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into eyes of ruin -

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I … recognize your reflection ... you're the eminent master-of-disguise but I know you better than most and all your faces are mine ... you're Le Grand Séducteur, the big lie ... you're the perfect lover the Id Euphoric the bitter bite at the back of my throat the horrid relief and the warmth in my blood ... you're the answer to everything and nothing you're my salvation and my doom my mother, my child, my creator ... my scars and my stripes - the divine wound of my failures and the eternal weep of despair ... you are the product of my fear you are Ultimate Sin and dire consequence - a child's laugh and a woman's sigh a siren’s scream in the night a final gasp of breath and the wailing of horror unimaginable - I love you with my integral heart and despise you with my every fibre ... I drink you in like a lover's tongue and cast you off like poison in my eyes I will protect you as an angel's charge and I will drag you screaming to hell ... you are my religion and my despair my intention and my apathy my purpose and my hypocrisy my deception and my utter TRUTH ... you are my birth, brought forth to be all and my death - consumed and carrion-cold ... I have supreme victory over you and you have won all that I am - LOOK in the mirror at what you've created - bless you ... damn you. ~ 1st Place ~ in the "Mirror Mirror" Poetry Contest, Craig Cornish, Sponsor.

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Charles Messina

Date: 11/28/2018 7:44:00 AM

I can't say enough about this, Greg. But what I will say is that I thank the lord that you are still with us. Besides you being a GREAT poet, you are a wonderful teacher and a true blessing to all of us. I am so happy that the broken mirror has been replaced with a new bigger one that reflects upon you, giving you a will to overcome. Like myself, many can relate to this. Keep up the power of will and throw the devil's candy back into the firepit. Sending love and prayers your way. ~Charles

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 11/21/2019 10:54:00 PM

I'm sorry I never saw this comment until now, Sir Charles, because your opinion is a very valuable one to me, and I am so pleased that you enjoyed this one ... it's very dark and deep, I know, but shares many important truths, I believe, not just about my OWN journey, but about life in general. Many thanks and blessings, My Poet Brother! :o)

Becca Teagan

Date: 10/2/2017 12:11:00 AM

This is amazing, Gregory, I am not surprised it won in the contest!

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 10/2/2017 5:19:00 AM

Oh, that's very sweet of you, Becca - I greatly appreciate the kind comments! Blessings, my friend ... :-) <3

Agnes Krampe

Date: 9/30/2017 8:10:00 PM

Coming back with congrats on your win, Gregory. I like your poem even better upon rereading :)

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/30/2017 10:26:00 PM

Thank you very much, Agnes, I so appreciate your kind comments! This is indeed about a conflicted relationship - a relationship with myself, and a struggle I think we all can relate to to some degree. I have struggled with substance abuse, (opiates), for thirty years, and while I haven't abused anything since 2005, it will ALWAYS be a battle, day-to-day. Blessings, my friend!

Sonia Walker

Date: 9/28/2017 6:24:00 PM

Gregory, your writing is supreme. Congratulations on your well-earned work of art. All the best, Sonia.

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/28/2017 7:27:00 PM

That's very kind of you, Sonia - thank you so much, my friend! Blessings and best wishes! :-) <3

Maureen Mcgreavy

Date: 9/25/2017 10:14:00 AM

Back to bestow congratulations! All the best dear poet, xomo! :)

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/28/2017 2:25:00 AM

They're right below these - you commented on this poem back in July ("poetic orgasms" - love it!) ... I will check my soup mail - something else I don't keep up with. I'm working on it, but a ways to go, lol, (email is so much better). Again, forgive me! :-)

Maureen Mcgreavy
Date: 9/26/2017 8:46:00 AM

Perhaps I'll stumble across them in time :) did you ever get a soupmail from me on dark matter? My outbox apparently selective.

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 6:47:00 PM

You are very sweet, Maureen - thank you so much! And I just saw your replies from July and answered them - I'm so sorry, I don't always check back, and PS has yet to notify at replies, (I hope they change that) Forgive the lateness! <3

Kim Rodrigues

Date: 9/25/2017 5:48:00 AM

Wow! I see why you won! Excellent explosion of emotions!

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 6:26:00 PM

That's a very interesting and accurate description, Kim - I had never thought of it that way, but you're absolutely right, it was an explosion! (It rather felt that way at the time as well, lol). Thank you, my friend! :-)

Subimal Sinha-Roy

Date: 9/24/2017 11:53:00 PM

Congratulations on your great win, Greg.

