‘On 125 Anniversary of Nietzsche’s Death’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

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On 125 Anniversary of Nietzsche’s Death

Mr. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
wrote books that were dense and preachy,
as he soared above life’s trenches,
with his fellow Übermensches.

Supermen like him had vaulted
far above and were exalted
by their scholarly devotees,
who wore tweed and sported goatees.

Always ready with a wry word
that he’d drop as he flew skyward,
aimed at feeble-minded peasants,
deemed unworthy of his presence.

He helped send the world careening
by declaring that life’s meaning
is based on each one’s perspective,
and that morals were subjective.

He belittled true believers
who, to him, were self-deceivers
foolishly in search of pleasure
from fictitious holy treasure.

Awed by all he’d promulgated,
he quite often celebrated
God’s death with utmost affection,
but ignored His resurrection.

He could not have been much wronger
when he wrote what made him stronger
was whatever hadn’t killed him.
Soon thereafter, madness filled him.

He died young, and quite demented,
but with his beliefs cemented
in the minds of agitators,
and pedantic contemplators.

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Poet’s Note: Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche died of a stroke at the age of 55 on August 25, 1900, following a decade-long battle with debilitating mental health issues. He is best known for developing the philosophy of the Übermensch (translated into English as Overman or Superman). Such a person, he holds, rises above herd mentality and creates their own set of values, freed from the constraints of traditional morality.

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Warren Bonham is a private equity investor who lives in Southlake, Texas.