Mythos & Marginalia

2015 – 2025: a decade of days

  • A Shadow Only Follows

    I wish to leave
    my shadow behind,
    no longer
    do I require a reminder
    of where I am.
    Translucent darkness
    with rough edges, its ability
    to stretch the truth
    serves no purpose.
    I am tired of its lazy ways,
    the constant need
    for attachment
    and a deviant reflection
    of where I stand.
    Never knowing
    its own direction, this shadow
    has seen too much of me,
    hiding when I could
    use support,
    believing it knows me
    all too well, and carrying
    the scent
    of my scattered past.
    A shadow only follows,
    more suitable for
    someone else to hide away.
    Darkness,
    I’m not going there.
    I see the light.

    © 2017 j.g. lewis

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  • Live With It

    Winter arrives unexpectedly, as it always seems to do.
       We shouldn’t be surprised, but we are.
       It is, after all, mid-November. This is Canada, and morning’s early chill should have been reminder enough to pull gloves, scarves and hats out of storage.
       But winter is not a feeling; even less it is a date.
       Winter truly begins with the first snowfall.
       Yesterday morning it was only a few flakes.
       Then it was flurries, and soon the rooftops below were covered in white. You could hear the slushy sounds of cars eleven stories down as the wet snow continued to accumulate.
       Of course, soon, you were caught up in the cross-town traffic. Driving is not easy in the first snowfall; it never is, as restless cab drivers recklessly swerve in an out of the steady traffic with unsteady drivers getting the feel of the slick roads. Slow and steady are the rules of the road; drive with the conditions if not the confidence.
       Freezing and melting, the unpredictable temperatures will be here for a while and all we can do is live with it for however long it takes.
       Winter arrives, almost unexpectedly, and takes over our lives for months at a time. The first snowfall has a way of reminding us of a new reality.
       Winter has this way of slowing us down.

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  • Adding Insult To Illusion

    Turn it off. Weary the mind. You’ve had your say

    now allow time for those working, or trying, and

    believing there may still be opportunity, perhaps

    prosperity. If allowed. Can the dream still exist?

    More and more it becomes less and less important.

    I will not listen; or cannot, a more apt description,

    to the incessant ignorance spilling from your lips.

    My ears bleed, my heart aches, among this crush

    of bigotry, inequality and blind trust misplaced.

    I put on my headphones commanding ear-splitting

    silence to shut out the numbing narcissistic diatribe

    with its women-hating violence. You’ve said all that

    you needed to get what you wanted, you bullied,

    and prophesied, and threatened and taunted. Now

    perpetuating insult with that firm hypocritical

    stance, adding insult to illusion, capitalizing on

    chance. It’s less about being chosen, and now

    what you choose, because my motherhood issues

    are a far cry from your motherfucking truths.

      

                                                                                    © 2022 j.g. lewis

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  • Desire To Stay

    We come and go, as routinely or as
    regularly as we have before. The days
    and destination vary, as expected, by
    month or year, by happenstance, fate,
    or intention. Our paths will cross with
    others on a similar plane, acknowledge
    our purpose, again and again, it is that
    which is common we all wish to show.
    We all want to belong. We wander, as
    do so many lost souls, as purposely or
    as randomly as it seems, Thoughts of
    where, or why, cross our minds, so we
    think more of the reasons than of the
    time, a critical factor to common minds.
    While where we go is as relevant as
    why we stay, for how long remains the
    bigger question. More a feeling than a
    purpose, comfort comes when you least
    expect it. Do we share the desire to stay
    as deeply as we must? Or, are we more
    influenced by wind direction, curiosity
    or trust? We still want to belong. We
    will stay when we feel welcome, often
    accepting what little we know, always
    uncertain when, or why, we have to go .

    © 2022 j.g. lewis

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  • uncomfortable truth

    He wants to be forgiven
    for memories he may only possess
    of moments not shared, not
    obviously or intimately.

    What never was
    just might have been the
    principle or pastime
    that caused this unorthodox pain.

    He finds it easier to write
    a common third-person narrative
    than to admit my faults, my
    needs or my struggle.

    His search for wholeness is
    an unforgiving quest to find a
    semi-natural state in a world of
    compromise and deceit.

    My self, my view, my impulse
    or intention goes long beyond
    what I am or have now.
    Deeper thought; a deeper longing.

    An uncomfortable truth of
    which has been comprised of
    falsehoods. What is behind his
    flawed and fragile shell?

    What I don’t often ask is
    often what I will not say and if
    you do not address this dichotomy
    you will end up going silent.

    It is not obvious, nor is it
    intentional. It is self-preservation
    and so much easier than
    having to admit this shame.

    © 2022 j.g. lewis

     

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