An admixture of gloom and doom, so well penned. Could be the prequel to Posttext on an Apocalyptic Beginning.

Ron

Oh fate and free will, thankful for sleep. Another great poem.

"and betrayal..." well-done "pretext to the end" is nice and highbrow?

A lilting, rhythmic kind of meditation here, Jude.
My favorite line is:

"Such squalid days...surface from the tremble of oblivion."
Smooth, and nearly juxtapositioned. Different.

LOL at "One Poet" I know that Line, watched that movie hehe, Wow what a descriptive write for a life, had me hanging on to me ....
Never mind
:)Ch'erie

Enjoyed this write, the imagery is outstanding, love the line
Lay down
on pillows of forgotten dreams
I say live each day to it's fullest my friend, life is too short not to.
Excellent write!
Blessings,
Joyce Bowling

Rather More Romantic Done Write Right On...

TRASK

Bring one who tends to stay/see pretty much on the dark side of our human existence, this poems is so very fitting for the day. When one heads out without conviction there are only wobbly decks. Liked the different ways the reader can interpret this.
debra

Most times, the end is actually the beginning. A lot of emotion written in here. Another great write.

~hugs~
Karen

you have alot of great lines here
and the concept of death floating in
as one sleeps and dream certainly not of that....

moving .....

Robert...an outstanding composition my friend... immortal write...love n luck...BHUWAN!!!!

Jude~Your imagery is outstanding as you weave me into this blind reasoning. Thats why one must look at nature...she never pretends!
Love and peace~
Kimmy~

Awesome...Death is spineless and I'm awed by this pen, as always.
Susan

deep, beautiful, and moving

This reaches the depth of my soul, Jude. Thank you. Love and peace to you,

Regis

Incredible piece of work I think we all go through this times
Where we feel the phantoms are destroy our
happiness and our dreams!!
Descriptive and great imagery and excellent view of thoughts!!
Love And Peace to You..Morning Star

very moving and deep. loved the use of " vessels of phantoms. " a wonderful use of powerful words.

rb.

touching Robert, kind of reminds me of getting older with a brain that wants to stay young. Brain smiling in a sinking ship. But here's a joke i kind of like,

two bulls on hill
one young and one old.
young bull says
hay pop lets run down and screw one of those heifers.
old bull goes,
no son lets walk and screw them all......

I enjoyed this much! I think we all feel the phantoms that destroy our workings, our joy, our happiness, failures, etc.,...leaving only the soul until the end.

As interactive beings we are bombarded by the collective consciousness permeating the fabric of our being and our souls. Has such a hermetic effect.... sleep-inducing in an apathetic, beaten kinda way; accepting everyone else's "truth" as our own. But I so long for the alternative kinda sleep... in sweet repose on the breast of peace and quietude; fulfillment, purpose and strength. The energising sleep. I will fight with every living breath the slippery slither of the silken-tongued defeatist. Brings out the Dorothy spirit in me, Jude... WAKE UP SCARECROW, COWARDLY LION AND TIN MAN!! We all need brains, courage and stout hearts to overcome this prevalent state of global and personal helplessness. On that thought, I'm off to bed... :)) A write that shouts of the old Biblical Ecclesiastes futility and vanity. But life is just tooo short and precious to sleep it away... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... narKoleptiK Kate xx

Shadows of the soul stir such passion sometimes...touching and powerfully moving. Panda :)

The "End" is a new Beginning. Keep sailing toward the horizon, my friend.

Love & Light always and in all ways,
Joseph*

Phantoms can truly disrupt our lives if we let them.

Quiet serenity lives behind each powerful word, Jude; most excellent, captivating lines! BRAVO!

(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.

We gotta make the most of Now now now, on this poetry-go-round

Always a joy to read your work.

what talent, Jude, to be able to turn a subject of sorrow into a work of beauty. For me, there is a quietness behind this...like a soft musical score in a movie.

Susan

Aw Jude, such despair and darkness in your write. Your writing always takes me into it and makes me feel what you are writing. Also most remind me of the poets of yore, whom we read again and again.
I am especially struck by...
*No trickle of solace
Only circumstance
surfacing as a pretext to the end*

Peace. Joyce

Sad, heartache and pain infuse this write with such a sense of hopelessness as the subject struggles with life and his own emotions/

Fee

Robert,

Awesome use of words my friend. These two lines, in my opinion sum up the pretext.

Where scarcely enough is acknowledged
In world’s canceled splendor

Robert,
Your writes always capture me. They leave me with a hint of need to go on.
Another timeless wonder.

Lisa

Very nice, Robert -- your imagery is always great. I especially enjoyed, "...Lay down on pillows of forgotten dreams..." Excellent and well done.
Love,
CJ

death’s spineless embrace: I love that. Great imagery. Victor

That's how I felt this morning and I said the hell with it and went back to bed.

Dawn took the word out of my mouth..."Shakespearean soliloquy"
Hamlet was my thought...outstandingly done Robert.

Allen

Some things may weaken the body my dear, but not your poetry, it is stronger than ever, with depths of perception that make your work even more masterful!Another masterpiece!

I liked the beat of this one and do agree with Dawn that the tone was sombre and as well the beat was too,perfectly so.
Many excellent lines and the title too very poetical.
Sad but marvelous work Robert.

the tone is somber, to be sure, but truth rings from between every eloquent phrase like a wake-up call and prophetic warning. reads like a Shakespearean soliloquy (sp?)... beautiful, but serious. Dawn