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 3:51:00 AM

Thank you so much, Subimal - I greatly appreciate that! Blessings! :-)

Probir Gupta

Date: 9/24/2017 8:53:00 PM

Superb ... An intellectual dance of words for the truth ... and of course with beauty ... congratulations on your grand win, Gregory ...

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 3:49:00 AM

That's very kind of you, Probir, and I thank you so much! Blessings my friend! :-)

Janis Thompson

Date: 9/24/2017 8:48:00 PM

I feel that you are really referring to yourself and everything that makes you who you are from beginning to now. It may be deeper but your poetry is very deep and moving. Congratulations on your top win. Even though I had a trophy on this one, I knew full well I wouldn't by any chance get another, I was surprised it even placed. Competition is so changed now.

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 3:48:00 AM

Thank you so very much, my dear friend ... yes, this is certainly about me and an introspective piece, though there are a couple of tragic elements that few people know about. Perhaps I will share them someday, but between this one and a couple of others, many can probably guess.

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 3:48:00 AM

ALL we go through - good OR bad - makes us who we are, and I am thankful for all of it, (though not proud of all of it). Blessings to you, Janice ... you are very perceptive! :-) <3

John Hamilton

Date: 9/24/2017 8:39:00 PM

Back to say congrats and I knew it! Don't forget I was the first contest sponsor to give you a first place and told you, that you are a rising star, so happy for you Greg, I am honored to be on the same forum as you, and...I can say...I knew you when...lol!

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 3:44:00 AM

You are too kind, my friend, and I will NEVER forget that you gave me my first first place win, (for "One Kiss", I believe?), as that was very special! You and Jannie Breedt were the first two people to befriend me, (Robert Lindley, too), and that is also special. The sentiment goes both ways, Brother, as I am honored to be spoken of in the same breath with poets like yourself - I am blessed! :-)

Constance La France

Date: 9/24/2017 4:43:00 PM

Greg, congratulations on your trophy win with this eerie and haunting write !

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/24/2017 6:06:00 PM

Thanks so very much, BW, I'm pleased you enjoyed this ... very dark, but some good lessons and substance, I think. It was tough to write - to go to that place - but so much healing and catharsis. Blessings, Friend! :-) <3

John Michaels

Date: 9/24/2017 3:07:00 PM

Powerful stuff, Greg. Another very impressive and well-deserved First Place win! Congratulations! Regards, John.

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/24/2017 6:05:00 PM

Very kind of you to say so, John, and I greatly appreciate your wonderful comment! Blessings, my friend! :-)

Janice Canerdy

Date: 9/24/2017 11:58:00 AM

Congrats on your TOP win, Greg, with this dramatically descriptive piece! Janice

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/24/2017 6:03:00 PM

Thank you so much, Janice, I wasn't sure if it would do well being so dark ... I am very pleased, needless to say. I think people are warming to dark poetry, and realizing that it's not always about horror and evil, but can also be about catharsis, purging and even victory over adversity. Thanks again! :-)

Winged Warrior

Date: 9/24/2017 11:28:00 AM

Congrats!!! my mirrored friend lol...another first place...aren't you tired of them lol...excellent write Sir Gregory R.B....god bless...^WW^

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/24/2017 6:00:00 PM

Thanks so much, my friend, I greatly appreciate that! I don't think I'll ever get tired of THAT, lol, but I'm just on a streak of sorts, and I try to not entertain any such illusions ... I have found that if I don't keep myself humble, GOD will do it, and He can be quite brutal when He does so, lol. ;-)

John Hamilton

Date: 7/16/2017 11:39:00 AM

Talk about a tortured soul, wow Greg, I feel sorry for this person, soo magnificent the write, I admire your courage in discovering these dark writes, I never go there, old spanish proverb the garbage only stinks when you stir it up, so I leave all the dark experiences alone undisturbed and I have peace of mind and heart, but as always each human has their own coping mechanisms. Exquisite poetry!

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/16/2017 4:39:00 PM

It's the third time that has happened, so I doubt I'll write while I'm on PS anymore. I was so frustrated and angry - three hours and over a hundred lines - GONE!! I'm too disheartened to re-write it now, but maybe in the future.

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/16/2017 4:38:00 PM

Thank you very much, John! Yesterday I spent THREE HOURS on a Free Verse poem about why I enjoy and write Dark Poetry, and before I had finished the page went black, the browser crashed, and I lost it ALL! The page was even gone from my browser's history, so there was no way to get it back.

