Victorious Defeat

A moderate bookshelf

Stood in a modest house
Where soft, whispered words
Only ever made a humming sound.

 

Gray clothes and, in the driveway,
A gray car equally unloud were
The telltale signs of Modern Man
Outwardly meek, inwardly proud.

 

Uncertain about what’s wrong or right,
He was a living emblem of a
Perpetual two-faced lie.

Too timid for righteous anger or hate,

His depth and range matched the
Geography of the Great Plains:
No peaks, no valleys, just a flat-nosed
Face, free of grandeur, honor, or grace.

 

Sitting in dark, dank corners of
His own crafty mind,
He thought he’d untangled the universe,
Though he was blind.

 

Cowardice and apathy cheered as

He proclaimed to know all, but

Did none; threw up his arms

In defeat - and won.

Reviews

[---]

That's a good piece, Laz. Strikingly familiar, though well written nonetheless.

I'm reminded of Hesse's Steppenwolf: a moderate man, contradicted by his own nature, both free and enchained, brave, in life, yet terribly afraid - in the sense that, besides his courage, he cannot bring himself to take his own.

Is this autobiographical, Laz, or did you have someone particular in mind when writing it?

[Laz K.]

Hi Ookpik,
First of all, thanks for reading and commenting. With a a heavy heart, I must confess the above writing is indeed the product of a momentary slip in my self-deception. However, as a drop contains the entire ocean( in a way), one might say that the poem is also a mirror to modern (western) men. With all the technical knowhow, the tools and gadgets, the state of the (western) world is .... well, we know what it is.

Thanks again for the insightful comment!

[---]

Shucks, well you're welcome Laz.

Funnily enough, that was Hesse's motive too - granted, his world was one of smoke & steam, as opposed to the one we currently occupy (kept alight by the glow of our cell-phone screens).

Nicely done, regardless - give the existentialists a look, if you've spare time, might be that they resonate with you.

cheers.