A Long Journey Through Eternity
(Poem)
I.
Joy, Pristine Joy
Was my pure experience in that dark and lonely cage
I kicked, danced, laughed and jumped
Even when held bound by a chain
Sorrow was alien, so was Freedom
Effervescence was mundane
Even in that little cage
Lack was foreign
My every need was dished
But the bane remained — I was caged
I couldn't care less
For I basked in that cell
Only if this joy did last till eternity
I soon stepped into the labyrinth
A surge came pushing ; A titanic force
Never experienced before
I was befuddled
The shell that contained me stretched and shriveled
I could hear jargon sounds—noises, outer my cell
Unprecedented! I thought
Then the worst occurred
The first break of sorrow
The force broke me out of my cherished home
Torrent of tears did I cry
It only exacerbated when I got the cut
The cut into freedom
The cut that extricated me from the chains tangling me to my cherished cage
Another blow of misery was it
A louder yell I let out
But some pats had me calm
II.
My new playground was spacious
Freedom gradually got exciting
With some tickles, I giggled
In time, I got accustomed
Unfortunately, the two worlds were far from being cognate
My belly would go empty
Crying became my single saving grace
In that cage, hunger was ever far from me
I had all my needs
But here, unending wants is my bane
The new world — freedom — had given me a larger field
But life was never complete
I took advantage and played
I had more dancing and kicks doing crazy things
Till I got the first set of lashes
From the very hand that constantly gave the pats
Instantly, I easily related to the term discipline
Thenceforth I received greater lashes
More terrifying ones
I couldn't help it
I couldn't hold back the weeping
And I wish I could switch so quick to a bigger me
Maybe I'll escape the whips
Well... I was wrong
They received lashes greater than I could have ever thought
III.
I gladly climbed to my prime
Now that I'm up, I want to return
Alas! The ladder is lost
Forever young — now a fantasy
Woken to the scary realities
And here I stand to face it
I realized that being alive isn't easy
But being a man and being responsible
is a more crazy struggle,
that struggle is necessary
Cos that struggle...
Keeps many alive
Willful death is never an option
Lightening those many faces with beaming smiles
happens to be the only available option
Greater freedom I have and I wish I have not
Cruelty is thy middle name nature!
Even so, Freedom has brought my lane
A greater joy so subtle I bask in;
The joy of assuming responsibilities
I'd be foolish not to relish in this
For the invisible whips await me
It lashes with great consequences
When I get frivolous
To escape the scars, I bring discretion to fore
Sometimes I wish I could return to that cage
But I'm only allowed to enter another
The result of this is not a return but a replica
Though pleasing, the outcome corresponds a titanic responsibility
Sometimes I wish I could return to dust
But then I'm determined
Willful death is never an option
Lightening those many faces with beaming smiles
happens to be the only available option
IV.
I will forge
I will flounder
I will fall,
With large burdens of faults
But I'll rise up
To tread this path I never stepped before
To create my footmarks
To construct my pathway
To reach my domain
And stay grounded like a flag
Flapping in the breeze
Glowing after going grungy from the red dust
Making the survival scream
For I triumphed in the Labyrinth
©Tom Hawks
Insight Network
08.02.18
Interpretation
The Labyrinth is a poem filled with various comparisons majorly between Freedom + Struggle or Pleasure + Captivity. The opening stanza peers into the womb (cage/enclosed space) of a mother being enjoyed by her unborn child, her unborn child definitely has no worries and is totally comfortable in that enclosure.
Subsequently, the unborn child gets his freedom at child birth, but being strange to the new world where he had more freedom to move (kick), he wept uncontrollably; but with time, he realized his new world wasn't bad after all; however, he always had to announce through tears that he was needy, something he didn't have to do in his mother's womb.
Just when he started getting accustomed to his new world and basking in his freedom, he got scolded by his parents for being too carefree; his new world required that he exercised caution. The scolding must have been too much that he prayed for days when he'll be old enough and independent; when his prayers were getting answered and he grew older, he began cherishing young times and wished he could return to being a child forever; however that was now impossible at the period, he could only replicate his father's action, become a father too and take on the responsibility of child rearing. At some points, the realities may have been heavy on him and he thought of suicide, however he realized that some things are better off than that, being alive and being responsible for people was something really worthy.
He decides to face this square on. However and whatever novel challenges he encounters, he's ready to get past them, struggle for survival and someday celebrate his victory through the labyrinth to the world.
The introduction also has another cognate narrative to it which later gets diffused into the latter part of the poem. It likewise delineates a young child who enjoyed freedom in his parents' bosom, he had virtually all he wanted until he grew up into reality and entered the labyrinth (matured life) which he first of all got scared of but later adapted too, enjoying life (freedom) as a youth. As he began to become frivolous, life had to remind him to tread cautiously — a reckless life will end up in suffering.
He therefore had to calm down and know he had to be responsible for his life and that of many others (as he was going deeper into adulthood), realizing the heavy duties he had to fulfill, he considered 'fight or flight' and realized there was nothing more honorable than to fight; being responsible for those around him, going through crazy things and trying as much to survive not just for himself, but all; by the very end of it all, he'd know deep within him that he is fulfilled.
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