First Gong Vol. 8: Thrust FIRST GONG 8 THRUST | Page 155

I HAD WORSE - Ugonna Richard
There are worse things ;
and they are terrible things,
one of them is,
I forfeited my name
in the sands of time,
I sold my soul to
the perfidy of gods
is another,
I lost my essence
in the arms of a heresy,
and the decaying fragrance;
of Judas praises,
I’ve had worse,
I wrote poems
upon the sigh of the sun
and made love to
the moon's tears,
I’ve had worse.
I’ve been vain.
I’ve lost my virginity
on the platter
of dead poets,
whose lyrical fatuousness
is my undoing,
at the altar of vanity,
vain's token offerings
derided my piety,
and denied me
safe havens,
Vain is a mean garland
wear it like a Macbeth
and write as you like it
or sing an Ode to Nightingales,
yet the malady of King Lear
shall be my curse,
I’ve had worse.
Vain is my rite of passage
to hell's bliss
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