Zelda's Inferno exercise: indulging the angst

Posted on: Mon, 11/02/2009 - 19:48 By: Tom Swiss

This week's Zelda's Inferno exercise: a wordlist poem, from a wordlist generated around the theme guilt:

parents crime sex oogie secrets regret taboo Jesus anger lies judgment conscience condemn fear indulgence prohibition vices expectation shame compulsion

indulging the angst:

"regrets, I've had a few"
looking back in fear and judgment
and wondering if it's too late
if it's all been wasted
expectations of where I should be by now
the occasional shame of loneliness
and anger at the universe,
the eternal cry of Jesus, "why have you abandoned me?"

and so breathe
and return to this moment
and allow the light to shine through
and let go the compulsion to think, "it would all be better if only..."
and let go of condemnation
and come back to the small still point of ease
where all is holy and luminous

I know my cousin
Contributed
“Oogie”
To the word list

I know
True love
Is the absence
Of fear

I know
Expectation
Is a prelude
To disappointment

I know
Parents
Should never
Give-up

I know
Giving up
Is not the same
As letting go

I know
Guilt
Stems
From many things

I know
Jesus
Did not sit
In condemnation

I know
Religion
Is a source
Of shame

I know
Prohibition
Is a large scale
Judgment

I know
Indulgence
Is a small scale
Compulsion

I know
Regret
Will never
Heal you

I know
Vices
Will always
Exist

I know
Conscience
Should always
Guide you

I know
Anger
Can make you speak
With your fists

I know
Lies
Are not always
Hurtful

Yet
Secrets
Are mostly
Taboo

I know
Sex
Has many names
And faces

I know
Crime
Comes
From all places

I know
Love
Fills
The empty spaces

I know
Time
Heals
All wounds