A Useful Symptom

[PoorMonger]

In the pages of Joseph Heller's debut
(Catch 22) Lieutenant Scheisskopf's wife suggests
That God created pain -
As a useful symptom.

For a novelist
Whose usefulness
Is borne from knowing -
'Great Works' must then
Be a special kind of agony.

In an essay titled “Some Children of The Goddess”
Mailer said muses were for poets.
And that, for novelists
There is only 'The Bitch'.
(if they are successful)
Norman guessed,
That she may stay awhile.
A night or three hundred at most.

One wonders if 'The Bitch'
Was his personification of
Inspiration or perceived relevance.
Or perhaps just the one
To crack the whip -
When getting to know
A novel's worth of characters
Made his head want to split -
With the symptom of his usefulness.

Heller might've sent his Yossarian
On half a hundred more bombing missions.
But out of reason, or fatigue
(sanity or insanity)
He (or the 'Bitch Goddess') finally had enough.

[Leahaldrich]

Your second stanza is so true. If I'm interpreting it right, I feel your pain. To know what good is and not be able to do it is a special kind of agony.

[Tchrjokes456]

I don't think I've ever read a poem that read like an essay before. It's definitely an interesting hybrid with what appears to be citations within the poem. I can appreciate your perspective of the novelist versus the poet. Thank you for sharing.

[Tobewankenobe]

This was very interesting. Definitely a novel use of citation within the poem that for me made it truly a nonfiction piece. The way you construct your observation is fascinating sure enough, but the argument itself is poignant and funny. Poets get muses, novelists get "The Bitch." Contrasting the very nature of the two types of writing, in a way that combines them. Perhaps this is the way to pursue the "Muse Bitch."