MORTAL

poetwithcancer
The title was the bait, and the poem was the prize. I like your use of a refrain. It is incorporated skillfully. // Your first stanza speaks of those who are "robbed of nirvana"--I'm wondering if you are a Buddhist, and if so, which kind--Zen perhaps? In the first stanza you name as among those who are so robbed, those who have an "undying love for sex and pills" and cracked psyches "singing, 'Hallelujah'" --these words remind me of John Lennon's song "Working Class Hero" in which he criticizes most working-class people, as he saw them, with the lines: "They keep you doped with religion and sex and TV." // Ironically, you have a line that says: "There is no starting over." That reminds me of one of John Lennon's last songs, and the title song of the album in which it appears, "Starting Over." // I really like the very next line: "Tomorrow is no caress." I've learned that well. No matter how bitter today may be, today is the day, always the day, to seek and take whatever sweetness is possible. // You gave me a punch in the solar plexus with these two lines: "I am discovering / A fate in the darkness" // This poem could have many meanings, which is good. // I really like this poem. Too bad this site apparently doesn't allow ratings, or I would rate it high. Also, too bad this site doesn't have contests, for this poem is certainly contest-worthy. // I'm glad I happened to spot your ttile as it slipped down the slide. // Bye now. // Michael LP, Mr. Poet