Mortality: Brenda Arledge Poetry Prompt Response Week 10
Alyssa is an avid reader, writer, and coffee enthusiast. She loves sharing thoughts, ideas, and creative writings with the world.
Another week, another opportunity to let creativity run rampant. Brenda chose life as the word to spark our muses for this round. I kept it in the back of my mind as I went about my daily tasks this week, just waiting for something to speak to me. Oftentimes a flow of words will come randomly and I jot them down in my Notes app. I have quite the collection of phrases and half poems patiently sitting in an orderly queue, awaiting my return. So this week I decided to put them to good use. As I scrolled through, I noticed related ideas or sets of words I thought would work well together. From that collection a new poem was born, my longest to date.
Thank you for this inspiring series, Brenda!
Mortality
Thank you for coming,
won't you sit down?
Lean on in
just a little closer.
Let me tell you a secret:
Betrayal comes in many forms,
Deception is an art.
Little lies
maintain the image
lurking right beneath the surface.
You see,
I've never found myself
on the side of good;
gold, white,
sparkles, and sun.
My talents were found
amidst the sinister shadows,
something about the darkness
invites us in.
Danger is exciting,
an addicting temptation.
Don't you know
it's all a facade?
Beauty and grace
a masquerading illusion,
the oldest trick in the book,
a nourishing poison
the ultimate ecstasy.
Rich land
filled with possibilities
anxiously waiting to be claimed
oh, but who's keeping score?
As the centuries passed
my fire slowly dimmed.
I was left lost and searching
for something I couldn't define
Unspoken Truth.
The problem is
no one understands fragility
we're all running
on borrowed time.
In the end
it's all the same,
from death
springs life.
Deliver me to Salvation
through a path of pain
as the ancient stories foretold.
Oh, but what a shame
it's so easy to disregard
wouldn't it be easier
to just give in?
When it all ends
what remains?
Time is an indifferent god
and there is no life
beyond this place.
Red fades to black
in the blink of an eye,
a sea of shadows
beneath the silvery glow
side by side
yet miles apart
and I know you tried
gave it your all,
but only fools like us
would've ever believed
it could all work out.
Fate sealed the world,
Volition bought our demise.
Isn't it tragic?
© 2021 Alyssa
Comments
Alyssa (author) from Ohio on April 25, 2021:
Thank you Peggy!
Alyssa (author) from Ohio on April 25, 2021:
Thank you so much Pamela!
Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on April 25, 2021:
Death comes to us all, whether we are ready for it or not. In life, there are many paths we can take. You have pointed out some of the many temptations along the way in your poem. Excellent writing!
Pamela Oglesby from Sunny Florida on April 25, 2021:
You write beautiful poetry, Alyssa. I really enjoyed reading your article.
Alyssa (author) from Ohio on April 25, 2021:
Thank you so much Lora!
Alyssa (author) from Ohio on April 25, 2021:
Exactly, no line can ever go to waste! :) Thank you Ann!
Alyssa (author) from Ohio on April 25, 2021:
Thank you Ravi.
Alyssa (author) from Ohio on April 25, 2021:
You broke it down beautifully. Thank you Brenda!
Lora Hollings on April 24, 2021:
You give us a lot to think about in your poem, Alyssa. In my view, it is quite existential. We have to make choices about our lives while knowing that we are mortal. With life comes responsibility, accepting consequences for our own actions, our responsibilities to others, to our planet, and to all sentient beings to treat them fairly. Your poem asks us to think about the way we spend our lives as the clock keeps on ticking. Do we want to make a difference with our lives, or do we want to just gamble our lives away and pursue something just because we think it will lead to riches and in the end, we realize the error of our ways, but it is too late to alter our course. You have written a profound poem that certainly makes us think about our lives and its finite nature.
Ann Carr from SW England on April 24, 2021:
Life and death. Just the two sides of a coin, intertwined, the inevitable conclusion. You've built an interesting perspective with your great phraseology, Alyssa, and given us so many angles to consider. Let's live life to the full, wisely!
I too keep a file of jottings to use when the time is right. I think many writers do that. We can't waste a single idea!
Ann
Ravi Rajan from Mumbai on April 24, 2021:
This is another interpretation of life. Yes it is dark but then life is not always white .It is fill of myriad shades of gray that includes betrayal, guilt and heartache. Thanks for sharing Alyssa.
BRENDA ARLEDGE from Washington Court House on April 24, 2021:
Alyssa,
This one definitely takes a different spin on life.
Betrayal takes on many forms, such as that little white lie never hurt anyone.
The temptation of danger is exciting, so why not take a chance.
Beauty in life is an illusion just as the unspoken truth is too hard for one to explain.
Searching relentlessly, yet finding heartache and pain.
Isn't so much easier to give in than to do what's right?
Especially since we have no idea how much time we have left.
Why be a fool and believe that it can work out?
Just follow your own free will and do whatever you please.
Forget the illusion you really want because fate will probably deal you a bad card anyway.
So...toss it away.
Yes, it's tragic to live life this way.
It's sad, but often reality.
I will post a link on the article.
Alyssa (author) from Ohio on April 24, 2021:
That's usually my goal, haha! Thank you for your kind words John!
John Hansen from Queensland Australia on April 24, 2021:
Well, Alyssa, you certainly took a different take on “life” and ran with it. A lot of stuff people try not to think about expressed here, we can run but not hide from mortality. Excellent poetry.
