#epicurus poems on Hello Poetry

Spenser Bennett May 2019

For what pain may bring
We suffer more of our fear
Pain is but a fleeting, physical thing
While fear lingers on for years

Say what you must of Epicurus
Call him what he must have been
A coward, a heathen, a hedonist
He rejected all but the pleasurable sins

For pain is a sin, against the happiness of spirit
And fear is as well, however, against the fortitude of mind
Run far from pain, avoid all who dwell near it
But fear, I say, you must embrace lest courage you ne'er find

#pain #fear #epicurus

Laurin Thor Jun 2018

Kepos

The dreadful is not bearable.
The good is unreachable.
Our gods condemn us.
And death is a curse.

We all suffer. We all fear.
Anguish and distress
are not utterly in our hands.
We are not in control
of our life and death.

Do not despair.

~

For somatic dread
is equalized by
the deepest pleasures.
For fear is merely
an imperfect prison.

Do not despair.

~

For the good
is within our reach.
Let go of empty desires.
Dismiss aversion
and attain true delight.

Do not despair.

~

For the divinity of the gods
is our shield.
Internalize the truth:
within the divine
there is no wrath.

Do not despair.

~

For our deepest grief
lies in the fear of death.

Do not despair.

For death is no curse
and life is not far from complete.
Embrace mortality
and make it the gem of your being.

No damnation awaits.
No sorrow is at hand.
For death is insentient.
The ancient sage:
his life my blueprint
his death my archetype.

Do not despair.

For death is insentient.

~

This is a poem based on a paper I wrote about a part of the philosophy of Epicurus.

#epicurus #kepos #philosophy #lyrical #fear #death #grief #do #not #despair

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