I wrote this as a response to an assignment in my AP Literature class concerning the novella "Heart of Darkness". Unless you've closely read the book and have a deep understanding for the undertones contained within, there's a good chance that you'll miss most of the devices that I intentionally included. Oh well, please R/R/C
Don't stare too long into the abyss
for if you do it will stare back into you
your consummation bound with a fleshless kiss
this being exactly what "Mistah Kurtz" did do
All of Europe contributed to the making of this man
but he gave into their schemes, was consumed by their plan
Agent turned Romeo, he pursued his Ivory Juliet
In his love he metamorphosed to ebony silhouette
Yet unfortunate as it was, his tale ends in tragedy
Shattered beliefs broke upon a fractured reality
In the vacuum left behind he consumed all that surround him
inimically absorbed their desires yet still profound them
His malefic countenance devoured all morality
Impaled him upon a blade of zealous blasphemy
Yet in this double bladed mirror we see ourselves
Into the Heart of Darkness our edged eyes delve
Inside the reflection we see a Bacchus impersonator
an inciter of Chaos manifest in ambiguous nature
He would become whatever the current victim called for
with his last most paradoxical breaths, he cried "The Horror! The Horror!"
He was the ruler of a kingdom dominated by brutality
upon his brow sat a crown composed of two ivory horns
Verbal eloquence could mask his true identity
yet a rose by any other name, still has its thorns
