A poem with Symploce, using Anaphora and Epiphora
Beast of burden, am I, who carries this imp on my chest, purring, like an acid trip gone wrong, in sobriety, shivers of anxiety, sending vibrations through my being,
I feel your breath, as a hum, in my body, an itch, as fleas, to beggars, corrupting, with no antibodies, to cure this disease, that breathes through my being,
Beast of burden, am I, who caries this imp, head of a cat, body of a monkey, joints that creak, movement clunky, pale green of ghostly essence, malnourished and sickly,
Like a pickle with hair, matted with feces, limbs of a swine, an aberration of species, face drawn and sunken, hacking and wheezing, pained, as if drunken, on poison, malnourished and sickly,
Beast of burden, am I, who carries this imp, wings of a bat, too weak to fly, with open wounds that seep, putrefying, the voice of babies crying, a thousand souls dying, under duress, and in distress,
O’ why, o’ why, o’ why, do you sit upon my chest – am I, so wicked, to deserve no rest?
Hooves prodding, poking, a weight forever choking, just another soul, am I; under duress, and in distress.
© Darius the Mate
Written for dVerse.
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nicecissist 
Very nice and beautiful
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Thank you Akolzol
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The nightmarish image of that imp you have inside reminds me so much of the myths of nightmares and mental illness. There is a well-known poem by Swedish Poet Esias Tegnér describing depression (or spleen sickness) as being bitten by a black elf…
If you want to dig into Swedish… here is a link http://runeberg.org/tegner/061.html
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Thanks Björn, I’ll enjoy checking this poet out.
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wow, really dark and powerful, the rhythms, repetitions and rhymes work perfectly.
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Thank you Kate ☺️
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I didn’t expect what followed the peaceful image of you sleeping … an epic write!!!
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Thank you Helen. Looks can be deceiving!
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Woah, this is a hard burden to bear! Nightmarish indeed. Reminds me of a short story by Guy de Maupassant called ‘Le Horla.’ Atmospheric and captivating!
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Thank you Ingrid 🥰
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Great description and a creepy flow with the repetitions. I’m wondering if you’ve experienced sleep paralysis? I had a weird hallucination upon waking after talking melatonin pills before. Truly frightening!
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Thankfully, I’ve haven’t experienced it personally, but the imagery was an inspiration in how I imagined myself, as the character in this, being sat on whilst in bed – hence the picture, tying into the story. Although, the subject matter was intended to relate to emotional states of anxiety and depression, the fact it brought about that image for you, leaves me very pleased with it.
It must have been terrifying – I couldn’t think of anything worse than being paralysed and in fear. Some of my most unpleasant dreams growing up, were where I was being attacked and not able to move my arms.
Thank you for you comment Tricia.
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Yes, depression and anxiety paralyze in their own ways. I love hearing the backstories of the poems!
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The repeated phrases and the growing desperation and terror in this is palpable. The word imp makes me think of demons–chosen very deliberately, I’m sure. I can see what Lucy means about Poe–not style exactly, but the inner torment coupled with external images.
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Thank you so much Merril 🙂 yes, certainly each word, including imp, is deliberate. I wanted it to be as uncomfortable to read as the emotions it’s describing are to feel.
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It worked! 😀
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It feels to me like the weight guilty souls bear because of our sin…how we need forgiveness and our burden lifted!
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Thank you for your comment Lynn
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the weight of that burden grows heavier and more horrible with each repeat – so you have clearly shown the efficacy of this device.
Your words remind me somewhat of Job complete with that outcry in the final stanza
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Earnest gratitude for your appraisal. Thank you Laura.
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Deeply moving with stripped horrors described with such honesty. I am reading Rilke’s poems currently, and your use of comma and line length feels Rilke. Profound.
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Deepest thanks A Reading Writer.
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This is so powerful, sorrowful, and it uses such fantastic detail with the horror scene. This reminds me of Poe a bit with his short stories; a common thread being a descent to decay or madness but with this piece, it seems both physical and mental. After reading this entirely, I was not only struck by such detail but as well the gravity of each word—it had me muttering, “My God.”
This is haunting and incredibly well written! 👏👏
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It means all the more, this review, coming from you, a writer of such talent and proficiency in subjects horror and the macabre.
Thank you so much Lucy!
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