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An American Tragedy
In his mind the purple walrus
__mutated to a bat,
its unstable form evolving
__till it became a cat.
“Old cat,” said he, “you frown at me,
__it seems you are annoyed.”
“I am your mind,” the cat replied,
__“it’s I, you have destroyed.”
“This is not right, you cannot speak,”
__the man revealed a scowl.
“Like it or not, I am your mind,”
__the cat began to growl.
“Magnificent as I once was,
__my task is now complete.
I suffered much from your abuse
__now fate you cannot cheat.”
“I fail to understand,” said he,
__“the riddles which you speak.
So many worlds are known to me,
__it’s others who are weak.
The drugs have opened every door
__that there could ever be.”
“Behind those doors,” the cat rejoined,
__“there’s no reality.”
“Where are you cat? My vision fails,
__my sight goes dark as coal.”
“Your end is near,” replied the cat
__“It’s time to pay the toll.
You have destroyed your greatest gift,
__your musings now are past.”
The man’s mouth opened nigh an inch,
__before he breathed his last.
.
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Phil S. Rogers is a sixth generation Vermonter, age 72, now retired, and living in Texas. He served in the United States Air Force and had a career in real estate and banking. He previously published Everlasting Glory, a historical work that tells the story of each of the men from Vermont that was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War.
Excellent. Really enjoyed. Thank you!
An enjoyable read with a good message, and a very timely topic. Thanks.
Thank you Dan;
The drug use in American society truly is a national tragedy. I realize that it could never be completely eliminated, but there is no real effort to come down hard on people dealing in drugs like Fentanyl.
I truly enjoyed this poem and its images. You have such a talent for fantasy — I would like to see you take on “The Further Adventures Of Alice” or some such. I believe you could pull it off.
A beautifully written cautionary tale indeed.
A clever message in a fun poem. Thank you Phil.
You have taken a tragedy and put it in beautiful and thoughtful perspective.
An entrancing fable, sadly too true. And what a great idea to begin the poem with hallucinatory evolution!
Great way to describe the drug epidemic! It’s a fun read that describes a very somber and stark reality in a whimsical and non-preachy way. Good job!
Over-prescription of opioids for profit has had a terrible toll, as evinced by the title.
A thought-provoking piece, indeed, Phil.
Thanks for the read. Lewis Carroll would have loved this.
I am of the mind that humor and quirk are great tools in poetry to get a serious point across. This well wrought poem uses both as it gets its grave message across on a subject we should all be extremely concerned about. Thank you, Sir.
Susan’s right, you can make a telling and serious point with humour. You’ve achieved that here.