LAMENTATIONS

by David Eide

He leaves his apartment early to cultivate character. His mind is filled with a cast of thousands who appear and vanish on the whim of some internal energy he can not control. And, sometimes, the character is a disguise for some idea.

There is a brief moment of panic as the poet realizes that most of the characters that move inside his head are young and powerless as he is. That experience has not enabled him to capture wide circles as yet; those circles he despises but which he must be fair and prudent with.

He experiences love but feels shame when he tries to explain it. He decides that he will remain silent about love until experience has driven into him the savage images and laughing thoughts that accompany love. The pleasure of intercourse with a woman contributes to hi sense of humor. His growing capacity to see the world as an absurd carnival that will never resolve' itself and yet, as serious for some reason.

The women who love the poet do so out o pity or because they have evaluated his early efforts and see that he will achieve fame along the way. As the poet feels himself descend into the depths, as he must, the women disappear and search in normal waters for some healthy catch.

Down the poet must go. He must penetrate the collapsing world and support it with his words. Some ancient energy kills off the words and supplants them with fierce scenes of what the energies are attached to. He is shown the truth of all striving and feels the collective shame that will not be felt by his fellows. The people turn against him as someone who is more abundantly endowed that they. His caution is despised by the women so he is alone. He experiences the aloneness feared by men.