A poet’s prayer

A poet’s prayer
By Ada Ireland

 

Will you hurt me again?
Will you break my heart anew?
Inflict more suffering upon my soul?
If yes, I’ll form my lips just so
That when the exquisite pain
And anguish only you can give pass through
You won’t hear a frightful cry.
You’ll only hear lovely, blissful music.

So …

Will you hurt me again … please?
Send me to that place
Where pain and pleasure cease being
Two sides of the same coin
And melt together instead
Into a single soul-baring sensation … or feeling?
If yes, I’ll get my pen and paper ready
And I will write another poem.

P.S. This was inspired by Soren Kierkegaard’s definition of a poet. I love his words, except for the “unhappy man” part. That can be left out. Rumi would agree with me.

“What is a poet? An unhappy man who hides deep anguish in his heart, but whose lips are so formed that when the sigh and cry pass through them, it sounds like lovely music… And people flock around the poet and say: ‘Sing again soon’ – that is, ‘May new sufferings torment your soul but your lips be fashioned as before, for the cry would only frighten us, but the music, that is blissful.'”

– Soren Kierkegaard