Writ on the Steps of Puerto Rican Harlem
By: Gregory Corso
There’s a truth limits man A truth prevents his going any farther The world is changing The world knows it’s changing Heavy is the sorrow of the day The old have the look of doom The young mistake their fate in that look That is truth But it isn’t all truth Life has meaning And I do not know the meaning Even when I felt it were meaningless I hoped and prayed and sought a meaning It wasn’t all frolic poesy There were dues to pay Summoning Death and God I’d a wild dare to tackle Them Death proved meaningless without Life Yes the world is changing But Death remains the same It takes man away from Life The only meaning he knows And usually it is a sad business This Death I’d an innocence I’d a seriousness I’d a humor save me from amateur philosophy I am able to contradict my beliefs I am able able Because I want to know the meaning of everything Yet sit I like a brokenness Moaning: Oh what responsibility I put on thee Gregory Death and God Hard hard it’s hard I learned life were no dream I learned truth deceived Man is not God Life is a century Death an instant
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Thanks, Erik. A new poetic name for me. Helpful information from my poetry go-to source:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gregory-corso
I like what my hero Joseph Campbell believed -- that the purpose of life is to experience being alive and to match the beat of the universe. He also believed that we should follow our bliss, or what we are most passionate about, to feel more alive and open up new doors for ourselves.
Corso is a fine poet and is generally underrated when readers are assessing the Beats. His search for meaning and how to find it and what it might look like is ultimately the great quest in life. But life is important, not meaningless. 'Death proved meaningless without life.'