Guilty As charged

Servant of remorse

Christopher Len

 

I stole from hell while the devil wasn’t looking

Escaping that which was haunting me

I went quietly so nary a soul heard my passing

I came to the surface looking for thee

 

Came I upon a man filled with anger and hate

And I was obliged to bring him sorrow

I bid him do away with what put him in that state

And I came for his soul on the morrow

 

To him I gave a gift of fear and remorse

Around his soul his sins were adorning

And for him the acts did run their course

As I followed like the garments of mourning

 

As servant and master I do what is bidden

In this life I show you what is best left hidden

 Analysis of guilt

Christopher Len

 

 

We all know about guilt, it does wonders for human society. It tells us when to go, when to stop and it dictates how we should act when confronted with certain situations. Guilt can always be found in some ways or other in everyday life. It can range from the small scale to the large scale. Guilt like most human emotions can be dealt with in many ways and with guilt the two easiest are confessing to the supposed crime, or running from the scene altogether.

In my sonnet I start out by writing it in the first person. I am supposed to be guilt and this sonnet tells about my actions and other things. The first line of my sonnet was: I stole from hell while the devil wasn’t looking. To put it bluntly this line could mean several things. First it could mean that guilt could have quietly and quickly left hell while the head figure was not looking.  Another meaning of this line could be quite simply that guilt really took something from hell while the devil wasn’t looking.  This line could mean that guilt can turn life into hell simply by making its appearance after some event or other that evokes shame or remorse. The next important line: I came to the surface looking for thee, this line simply states that guilt is looking for a new “host” someone who can fit its criteria, anyone who can use what it offers.

The entire second stanza is devoted to talking about guilt’s host and what guilt’s criteria for picking a host is. Guilt looks for people who are having problems in their current lifestyles, problems that can only be solved through bloodshed, or theft. When guilt comes upon a man filled with anger and hate he then bids the man rid himself of his problem. Thusly we can infer that guilt found that the man fit the criteria perfectly and so arranged for events to fall into place in its favor. To rid himself of his problem the man either killed someone, or caused some form of misfortune.  However the line and I came for his soul on the morrow shows that guilt like the supervisor he slipped past enjoys taking hold of a very persons core. When a man kills someone he will try to put the evidence of the crime away from himself, this is guilt. It tells us that what we did was wrong, and it tells us that nothing good can ever come out of it. It is self preservation and conscience all wrapped into one, for it tries to keep a person alive by making their life hell on earth as they avoid or confess to the crime that they have committed. This is also what the last stanza hints at what may befall the man now that the acts are committed for there will be no turning back. The garments of mourning also hints at death, it hints that either someone else died or this man will eventually die for what transpired, whilst guilt whispers to him of what he truly has done, and how he did it.

The last two lines of the sonnet wrap up the purpose and the intent of guilt. It shows that guilt is both the master, who is the one who leads, and the servant or the one who follows. He leads by telling you of what you did, while he follows by telling you of your options. Guilt shows you what is best left hidden because it is guilt, that is what it does it shows you those things about your life that you don’t want to remember doing or being a part of. That is the nature of the beast for it is an integral part of who we are and how we act it is why we must hide or show our crime, or sin our wrongdoing. For once the act is committed there is no turning back.