The Dead Poets Society

Collected in a secluded realm,
Passionate members of the human whole
Sit and contemplate cloudy truths that overwhelm;
Loudly chew the glowing meat of their soul.
Together on dark nights like these,
The lusting lovers of life’s beauty of meaning
Depart from the commoners’ banks to open seas
Where with life’s cool currents they drink, dance, and sing.

They intoxicatingly inspire the sweet scent
Of their ephemeral red flower ember
So that they will live and never lament—
Not merely sigh for breath until life’s December.
These beings, lucid despite life’s deceiving hypnotism
Do not numbly live with nauseous self pity:
For those dead they embrace humans’ great mysticism
As they bask in the solidarity of the Dead Poet’s Society.

To read verse, to reap life for those who had none
To cease the day with its bright glory;
To usurp the night and its hidden story.
In honour of those erect and those shun,
Who never claimed life’s sweet nectar that they won.


Many kind readers have pointed out that the spelling of ‘cease’ should be ‘seize’ in the famous Latin maxim: carpe diem (seize the day). I agree, but in this context, I deliberately misspelled the word to allude to an image—another message. “Ceasing the day” is meant to refer to those magical masters of living who so effectively “suck the marrow” out of each moment of their existence that it seems to stand still for them… they cease the flight of time to be able to live their lives frame by frame; to appreciate every moment’s complexity, beauty and significance as well as the miracle that is their presence within it all. I hope that makes sense.
I did later italicize the word ‘cease’ but this did not help much… I still await your input, comments and criticism; thanks again to those who pointed out my intentional error.