O, Hysteria

'Obsession is the single most wasteful human activity, because with an obsession you keep coming back and back and back to the same question and never get an answer.' - Norman Mailer.

 

Sir, I’m puzzled, I’ve got a question for you.

                        Once I’ve asked it, could you please give an answer?

Or... if there’s no answer... well then you could

                        Just acknowledge that I asked it, that’d be delightful.

Or he could f*****g acknowledge my existence,

                        My existence on this forsaken planet I’m forced to call home.

Do you remember all the times we spent together?

                        I’m only wondering, because I can certainly say that I don’t.

I don’t at all remember the day when he was

                        Asleep, lying in the grass while the midday sun

Shimmered in his telling chestnut eyes.

                        I don’t really remember later that day, either, 

When we lay under the stars together,

                        And I showed him the Plough and the North Star.

 

‘One can certainly say that, without any difficulty,

                        I remember so vividly the times we spent together.

Do you recall when we awoke alongside each other,

                        My arm around you, my eyes lost in the tropics of yours?

Do you remember the occasion when we walked

                        For so long that we forgot about everything but each other?’

 

If I’m honest, sir (O, almighty, ingenious, omniscient one),

Before you answer could you please examine the passage I’ve written?

 It’d be so kind of you to do so, if not -

                        Well, if not then you may as well just add some cyanide to

My water: to starve my body of energy by

‘Inhibiting the enzymes in the mitochondria of my cells’.

I’ll tell you this for free, my friend, whom I possibly

                        Trust more than most: he has already starved my body of energy,

In fact, he does every time I see him, and every time I don’t.

                        And my message? Love never, unless you like feeling weaker

Than if you’d not eaten for a week. Fin.

Reviews

[Cool Handless Luke]

Aptly titled and damn love can drive you crazy. Obsession too. There's this woman I used to work with that I never even talk to anymore but I don't think I'll ever be able to get her out of my system. There was just something about her.
Nice job flashing from spoken word to inner thought. Thanks for sharing. Keep it up.

[FiveOrchids]

__**__Do you remember the occasion when we walked
For so long that we forgot about everything but each other?’__**__

and

__**__And my message? Love never, unless you like feeling weaker
Than if you’d not eaten for a week. Fin. __**__

are complete opposites, they bring out so many different emotions, love and hatred, compassion and sympathy. I truly love your words.

[Doctor JKC]

I see this as having another take from the reviewers.
The attempt to know a God that knows our name.
I have lived in ashrams and seen the obsession.
"Oh, if I had only said one more mantra yesterday
I would have become realized." We want to know
what the f**k this all is and the frustration can be
overwhelming leading to fruitless obsession.

This could easily be taken to speak of love relationships.
Losing oneself in the other and all the projection/
introjection that goes on.

A wondrous write,
Jack

[FatalRewind]

Wow, interesting poem you have about memories forgotten and that have passed. I like it. I wish I could remember times with friends from way back when. Love, another thing that I wish I could experience with another being. It's a very nice poem, Indeed, I hope to see more like this.

[cest la vie]

This is a most unique write.. so much so that I adore it.. Love the intermixed dialogue, title, messages, the entire piece..
You are a most creative poet Mr. Black..:-)

[Katie]

You have a way with words that is just stunning. Love is a crazy damn thing and you captured every essence of it. Great job!

[Leaner Pastures]

While you illustrate the cycle of obsession beautifully, I think you capture the essence in these lines:
"...he has already starved my body of energy,
In fact, he does every time I see him, and every time I don’t."

I agree with the prior reviewer - the inner and outer dialogue gives this verse a sense of panache that is tastefully refreshing.