.

Sailing to Illusium

Unheralded, the ancient oracle
Appears and disappears, pronounce announcing
Creaturely mortality while singing
Dirges under breath; rhetorical
Devices wringing images of death
From sweet-sleep fentanyl and crystal meth.

Unhinged abstentions from imperatives
To live belabored sweat for paradise.
Unplant, unwater, rape and reap the price
Of failure to embrace what Nature gives.
Abundance traded for a debt unpaid;
Too deaf and dumb and blind to be afraid.

And so it goes and comes and goes again,
The soft entice of whispered Siren’s song;
Alluring luring longing. Come along.
Belong. Emasculated women, men
Embreasted. Live the moment. Cop the feel
Where everyone’s reality is real.

And so it comes and goes, revolving door
That enters as it exits promises
Of unbelief for doubting Thomases;
Illusions that there’s always something more;
That happiness is life’s eternal goal,
A Christmas morning stocking-filled with coal.

.

.

Terminal

How Styxian, dark river of my soul,
That runs chill death through in-up-down my spine
Like poisoned, blood-red Tempranillo wine
With blessless, cold-grip hands to unconsole.
Fragility bound to debility
Mortality bound to futility.

Lord Charon opens wide his frozen hand,
For entering Hell’s blinding sunless day
In search of Lethe’s stream each soul must pay
To drink amnesia from her mindless strand.
As hopeless grope through endless ebon night
Finds gate nor window open to the light.

Above, no moon nor twinkling starlights’ shine;
Below, a deep abyss and nothing more;
About, a treeless, endless flatline floor;
Within, no dream of all that once was mine.
No sense of being bitter or enthralled.
Nor thought of love, nor life or death recalled,

A lair, a den, an Eden-hedgewalled breach
To flee, to fly where E.A.’s Raven sings
Then lunge and plunge on sun-melt waxen wings
With T.S. mermaids singing each to each;
Perchance to dream to be or not to be.
I do not think that they will sing to me.

.

.

Alternative Realities

Depart from hope, to be from hope set free;
To run and hide from proffered heaven’s light;
To shield one’s eyes, embracing brightless night;
Asserting the unknown with certainty.

So choosing, one must face the consequence:
If beyond life and death there’s nothing more,
Then what is life and living even for,
When arrogance replaces common sense?

For how can choosing random chance provide
A reason for how one ought to behave?
When “right” and “wrong” are constructs, what can save
If nothing matters after one has died?

Though flawed, Pascal’s famed wager ought to give
One pause to ponder the alternative.

.

.

James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and four collections of poetry including Sidekicks, Mostly Sonnets, and Laughing Matters, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in both print and online media. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.

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21 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Three deeply disturbing poems with exquisite rhyming that are dark and melancholy with trenchant thoughts to make us ponder. I had to look up Pascal’s wager and did so in “Wikipedia.” So that others can comprehend this reference, here is what I found: “Pascal’s wager is a philosophical argument advanced by Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), seventeenth-century French mathematician, philosopher, physicist, and theologian. This argument posits that individuals essentially engage in a life-defining gamble regarding the belief in the existence of God.

    Pascal contends that a rational person should adopt a lifestyle consistent with the existence of God and actively strive to believe in God. The reasoning behind this stance lies in the potential outcomes: if God does not exist, the individual incurs only finite losses, potentially sacrificing certain pleasures and luxuries. However, if God does indeed exist, they stand to gain immeasurably, as represented for example by an eternity in Heaven in Abrahamic tradition, while simultaneously avoiding boundless losses associated with an eternity in Hell.

    The original articulation of this wager can be found in Pascal’s posthumously published work titled Pensées (“Thoughts”), which comprises a compilation of previously unpublished notes. Notably, Pascal’s wager is significant as it marks the initial formal application of decision theory, existentialism, pragmatism, and voluntarism.”

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Thank you, Roy. Out of curiosity, I read Pascal’s “Pensées ” as I was beginning my graduate study preparations for ministry some 49 years ago. His thoughts and aphorisms (which were notes for a book of theology he did not live to complete) impressed me deeply and I encourage everyone to read the book, which is quite short. As an aside, in physics, Pascal is credited with developing the modern fields of fluid mechanics and hydrology. As an inventor he built a mechanical mathematical calculator. Hecdied in 1662 at the age of 39.

      Reply
  2. James Sale

    Brilliant poetry, James, all three: so many things to admire in these disturbing works. Love the coal in the Christmas stocking image; and the ‘T.S. mermaids singing each to each’ is wonderful for those catching the allusion; and as for Terminal, well I still think Pascal’ wager valid – how could it not be? But of course modernism and logical positivism will want to argue that the terms are not meaningful because they cannot be empirically shown to be true. But then neither can logical positivism, since there is no empirical validity for its own assertions. So cheer up James – you’ve had time in the sun to write something as good as this!

