The above image was taken by my friend Carl, go check out his blog when you get a chance. Most of his images tend to inspire me in some form or another. There’s something about this image that evokes a deep sadness and a longing for the inevitable. When I first saw the image I sat and stared at it for a few minutes and then the title Existence Retrograde came to mind. The below poem is the final product, I built off of the title and worked through each stanza. I have a feeling I’m not done with this image yet but I thought I would share what I have so far. Thanks for reading.

Existence Retrograde

 Behold
Be still
The man, His will

 A life lived down trodden

 Reality
It seems
Lost its nuclear dream

 Gone and soon forgotten

 With time
Its past
The die’s been cast

 Free will an orbital phase

 Empirical,
A Sage,
How the fortunate fade

An Existence Retrograde