nothing

nothing i regard with importance

to nothing that i am now a slave

gold i seek not, women i care not

triumph i prize not, kings too stir me not

collapse frightens me not, nor poverty

wealth and lust keep aging with time

leading, sure, to death before i die

teaching me i last longer than these

even eternity is beyond me to grasp

and i crave not for that nonentity

myself is, indeed, only lees and scum

and it’s not worth that careful caring

© henry victor     03.05.2003

nothingness to nothingness

my trembling and tottering

on the brink of nothingness
all around and within me
prompt me to turn towards you
like my cacti to the sun

but you remain silent
unknowable despite all
my years of seeking you through
the many mythos and philosophia
floating like rain clouds in the oikumene

but did i not see you gazing
in the direction of nazareth
the man wearing only a loin cloth
booted out from this world

so i turn to him in hope
only to find him emptying
his wallet and his soul
leaving no room for bloating

he permits only heaven’s winds
to bring whispers to his whisperings
and clouds to float him back into that
nothingness the world battles to fill