Upon the rocky shore of Tempest’s wake,
And o’er the high sea cliffs of yesterday’s dream
I sleep.
Sleep in solitude and strength,
Tempered by fear and chaos.
This night — oh, long night –
I shall never forget,
But upon the breath of newborn babes.
Yesterday is forever present, and Tomorrow all the nearer,
Yet today is Here, and I know not of the Silence, for the noise.
Lines clash, and upon their clashing I tremble,
Tremble as an infinite, chaotic ocean,
Tremble as the rocky shore –
The rocky shore of Tempest’s wake.
Those cliffs o’er yonder are but phantoms of my mind,
But real, they do often seem to my fear-drenched form,
Like shadows cast upon Plato’s cavernous walls that delight all who perceive.
And the Forms? Curse the Forms, and curse their shadows,
And let my defiance swell up within and crush me, wash me out, ruin me…
Destroy me — all falseness, and Truth. Destroy “I”. For it does not serve me, no.
No, it serves itself, and pulls me around, this phantasm of Will, of chaos, of FEAR.
Yet I know not how to best it, nor to ignore it, nor let it be,
And the strength for such things often eludes me.
What of this? What of peace, and of pleasure, and of torment?
Upon the rocky shore of Tempest’s wake,
And o’er the high sea cliffs of yesterday’s dream
I sleep.
Sleep in solitude and strength,
Tempered by fear and chaos.
This night — oh, long night –
I shall never forget,
But upon the breath of newborn babes.
And, oh! that they cower, the low and the high,
And justice is not done, but waits with the blind.
And the towers of heaven, where angels sing! –
Of eternal glory that is Her (my light, my love);
Undeserving, no, but blinding from my vantage,
Of shadow and fear and Tempest…
My heaven is lost upon me,
And though she stay or leave, it matters little,
But for life’s joys and sorrows, to embrace or lament.
May I yet stand in defiance!
And let my defiance swell up within and crush me, wash me out, ruin me…
Destroy me — all falseness, and Truth –
That I might end this storm, this false and truthful Tempest,
And walk in the light of freedom: Her light, Her love,
Washing through my clouds and disintegrating my shadows,
That I may not be held down by the weight of my own creations…
And soon I may be left to stand alone,
To fight these weighted chains as I have always done,
Simply not knowing…
Simply forgetting…
Upon the rocky shore of Tempest’s wake,
And o’er the high sea cliffs of yesterday’s dream
I sleep.
Sleep in solitude and strength,
Tempered by fear and chaos.
This night — oh, long night –
I shall never forget,
But upon the breath of newborn babes.
Cross-posted on Medium (https://medium.com/@gostudent7676/the-tempest-a-raucous-silence-8a623f3a702e)
