Fragments from the Desk of the Esteemed Poet,
J. Humbert Riddle, Lately Deceased…
By Causes Unknown
Editor’s Preface:
The reader might be confused by this Riddle poem. So, a few notes.
I found these “Fragments” intact in one of the dark recesses of Riddle’s desk,
And, though I dug, was unable to find the other “Fragments,” assuming of course
That more to this strange piece exist. Riddle, apparently, had arranged these “Fragments”
Himself, and odder still, scratched in the title you just read. How he knew he was about
To die, and “By Causes Unknown,” might just be the central mystery
Of this poem.
Fragment 12
I am a sick man.
I am a poet whose poem
You’re reading right now you
Are and I am a sick man,
A sick poet-man I am…
Mumbling at a bolted down
Desk while bars bar the way
To sunshine and I tremor to
Tremor to hear lunatic wails
Weeping through the walls
That bar me and that bind
Me to cells bored deep
Underground?
Fragment 32
I am a sick man.
I am a sick
Man I am a
Sick poet-man I
Am.
Fragment 2
Dressed to the nines in
White washed rooms that reek
Of madness and measles
That dot the walls and
Whisper that whisper to
Me I on dry nights with
Thunder calling my name out
Loud:
I am an I am
A sick man am
I am? A
Poet-man I am.
You just became my favorite poet. I cannot tell you how rapidly my heart was beating while reading this, knowing full-well that I had just discovered a new poet to make me swoon. I can hardly wait to read more of you.
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Thank you so much for these kind words! I really appreciate it. Do you also post regularly? I’d love to follow your work as well.
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I’m all over the place. I open and delete blogs like a madwoman. I’m presently open in three locales, but the most recent addition is kaleidoscopebruise.blogspot.com.
Don’t ever feel like you need to “return the favor,” though. I will read you because I genuinely love poetry, not because I expect something in return. And when I say I love poetry, I mean it; it’s my cocaine.
So who are your favorite poets? I’m an Anne Sexton girl, all the way.
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I want to learn more. You have whetted my appetite.
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Ha. I like that you put the first fragment last, so we got to see the full on madness- and then maybe back when it was just beginning to take hold. Intriguing way of storytelling. Definitely an interesting find from OpenLinkNight.
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Thanks!
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This has left me speechless in awe.. I must know more!!
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Thanks! This is the first of many J. Humbert Riddle poems. I’ll post more in the future.
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I appreciate learning more of the poet and fragments is an eyeopener ~ Just maybe we poets are a bit on the crazy side ~
Very nice to meet you ~
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Thanks for your input – and I’ll be publishing more of the fragments soon.
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Interesting. I like the Editor’s Preface in particular. Peace, Linda
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Thanks!
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the Riddle Saga will play or post backward perhaps, as we seem to be privy to the epilogue before the body of the piece, a chaotic life well written, & barely lived. Fragmenting facts is a brilliant device for peaking reader’s curiosity. Reads like Rowling’s H. Potter, or notes from unfinished Dr. Seuss, like 30’s pulp adventures, like Spillane’s margin notes; very cool.
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Thanks! I’m planning on publishing more of the fragments soon.
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Saddens me to read this.. wondering what the other fragments say. Wish one could reach out more to people in despair.
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I’ll definitely keep that in mind. And I’m planning on publishing more of the fragments soon.
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This one just flowed right off the tongue! Well done.
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Thanks!
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Very interesting effect of repetition – I love the effect you created. The evidences of inner struggle is beautiful.
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Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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Much to read between the lines here. Thanks for sharing!
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Sleepless 40 days.. nails driving
through a head.. metal mirrors
thick windows. below are
roofs..will dampening
a need to jump..
before it is too
late to escape..
oh the stories
of living death
where
dreams
of so-called
schizophrenics
are the dreams
one wants..
no place
like
the
Death
of Soul…:(
And oh.. by the
way.. nice to
meet you..
i am the
happiest
dude in
the world
and i
can prove
it now..
with
smiles..
and enough
positive energy
to blow the frigging roof
off in loving and living life..
Oh..
the lessons
the dark
night
of the
soul
DO TEACH..
IN FEARLESS WAYS
OF SHARING AS WELL..:)
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This is fascinating. Read it a couple times and found myself smiling by the end…very well-done.
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