Valé ...another victim of the unforgiving society we embrace with as much fervour as we can possibly muster

    Philip Seymour Hoffman

Views in Verse on tragedy

Valé!

The race is done.You are at rest.

Is God in ...?

I drove off today in search of the

day I lost

Somewhere the night before

Fifty miles on I stop...

Fifty miles from my door

I carry too a passenger 

who is eating me alive

Running from yourself 

Sure isn't easy...

all I could do was drive

I get out by a picket fence

Reflecting lives lived once within

Little to say but

Front door open ...back door too

Spirits left cold therein

Cross after cross pock this town

outnumbered 

only by stray dogs

Precious little life

in this park here either

Save the crumpled 'wino' logs

A preacher calls

 "there's comfort here"!

Hard to believe by his grin

Everyone playing on

something special on

evil, guilt or sin.

How desperate am I

to tackle this state...?

I gotta lead with my chin

But before I enter...

I can't help but ask

"...is god (really) in?"

"In fact...

Why not take me to him now?

He must be aware of my state

I have some issues

That we must address

best handled face to face"

"I'll tell him true of my own view

that all the world's in pain

Bent, broken,

and disconnected and

lost in personal gain"

I ask the thoughts

of a nearby woman

Just to get me back on track

She confides: 

"fact is man ...I only come here 

for the soup that's out the back" 

As I join the queue 

a guy demands

"First we need to know

where you're from...?"

"And look son...for a 'fair price' too

we can send some product along"

Then he says:

 "trust in God

and you will never ever fear"

To this I reply:

"I feel your hype my friend

but if salvation's really near..."

"My maker must have a halo bright

Something I can aspire to...

I've been searching...

Yeh, I've been searching...but

There's nought like that round here"

And to what avail... 

I challenge myself

To find someone who'll listen...?

Intervention must start with me

To free me from this prison

Cold stone arches 

Hold little appeal

in taming an untamed head

And taking the easy road 

is...'easy '

Time after time instead...

I slip into a strip bar

two doors up

to find a smile for the road

Didn't find a smile...no...

Not at all

But I sure enough dropped my load

Not much left of this goddam day 

Dusk dim 

the falling sun's rays

I ask a street kid 

for directions

He manfully shows me the way

Forwarded from my Ipad - Grahame J Flynn