A Stranger Within
by Pete Marshall
What lies within a secret mind
That bars itself from all who know
Its shuttered depths and hidden doors
And keys that only one can stow?
When left to think what does he know
When doors are locked and left alone
And pleasures felt from tip to toe
And hope that comes with dreams that go?
What lies within his deepest thoughts
That keep themselves so far away
Is he the man you know and love
Or is there more he wants to say?
What yearns inside a twisted mind
That aches for times when fun was quick
That hides himself as walls collapse
And plays his hand at dirty tricks?
What lies within a blackened heart
That wants you dead but loves you so
That licks the lips of gluttony
And wants for kicks you’ll never know?
So do you know the one you love
That sits beside and holds you tight
That gives you hugs and shows you love
Then walks the streets alone at night?
*************
This is my poem for One Shot Wednesday, run by One Stop Poetry, a fast growing site dedicated to poets & writers of all genres.
image courtesy creative commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/chemaminguez/
86 comments:
This is so deep and questioning. Do we really ever know?
Great work, Pete - thoroughly enjoyed reading this one
What lies! You've been in top form, Pete. Who really ever knows? Deep lyrics and smooth flow.
The stranger within coexists with the one we know. Or the one we think we know. Good poem, Pete, as usual.
this is kind of creepy...only because there are those - definately have two opposite sides that can go either way....will have to ask my husband...if he is one....bkm
Deep and dark and I absolutely freaking love it!! This is my kind of poetry!!
I enjoy your poems Pete, so much! your topics are impressively touching..yeah, do we really ever know??
BRILLIANT!
Interesting one shot..:))
I like the dark and questioning poems, as usual your words move me. Do we ever really know or choose to know the polarities of the ones we love or for that matter the polarities within ourselves?
Compelling poem. Truth be known, this is probably the majority of relationships in existence!
This made my hair stand on end. So many times I have wondered these things myself. Incredible!
excellent pete...love how you take us there and cause us to bring to question that which we think we know. nice one shot!
Hi Pete,
another great, powerful poem. Strong imagery, great wordplay. Love it.
The whole idea of being strangers to ourselves let alone to others really appeals to me. Great theme to explore in his modern age.
Thanks again,
George Pappas
how can we ever really be certain of what we "know" ? Great one shot!
We all have our skeletons....
Fantastic Pete!
Questions and darkness flowed within this poem, hoping to find out the true answer, do we really ever know what is actually going on in life? It been a great read:D
What I always love about your poetry is the flow. You always write intersting and unique poetry that makes me think. As always, excellent.
deep, disturbing, the kinda poem that whispers new hidden horror into your consciousness from the shadows,.... definitely my kinda poem ;-)
thank you for posting this
Gordon McDonald wrote "When Men Think Private Thoughts" A good pairing-Anything like this poem of yours that facilitates honest dialogue, is important work. If we only knew not to be afraid of our dark parts. :)
The last stanza gave me chills. It makes you really stop and consider how much we truly know anyone we love. Beautiful flow, as always, Pete. You're a master at it!
So like an iceberg, the vast proportion of which we don't see... below the surface.
Very very well done, seemed so dark yet at the same token inviting, and made me also think of Leslie's chameleon, how people can change...incredible writing, Pete.
Your writings are always deep, Pete...leaves me wondering where your muse wonders to each time you pick up the pen to pour what it has to say...Nice one!
Cheers!
Thoughtful, and so well written, My Friend. It makes one stop and think for a moment. This piece was a pleasure to read, Pete.
Simply beautiful... Peter, ... "then walks the streets alone at night"
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Can we ever really know and if we did who's to say one isn't changed after a walk alone at night. great poem- :)
http://adventuresinpoesy.wordpress.com/
hi anthony.....and what we know to do changes so quickly tomorrow
cheers Stryka...it took me a while to tweak and get it right so glad you enjoyed it
thanks Adam...exactly..What Lies!!!
cheers to you all pete
Dark, but lyrical. Great flow, and some very insightful stuff all around. Wonderful piece for One Shot!
thanks glynn...there is at least two layers to this piece..the obvious and the metaphorical..do we know who we really are...do we ever really show our true selves in public..in relationships..the list in endless..cheer my friend..pete
hi bkm..yes the creepiness was a fright to finish it off!!!! LOl
thanks Just me...if you liked this believe you me there is a heck of a lot darker on my blogs..cheers pete
thanks desert rose...and do we want to know???
