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I am Penthos (Grief)


A Poem by Rick Puetter
"
I am the way into the doleful city, I am the way into eternal grief, I am the way to a forsaken race. —Dante’s Inferno.
"

Angel of grief, a 1894 sculpture by William Wetmore Story which serves as the grave stone of the artist and his wife Emelyn at the Protestant Cemetery, Rome. Photograph by Alessio Damato (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Alejo2083). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
 

 

I am Penthos1 (Grief)
 
"I am the way into the doleful city, I am the way into eternal grief,
I am the way to a forsaken race...Abandon all hope, ye who enter
here."  —Dante’s Inferno. 
 
 
Recollection has paled.
When did I arise?
In ages dim, I think.
But I awoke with Man.
The Greeks did first name Me.
But I was here before then.
In darker ages I arose.
In deeper mists I was formed.
I remember not,
But now I am here.
 
 
...And here I live and feed on Man!
 
 
I burst full formed onto Life.
I am Penthos.
I am the despair that men fear.
I am grief.
I am utter abandonment of hope.
 
I am worse than death,
For I give no mercy.
I am relentless.
I revel in despair and wailing.
Sweet is the sound of gnashing teeth.
Sweet are the sounds of beaten breast,
The palpitations of unending pain.
 
I am death without release.
I am suffering without recourse.
I am pain without redress.
I wallow in utter ruin to person,
Dissolution of hope and humanity,
Reduction to hovelling mass,
Ruination for ruination’s sake,
Beyond any hope of reprieve.
 
I AM GRIEF!
And I cannot be defeated.
 
I have crossed the river Acheron
And walked the circles of hell,
Sucking marrow from bones of men.
I make men hallow.
This is to my liking.
Hopelessness sweetens the meat!
Despair sings to Me.
It beckons “Satisfy your hunger!”
And I feast.
 
But bring not hope!
Bring not love.
Bring not that which lifts the Spirit.
I like them not!
Love’s hope, it burns Me.
Bring not that which harms Me,
That which pushes back my darkness.
 
Still, Man is weak.
Many have tried to contain Me,
Many to defeat Me.
But my power is old.
I cannot be vanquished.
 
I am your own.
I live in your fears.
I thrive through heartbreak,
And human condition.
You can’t dismiss Me,
For I am within you.
I am part of your soul.
You have fashioned Me
And I am fully yours.
 
I am Penthos,
Last of the gods to answer Zeus.
Through world of Man I roam,
Suckling on Man’s weakness.
Beware my ever-presence,
Lest you fall to me forever.
 
For I am GRIEF,
And in life you cannot escape Me.
 
 
 
 
©2009, Richard Puetter
All rights reserved

 

Notes
 
[1]Penthos is the greek god of grief. He was the last god to answer the call of Zeus when Zeus was appointing responsibilities to the gods and so only grief and despair were left when Penthos arrived.

© 2009 Rick Puetter
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Featured Review

'Grief exceeds all human understanding' .. or did, until I read this.

What magnificent writing, Rick. With quite simple language you've adventured and contemplated the deepest of all cruel emotions. Grief does eat the very heart and spirit of a person; in its time it spreads through body and mind like a disease and there's no cure - it can kill, it can maim, : 'I am worse than death, ~ For I give no mercy. ~ I am relentless.'

I wonder if there's a shade of conflict between the following two pairs of lines? 'Beware my ever-presence, Lest you fall to me forever. ' ' For I am GRIEF, And in life you cannot escape Me.' In the first couplet you almost hint - 'lest' - that it's possible to escape .. or have I misinterpreted there?

Do you realise that whilst you're telling the un-human tale of Penthos, you're actually giving hope? People might be unaware of its insatiable, vicious appetite but knowing about it, can give strength - of course not for all, but at least for some. I actually leave this page feeling more at peace than I did when I gently knocked and began to read.

Your writing is exceptional, you introduce new subjects , you make people think and feel. Thank you.

Posted 3 Months Ago

2 of 2 people found this review constructive.


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