The Monster Of Mr Cogito

1

Lucky Saint George

from his knight's saddle

could exactly evaluate

the strength and movements of the dragon

the first principle of strategy 

is to assess the enemy accurately

Mr Cogito

is in a worse position

he sits in the low 

saddle of a valley 

covered with thick fog

through fog it is impossible to perceive 

fiery eyes 

greedy claws 

jaws

through fog

one sees only

the shimmering of nothingness

the monster of Mr Cogito 

has no measurements

it is difficult to describe 

escapes definition

it is like an immense depression 

spread out over the country

it can't be pierced

with a pen

with an argument

or spear

were it not for its suffocating weight

and the death it sends down

one would think

it is the hallucination 

of a sick imagination

  but it exists

for certain it exists

like carbon monoxide it fills 

houses temples markets

poisons wells

destroys the structures of the mind 

covers bread with mould

the proof of the existence of the monster 

is its victims

it is not direct proof 

but sufficient

2

reasonable people say 

we can live together 

with the monster

we only have to avoid 

sudden movements 

sudden speech

if there is a threat assume 

the form of a rock or a leaf

listen to wise Nature 

recommending mimicry

that we breathe shallowly 

pretend we aren't there

Mr Cogito however

does not want a life of make-believe

he would like to fight

with the monster

on firm ground

so he walks out at dawn 

into a sleepy suburb 

carefully equipped 

with a long sharp object

he calls to the monster 

on the empty streets

he offends the monster 

provokes the monster

like a bold skirmisher

of an army that doesn't exist

he calls -

come out contemptible coward

through the fog

one sees only

the huge snout of nothingness

Mr Cogito wants to enter 

the uneven battle

it ought to happen 

possibly soon

before there is

a fall from inertia

an ordinary death without glory 

suffocation from formlessness