Maria Williams

Date: 7/14/2017 9:36:00 AM

It's like meeting one's nemesis and the love and fear tussle of the emotions therein. Very deep Greg...Maria

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/15/2017 1:35:00 AM

Yes, absolutely, Maria ... very well-stated! Very pleased that you enjoyed this one! <3

Carole Duet

Date: 7/13/2017 10:37:00 PM

Wow, Greg! This in incredible...exactly how love affects you. The question is: Is the pain worth the ecstasy? My answer is "yes" and I think yours is too. It is just love sublime...strong and weak at the same time. Who can resist it? For, to resist is to die inside...slowly but surely.

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/13/2017 10:52:00 PM

Thank you so very much, Carole, that means a great deal to me. These dark ones are sometimes difficult to write, not because they don't flow, but because we have to go to painful places to write them, but for me, going to those places and turning that pain into something beautiful, (or at least creative), is such a healing process!

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/13/2017 10:52:00 PM

That's why I personally love dark poetry. I don't care for the graphic or evil stuff, but there is much beauty and truth in the darkness ... and much potential for healing. Thank you again, Dear Friend. :-) <3

Agnes Krampe

Date: 7/13/2017 9:21:00 PM

This is an awesome portrayal of a conflicted relationship!

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/13/2017 9:47:00 PM

That's wonderfully kind of you, Agnes, and I so appreciate the comment ... I'm glad you liked this one! :-)

Daniel Turner

Date: 7/13/2017 8:04:00 AM

Half empty or half full:) Great write, Greg:)

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/13/2017 9:46:00 PM

Thank you so much, Daniel ... this was a new edit of an old poem that had been screaming at me for change for some time, lol, but that is exactly the intent, (along with a bit of hidden meaning for me).

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/13/2017 9:46:00 PM

I RARELY re-work things, as I feel we write what we write at the TIME for a purpose, and that those things are meant to be captured in time, but this one just never quite "did" it for me. I didn't change much, but it works SO much better now!

Maureen Mcgreavy

Date: 7/13/2017 7:28:00 AM

Wow! Incredible pen Greg! And so many a delectable turn of phrase! "Id Euphoric, carrion-cold" just to name two...poetic orgasms! ;) mo

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 6:45:00 PM

I still love your comment "poetic orgasms" - I have never had a more wonderful comment than that - makes me smile! Oh, I also have a bit of Pablo Neruda and Carlos Castaneda as influences, (yes, I imagine that's obvious, lol), also Thoreau, Browning, Frost, Asimov, Jack Vance, and I adore Hemingway and even Rowling - I'm such a crazy Harry Potter fan, lol! (I would love to chat sometime at greater extent). Blessings!

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 6:37:00 PM

... and OMG, yes! It comes through quite well, (your influences), and may i say that you could choose few better than Cohen, Crane and Dennis Lee! We are ALL conglomerates of what we take in and are influenced by, as were those who influenced us, and I think the greatest honor we can give them is to bring that to others, don't you? ;-) <3

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 9/25/2017 6:33:00 PM

Ooh, I just saw these replies, Maureen, (I'm sorry!) PS needs to send notifications not just on comments, but on REPLIES to comments ... I miss so much and don't realize unless I stumble on them later, (like now)! I have made the suggestion, but ... takes a lot of memory, I imagine ...

Maureen Mcgreavy
Date: 7/15/2017 7:38:00 AM

Omg, just thought of the poetic depths of the word "versatility" lol! Awesome =)

Maureen Mcgreavy
Date: 7/15/2017 7:36:00 AM

You serve your master well, Whitman would be proud, Vannelli too ;) My own poetry heavily influenced by Leonard Cohen and Stephen Crane, with a dash of Dennis Lee...can you tell? Greg your versatility astounds me. Write on!

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/13/2017 9:41:00 PM

... it is a bit of a lost art form, I think. Thanks again, Dear Friend! :-) <3

Gregory Richard Barden
Date: 7/13/2017 9:40:00 PM

Thank you SO much, Maureen - what a marvelous comment! I highly value your opinion, so I am humbled ... my favorite poet is Walt Whitman, primarily because he used words in ways that no one else ever did, (as does Gino Vannelli, my favorite musician/songwriter), so I do my best (at times) to be creative with word combinations and usage ...