James Moore Poet Narrative

The Paradox of Desire

Drugs come in all shapes and sizes
But the essence is the same
Providing a something we feel lacking;
A hit of pleasure and fulfillment
In instant gratification.

The problem then becomes one
Of cascading cause and effect
As the short cut route
Undermines self-esteem
As we know in our hearts
We are a thief, living a lie.

The drug expresses in the extreme
This paradox of being and desire
Giving us what we want, but leaving us empty;
Widening the lack we started with
Until it is a moat filled with only self-loathing.

The wisdom to be learned
Is always a matter of perspective.
The soul after all
Yearns to be a master not a slave,
And that which is beyond grasp
Is by definition unable to be bound.
This is the perspective we need to be free.

Perhaps emptiness is just a given
And our desire to fill it it’s natural expression,
And in our confusion we mistake
The object of desire with its fulfillment.

We may live a lifetime
Thinking we are attached to the nouns of our existence
All the people, places and things we know and love
When we are really just attached to living.

(12/17/24)

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