The Gospel According to St. Vitaphile, in Six Verses
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1. Unless you’re a believer in reincarnation
you’d be advised to accept life’s biggest cliché
about how it’s no rehearsal or primordial dream
and give it what we call your best shot.
2. Unless you’re an advocate of self-pity
you’d be doing us all a huge favour
if you stopped pressing your lips ruefully together
whenever you think on what we call a failure.
3. Unless you’re a collector of the meaningless
you’d be providing a valuable service
by gripping what we call the true necessities
and blanking the multiple temptations to deviate.
4. Unless you’re a supporter of stultification
you’d be the kind of fool you purport to despise
if you accepted what we call cerebral curtailment
no matter what’s dangled before your merry eyes.
5. Unless you’re a fan of sadistic cruelty
you’d be effectively designing your own straitjacket
should the thought of collusion with certain parties
even cross what we call your mind.
6. Unless you’re an apostle of fatalism
you’d be well counselled to plant your heels
hard and deep into the ever-sinking earth
and summon what we call agency.
Are you looking for more? Try these poems:
- Assumption – A Faith-based poem
- Maps – Flash Poetry on Politics
- My Body – A Poem of the Self
- The Eyes of the Soul – Poetry of the Soul
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Nick Cooke
Nick Cooke has had around 85 poems published or accepted to a variety of outlets, including Acumen, Agenda, The Dark Horse, Ink Sweat & Tears, the High Window Journal, and Dream Catcher. He also has around 40 poetry reviews. In 2016 his poem “Tanis” placed first in a Wax Poetry and Art contest. He was a featured poet on the Flapper Press site in December 2025.
