GAIA'S EPIC LOVE POEM

Hey everyone! As everyone around here probably knows, I like to write a lot. Specifically, I write short stories and novels. However, I occasionally take a crack at writing a small poem. Usually, I don't get very far - I can write short, one stanza poems that read fairly well, but I've never been able to go much further.

Hence, it came as a big shock to me when, in the middle of my Anthropology class (of all places) when I became struck with the urge to write an epic love poem. It's currently not finished, and the title isn't yet final, but I'm tremendously happy with the six verses I've written so far, so I thought I'd show it off!

As usual, this work is protected by international copyright law and remains my sole property and cannot be reproduced without my permission by any entity other than myself.

The Heart's Last Battle

Where nothingness exists,
What lies beyond the sun?
Nothing but a heart of darkness,
Where inner demons kiss.
I shall board a ship to blackness,
Make a journey to the unknown,
To where danger lurks just beyond my sanity,
And the only safe place is at home.

I cross a river of blood,
In a land where there is no love,
But emotions have their birth,
And I am drowned in despair,
An ever surging flood.
Swept away in a maelstrom,
But to me escape is impossible,
Because I fear of being wrong.

So now I stand upon the precipice,
Trying to figure out how to proceed,
Assaulting a nightmarish edifice,
Where no paths seem to lead.
Each step is fateful,
Can lead to euphoria or madness.
Indecision is hateful,
But I am not insightful.

At the castle's gates a battle is waged,
Light and darkness clash,
Twist together in a demonic embrace.
I watch the soldiers fight from afar,
Their numbers swell and fall,
But the outcome cannot yet be determined,
So my heartbeat slows to a crawl.

With baited breath I wait,
Hands clasped upon my sword,
For the right time to come to strike,
Before it is too late.
I parry the blows that come from Death himself,
As the forces of light prevail,
And I plunge myself into the dark depths,
Where all will be revealed.

As I journey through the darkness,
Iron resolve lights my way.
I press onward, fighting my demons,
My courage keeps them at bay.
I keep fighting this battle I cannot lose,
I'll fight the forces of Hell itself,
If what I'm fighting for is you.

In fact, the first stanza is a reference to Heart of Darkness. That's what we were studying in literary studies at the time. Remember, I wrote most of this in class and off the top of my head as well, so it kind of loses the point and jumps around a bit. It does need some work. I was originally writing about colonialism, but then it changed into something different. Later, I decided that it seemed that love, and the struggle between light and dark were prominent themese. I really just wrote what I thought sounded good, with no thought for the symbolic elements or thematic qualities.

I was never really one for rhythm though. That I feel is a matter of personal taste. I do try to include rhymes or slant rhymes when possible, but I don't use any particular number of them in each stanza or spaced evenly apart.

Thanks for reading though!

I enjoy writing poetry, but I think it shows that it's not my literary strength. Personally, I'm much more comfortable writing fiction and I know much more about the literary techniques of narrative writing than I do about poetry. I've rarely studied poetry before, so the technical side of it is lost on me.

Thanks for your feedback, though! I do want to try and refine this particular poem. There's a peer reviewed literary journal published at my university that I've had stories published in before, and I'm thinking of sending in this poem once it's been cleaned up a little.