The Question.
That the question, in question,
Was borne by myself
And the gentleman in the corner
So very low did he stoop.
Rattling old bones,
Bend forth to my ear.
No doubt I was awaiting,
Ah yes,
Awaiting,
To hear what you now hear.
For the movement of these words,
They are faster than I,
And escape me to yourself.
Without so much as a farewell
And I know not how they land.
As no other chance I'll have,
And the gentleman in the corner
Melts my being with his longing.
And resistance seems a pity,
Seems a waste
If he is true...
And so I kneel before you.
Have eradicated sorrow
For the loved ones that I leave.
And the only pressing matter
At this time by your feet,
Oh Lord, is perpetuated
By glimmers that are fleet,
From the gentleman in the corner.
I have no knowledge,
And have no wish to deny.
As messenger only,
I step forward
(With no reason to step back).
And to you my head will bow;
A question to your wizened brow
From the gentleman in the corner.
Then scuttled to their clouds,
For they had seen before
The wrath of God
And had no care for quakes and storms.
(Far too scary and far too loud).
Skies and moons then parted way
For God to stand up straight and tall,
And point in no uncertain terms
To the gentleman in the corner.
And his feet did stamp with mighty force,
And his beard did shake with holy blasphemy,
As fires crumbled, mountains dried and rivers burned.
That such a question will be asked,
Oh gentleman in the corner!
Your name I know,
And know again,
And have known and will know
Forever more,
Yet the answer is the same!
You presume new thoughts;
Presume the decision to differ,
Have you not yet learned,
That to ask is not to get.
That I cannot change the rules,
They are not mine, I regret.
And for your cowardly demeanour,
Someone else has asked in fear.
And so,
Van Gogh,
YOU MAY NOT HAVE YOUR EAR!
The gentleman in the corner
Tipped his hat to my efforts
And bid me sadly, farewell.
Though I dared not voice this thought,
For the reaction...
Who could tell?
At the table for holy tea.
Serving glorious cake with sparkling cream,
Myself next to Abe,
And God next to me.
And such a sad fate it did strike me to be,
Of the gentleman in the corner.
No less, but certainly no more.
And yet undeniable frowns it caused,
To God, here sitting,
Drinking tea.
I leaned to the Lord,
And bade him come near...
Would it really have hurt
To give Van Gogh back his ear?
My dear,
He has asked me that year after year,
Day after day and
Hour by hour,
You are not the first to ask that my power
Is wasted on the rascal painter.
Who,
When first arrived,
Threw such a tantrum.
Rampaged, screaming to be left on earth...
Anything,
Resurrection, rebirth.
And then, in payment of my mirth,
At his own ridiculous notions...
He pulled out a knife,
And what do you know,
'Fore his ear was returned,
He sliced off my toe!
There's no way in the world
He will have back his ear!
Drop your head in defeat,
But you should try it my friend,
Revenge is so sweet!
Van Gogh image source
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@lightsplasher
Loving life through 3D graphics, art, photography, writing, cryptocoins and zen.
Follow me, @johleen if you like the kind of stuff I do. If you don't, then don't!!
Much love!
One for the ages! This is such a captivating story! I couldn't imagine reading it other than how you wrote it. The division of the lines really elevated this poem for me. I really like the narrator's voice you used, and you painted such a quirky scene. Beat by beat, this is one of the best longform poems I've read here. It's awesome how you made the rhymes uneven, makes the reader completely unaware where you placed them. God as the villain and Van Gogh as the tortured soul (ha! I see what you did there ;) ) was a brilliant turn, and one that paid of dividends. You've really struck gold with this one! :D
Oh thank you so much! This has got to be one of the nicest things anyone's ever said about something I've written!
It's an older poem of mine actually, I just remembered about it yesterday and went and dug it out from my piles of papers. When I started writing it, I didn't know what it was going to be about... I just had an an idea about a character who was 'a gentleman in the corner' who had a question to ask.
In behalf of Steemit, we thank you for unearthing it and sharing it here :D
You better get used to it, because I'm all about uplifting people here haha!
Well that's just wonderful, and definitely a sentiment I can get behind!!
That's beautiful!
thanks :)
Lol !! Awesome !,upvoted! ^ ^
ill be happy if you would check my work of drawing ^ ^
https://steemit.com/@cuteve
Thanks! Sure I'll check out your page. :)
Awesome poem.
Thank you. :)
awesome!
Thank you :)
Poor old Van Gogh.
I'm on his side - give him back his ear!!
You'll have to wait your turn, sir.
Haha! We should start a petition!
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