In response to rozk

[avevale_intelligencer]

A friend tells me that, if there is no soul,
There is no clash of body against mind.
I hate to be contentious, but I find
The case is rather different, on the whole.

For flesh and mind are clashing all the time;
The flesh says "eat!", the mind says "lose some weight."
The mind cries "run!", the flesh drones "vegetate,"
The soul is no wise guilty of this crime.

Am I the athlete who desires to run,
Or else the slugabed who yearns for quiet?
Do I crave food, or would I rather diet?
The I that speaks is both, and neither one.

When flesh and mind contend with shouts obscene
I place the soul--the self--smack in between.

Comments

[filkerbaby.livejournal.com]

This is brilliant. Please continue.

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Alas, I can't. My adversary's gone.
She's better things to do than bandy rhyme
With plebs like me. I've trespassed on her time
Enough, I think; but how can I go on?

My mill lacks grist; one cog cannot engage;
It twizzles blindly till the bearings smoke.
To say I'd won would be a hollow joke,
So this will be the last verse on this page.

The question--soul, or none--stands unresolved.
I still believe some such thing must exist,
For every tale needs a protagonist
Through whom the audience may get involved.

But who then is the audience? Don't ask me;
That answer's not in my philosophy.