a little space for hell

addressing suffering is the cost of being true

to tragedy and malevolence,

if you shut your eyes to it,
into that darkness
something hellish moves in,
without you even knowing it. . .
you will find the devil
in that desert

Author's Note

When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, "I will return to the house that I left" - Luke 11:24 (i'm an atheist, by the way)

Reviews

[Ana Papaya]

This makes me think of willful blindness. If you shut your eyes to the darkness you are allowing it room to grow rather than keeping it contained. Like how so often you hear of women being abused by a guy and his buddies will ignore that she is bruised and beaten just because they didn't see it happen, even though the signs are all there. They choose to act like everything is ok even though they probably know it isn't. Probably not what your poem is about but it made me think of this.

[Davidgeo]

It's about a lot of things, and that is one of them. Domestic abuse thrives when we shut our eyes to it, or blindly hope things will get better despite the reality of the past... which is always easier, until the next time. Truly addressing suffering will always be ugly and difficult... but such is life, real life. The benefits of being very smart animals for thousands of years has made things so comfortable for us these days we tend to forget that sometimes. (sometimes we even force ourselves to forget/ignore it)

[Ana Papaya]

Sometimes I wonder if I would be a different person had I not suffered as I had. How much of me is me and how much is a product of my experiences. Hard to say. I've come out stronger in the end maybe but I still feel the echoes. Anyway... :)
Interesting thoughts called out in this poem. Good write.

[Davidgeo]

There are many different kinds of suffering that affect many different kinds of personalities in very different ways. There is no good way to predict those kinds of outcomes, each individual life is a collection of millions upon millions of different little everyday moments... what truly shapes a person is something only that person can really understand. But if you're self reliant and self driven suffering tends to make them stronger if they can overcome it in a relatively healthy way. The bad news is that suffering will still exist regardless of any individual overcoming, even happy well adjusted people, if they are good people, will recognize and acknowledge suffering to one degree or another in their daily lives.... anyway... thanks for stimulating this little conversation. That sort of thing is always what I look for in this place.

[Alexa Nichols]

Lurv it. I need to start reading poetry again! 😭

[Firemay]

I like how short yet deeply powerful this is, you're moving thoughts in peoples heads and making them clpse their eyes to understand it better. Real good

[Davidgeo]

thank you for that. the short ones, when done properly, always carry more meaning in my opinion. the long ones are better left to the professionals.

[Wesley Dingler]

Bravo! my friend.
Short but excellent.
I love how the poem doesn't end as much as it simply dies off with the last line.
Thanks for letting me read this piece.



-wes

[Davidgeo]

You should see the longer version... it was, not good.

Thanks for the compliments... I'm glad you liked it.

[Wesley Dingler]

How me.
Where may I find it?

[Wesley Dingler]

*Show me.
Where may I find it?

[Davidgeo]

No offense to ya, but, I'm not going to share that version with anyone here.

[Wesley Dingler]

Fair enough...

[Stacy Purvis]

Short and Sweet. To the point, isnt it? Close your eyes and everything disappe...

[Angela Sparks]

This reminds me of the saying "Ignorance is bliss." Many people close their eyes or turn their cheek to the many different wrongs that are visible everyday, kids or wives getting beat, people being robbed, bullying in school, condescending bosses and teachers, religious or political leaders abusing power, etc. and then everyone wonders why the world is going to s**t. Why it seems to get better in the midst of a 'revolution' of some type when people are forced to open their eyes, but after the world just gets worse cause we pretend all the problems are solved. Great poem. Short and to the point oacked with meaning.

[Davidgeo]

Some people only pretend to look, that's the real reason things seem a little s****y these days. All the bad things are required to see properly when we look. Paradise does not exist without hell, hell does not exist without paradise. The difference between the devil and the angel is how they decide to act when they look at each other. But neither can truly exist without the other.

[Gee]

My mum did this in both marriages, us kids totally unaware, but eventually she found the strength, from God knows where, to remove both arseholes from our lives, and then, if you believe in it, Karma came into play. The first husband ( the man that fathered 5 of us) drowned whilst swimming in the sea off the coast of Spain and the second died alone in his flat, not being discovered until 9 days later. Finding out about their deaths was anything but sad.
Good morning David, hope all is well with you.

[Davidgeo]

Jesus Christ, talk about an ironical comedy of tragedies. I suppose the 'comedy' part is lost on you for rather obvious reasons. In some sense I wanna call you lucky, in another... well, I'll just leave that to you.

Thanks for sharing that little fucked up tale with me. I'm honestly glad this little poem made you think of it... which may sound slightly fucked up but it really was my intention in the first place, to make the reader feel things like that openly and honestly. Sharing that with me was easily the best compliment I could ever hope for. Thank you sir, you're a good man for a reason.

[Gee]

The comedic value of their demise sits well with me. On the plus side I got to be raised by a fabulously strong, determined woman with a work ethic second to none, this then setting me up well for my life thus far lived.
You're a good man yourself , better than you want to believe perhaps, and that ain't me blowing smoke up your are :)

[Davidgeo]

Your optimism is infectious.

