Les Autres

CynthiaCalder

125 reads

“L’enfer, c’est les autres” - Jean-Paul Sartre

Hell is other people. It's true, it must be those whom you’ve suffered with long and hard in this thing called life. Yes, it’s those other people who are ever cynical, critical, judgmental, and scornful of all things. It’s those who never see the brilliance of a snowflake in the sun or the beauty in a weed’s blossom. No, hell is not only occupied by evil ones, it’s also full of those who find no joy in existence, those who are never satisfied with enough, and those who are hellbent on living in a realm of negativity.

Then perchance, you should stop. Pause and slowly choose to look in the mirror, peering into the depth of the face reflected therein. You may find that you, too, are in fact a factor in the hell you so dislike. The vast array of actions you scorn in others may also, and very likely, be held tight within your own grasp - and utilized more frequently than not. Careful, lest you become him who leaves such a bitter taste in your mouth or him whom you so loathe.

Yes, hell is other people, but it’s also you. Can you decidedly manipulate yourself and create change to ensure the prospect more heaven exceeds the hell, at least in your own realm of existence? In choosing this difficult path, perhaps your actions will brilliantly reflect to perpetuate a turnaround in others. The effects of such might be surprising and dynamic in multiple worlds. For life, you see, is much of what you intend it to be.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." William Shakespeare

7v7

53 reads

My Hell

it is mayhaps

the people

as reflected

in my thoughts

the resultant

mayhem

as seen

viewed in

multiple

looking glass

flip flopped

and flipped

again like

Mayflies

that pass

easily thru

the swatter

and soon

die off as

contortions

long thin or

short squat

dim visions

in the back

of the mind

that may

torment;

if i allow

05.26.2024

Hell is other people/ Your thoughts? challenge @dctezcan

EldonRiver

53 reads

Lost Your Keys

Combinations broken

A stolen token

No string from the heart is allowed here

The eyes deny

And straight to hell will they fly

For here is fear awoken

The strange dark

The hated mark

That's where they are

thWanderer

57 reads

I’m Hiding

I’m hiding.

I’m hiding from people.

If I go back down stairs they might ask me questions.

I am in a dark room.

I have my headphones on

(noise cancellation, of course).

And, I’m scared.

I’m scared of the people who call me family.

I’m scared of the people I call friends. Not because of anything they might do.

They aren’t overly aggressive or mean.

They just… well…

they’re people… and people are scary.

They trigger about everything that is possible to trigger.

And, for me, that’s a lot!

So, here I am.

Sitting.

Hiding,

in a dark room.

at a party,

From people who call me family,

from people who make me scared.

frankgainey

43 reads

Heaven Lies in Me and You

In a room where silence screams,

Where shadows dance in dim-lit dreams,

Three souls entwined, their fates unfurled,

A mirror to the inner world.

No flames, no pitchforks, no descent,

But torment in the present tense,

A gaze, a word, a knowing glance,

Condemnation in a twisted dance.

Hell is not a place below,

It's in the eyes of those we know,

A judgment passed without reprieve,

A prison where we cannot leave.

In Sartre's world, we play our part,

Our truths exposed, our secrets bared,

We seek escape, but can't depart,

In endless loop, we're ensnared.

The self is lost, the other reigns,

Our essence bound in human chains,

In every look, in every sneer,

The essence of our deepest fear.

For what are we but our reflections,

In the eyes of others' projections,

A constant state of raw inspection,

A lifetime's worth of introspection.

We wear our masks, we play our roles,

In this theater of human souls,

Yet freedom lies in our control,

To break these chains, to be made whole.

So here we stand, our hearts laid bare,

In Sartre's vision, stripped of care,

Hell is other people, true,

But heaven lies in me and you.

To see beyond the other's gaze,

To find ourselves in life's cruel maze,

To redefine, to reconnect,

To find the peace that we neglect.

In every look, a chance to see,

The boundless depth of you and me,

For in this Hell, there's hope concealed,

A path to grace, a chance to heal.

Athena42

35 reads

Hell is other people

Jean-Paul Sartre said once that "Hell is other people"

I had only one thought when he said that.

#School

millagrace

14 reads

Hell traps us

We ourselves do not enter hell. We never truly walk through the burning gates of hell, greeting Hades as we begin to make ourselves at home. Rather, we are surrounded by hell, we are encompassed by those whose thoughts and actions suppress us until we are but a small fragment of what we used to be. Perhaps they often do not realise what they are doing, those hell-trapping people, perhaps they are too blinded by their own happiness to see what they are doing to us. In the end, it doesn't really matter, we are in hell and that is where we stay as the world changes around us, lives around us and what do we do? We watch, we watch the heavenly lives of others as we sit, mourning for our lost lives whilst we breath the cold, crisp air that winter has brought.