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Thank you, James. There is more than a bit of HellWard in these poems, along with allusions to the dark side of Dante (the accompanying illustration was part of my submission). Ironically, those who embrace the light of proffered Paradise are able to see into the darkness of Sheol/Gehenna/Hades’ inferno more clearly than those who have turned their backs on the light.

      Reply
      • James Sale

        Profound observations on ‘turning one’s back on the light’, James; and thanks for acknowledging ‘a bit of HellWard in these poems’, since influencing other poets is always gratifying. I did actually think that this was a bit ‘dark’ for you – though brilliantly so – and if HW got your Muse peering into the abyss, I am highly satisfied! But I will be very surprised if you don’t love my forthcoming DoorWay even more – which means, wow!, we may get some more inspired heavenly poems out of you! Wait for it – those who wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength.

  3. Brian A. Yapko

    All three poems are stellar, James, but “Sailing to Illusium” (a superb variation on Yeats) is one of the most observant and painful poems I can recall reading in a long time. I have known far too many who have been enticed by that “whispered Siren’s song” and have paid the ultimate price. And drug abuse in our society (what difference between street drugs and prescription drugs?) seems to get always worse, seldom better. You discuss other things of course, including the insanity of emasculated women and embreasted men. This poem broke my heart. Though a commentary on destructive social phenomena I read it as an elegy for lost souls.

    Reply
  4. Cynthia Erlandson

    These are absolutely breathtaking, James! The subject matter is profound; and you’ve invented some very original devices. “in-up-down”; “ blessless”; “hell’s blinding sunless day” are marvelous. And the way you worked in the phrases from “E.A.”, Eliot, and Shakespeare made my eyes pop! I will want to re- read them many times. “Terminal” is my favorite; but all three should make you famous! They should also make everyone who reads them think deeply.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      TY, Cynthia. I am glad my poetic inventions struck home and I join you in hoping that those who read these poems will take the time to think deeply about what they suggest.

      Reply
  5. Shari LeKane

    Wll done, James Tweedie. A dose of harsh reality and existential angst expressed in beautiful lyric and rhyme could easily sign the song of our time.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Shari, your phrase, “harsh reality and existential angst,” captures and well describes what I was addressing in these poems. I trust you are riding above that darkness by holding to a brighter reality!

      Reply
  6. Isabella

    A beautiful trio of poems! Profoundly thought provoking. This subject matter has occupied my thoughts quite often of late. Your poems indeed entice the reader to explore in more depth these age old ponderings and I too had not heard of Pascal’s wager,so thank you for that. It was a most enlightening and engaging search looking it up and I have found an English version of Pensées to read.
    Thank you again for your three wonderful engaging and enlightening poems.

    Reply
  7. James A. Tweedie

    Thank you, Isabella. I found Pascal’s thoughts to be surprisingly contemporary and relevant although written over 400 years ago. Bon appetit!

    Reply
  9. Paul A. Freeman

    Some darkly thought-provoking poetry, especially with the mythical imagery.

    Reply
  10. C.B. Anderson

    Your transition from the sublime to the profound, James, has been seamless. You are the real deal, a master worth attending.

    Reply
  11. Margaret Coats

    James, I am glad to find time at last for this trio of poems. They represent deep thought that makes your references to contemporary or literary matters startle the reader by their apparent inconsequence. The reference to Pascal’s wager, though, fits in well. But I am drawn to think more of the life and works of Peter Damian–a full thousand years ago.

    https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256887/st-peter-damian-the-driving-force-behind-the-reform-of-the-church-a-thousand-years-ago

    I remain especially impressed with the saint’s writings that describe how great sins rot the mind. He emphasizes the connection of mind and soul–not in a manner suited only to intellectuals, but to everyone with the capacity to think. I see you doing something similar in poetry. For example, I love the “unhinged abstentions from imperatives” leading to “Illusium.” In your second poem here, “Hell’s blinding day” speaks precisely of the eternal effects of earthly mindlessness. And when you touch on persons “asserting the unknown with certainty,” you must be (pastorally and prophetically) advising against uncritical adherence to our contemporary myths that contradict divine revelation. There are so many persons who are willing first to compartmentalize their minds so as to accommodate prevalent ideas with laissez-faire comfort, then later to promote the same questionable notions merely because they are too lazy to look into less comfortable ideas that just might prove to be truth. It is small praise to say “well done” about what you have done with these poems.

    Reply

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