cheers to all pete
hi patty..a good question..as i mentioned earlier as well..do we really want to know too?
hi timoteo...so true and that my friend is one of the hidden layers of this piece!!!
thanks neva...and thanks for your other comment too...take care
cheers to all pete
cheers bri...and cheers for your brotherly attention..thats what friends are for....
thanks george....i read so much enthusiasm in your comments..appreciate that....
thanks caty...but dont lay awake at night staring at the person next to you wondering..on my part LOL
cheers to all pete
thanks g-man....a very good point, and how many of us secretly yearn to rediscover them again too!!!!
cheers RiikaInfinityy..in answer to your question, if we did then is it worth living!!!
thanks suzicate...flow is important to me as much as having an impact with what is said..appreciate that
cheers to all pete
heu Widow..now why did i think you would like that LOL..cheers pete
hi kathleen..i shall look that poem up and thanks for your encouraging comments..cheers pete
thanks talon...like the word master!!!! hope id dint keep you awake thinking last night LOL
cheers to all Pete
hi tony..a very perceptive comment..so true..
thanks betweenheart...a great comment when someone says your work is incredible..cheers pete
hi lordy...yep..as i sit inside my cell looking out of the window at all the other inmates i stop and think to myself..what shall i write to day LOL...no mate just a bloke who likes to search deep and share but maybe in a bloke kinda way!!!
cheers to all pete
thanks traceysays...does make you think..cheers pete
hi shashi and thanks for your great comment at onestop as well cheers pete
hi river..sometimes a walk alone can leave you brooding too...
cheers to all pete
thanks chris..glad you enjoyed it...all the best pete
Pete, you never cease to amaze me. This is a top notch One Shot. Love and Light, Sender
Metaphysical and metaphorical while probing depths suspected but not fully explored. Very interesting subject. It's as if while looking for motivations for your writing you stumbled on something there you didn't know was there. Clearly iambic tet is your most natural rhythm. So many of your works move as songs do and this one is no exception. It almost swept me along to fast. I read it four or five times. Excellent work as always. Gay (@beachanny)
Like the wizard behind the curtain, one never truly knows, as the façade only shows a surface reflection of choice, not what lies under, in the depths of darkness. I enjoyed your poem. Thank you.
I like the dark shades here. We are all like that. But to what extent, it depends on the circumstances. Liked the flow and the rhythm.
nowhere island
Magnificently creepy, Pete. Who knows, indeed. Jeffrey Dahmer's mom probably thought he was cute.
Love the picture too. The Eye?
Heavy stuff, Pete! Conicidentally, I also did a poem about secrets this week (but mine is much shorter): My Secret
thanks sender...i like top notch..mean i done good
wow beachanny...you got your teeth into that comment and many thanks...the read is fast and deliberately so as i wanted it read with angst..if that makes sense?
cheers to all pete
hi refuge...a great well thought out comment..thanks for liking my work..cheers pete
thanks guatami.... circumstances indeed determine what we are comfortable with and to what extent our boundaries go..thanks for commenting
hi patti...yes it was the eye...the picture i found was great a person out in the rain seeing the minds eye..all disturbing...thanks pete
cheers to all pete
Mellifluous flow, the third and fourth stanza particularly resonated with me. Nice interplay of dark and light, ultra-internal (that is, subconscious), internal and external mixed motives.
sometimes, I feel I know not myself, never mind the one next to me.. this is questioning and deep..(at the risk of sounding repetitive).. and yes, loved the rhyme and flow to this.. well worth a read!
My 1 Shot
very good poem pete, loved the imagery :)
So delving, searching. Love your style.
I love the mysteriousness and the flow of this poem. I wonder if everyone has a dark side like this, but maybe some just never come to be seen in the light of day. hmm.... Heartspell
What lurks inside the hearts of men? Excellent One Stop. Compelling and dark. My One Shot is HERE.
LOVED this. so insightful... beautiful, pete.
very sense making,
beautifully done!
A very Dark piece of work....nicely done....
This gave me a shiver!
When the night is dark and the small quiet voice that you speaks is it words of comfort and love you feel you deserve to hear...Thanks for reading and commenting on my poem. Hope your week goes well.
