Oscar Wilde. Poem by PAUL COLVIN

Oscar Wilde. 3rd July 2012.

You died a hundred deaths whilst staring at the stars
Your bed stared out a hole striped with prison bars
They tried to kill you off but they couldn't put you down
You cannot kill the man who wears the crown.

They ridiculed your life, was that itself a crime?
Chastised by your peers and demoralised through time
You were the socialite, the one to be seen with
Though ostracised, you've now become a myth

In that lonely prison cell, words roamed through your mind
Sifting through love's portraits left behind
You painted colour scenes with every word you wrote
A masterpiece embroidered with each quote.

Some thought of you a god but the devil came as well
And the devil's side became your living Hell
You're obsessed with piety yet have no point of view
Goodbye and take your god there with you.

I bet you're lying there, a smile on your face
Laughing at the ones who're now disgraced
Some say you did not die, some say that you're still here
The man, once scandalised is revered.

You lived a coloured life and knew the side of pain
Your vanity suggests you lived your life in vain
The once flamboyant gent, surrendered to their plan
Persecuted for, loving a man.


Paul Colvin.