drunken argument with e.a. poe

nevermore

competition

nevermore

impulsive opening

nevermore

'do not disturb' signs gather dust

doomsday devices
exceed expectations

sometimes hopelessness tries to die

i'll give it C.P.R.

hope can let you down

but hopelessness...

hopelessness
is never swallowed whole

you only have to hold it down with hope
so it can hold you up

take one more blow
in the name of hope
and one more after that

don't count....
that's the magic;

don't think about each wound

see 'the big picture',
optimistically drift.....

colours bleed and diffuse
in this universal solvent that isn't

you've heard my tell-tale heart

giddy glows can distract
but when they collapse
guilt comes back
to add ten stone to your weight

then....then...
inky catharsis illustrates
shakespeare's slings and arrows
of outrageous fortune
lodged
in kidneys, livers, lungs and hearts
but firstly in the mind

you are your own black cat

damnably immortal
and ready to sink accusatory claws
into the weak flesh of your mistakes