Demons

I ask for pluck
To use my demons
Those wild Dionysian impulses
And instincts
To integrate them into my awareness
And imbibe their fervour to impel me
To greater heights
Some bring forth the setting of a boundary
Some the rhapsody of eroticism
Some creative temerity
And some a burst of anger
To shift the status quo
I ask for pluck
To use my demons mindfully
Creatively
Virtuously
To write them into poems like Thomas Hardy
Dance them fervently like Martha Graham
Film their rapture like Shirin Neshat
Channel their dynamism towards a noble cause
Like Abraham Lincoln
Unleash their frenzy in a boxing ring
Like Delfine Persoon
Calm and surrender
Are not always the better answer
Sometimes, a bit of oomph
To balance the rational Apollonian way
A bit of disorder to disrupt
The monotony of every day
Do me well
Even humour and charm
Playful mischief, and the very nerve I seek
Seem to arise
From the same bountiful wellspring
The flames of spiritedness
Needn't be used to burn
But to warm
I ask for pluck
To heed my demons
Not to fear or repress
But to remain in negotiation
And to use them
In the service
Of art.