“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
What do you see
When you look at me?
Do you see the demons
That forever dog
My heels?
Do you see my
Desperate struggles
For normalcy,
Hear my keening cries
Of heartache
And shame
When I fail?
Do you understand,
Can you understand
That at my core
I am as sane as you,
That these phantasms
That cloak me
Exist as parasites
Upon my spirit,
Forever feeding
Upon my strengths
And my weaknesses,
And exulting when
They are all of me
You see?
I am not blind
Nor am I stupid!
I've had a lifetime
To learn the many nuances
Of expression,
Those found in the eyes
Of those who find me
Substandard,
Barely human,
As well as in
The pretty speech
Of those
Who would have
Their friends believe
How enlightened
They presume to be,
When, in fact,
Their hearts remain darkened
By the absence
Of compassion.
Oh, yes,
I know what you
Presume to see,
Just as I know
What you see
Are your own phantasms
Reflecting back
On me.
An interesting use of the word, phantasm. And a very personal one, at that. Showing us a lifelong struggle of you being misunderstood simply because of who you are.
Fortunately, the anonymity of the Internet has allowed you to write your beautiful romantic stories in ways that attract many readers who only fantasize, but actually can't write down what you are able to so well. And finally, in your poetry, reveal pieces of you that remind me of Janis Joplin, "Take a little piece of my heart."
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Fortunately, the anonymity of the Internet has allowed you to write your beautiful romantic stories in ways that attract many readers who only fantasize, but actually can't write down what you are able to so well. And finally, in your poetry, reveal pieces of you that remind me of Janis Joplin, "Take a little piece of my heart."
Ron