Flash Stories & Poetry Day 48: Quatrain "Tempted by Forces Dark"

 

Hey, everyone.

So, as usual for this week, I'm starting on this super late. That's what happens when you have a lot to do on a Saturday and forget to set your alarm clock. Anyway, today I'm supposed to write a quatrain, but I have no idea what the hell to write about. I don't feel depressed anymore, but I'm still definitely anxious and still worried about my financial situation. To be honest, I kind of don't want this poem to be about anything. I kind of just want to throw up nice sounding gibberish and see if it gets me anywhere. I'll still try to keep it as a quatrain though.

Thirty minutes on the clock: 30:00. And... go.

Midway through the journey of life, I found
Myself in a dark forest for the clear
Path had been lost. To this fate I am bound,
Trapped within the darkness and my own fear.

Though there is meaning in the life I live,
I have lost meaning in my life's purpose;
Much of my life I wish I could relive,
Though that would mean losing my corpus.

If I was born to write, why am I tried,
Tested and judged for choosing to write?
For choosing poverty, I have no bride,
And many consider my life a blight.

Heeding the advice of others has misled me,
And now my debts and desires are at odds;
That which I desire most is to be free,
But I cannot when I am driven by rods.

I pray to be delivered, but I am not,
Why pray if my pleas are not accepted?
Should I seek relief from those I am fraught?
By those dark powers, I am tempted.

Wherefore should I suffer and struggle?
What will it cost me? Naught but my soul.
If that is the case, what should I smuggle?
Whom should I rob, cozen, and cajole?

Oncet say a friend to me, today is better
Than whatever fetter ten years ago;
Though today I possess many letters,
My life is not a desirable show.

***

 

Well, much like my mood, this poem is contemptible. I mean, I feel kind of... blah, so while there is some bleak stuff in there, the delivery is all wrong. Some words straight up suck, the phrasing is bad, and the time gets lost a lot. I'm not sure what to blame it on. Though I can't seem to escape these torturous, self-pitying poems, when I'm tired and not feeling "it," I can't help writing bleak poetry. It just happens. As for the first line, yes, I stole that from Dante's Inferno--I thought it might give me a start, and, it did, but not the start I really wanted. I also think ten syllables is too much for any poem that isn't a sonnet. Quatrains should probably be much shorter. Oh well.

 

(What's also unfortunate is I just thought of the boffo title for this piece, "Tempted by Forces Dark." That's a lovely bit of poetry. That would make a stupendous poem. I'm going to hold onto that for later.)

 

That's it for today. If you have the time, please check out my books for sale on Amazon which you can find through my author page. The link is below. Also, I reworked my Patreon page, so why not give it a look and consider becoming my patron. I would appreciate it.

Keep writing, my friends.

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