www.alphadictionary.com

Group Poem XVII: Doppelgänger

Group Poem XVII is called “Doppelgänger” and will be about the battle between good and evil within the narrator’s psyche.

The poem will consist of 5 stanzas of four lines each—all written in iambic heptameter (seven stressed syllables, each preceded by an unstressed one). The rhyme scheme will be AABB CCDD, EEFF, GGHH, IIJJ.

An example is:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.

Here’s the challenge: every line, with the exception of the first, MUST contain a synonym (i.e., a “doppelgänger”) of one of the words in the preceding line. When posting a new line, choose a word from the previous line, and then be sure that your new line contains a synonym of that word. Continue on until the poem is complete, selecting a new word from each previous line.

In order to keep up with which what’s what, we will use a color scheme for the synonyms as follows:

Lines 1 & 2: Show the word chosen from line 1 and the synonym in line 2 in red.
Lines 2 & 3: Show the word chosen from line 2 and the synonym in line 3 in blue.
Lines 3 & 4: Show the word chosen from line 3 and the synonym in line 4 in green.
Lines 4 & 5: Show the word chosen from line 4 and the synonym in line 5 in red.
Continue with this color pattern until done.

As always, copy the entire poem as it stands, paste it into your reply, and then add your line.

The title and first line is as follows (I have selected the word in line 1):

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology.

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology.

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology.

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there
The animus appeared at first the day that I was born

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there
The animus appeared at first the day that I was born
Like Eden's primal serpent, or a rose's early thorn

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there
The animus appeared at first the day that I was born
Like Eden's primal serpent, or a rose's early thorn
Sometimes that dagger's needed to protect the tender heart

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there
The animus appeared at first the day that I was born
Like Eden's primal serpent, or a rose's early thorn

Sometimes that dagger's needed to protect the tender heart
Of fragile things. For me, it only tears the soul apart

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there
The animus appeared at first the day that I was born
Like Eden's primal serpent, or a rose's early thorn

Sometimes that dagger's needed to protect the tender heart
Of fragile things. For me, it only tears the soul apart.
From childhood's lies and tantrums, I progressed to lust and greed

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there
The animus appeared at first the day that I was born
Like Eden's primal serpent, or a rose's early thorn

Sometimes that dagger's needed to protect the tender heart
Of fragile things. For me, it only tears the soul apart.
From childhood's lies and tantrums, I progressed to lust and greed
Giving in to every longing at a death-defying speed

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there
The animus appeared at first the day that I was born
Like Eden's primal serpent, or a rose's early thorn

Sometimes that dagger's needed to protect the tender heart
Of fragile things. For me, it only tears the soul apart.
From childhood's lies and tantrums, I progressed to lust and greed
Giving in to every longing at a death-defying speed

As the immortal Shakespeare wrote: To thine own self be true

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there
The animus appeared at first the day that I was born
Like Eden's primal serpent, or a rose's early thorn

Sometimes that dagger's needed to protect the tender heart
Of fragile things. For me, it only tears the soul apart.
From childhood's lies and tantrums, I progressed to lust and greed
Giving in to every longing at a death-defying speed

As the immortal Shakespeare wrote: To thine own self be true
My id keeps being truer than my ego wants it to

Doppelgänger: A Poem of Sin and Synonyms

I want to be forever good—until I want what’s bad
I try to banish sinful thoughts, till virtue drives me mad
It’s like an evil twin emerges with no decency
A fiend that issues from the depths of my psychology

I’ve tried to vanquish this dark side with therapy and prayer
But neither Freud nor God can best that lawless soul in there
The animus appeared at first the day that I was born
Like Eden's primal serpent, or a rose's early thorn

Sometimes that dagger's needed to protect the tender heart
Of fragile things. For me, it only tears the soul apart.
From childhood's lies and tantrums, I progressed to lust and greed
Giving in to every longing at a death-defying speed

As the immortal Shakespeare wrote: To thine own self be true
My id keeps being truer than my ego wants it to
That inner beast persists in mocking all my solemn vows