Nine Lives

[jabble524]

Nine Lives

Sullen eyes, stung by the sunrise
Crestfallen lovers, under ominous skies
We lost our immortality today
Nine lives withered, and faded away

Precious memories of passion and romance
Wrapped in beautifully decorated cocoons
Safe from the bitterness of regret
And from being devoured, by the cruelty of time

Leeches lurking in sultry eyes
They covet intensely, and rarely compromise
I want to hear it crackle, and smell the cinders
Incarnate illusions, behind benevolent smiles

[jabble524]

Part 2

Exiled connoisseur, of forbidden pleasures
Scarlet letters carved in flesh
Exploring ancient catacombs of the unconscious
Searching for past lives and forgotten lovers
Scattered throughout the sands of time

Piecing together fragmented memories
And mysterious dreams, veiled in shadows
Channeling abstract, and elusive sensations
To stimulate senses, no longer aroused
By the narrow spectrum of consciousness

Scavenging the obscure corners
Of the aficionado’s abandoned wasteland
Looking for the path to serenity
Tired legs and weary eyes wishing
To be home in your heart

[lonndubh]

Hi jabble
I really like these pieces-
searching,searching forever searching
The Gods may grant you a Tenth life
And warn you against using all your words for your art

[jabble524]

Thanks. I have often thought that forever searching should be a clue that some things are either unattainable or unnecessary. However, I am too vain to ever accept that. I think like most people, I often operate under the illusion that the world revolves around me, and therefore all my wishes and desires will eventually come true- even if I have to wait a lifetime, or nine lifetimes. I have always been interested in the concept of immortality- because I think most people view it as a logical extension of mortality, where death is just like a red light, before they proceed to another plane of existence, where everything carries on the same as normal, except without the pain and misfortune of mortality. However, if that is the case, would things lose their meaning? Cause we would have an unlimited amount of opportunities to do them in eternity? A lot of this philosophy is inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is my favorite story. Dorian had youth, beauty, and essentially immortality until the end of the novel. Yet he never finds true happiness. Which brings me to the ultimate question of this poem: is immortality a gift, a curse, or just what you make of it? Anyways, thanks so much for taking the time to read my poetry, and to offer such kind feedback.
- Jason

[lonndubh]

Hi Jason
The picture of Dorian Gray is an absolutely great study of human nature and a delightful read.
Even thinking of it one tends to move into the language of it.

Which brings me to the ultimate question of this poem: is immortality a gift, a curse, or just what you make of it?

The big problem I think ( if problem is the correct word here) is falling in love with love.
If we choose this path -thats if we choose it and are not chosen ,is there any point in viewing the soul from the outside
Maybe one should let it be

[lonndubh]

Take Afternoon Tea with Oscar Wilde's novella
http://www.wonderlandtheatre.com/doriangray.shtml

[carm]

Interesting poetry. I especially liked the opening four lines of Part 1 and the closing three of Part 2…

Sullen eyes, stung by the sunrise
Crestfallen lovers, under ominous skies
We lost our immortality today
Nine lives withered, and faded away

…Looking for the path to serenity
Tired legs and weary eyes wishing
To be home in your heart

jabble524 writes:

is immortality a gift, a curse, or just what you make of it?

I came across this quote some time ago by Edgar Lee Masters…

“Immortality is not a gift, Immortality is an achievement; And only those who strive mightily Shall possess it”

Masters epitaph included his poem "To-morrow is My Birthday" from Toward the Gulf (1918)

Good friends, let’s to the fields…
After a little walk and by your pardon,
I think I’ll sleep, there is no sweeter thing.
Nor fate more blessed than to sleep.

I am a dream out of a blessed sleep —
Let’s walk, and hear the lark.

I am also reminded of…

"Sonnets of a Portrait-Painter: I needs must know that in the days to come"
by Arthur Davison Ficke

I needs must know that in the days to come
No child that from our Summer sprang shall be
To give our voices when the lips are dumb
That lingering breath of immortality.
Nay, all our longing compassed not such hope,
Nor did we, in our flame-shot passagings,
Push the horizon of our visions' scope
To regions of these far entangled things.
I knew not such desire. But now I know.--
O perfect body! O wild soul a-flower!
We, wholly kindled by life's whitest glow,
Turned barren from our life-commanding hour. . . .
Now while I dream, sweetness of that desire
Lies on my heart like veils of parching fire.

[jabble524]

Very interesting. I had never thought of immortality as being an achievement. That is really something to ponder. I like Dorian Gray cause I think it beautifully encompasses the relationship between insecurity, vanity, and desire.

[carm]

jabble524 writes…

I like Dorian Gray cause I think it beautifully encompasses the relationship between insecurity, vanity, and desire.

When they entered they found, hanging upon the wall, a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in even dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was. - Oscar Wilde, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'

'One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive.' - Friedrich Nietzsche

We die, then once reborn, we'd have to explore the world on a different level and at the end of that sojourn we'd die yet another death and so forever would continue that immortal cycle…

In the poem Tithonus by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Tithonus asks Eos for the gift of immortality, which she readily grants him, but forgets to ask for eternal youth. As time wears on, age catches up with him. Wasted and withered, Tithonus is reduced to a mere shadow of himself. But since he is immortal, he cannot die and is destined to live forever, growing older and older with each passing day. In later tellings, Eos eventually turned him into a cricket to relieve him of such an existence.

…Alas! for this gray shadow, once a man--
So glorious in his beauty and thy choice,
Who madest him thy chosen, that he seem'd
To his great heart none other than a God!
I ask'd thee, "Give me immortality."
Then didst thou grant mine asking with a smile,
Like wealthy men who care not how they give.
But thy strong Hours indignant work'd their wills,
And beat me down and marr'd and wasted me,
And tho' they could not end me, left me maim'd
To dwell in presence of immortal youth…

(In Greek mythology, Tithonus was a Trojan by birth and Eos was the Greek goddess of the dawn)

[jabble524]

I am glad you posted the ending to Dorian Gray. It is my favorite part, and I think the most important part of the book, because everything comes full circle. Which ironically eluded Dorian with his eternal youth and beauty- while Dorian gets what he deserves at the end, I also have always felt a slight relief for him, that at the end, he finally escaped his torment.