Born Clarendon Square, 1875
11th year, father and hero dies
Mother's moniker, The Great Beast
Carries proud 'til rest in peace
Scripture's words so clearly lies
One off the wrist and women's thighs
Such morals never suit The Beast
On original sin, so does he feast
Red light women, gonorrhoea
Inhale and hold, but have no fear
Bow to none beneath the sky
Affliction, addiction, getting high
Poetry, prose, philosophy, chess
Science, literature, quite the quest
Majestic Monch without a guide
Dispel the darkness deep inside?
A new Sunrise, The Golden Dawn
To most, The Beast is but a thorn
From all the hate, he does defend
"I shall endure until to the end"
A crashing bore, The Golden Dawn
Such petty games, reject them all
Traverse the world and left in awe
In India, sombre spirits soar
The Savage Mountain scrapes the sky
Never scaled yet still must try
Brash bravery, they do not lack
No savage spoils, men beaten back
Convenience ties Beast and Rose
Affection hankers hard to show
Rosa Mundi and Love Songs
One lake of molten joy, one pond
In Egypt, Prince invokes the Gods
Great Horus comes, the Equinox
Aiwass speaks, so Beast does score
A new Aeon, Book Of The Law
On Nepal's peak, his peers they die
Attempt descent beneath dark skies
For such a loss bears all the blame
To climbing clique, ne'er the same
With Godhead now is unionised
As hashish opens the Third Eye
Meagre means and thus provides
Tankerville's peace is bonafide
A∴ A∴ heart, see how it glows
Tree Of Life they seek to grow
A flower's bloom begins to fade
Whilst sadly withers in the shade
The Beast now pens The Book Of Lies
His Scarlet Woman within resides
And for *** Magic does devise
"Contra Naturam", come inside
World War One, it rakes the Earth
While Wilhelm is as Jesus birth
Did The Beast truly betray
A country that had held his sway?
Thelema Abbey, hear its call
Lewd libertine within these walls
Loveday discovers only death
Benito brings its final breath
To man, a prophet is declared
Thelema's message, for to spread
Magnum opus, now complete
Of France, fair punishment is mete?
High on Hell's Mouth, his heart it breaks
But both black ink and leap are fake
War once again now rakes the Earth
Will Blackshirts bond Thelema's church?
War service scorned by N.I.D.
The face behind the Victory V?
Olla: Sixty Years of Song
A final book, the last swan song
Hasting's last battle is now lost
The Great Beast feels the final frost
"A Black Mass", many tabloids cry
Cold ashes now in Hampton lie
Amoral man, your heart did sing
Black ballads of the blackest dreams
Listen and there's still the screams
Of Thelema's ghosts, it seems
Copyright © Craig Detheridge.
2015 - 2017.
This piece is based on the life of the infamous Aleister Crowley.
Born to a Christian family in 1875, he rejected their teachings and those of the bible, becoming a ceremonial magician and founder of The Church Of Thelema. Crowley was a prolific writer on many subjects such as philosophy, politics, and culture as well as Thelema. He was also a published poet and playwright and was an accomplished mountaineer.
Crowley was once described by tabloids of his time as "The Wickedest Man In The World".
It took me several weeks to complete this piece due to the research I carried out on Crowley. There are lines within the piece of which the meaning is not immediately obvious.
This piece has previously featured elsewhere on the net including my own site at https://originaldarkpoetry.wordpress.com/the-great-beast/
