Home Poetry On Poem: Ithaca Hides Behind Irony

On Poem: Ithaca Hides Behind Irony

by Stephanie Alfaia

Children grow to believe a lie

They are fed words that describe
Emotions, feelings, the five senses
Their little souls, stuck – tenses
Parents pour the hardships they suffer
Making little Tom’s heart tougher
“The world isn’t all rainbows,” they say
But do not listen to that morbid cliche
As adolescents we shower in confusion
What should be water is tainted with illusion
Interest lost in colored cartoons
We no longer smile at floating balloons
The world is now filled with sad realization
Of horrors and its dark, filthy reputation
Tom’s head sinks lower as he daydreams
Of his toys and childhood figurines
Young adults or millennials, if you may
Cold-hearted figures they like to portray
The irony lies in the truth they hide
For they wish their fantasies were ratified
Pretending to be happy and carefree
Our wretched generation feels far from glee
Incapable of seeing beauty in the universe
Living forever under this blindfolded curse
Old man and woman sitting at home
Looking back at the past unable to atone
Laughing at mistakes but more importantly 
Thinking of the lack of love – mordantly 
Unable to act as the wise you should be 
Looking back at life as a monody
Stop and finally open your eyes
And see all the love that truly underlies
Irony clothes humanity still
Regardless of age or physical skill
The strong, the weak, the rich, the poor
Dragging through time ideas impure
We humans are lost unless we awake 
And see how long we’ve made a mistake
Creating laws, restrictions and guide
On what love is until its completely ostracized
Irony, erroneous, lies, be gone!
See the world as a child hereon
Before little Tom was filled with warnings
He was dazzled by the sun every single morning
The world was magical, colorful, as it should
No room for anything but love stood
Wise is the child, open-hearted and pure
Eyes filled with rainbows – far from rancour
Words always seem to get in the way
Creating barriers, taking us astray
Trying to verbalize what we see and feel
We forget to experience what is real
Words – illusions, the masks you are 
Concealing the five senses afar
In silence we see what we’re truly meant
The universe is beautiful and God sent
Artistically created in full detail
Take a moment to experience our holy grail
See how sadness will leave you be
For the five senses will surround you with chi
If you do not believe me yet 
Walk to the nearest beach and let
Beauty erase all pretext you’ve been told
Let the senses show you, let love unfold
Hear – the sound of the creatures that roam 
See – the sun turn water, mirrored chrome
Touch – the sand that carefully paves
Taste – the salt spewing from the waves
Smell – the sea life you cannot see
Immerse in the senses – it was meant to be
Tell me now if it’s happiness you question, 
Or if the mind is blank, filled with sensed perfection?
Primitive life is where happiness lays
There love rules in its gallant sway
Primitive life thrives on mere intuition
Birds fly above the sea for that is there mission
Fish swim deep beneath His liquid gold
Neither let words make their lives controlled
They play their role in this play we call Universe 
Happy, content, with no need to rehearse
Life is simple, and yes full of rainbows
If we let our soul immerse and sow
Collect the love the world has to offer
Leaving behind notion and scoffer
Knowledge is humanity’s doom
Knowledge sprung words leaving us in a loom
Filled with colors, smells, and textures
Here I am with words, trying to lecture
I leave you dear reader with a single thought
I plead you – leave behind all you were taught
Ithaca is far but not impossible to reach
Paradise is here, don’t ruin with speech
Ithaca is right within your soul
Forget the monsters: cyclops and trolls
When the senses are finally awake
You will see how much love and beauty awaits. 

© 2014 Stephanie Alfaia Gomes All Rights Reserved

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1 comment

Nina G February 14, 2014 - 12:46 am

I am in love with this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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