A Poem inspired by Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffman"........

"The Ancient Legacy of the Artist's Soul"

I do not sit silent on my throne in the chasm of your heart,
I do not sit idle, stationary and mute.
I am driven by your ego,
I am the power, the glory, the transformation of your soul and the beautiful vision behind your eyes.

I am born with you as an indeterminable diaphonous fabric, barely seen but not overlooked when your senses are aware.
I awaken at your birth wth anticipation and devotion,
I assuage your foreboding and fearsome specters of bare feet upon unknown grounds.

I carry grave responsibility for your creativity with fierce pride and endearing gestures,
I lead in front, but also follow behind, and leave sweet memories in your wake, as a snail leaves it's glistening trail, slow but obvious.

I live in the gilded edges of your desires, your wrath, your wants, your lust, your fury, your passions, and your ongoing quests for knowledge and for longings yet unsatisfied.

I am your intellect and your libido,
But I linger only to release you to the heights of creative potential,
To reach the pinnacle of artistry and song, of color and art, of the written word and the imagination.

My guidance is clear,my work predestined, to temper your libido, to strengthen your mind and your soul,
To prepare for your entrance, to find the keys to unlock the door to the habitat of your soulmate.
Thus I also lead you into manhood.

If I become a devious vixen,
and lead you only down the path of everlasting pusuit of temporary gratification, you will be wronged.
If I should become too strong, too bold, to raise you solely to the intellectual and creative apex, you will be occupied only by exploration and ego,
forsaking the search for your counterpart.

If you find your soulmate is taken, if you have once been wronged in love, if your amorous pursuits are unrequited, if you search around every corner for a vision that eludes,
I have then led you down the aristic path toward greatness,
As you sing, dance, write or paint of your heartaches, I am there, I am your poetry.
I have transformed you to become the consummate artist evermore.

If your path was solely libidinous, you will shrivel.
And the once supple soul will wrinkle and sour,
accumulate with dust that cannot be wiped away,
as you reflect back and awaken in your sundown years.

But if your pretense and temerity are softened ,
if you have been balanced well,
if my vixen nature is not overpowering,
your mate will be found.

I do not have a jealous heart,
I am here to guide you towards your true destiny,
and ultimately where you had wanted to go .

If soulmates unite, I become demure and fade into your heart to rest upon my throne,
sanguine and appeased.....

I give my role to the partner you have united with.
She is the eptome of my dutiful dedications and loyalty,
As I dissolve and form into the essence of your woman,
She has become.......and I am your faithful Poetry Muse.