[Gee]

Lol, it's easier to go through life that way. Same as loving instead of hating, far to draining to hate, dislike, folk as they constantly gnaw away at your mind.

[Davidgeo]

If you can "hate" properly it shows you things "loving" simply cannot. The trick is to do it with purpose, non-toxic purpose. If you can control them, those emotions are what shows you the "secrets" of being. Are you open to reading suggestions that aren't poetry? Read Carl Jung's "psychological types" and then read Aldous Huxley's "the island" (i'm assuming you've read "a brave new world", if not read that before "the island"). You might think you could call me unoriginal after that.

[Davidgeo]

… first you'd have to also read Solzhenitsyn's "gulag archipelago" to truly call me unoriginal.

[Gee]

The only time that I read is when I visit here or have to go through details, drawings at work.
read moreThe only time that I read is when I visit here or have to go through details, drawings at work.
I will Google the two suggestions and go from there. No point me saying I'm gonna read them if they hold no sway for me.
Can't say I've ever hated anybody, disliked my father and step father and have chosen not to spend time with many more folk.

[Davidgeo]

Google style cliff notes will be enough to convey something meaningful I think. But you will be missing out a little bit. (gulag archipelago is over a thousand pages, I only read that because I had to for university things... but it really was worth it in the end; that's a book that will change you)

[KWP]

yeah - I can relate to this

I mean in terms of - we all seek the happiness - and when we close our eyes we hope for peace and calm - but why? I went through a explorative phase of closing my eye to unfurl the darkness that you speak of. It pushed and pushed me - taunted and teased - I learnt a lot from that - I think it is important to know the every side of our own reflection.

I think also - once we meet the devil - we may just sit and find a bar and have a beer together - then we can both go our seperate ways in peace - XX

[Davidgeo]

You think i'm a version of the devil don't you?

I am. But not every devil is evil... I promise. And we shall drink scotch whiskey if that ever came to pass. Johnnie Blue and I'm buying.

[KWP]

:D I don't think you are the devil, nor do I think you are evil, I do however think we all have the capacity for evil.

Don't go opening your money too soon - Mali is thinking of studying over your way - you may have to buy me a scotch on a regular basis :D - and boy can I drink :S

[KWP]

hmmm - opening = spending okay!!!

[Davidgeo]

We all have the capacity for anything. Don't make me reference David Goggins again... it almost always makes me pull a hamstring when I just think about that dude.

Tell Mali that studying in midwest america is far more real than the coasts. New York's too angry, Los Angeles is too fake, Dallas is too stupid... but Chicago, baby, that's the only real city left in America. (i might be biased)

Maybe we'll have to step it down to Johnnie Black Label if your serious...

[KWP]

He met a guy on the bus that has sold him on Princeton - he's aiming for financial aid - he would have to sit the SAT's this month I think - he may have left his run too late but lets see. Is Princeton near you?

[Davidgeo]

Most of my family on my mother's side is from Newark. I know New Jersey very well. Princeton is sooooo beautiful, and objectively a top 5 university in this country (usually 2nd to Harvard depending on who you ask). Make sure you visit the equestrian team. They have some pretty fine ponies and damn, it's sooooo beautiful. Princeton is an objectively lovely campus.
But no... Princeton is no where near me these days. I live in a Chicago suburb about 18-20ish hours (driving) away.

[Davidgeo]

Seriously though, you won't like the people. You'll see why when you get there.

[Davidgeo]

Unless you can do math or physics, that's a good place... the liberal arts cats are kinda cunty these days.

[DIVYA]

I dug deep into my veins and pulled out a serpent rooting there. I lost a lot of blood and the haemorrhage is going to be profuse. Yet it was vital in order to avert an apocalypse later. I’ve often faced that kind of abomination in my life and called out on it, losing most of myself in the battle. It has brought me desolation but the darkness has kept my spirit aflame. My temple stays consecrated.

Thank you for this read. I needed it today. (just great timing or intuition I wonder ;) )

[Davidgeo]

Never stop digging... if you do it right, you only bleed just enough to be a better version of yourself.

I'm glad you found meaning in this. I think we all need to consciously remember this from time to time... it makes us better, even if it hurts sometimes, it makes the good times more meaningful. Especially when it hurts sometimes.

[DIVYA]

Yes of course...thanks.

[John the Baptist]

This one is brief but powerful. Has an almost Shakespearean sound to it (Something wicked this way comes). It makes me think of western Europe in the years between the two world wars. Britain and France both were in denial regarding the implications of the Nazi buildup until the blitzkrieg was upon them. Of course, the principle described here can be applied to any society or any individual. Denial of pain does not make the illness go away.

[Davidgeo]

You know your history. That did cross my mind when I was writing this... the first version of this was far longer (and clunky) and included references to the rise of euro fascism. I'm pleasantly surprised you brought that up.

[Lost]

My first reaction to this poem was similar to Ana's. The first two lines also made me view the poem as being about willful blindness as well. Great poem, thanks for a pleasant read :)

[Davidgeo]

That's an appropriate reaction I think. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

[Lost]

Of course! :)