More Poetry from
'Geography Lessons'
Journey
Thus the first thing that plague brought to our town was exile.
- Albert Camus, The Plague
Hell hath no limits, nor is it circumscrib'd
In one self place, for where we are is hell,
And where hell is , must we ever be.
- Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus*
Where dare we go when first we try to sing our tune?
It is a song we sing that allows some escape
From our sentence wrought by years of - it is ruin
That presses in upon our breast - our home of late.
Yes, the place is not an edifice of strength.
Rather it is a mirage melded from dreams
Full of lightning and fears , shattering mirrors,
Making us forget what we might become.
Our lives portray a pretty dismal scene. We cannot
See ourselves - our virtue is lost. Never more will
Scenes of summer ring true in the evening shade.
We grow old - withering as we reach our wintry grave.
Gravitudinal shifts in our being do not change our journey.
We dare to go (Yet every place the story is the same).
The boundaries of our self-imposed exile from Eden
Doom each of us to everlasting penury.
January, 1994 (2004) from Geography Lessons by James Henderson
* Marlowe's Faust signs a pact with Satan for 24 years of unlimited power and pleasure. At the end of the poem Faustus fears his fate in Hell and tries to find faith. Unfortunately, Faustus' faith in God is not strong enough to save him, and he is carried away to Hell by Satan.
Thus the first thing that plague brought to our town was exile.
- Albert Camus, The Plague
Hell hath no limits, nor is it circumscrib'd
In one self place, for where we are is hell,
And where hell is , must we ever be.
- Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus*
Where dare we go when first we try to sing our tune?
It is a song we sing that allows some escape
From our sentence wrought by years of - it is ruin
That presses in upon our breast - our home of late.
Yes, the place is not an edifice of strength.
Rather it is a mirage melded from dreams
Full of lightning and fears , shattering mirrors,
Making us forget what we might become.
Our lives portray a pretty dismal scene. We cannot
See ourselves - our virtue is lost. Never more will
Scenes of summer ring true in the evening shade.
We grow old - withering as we reach our wintry grave.
Gravitudinal shifts in our being do not change our journey.
We dare to go (Yet every place the story is the same).
The boundaries of our self-imposed exile from Eden
Doom each of us to everlasting penury.
January, 1994 (2004) from Geography Lessons by James Henderson
* Marlowe's Faust signs a pact with Satan for 24 years of unlimited power and pleasure. At the end of the poem Faustus fears his fate in Hell and tries to find faith. Unfortunately, Faustus' faith in God is not strong enough to save him, and he is carried away to Hell by Satan.
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