no one can comprehend.
In that respect I'm no different from you.

I bestow these words on the unworthy

I bestow these words on the unworthy.
Everything I have I will give. Nothing
Will be held back. A deluge pours from my
Pen. It becomes a flood from which no one
Can survive. Everyone will drown in these
Words. And I will be the only one left--
A lone mountaintop amidst an ocean.

Welcome to my unconscious, you shadows.
How does it feel to be vague images
Conjured up only in my dreams? I dream
You into existence. I open my
Eyes and you are gone. You are no longer
Real. Reality exists only in
Me. I am complete. I am the universe.

I am a mountain: immense, majestic

I am a mountain: immense, majestic,
Serene. I sit and watch those attempting
To scale me and fail. No one can climb
My hyperborean heights and survive.

They haven't a clue as to what I know.
My intellect is inescapable,
Vast. Whole galaxies are swallowed complete.
Everything is comprehended in its

Entirety. Nothing remains unknown.
Gods bow down before me in abject fear.
I know them all too well. Their pitiful
Creations hold no wonder for me. Their

Most pathetic invention, man, is a
Dog barking at whatever comes his way.

It's been five days since I've writ anything

It's been five days since I've writ anything;
Five days pure hell, unendurable hell.
If I could urge my Muse to sometimes sing
Could I escape from this infernal cell?

Oh, what I wouldn't give for lovely words!
Discovering the beauty in all things.
Like as to the songs of prophetic birds
Delightfully announcing coming Spring.

Would that I could approach their loveliness
Responsive to all nature, bright and true.
Incorporating their spontaneous,
Tender ministrations, blessed anew.

Enduring all troubles I'll ever try.
If only I could coax my words to fly.

Sonnet to Satan II

I wish to live forever and a day
Will come when I expect to find the clue
To immortality. I know the way
Must lie in making a blood pact with you.

But how to conjure up your awful face
Is difficult; it's not an easy task.
I've always tried to please your evil grace;
Just grant my wish, that's all I'll ever ask.

I've built dread temples honoring your name
And made them reek with virgin sacrifice.
No matter what I did you never came.
What more unholy plans must I devise?

Writing this poem has taken its toll.
Somewhere along these lines I've lost my soul.

Sonnet to Satan I

If seven deadly sins corrupt the soul,
Then mine must be impenetrably black.
To do evil has been my only goal.
What sins have you committed that I lack?

What did you do but refuse to serve man?
You wanted to serve only God instead.
And for your love God decided to ban
You from revolving 'round his holy head.

But I, however, worship only one
True god, and that true god is Me.
I spit upon the cross of his bright son.
I've never known mundane humility.

How much more deserving am I than you
To hold your name and your dominions rule.

Tell me your secrets, divulge everything

Tell me your secrets, divulge everything.
I wish to know of all your wants, desires.
Feel free to lose yourself completely, cling
To me; I'll consume you in passion's fire.

Why do you hesitate? Are you afraid?
Be not afraid, I will take care of you.
Let the flames over your body cascade
And burn away all pain, leaving no clue.

Of your former self, nothing will remain.
Then you will be reborn, immaculate.
Shining so brightly, as a newborn star.
From my love a new universe you'll gain.

Then I'll be as a planet orbiting
Around your loving life-sustaining light.

I wait for a poetic sounding line

I wait for a poetic sounding line;
A nimble phrase, perhaps a touch obscure.
Could be a complex Poundian design,
Or else a simple Frostian contour.

I wait and wait, but nothing comes to mind.
Could it be I have nothing left to write?
In desperation I attempt to find
Anything that will end this poetic plight.

I search the Cantos hoping for a spark
Of inspiration. It's a fruitless quest.
To North of Boston do I then embark,
But finding nothing must stop for a rest.

Sometimes it doesn't help to be direct.
The lines often come when you least expect.

"Write what you know," the writing teacher said

"Write what you know," the writing teacher said.
"But, what if you know nothing?" I inquired.
So she replied, "Then write of that instead."
And with those words this poem she inspired.

It's true I don't know much of anything;
No profound thoughts live in my simple brain.
With cultivated words I cannot sing--
My intellect is uncommonly plain.

I've sat in classes trying to abate
This nagging issue of my ignorance.
But with deep theories I cannot relate.
I'd rather romp in nature's opulence.

There is a truth beyond what one can know
That only comes from watching Nature's show.

What is true genius? A heavenly gift?

What is true genius? A heavenly gift?
A priceless boon bestowed by sacred powers?
Or is it something one can learn to lift
With furrowed brow and toiling many hours?

It's neither. It's a malicious disease
Infecting those who've discovered their art.
With crushing blows it brings them to their knees,
Threatening to rip their minds apart.

It destroyed Nietzsche, and also Van Gogh;
Incapable they were to keep its jaws
At bay. It then began to take control
And gaping madness soon gave them no pause.

Accursed am I with this insanity;
But, unlike them, I will make it serve me.

