https://allisongrayhurst.com/2012/06/01/dostoyevsky/

Dostoevsky

 

Demon of everglade beauty

of the dark space around the

                    moon.

Sensitive to the point of sickness.

Deep-set eyes like the eyes

of some brooding god,

                   hammering

the earth to pieces.

Breath of an invalid, gambler

& saint, weighed down by

                   sentiment.

Breath of grey and yellow 

skies above you, blood red

buried beneath bone and

                   skin.

Hand of a writer, 

naked without a pen,

like a new-born bird

                   flung

from its nest: flesh on fire.

Apocalypse mind, opener

of the seventh seal. Mentor of all

                   believers.

Christ-like visions swarm your mind.

Ravaged by depression,

by high ideals that

                  rip

out your ribs, one by one

into the thick day.

.

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Copyright © 1995 by Allison Grayhurst