He was recommended by previously featured wordsmith anomaly Ilona Gaspar. A woman I found so fascinating, I interviewed her on my former Inspiration With E radio show. So I readied myself to read the work of someone whose pen embodied great depth and I must say; David Thomas of Instagram’s Unsociable Dave, did not disappoint.
ELECTRONIC PRAYER
Realise
Your craving heart
Will crumble to dust
Along with all those things
You hold so tight inside.
Sinuous roots cling
To the fear of the past
Tendrils of assumed strength
A constraining anchor.
Sloped shoulders carry
The burden of woes
Dragging dead weight
Sandbag feet hauled
Across parched earth
Losing sight of the wonders
That you are here to witness.
Naive eyes fixated upon
Wealth, success, image.
A thrashing feeding frenzy
Of starving egos
Piranhas, hysterical
In the bloodied waters
Of digital illusions
Craving chaotic attention.
Young souls enticed
By lies of the new paradigm
Hunger for untrodden
Instant hit, quick fix
Social media circus.
Numbers, numbers, numbers
Oled halogen flat widescreen
Existence in virtuality.
Force fed subtle lies
Swallowed down
Through dilated eyes
Diving into the matrix
Deep in electronic prayer
Searching for a sense
Of enlightenment.
Knowledge
Is not
Wisdom.
He speaks…
I was born under the grey skies of the north east coast of England, longer ago than i care to admit. My family life was a bit of a mess and i grew up pretty introverted and stupidly rebellious. I have always been a bit of an outsider, misunderstood and pretty self destructive, throw in a big bunch of anxieties and good old depression and here i am, struggling to find balance and happiness in a world that is dangerously off kilter.
I’ve always been a lover of words, my mother always encouraged me to read and i have written in one form or another for most of my life but returning to poetry after an extended hiatus felt very natural, although i never imagined I’d ever show anyone.
I enjoy the aesthetic of well crafted sentences and see my writing as pictures painted with words. I write meditatively, and i rarely approach a subject, the subject approaches me, i often don’t know what I’ve written until i stop writing, of course i then spend days tweaking and editing until i feel comfortable with it. I feel it is a purging of my subconscious, allowing me to discover myself, as corny as that sounds, and it is my therapy.
e speaks…
A therapy I believe he wants to share. Needs to share. Called to share.
TODAY
Today
The sun barely awoke
In the dull off-white
Bedcovers of the sky
That fell across
Wet mud, dead grass
Yellowed and trodden.
Soft earth beneath
These weary feet
Could barely support
The tracks left
In passage
Nor the weight
Of the motionless
Heavens that bear
The solitary
White disc
A tempered eye
A memory of hope
Wandering between
Hoary stratus pillows
Without concern
For such trivialities
As simple beings
That draw life
From its waning heat.
As the shimmering falls
With countless
Deathly crystals
Spinning swirling
In the centre
Of the ashen despair
I beg of you
Hold on.
The day
Is dark enough
Without another loss
The world needs
Your warmth.
I need your
Light.
Today.
e speaks…
Do you have a topic that is most close to your heart as writer? And if so why?
He speaks…
I write a lot about depression, self doubt and anxiety, my biggest trigger has always been loss, so it tends to veer in that direction, goodbyes and solitude are prevalent themes. I was diagnosed bi-polar in my 20s but the medicine didn’t suit me so i decided to try to deal with my issues rather than hide from them. I’m in a better place now but it’s taken a long time, the lows still happen and writing through these periods helps me understand what’s going on in my head. I think that these negative states of mind need to be discussed, there are too many people who feel isolated and alone, too many people who don’t understand their feelings and think they are the only one going through it. I can’t give answers or comfort, but i can give my story, and hopefully that might help.
e speaks…
As a writer, do you feel as though reading the work of others inspires or hinders you at times?
He speaks…
To be honest, i don’t read as much as i should. When i was younger i used to read a lot of horror and fantasy novels, Stephen King touches a part of my psyche that fills me with unease, as do Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman, i like that feeling, I’d love to be able to touch upon the primal darkness that they do so well. These days i read more philosophical works, such as Osho and Alan Watts, they definitely influence my writing and my life, in a positive manner.
As far as poetry is concerned i try to avoid the clichés, they creep in more often than I’d like, but i suppose reading other peoples poetry gives me some kind of measure of where i do and don’t want to go with my writing. I can’t say that reading other people’s work has ever hindered me, i think that all experiences can be inspirational on some level, especially when we can relate to them.
e speaks…
I believe healing comes in many forms. Which of the pieces you’ve written has brought you the most comfort?
He speaks…
There are several pieces which are very dear to me, they may seem desolate and dark but they are commentaries on my state of mind at the time. However, the one that holds the most comfort for me is a piece called “Rot”. It is inspired by the period of life before i knew the terms “depression” and “anxiety”. I was very self-destructive and hid from myself behind drink and drugs in my search for escape, for happiness, for some sense of peace and balance. Of course the drugs really only exacerbated my issues, cheap, nasty chemicals that left me utterly empty inside. I had barely had enough money to eat, and i was living in a state of mental flux, they were dark times for me. Reading it back now allows me to peer over the edge of the chasm in safety, a reminder of how far i have come, and how far there is to fall before i hit rock bottom.
e speaks…
Finally, as I gift you with one of my favorite pieces written by David and continue to savor all that he has shared, I want to pause to honor his transparency. There are many who can relate to his story but will never speak of it. Some because they are quiet and others because they have been silenced. Thank you David allowing the fullness of your freedom to liberate others.
HERITAGE
Push back the world.
Spread those vast wings
That you have hidden
In the folds of your fabric
Lifetime after lifetime
And cloak the infinite sky
That draws every heart
And transfixes every dreamer
Who dares to meander
Into those hypnotic heavens.
Ebonise the raging sun
With the dark portentous grace
And thunderous voice
Of an angelic heritage
It is time to peel back
The slumbering lids
Of the lower waveforms
Awaken them from their comas.
Unplug the derelict children
From this deceitful machine
That restricts their minds
And watch them stumble
Into the bright unknown.
Enshroud this paradigm
In your golden divinity
Wrap us in your immortal reality.
You have the power within.
It is true.
It is you.
Forevermore.
e speaks…
Thank you for being here David!! Be sure to follow David on Instagram @unsociabledave for more riveting writing!
Blessings!
e of @authenticiteespeaks
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All poetry, excerpts and photos used in this piece are the sole property of David Thomas. No copyright infringement intended.
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