A Man in a Room, and other poems - 14. trapped

Great poems my brother. Words of Tucholsky came in my mind. Claire says to Wölfchen in Rheinsberg: "I am thinking of all the people, who were and all the people who will be. See: Now it is our turn!"

Beautiful... each one Ac! I'm really connected to 35 and the line There were days when dreams were fresh.

The cause of man's downfall cannot be found in nature; the flaws are clearly within ourselves. Unfortunately, most of us choose not to see our honest reflections in the mirror. Always denial. 

Happy are they who've heard his word;

distressed are we who can't live it.

You're right. It is distressing, because none of us can live it. But the self-righteous ones will stay in pursuit. Thank you for this set of poems, AC. Thought-provoking and honest.

On 7/12/2017 at 6:48 PM, Defiance19 said:

Another lovely set of poems. The last line of the first certainly dives home that it all really does start with the man in the mirror. 

 

The postlude reminded me of lines from another poem which read: " Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is death but a negligible accident." I think, it's near the same sentiment.. 

 

 

 

Beautiful review, Def. Love the poem quote. If you can find it online, maybe dig it up and post the whole thing on Live-Poets

Thanks again

On 7/12/2017 at 7:19 PM, Lux Apollo said:

Touched by the prelude of the first poem especially tonight. 

Aw, thanks, Lux. I think I'm still on the path looking for what I will say. Back then I doubted I'd find it worthy (myself, that is), but I did and I do.

Hugs, buddy

On 7/12/2017 at 7:37 PM, MichaelS36 said:

AC I am terrible at this sort of thing. However I did enjoy reading these. I found the third to be interesting yet sad.

 

M

Thank you, Mike. I appreciate your thoughts here and for sharing them with me. Feedback is important.

Thanks again!  

On 7/12/2017 at 7:37 PM, Parker Owens said:

The Poem and Postlude really resonated with me. I look in the mirror, and you are quite right. Worst of all, I cannot change the face that appears there.  The Postlude reminds me of Lenten reminders...ashes to ashes. And I am very mindful of that, these days. 

Peace, my friend. I think you and I had pretty similar college experiences, which is when I was writing the poems in this collection. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and being you <3

On 7/12/2017 at 9:28 PM, Former Member said:

Great poems my brother. Words of Tucholsky came in my mind. Claire says to Wölfchen in Rheinsberg: "I am thinking of all the people, who were and all the people who will be. See: Now it is our turn!"

Thank you, Lyssa, sweet sister of mine in verse. I love your analogy, for considering I was at a crossroads when I wrote these, the decision to make (for most Gay people) is whether to even take our turn. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I always appreciate hearing from you.

On 7/12/2017 at 9:29 PM, mogwhy said:

# 35 speaks to  me. thoughts trapped, still can get free and take flight, its wings stronger for the struggle

Thanks, Moggy. I think you and I are the kind of poets who write to forget, to get things out - released. Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate them.   

On 7/13/2017 at 7:39 AM, Mikiesboy said:

34 has a lot to say.  like we are the evil in the world and while maybe not all of us, too many are. But its our nature i think and many don't enjoy fighting that. And that we are all dead men walking .. yes we are kind of a creepy thought, but the truth.

 

35 i feel more than anything.. i'm pondering the final line ..

 

36  i am not religious, but was Christ? not really, if those are truly His words recorded in the bible, he was a prophet and not one of the evil men of the world.

I remember you telling me how much No. 34 upset or creeped you out. I took it as a compliment because it made you think about what my message was in the first place. And your thoughts about evil are spot on for what I was trying to say all those years ago.

On No. 35, I find myself sometimes not liking to be doing stuff in silence. I'll turn on the radio or TV just to create static - it helps me focus by distracting a certain part of my brain that asks 'why bother.'

36 reminds me to be truer to his words and many of the others who use them as weapons. And those actions are something he truly hates

Thanks for your wonderful thoughts and kind support of my work. Muah  

On 7/14/2017 at 1:51 PM, BlindAmbition said:

Beautiful... each one Ac! I'm really connected to 35 and the line There were days when dreams were fresh.

Thank you, JP! Yes, I have always liked that line too. Thanks again <3

On 7/16/2017 at 3:01 PM, MacGreg said:

The cause of man's downfall cannot be found in nature; the flaws are clearly within ourselves. Unfortunately, most of us choose not to see our honest reflections in the mirror. Always denial. 

 

Happy are they who've heard his word;

distressed are we who can't live it.

 

You're right. It is distressing, because none of us can live it. But the self-righteous ones will stay in pursuit. Thank you for this set of poems, AC. Thought-provoking and honest.

Thank you, Mac. I remember developing an awareness around the time I wrote these poems that the 'morality' I'd been spoon-fed in Catholic school could only go so far. Sure, many things in the human world are clear cut - and evil - but can this be said about the natural world as well? I mean, being born a certain way, and then having it shoved down your throat that it's 'evil' is odd....

My mental analogy at the time involved bears and men. If a man kills his son, it IS evil; but if a bear kills his cub in the wilderness so he can mate with its mother again, that is not evil. It's just the way bears evolved, and human sensibilities about infanticide among animals cannot judge.

As for the last poem, thank you again for your thoughts. You got my message perfectly correct.