"Sisyphus," by Nikolai Burdykin‘Questions for the Gods: Sisyphus’ by Alan Toltzis The Society July 29, 2016 Culture, Poetry 2 Comments for Claudia Why didn’t Sisyphus simply walk away and climb, unencumbered, up the smooth cleft worn in the undulant hillside, up and over that crest bright purple with wild violets one brilliant day? Could a man who outsmarted death miss this no-fuss solution and become eternally dumb? With such an easy path to blue-sky freedom, why was he now oblivious to the obvious? Perhaps stupidity was his punishment, not the grunting futility or eternal strain of mindlessly pushing his faltering brain up endless hills…and the crushing descent. No matter how relentlessly he would chase after answers, he would never again keep pace. Alan Toltzis is the author of “The Last Commandment.” His work has appeared in print and online publications including, IthacaLit, Right Hand Pointing, The Provo Canyon Review, Hummingbird, and Burningword Literary Journal. You can find him online at alantoltzis.com. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 2 Responses Durlabh Singh July 30, 2016 BARDO. May not the Element of space Rise against me In acrid acrimony. From the north Arrives green goddess Ghanta of serpent head Garlanded with skulls And in her hand Holding metallic bells Sounds of the surges Deafening eared knell. Let me remember Infinite compassions The past deeds For all the things Great and small And for all the creeds. For the white dove For the yellow bear For fields of worms For earth borne cares. Let not the Element of sun Arise against me In wandering thirst On burning symptoms. Yogins arise westward Bringing seeds of wisdom With wavering garlands Amid four coloured lights And the scented perfumes Moulded from purified elements. In all prevailing circles Let not the element Of the seeded earth Arise against me. In some splintered segment. Durlabh Singh. Reply Evan Mantyk August 1, 2016 We may be our own worst enemy. How true! Sometimes sweating it out may be undue. Reply Leave a Reply to Durlabh Singh Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Durlabh Singh July 30, 2016 BARDO. May not the Element of space Rise against me In acrid acrimony. From the north Arrives green goddess Ghanta of serpent head Garlanded with skulls And in her hand Holding metallic bells Sounds of the surges Deafening eared knell. Let me remember Infinite compassions The past deeds For all the things Great and small And for all the creeds. For the white dove For the yellow bear For fields of worms For earth borne cares. Let not the Element of sun Arise against me In wandering thirst On burning symptoms. Yogins arise westward Bringing seeds of wisdom With wavering garlands Amid four coloured lights And the scented perfumes Moulded from purified elements. In all prevailing circles Let not the element Of the seeded earth Arise against me. In some splintered segment. Durlabh Singh. Reply
Evan Mantyk August 1, 2016 We may be our own worst enemy. How true! Sometimes sweating it out may be undue. Reply
