The Wisdom of Silenus

(This is a free verse poem based on familiar subject matter; it's also part of a short story.)

When I was young I met an old satyr who resided in the woods where I used to play. He was a pug-nosed creature with silvery hair and the ears of a horse. I could tell he was intrigued by my presence. He approached me and we talked a great deal while the hours passed. Evening approached, so I told him it was time for me to return home. It was then that the old satyr asked me with the widest of grins if I wanted to know a secret. Amused by this question of his, I expressed interest with a simple nod. He then said the following:

“A human being,
That impossible wellspring
Of misguided dreams
And insatiable desires,
Is the most diseased
Of all creation!
What was it,
Idiot Nature or evil god,
Idiot god or evil Nature,
Which brought forth
The human spirit
From the Void?
Roaming the earth,
Its mind is littered
With metaphysical deceits,
Childish illusions,
Dishonest hope.
All triumphs are
Eroded by the
River of Time.
Every pleasure
Accompanied by
A thousand pains.
Want and misery
Are your lot.
If suffering is eluded,
The hand of boredom
Presses against the soul.
The heart bleeds,
The brain,
A lair of spiders!
If you seek the
Flower of Wisdom,
Know this, my friend:
What is
Should not be.
Of all the fates
Allotted to man,
The greatest
Is to have never been
Born!”