II. A Soul in Anguish

II. A Soul in Anguish

A soul apart from God
Is a soul in anguish,
Lost in the wilderness,
Out of touch with its own creator.
Like a child without its mother,
It cannot function on its own.
Creator and created: they are one,
Inseparable, indivisable;
And when one is lost,
All is lost.

I need my Lord, my God,
Every day of my life
To give me courage and strength;
To fight the invisible
Battle of life
And resign myself to death;
He IS Life
And he IS death:
I do not agree
With all he is or does,
But he is all, everything, there is.
I cannot argue
With his greatness
Or doubt his power and strength;
He may be wrong or right,
But he is,
And I cannot close my eyes to that.
The tall mountain rises into the sky
And I see his majesty before me;
The tiny flower in the grass,
And it is his tenderness;
Man may have proven to be
HIS GREAT MISTAKE,
But all else, at least, is perfect,
Fits into a logical order,
And intertwines beautifully
With each other.
Man stands on the outside of the puzzle
Seeking answers, seeking answers,
And making the picture more complicated.

God is good and he is bad,
He kills his enemies and makes
Innocent people to suffer;
He draws the darkness of night
Around the big, wide world,
And causes the sunshine to fall.

And I will fight him as I love him,
And I will fight for what is right,
Unto the death,
       As he would.

Dawn Pisturino
1985
Copyright 1985-2019 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.

DEATH OF THE LOVERS

by Charles Baudelaire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We shall have beds full of faint perfumes,

Divans as deep as tombs,

And strange flowers on shelves,

Opened for us under more beautiful skies.

 

Using their last warmth in emulation,

Our two hearts will be two vast torches,

Which will reflect their double lights

In our two spirits, those twin mirrors.

 

One evening, made of mystical rose and blue,

We will exchange one flash of light,

Like a long sob, laden with farewells;

 

And later an Angel, half opening the doors,

Will come, faithful and joyous, to reanimate

The tarnished mirrors and the dead flames.

 

BIO:  Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) was a French poet, art critic, essayist, and translator whose innovative style influenced such poets as Paul Verlaine, Stephane Mallarme, and Arthur Rimbaud. A close friend of painter Edouard Manet, he is best known for his collection "The Flowers of Evil."