Poetry from the Heart of Darkness

ALL POETRY © SEAN MULLIGAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

Although I've been writing poetry since childhood, The Grimoire 
is predominantly composed of poems written as an adolescent and 
young adult. That was my most prolific period, although I still 
turn out a few each year. Much of my earlier work was lost in 
the turbulence of my chaotic and nomadic existence.

The tone of most of the poems is dark. They deal with themes 
such as despair, alienation, persecution, madness, 
self-destruction and apocalypse. The imagery tends toward 
the mythic, surreal and grotesque. They are reflections of 
the inner turmoil of my existence and serve as catharsis 
for the self-destructive tendencies with which 
I seem to have been cursed.

I rarely set out to write a poem. It gradually coalesces in my 
subconscious and makes its presence known to my conscious 
when it is finally ready to be set to paper. Many have come 
to fruition during long, meandering, nocturnal walks in cemeteries 
and along deserted city streets, and some upon waking from 
a disturbing dream in the dead of night. Usually, a word or a 
couplet occurs to me and as I am writing it, the remainder 
spills forth effortlessly, like fluid from a lanced boil. 
Much of the time it is in its finished form, set in verse, 
and I have only to title it.

Occasionally, however, I find it necessary to change a word 
here or there or rearrange the stanzas, because the sound 
and flow of the words is sometimes of equal importance 
with their meaning in my opinion. In the past I felt that this 
would amount to some sort of blasphemy, but have come 
to realize that these poems are my property, to do with 
what I will, and if I can improve them, I should.

In addition to writing poetry, short stories and screenplays, 
I am also one-half of Plutonian Shore, instrumental 
music composers who specialize in a synthesis of 
Progressive Rock, Orchestral, New Age, and World 
music styles. Our website is www.laughingsage.com, 
where you'll find sound samples from our latest CD, 
Arcana, as well as a wealth of collateral material.

My favorite poets are as follows (in no particular order): 
Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, Dante Alighieri, 
Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, William Morris, William Blake, 
Edward Gorey, H. P. Lovecraft, Lord Dunsany, 
J.R.R. Tolkien, and Kahlil Gibran. 
It is for the reader to decide how much of an influence, if any, 
they have had on my work. I am also widely read in 
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Ancient and Medieval History, 
Mythology, Psychology and the Occult and these 
influences factor into my work as well.

And lest you all think I can only write about doom and gloom, 
here are a few love poems I wrote to my wife, Nancy. 

My poetry serves me primarily as a tool of self-psychoanalysis, 
a personal "Rosetta Stone" for the symbolic vocabulary 
of my psyche. I am unsure of what value it may have 
for others. I look forward to any comments you all may have.

I hope you enjoy them! 

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