Eternal Recurrance

Caught in this circle for eternity.
It seems that we have been here once before.
I do not wish to read this anymore
And see the same old words repeatedly.
What if we were to try and jump out now,
Would the poet take this on the chin?
Is it possible we have reached the top?
If so, I wish that here we make a stop.
Alas, too late, we've gone back down again.
I'm getting dizzy, this I cannot allow,
To speak the same old words redundantly.
This poet, what an insufferable boor!
How many times is this? Who's keeping score?
No worse fate can befall one than to be

Long after I am dead and gone away

Long after I am dead and gone away,
Returned to this good earth from whence I came
--A fate that everyone will face someday
(Be rich or poor, we all end up the same);

Long after the last word has been discussed
And there are no more secrets to conceal;
Long after this book has turned into dust
And there is nothing more one can reveal;

Long after the last sentence has been spoken,
Long after the last story has been spun,
Long after the last promise has been broken,
Long after the last setting of the sun;

My poems in their vain immortality
Will continue to live on, long after me.

Would you be my imaginary friend

Would you be my imaginary friend
And agree to talk to me every day?
I have no one on whom I can depend;
All my other friends have run away.

I don't know why they're so afraid of me.
Do I seem so repulsive to your eyes?
They said I am a monstrosity.
Oh, please tell me that it's a pack of lies.

Why must they be so cruel and unkind,
To torture one who's never caused them pain?
Now I am in my loneliness confined
And feel that I'm about to go insane.

You're the only friend I can call my own.
Please stay, I'm so afraid to be alone.

You, Hypnus, like your brother promise peace

You, Hypnus, like your brother promise peace,
A respite from the troubles of the day.
Enveloping us in a downy fleece,
You take us to a land where we would stay.

But stay we can't for soon we must arise
To greet Helios in his fiery splendor.
He watches over us with blazing eyes,
Which trees and plants, all living things, engender.

But as soon as he finishes his ride
And returns at night to his golden home,
We long for you to return to our side,
That we may in your quiet country roam.

O Hypnus, grant us your all-soothing sleep
And we'll forever your name holy keep.

O Thanatos, omnipotent dread lord

O Thanatos, omnipotent dread lord,
I humbly bow before your mighty hand.
With strength you wield your evenhanded sword
That sends men to your undiscovered land.

So long have they attempted to escape
Your ineluctable ferocity.
They know not that with love your actions drape
And only wish to bring them close to thee.

You save us from the pangs of pain and strife
That torture many to the brink of woe.
Released from the cruelty of earthly life
To your embracing arms they long to go.

I know now that of you I need not fear,
And promise not to flee when you draw near.

Don't waste your time on trivial concerns

Don't waste your time on trivial concerns,
For life on earth is undeniably short.
Enjoy yourself, your gravity abort,
And learn to love life's many twists and turns.

The playfulness of children, one soon learns,
Is soon replaced by age and heavy heart.
Let it not be in you a missing art;
Be one in whom the zest for life still burns.

The time is now, do not procrastinate!
For life is passing right before your eyes.
You have so little time, you cannot wait
For happiness. You have to seize the prize.

So don't let little worries get to you.
Let lively step and song carry you through.

So happily we're frolicking along

So happily we're frolicking along
On hills and vales of undulating rhyme.
Enticing others to our playful throng,
We soon become oblivious of time.

All worries, ills and fears just disappear,
Absorbed into the fabric of this verse.
If for some reason they should reappear,
Just read these lines and they will soon disperse.

The use of this incantatory chant
Is guaranteed to make your pain subside.
It has a lively stride and playful cant
On which negative feelings just can't ride.

For use of this I cannot charge a fee,
As friend to friend, I give it to you free.

Oblivious to all outside mind

Oblivious to all outside my mind,
I sit here, mesmerized, working my pen.
So eager what in my mind I might find,
To do aught else would seem to me a sin.

Unnecessary for you to remind
Me of those who are suffering in pain.
Of pain I know so well, my only friend.
But of such ills I refuse to complain.

For pain caused my Muse to appear again.
She came to me in my most desperate hour.
My only hope is that she will remain,
And allow my once hidden art to flower.

To her I dedicate these solemn lines,
For they were born of her creative power.

O Beauty! O Loveliness most divine!

O Beauty! O Loveliness most divine!
How could I ever to a summer's day
Compare thee? I cannot, for words decline
To scale such heavenly heights; they fall away.

The stars that are your eyes so brightly shine,
Illuminating everything in sight.
To your celestial face I bow and pray:
Return to me, reverse your hurried flight!

For I cannot go on with you away.
You tell me what to write, and how, and when.
You're this poor poet's only true delight;
You instill strength and courage into my pen.

O Muse, please hear this humble prayer of mine,
I only wish to worship you again.

There was a time when I was all alone

There was a time when I was all alone
And prayed for someone beautiful and fair.
A goddess heard me from her lofty throne
And saved me from the depths of my despair.

She raised me up with words, so strong and true
And asked only that I should worship her.
There was nothing for her I would not do;
My love for her was absolute and pure.

But soon I strove to make of her my mistress
And bend her to my dominating will.
Some demon must have possessed me to do this,
Influencing me with his evil skill.

Alas, I have no lines to write today,
For my sweet Muse has left, she's gone away.