Overtaken

[entanglingbriars]

It is easy to be overtaken
By darkness, by sorrow, rage or despair,
To turn away from the world in grief.
Surrender, for naught is well or shall be,
For all our attempts to build the world
Were destined for failure before our births.
It is easy to be overtaken,
For these words are not lies nor do they hide
Away the stark coldness of Creation.

It is useless to be overtaken
By darkness, by sorrow, rage or despair,
To turn away from the world in grief.
To stare into the black and find nothing
Provides no benefit, no end from pain.
It grants freedom, but no purpose for it.
Falling into apathetic despair
Will not make the stark cold more bearable.

It is proper to be overtaken
By darkness, by sorrow, rage or despair,
To turn away from the world in grief.
As a response, it is reasonable
To accept in courage the meaningless
Of our lives and the vanity of hope.
"In a sick world, even the hale are sick,"
A pretense to health will heal no one;
In the end, all that remains is the cold.

It is futile to be overtaken
By darkness, by sorrow, rage or despair,
To turn away from the world in grief.
What is vanity in a sick world?
Simply a hard truth that leads to nothing,
A way to feel warm as the frost bites,
A consolation that kills to no point,
A pathway without beginning or end.
Vanity is as vain as Creation.

What is it to be overtaken
By darkness, by sorrow, rage or despair,
To turn away from the world in grief?
"Turning away and touching are both wrong,
For it is like a massive fire," justice
Lies somewhere between speaking and silence.
To avoid lying, never tell the truth.
This poem is a question, it does not
Give an answer. But I hope there is one,
For I am weary of the cold.

Quotes from Star Maker, by Olaf Stapledon and The Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi, author unknown.