The Road to Darkness
Yesterday,
while sitting on the back deck,
drinking my morning brew,
watching the dawn emerge,
the rising sun melting dew;
I was staring at Winter grass
and naked trees.
It was there,
I found myself chasing perfect memories
down the woodchuck hole
of life’s spirals.
As I fell,
flying past my descent,
were all my hopes,
desires, loves,
regrets.
Landing harshly,
I found myself standing
in Shadowland.
Shadowland is that small county village
on the path to the big city,
Darkness.
It’s filled with people,
minds only half eaten,
still thinking they’re alive.
I love wandering in Shadowland,
sitting just out of sight
on the park bench,
behind the old Oak,
just watching, people gazing.
It is always darker here
with only slivers of light
getting through the leafless branches.
But it doesn’t matter,
as people pass by
oblivious to me sitting there.
It’s what people here do best,
ignore each other,
existing only as ‘self’,
since no one else matters.
It’s funny,
the contortions
people go through
in avoiding any real
social interaction,
practicing self-absorption
and head turning to deny
the existence of human misery,
as we live in Tony Soprano’s house,
enjoying the wealth, but
don’t want to know how we got it.
Shadowland,
small county village,
where we practice the art
of self-deception,
and training for our trip
along the path to the big city,
Darkness.
Darkness,
where as you enter,
the sharp teeth of
‘living in the USA’,
painfully
rips out your heart,
leaving an empty shell,
a place where
you can’t even see yourself,
or hear yourself scream.
redzone
I sat on my back deck with my brew and just read this.Some of the best and worst words come together there….right?
I enjoyed this piece.👍
Thanks Peter. Yes, you are right, that back deck has inspired many poems, some of them worth sharing, and others only worth a circular file (trash). I am glad you enjoyed the read, thanks muchly for your comment and visit.
This is chilling and deeply resonant. The way you transition from the ordinary calm of a morning brew to a dark, haunting spiral is so effective, leading right up to the sharp edge of “living in the USA.”
The shift from “perfect memories” down the “woodchuck hole” into Shadowland is a brilliant and clever way to illustrate how easily we drift into isolation and self-absorption. It’s a dark and honest piece, just how I like my morning coffee. Great write!
Honest and dark morning coffee, that’s a great line/metaphor, RomaJ. Your next cup is on me, I’m buying. Sounds like you are familiar with that woodchuck hole, glad to see you made it out alive and not self-absorbed. Thank you for your comment.
This is brilliant, dear redzone, a masterpiece! Your imagery and the comparisons are very well crafted and breathtaking. There is nothing more threatening than to let the core of your being die while you are alive, and go on living unaware, merciless and without interest in the people around you.
Thanks Sappho (and I love that name and who she was) for your comment. And yes, I agree, we have become a nation when we avoid human suffering no matter the cost to our humanity. We have more empathy for an abused animal than we do for the genocide of Palestinian people that goes on right in front of our eyes.
I love, love ‘downhome” type writings. it’s my own start back in the day, so I have a fondness for what others can describe.
You succeeded wonderfully. The core value of what you were after stays true throughout the write. So the reader can sense that too, effortlessly.
Great stuff.
Thank you, Styxian, for this wonderful review. I am glad you enjoyed the read.