The secret self...an excellent poem. I really like the concept. The diction is wonderfully presented.
hmm, deep (thought provoking) Got me thinking do we know really know ourselves, our capabilities. ~~~Mystery~~~ Great One!
This is somewhat dark, creepy and definitely thought provoking.
Gave me the shivers.
Good one!
Pete, I can totally relate...to all of it. Great write!
Wow neat! This is a really great site! I am wondering if anyone else has come across something
like this in the past? Keep up the great work!
What lies deep, Pete? It is my experience that those who dare question already know the answers.
Pete
Interesting, I also read the comments it seems you stirred up some strange emotions in everyone with this powerful (subconscious) forces rising up to the top, I agree with Timoteo said...Compelling poem. Truth be known, this is probably the majority of relationships in existence!
In addition our relationship to SELF, -- sometimes I wonder in my self and others we seem to be operating from unconscious programing.
An ingenious write. Now I am going to be thinking about your poem all night....
Joanny
Pete...very creepy, compelling and provoking piece. But we can never answer fully those deep questions of what leads men to suddenly become evil or good only left for the Gods above. You have a knack for delving into the human psyche which is one of the reasons i truly enjoy reading you.
this is amazing pete - think that's one of my favorite of yours so far - think all of us have this stranger within and we hardly know him ourselves and don't want to know others about him because we don't like what we see when we meet him in our darker hours.
Excellent expressed - excellent written!
Oh-- so darkly creepy and menacing! Great job!
http://mairmusic.wordpress.com/
thanks eric...yes i have read yours too..seems we both hit on the same idea..cheers pete
hi steve,,thanks for your comment..very appreciated
thanks leo...yes do we know who we really are?
thanks william..cheers pete
cheers beinda..so glad you appreciate that
hi heartspell...glad to see you thought into this..hope it didnt scare...
cheers to all pete
thanks monkey man and thanks for visiting
cheers emily...appreciate you commenting
thanks jingle
cheers to all pete
thank goodness no one is sitting beside me!
I like the rhyming scheme. It suits the subject matter.
thanks whitesnake....
hi mama...hope you wasnt to scared
thanks john...a liked your comment
thanks collective..that was a great comment
cheers to all pete
thanks jh..then the poem was a job done well.......
cheers linda for commenting
hi maureen...hope it didnt scare you too much
thanks she....
cheers to all pete
thanks anonymous...and thanks for the praise of one shot
hi ninotaziz...a deep statement to match the piece..cheers pete
thanks joanny...although this had a chill factor it was also that much deeper and i agreed with him too...this has received some great comments....cheers pete
thankyou so very much claudia...a good example i tend to find is or tempers..how we hold it in public yet lose it in private..hiding ourselves and pretending to be something we are not...we all live with image paramount..cheers pete
thanks pauline....hope you will be okay after reading this..cheers pete
Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde?
I don't know... Strangers like those must have a problem and thus......... I'd never let him go out! LOL
This is just brilliantly done! It is thought-provoking and so creative.
You sounded so convincing in here, that it actually scared me a bit! I am now eying my hubby, who is so peacefully asleep :)
(sigh) will we ever know know another "completely"? I really doubt it..
Heck, even if we try to know ourselves completely in this life, that would be an achievement by itself! :)
And excellent thought provoking poem, Pete.. AS EVER!
Pete this is a very captivating piece indeed...wonderful writing.
:-)
Like others have said- a beautifully dark poem.
Wow, sad and disturbing, but I expect it's true of many indeed.
Wow what a deep poem. No one knows what is in the mind of another, and thats kind of scary. But everyone keeps thoughts to themselves, that they would not tell another soul. Some feel that they must keep some thoughts to themselves, as it exposes a vulnerability in which others could take advantage of.
i am amazed by the amount of comments this piece has amassed...yes it is dark and disturbing and very layered...are we ever truthful to anyone...are there things we like or feel but ashamed to say...do we stay quiet and let things fester....thanks all Pete
Every poem of yours is different and evocative Pete.
Hope you will put together a book of all your poetry someday.
Suja
This is really dark, but it presents some really good questions. i like it man. good job.
Cheers,
Joe
That was sooo dark and so deep, fantastic write my friend. Hugs x
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