The Muse of Cuts
by Alex Harper
she marks for death
the shining ones you love,
in whispers
you will come to recognize.
Your piety will never be enough,
after you think your work is done,
after the acclaim,
she'll be there still --
the breaking of the perfect dream,
the voice that will not hold its peace,
the truth you have to face.
But do not wish her gone
for if she leaves
you'll only hear
the siren and her lies:
everything is beautiful
and nothing has to die,
and your words, immortal, mock you
like the devil mocking God.
* * *
Alex Harper's poetry has appeared in, among others, Liminality, Kaleidotrope and Not One of Us, as well as a previous appearance in Mirror Dance (Autumn 2015). He lives in England, and can be found online at alexharperwriting.wordpress.com and on Twitter as @harpertext.
What do you think is the attraction of the fantasy genre ?
Tolkien, defending the term escapism as it relates to fantasy, wrote: "Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls? The world outside has not become less real because the prisoner cannot see it." The appeal of fantasy for me is not because it is a wish-fulfillment trip to impossible places, but rather because it touches on the unseen, but real, world around us.
What do you think is the attraction of the fantasy genre ?
Tolkien, defending the term escapism as it relates to fantasy, wrote: "Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls? The world outside has not become less real because the prisoner cannot see it." The appeal of fantasy for me is not because it is a wish-fulfillment trip to impossible places, but rather because it touches on the unseen, but real, world around us.
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