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Past Time With Good Company



For some reason,
I made the dregs of the world
my closest friends.
Scoundrels, criminals,
the mental cases,
drunken or drugged;
maybe I befriended such men
because they demanded
so little of me,
and I could appear to remain
somehow wiser
and better
in comparison.

At least
luckier.

I can’t give a definite explanation
for this
proclivity;
me with my pretense,
delusions of grandeur,
and they with their
inevitable bottle,
and inevitable defeat.
But I certainly shared with them
the clouds of self-hatred
masking all reason,
and a wretched, destructive passion
that could not be restrained.

It bound us together,
certainly our only significant tie.

I recall these men here now, that
detested litany of names
that works at will on the
sanctity of my
heart.
They appear to me now
as torturous ghosts, unclear reflections
of the man I too often
felt I had to be.

I really enjoyed that poem! My problem with posting poetry is because it seems so intensely personal. For me, it's almost like letting someone read my diary. I've read several of the poems you posted and have always enjoyed them. It's great to see some good poetry in the poetry section.

It was a hard poem to write. Maybe not very good. But it was honest.

That's exactly what I meant. Being honest about personal topics in full view of others is what I fear, I guess. I like your poem and I like your honesty. I can't give you an educated 'critique', all I can say is 'I like it". It sounds pretty lame, but it's honest!

~ Linda

J-

Your piece comes across as very sincere. A hard look at something that is not a gleeful part of your life/past.

The fact that you got through writing this; did that soul-searching, should negate whether it is good or not good. Something like this is all about the journey (i think).

The writing is well done. But I think this is more of an essay than a poem in its tone and style. That is neither good nor bad, just different.

thanks for sharing,
laurie

linda_lakeside wrote:I really enjoyed that poem! My problem with posting poetry is because it seems so intensely personal. For me, it's almost like letting someone read my diary.

lc summed it up........be naked in your mind.

No artifice. No hypocrisy. Truth in all things.