Subject: Fatima -> serious thoughts -> a poem

 Bartcop,

 I read your essay on Fatima earlier today and it inspired me to write this poem.
 I thought I’d share it with you since you were the muse.
 If you don’t see the connection, I’ll admit it is a stretch.
 It’s mostly in my imagination, though.
 That being said, I was raised Catholic too.
 I know the demon you face when you meet your disappointment over Catholicism.
 My poem is a description of that demon from my eyes.
 Thanks for the inspiration.

 Jim

 Night Energy

 Chocolate,
 Chalklike,
 Tastes are sweet and dry:
 In the dark of night I wake to fear.

 Stillness,
 But no silence,
 Only beasts in silent brutality:
 In fear I know my weaknesses.

 Past,
 Present,
 History and prophecy:
 I sense the pounding of my heart.

 Love, lust,
 And longing,
 Memories and familial dreams:
 I strain to catch a glimpse of logic.

 Mathematics,
 Metaphysics,
 More beasts; fear increases:
 They make no promises of peace.

 Logic,
 Loopholes,
 Still no solace on this path:
 Once metaphor; now ghosts.

 Befriending
 These fiends
 Seems my only choice:
 The ghosts now vapor, now diminish, dissipate.

 Stillness,
 Sleep,
 As I lie in slumber,
 Will the beasts devour my remains?

 Energy,
 Existence per se,
 The laughter of Mother:
 A universe longing for my soul as I long for Being.