The Punisher and the Punished
The Punisher and the PunishEd
I
The Punisher needs the Punishéd to punish
(Will anyone argue this point)
That is: Who will the Punisher punish
If He had no-one to pinpoint
Unless He punishes Himself
And since we are all per se the Punishéd
We must all be part and parcel of the Same-Self
Why then punish Himself/Ourselves
Some would say: for sado-masochistic reasons
Others: if He didn’t do that
What would He do with Himself
If only to amuse Himself
Create never-ending limitless demonic Purusha universes
The antithesis of Himself
That would produce and re-produce Itself/Themselves
A never-ending cheap television series
The Brahma Day followed by an extinguishing Brahma Night
Dissipate boredom
Alternate the Yang and the Yin
One up One down ad infinitum
Time for the Brahman creation
Time for the Vishnu preservation
Time for the Siva destruction
Le théâtre de l’Absurde
The Myth of Sisyphus
The cavernous cries of those who writhe and rage
Le théâtre de la Cruauté
Die Verfremde Effekt
The Punisher embracing the Punishéd
Playing to an empty Brechtian house
Who watches us: squirm squirt squeal
A magic-lantern Khayyam show
The winding caravan heading for a Shangri-la blinded by sand
Dogs who bark turned to stone
II
The Punisher wields the stick
The Punishéd stickless flees the stick
Fiddlesticks
What if the Punishéd also wields a stick
Sticks
Then you have conflict
But for the divine right to a bigger stick
The Puppeteer and the Puppet
The Trumpeter and the Tyrant
The Tortionneur and the Funambulist
The Union of Fifty-Sticks waiting for Brexit
One more over-used and bloodied stick
III
The Punisher justifies the need to punish the Punishéd
KARMA serves to ease the conscience
Of both the Punisher and the Punishéd
Makes Yang feel stronger than the Yin
Makes the just punishment a case for outright win
The Punishéd needs to feel he’s fulfilling a debt
Hamartia come into its own: make no mistake
For some mindless mistake in some irredeemable moment
Assuage some masochistic phobia in the memory crypt
Watch the virtuous Yang bite the dust
And wonder if this up-side-down world
Makes any sense to the Just
IV
Which Playwright would think up such a forlorn plot
To drive all actors on stage down the trap-door shut
Do not particles aimless in the Primal Soup
By trial and error
Wrap on centillion Hawking key-boards
The perfect Greek tragedy
Sans Deus ex machina
Make the fate of all mankind
A matter of mindful matter
No man be so bad
As be by his role forbade
To assume a role
(c) T. Wignesan - Paris, 2017
Copyright © T Wignesan | Year Posted 2017
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