Stuff I Probably Made Up

One of my all time favorite poems was written by a man named Tyrone Green (well, as portrayed by Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live):

Images
by Tyrone Green

Dark and lonely on a summer’s night.
Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.
Watchdog barking. Do he bite?
Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.
Slip in his window. Break his neck.
Then his house I start to wreck.
Got no reason. What the heck?
Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.

C-I-L my land lord!
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Now, I strongly suggest we sit and meditate upon the deep metaphorical meaning behind this fascinating bit of prose.

“Dark and lonely on a summer’s night.”

Summer nights are normally warm and pleasant, yet obviously the author of the poem was lonely on this dark night.  This is apparently a metaphor for the loneliness we encounter at times in life, when the world that should otherwise be pleasant instead seems dark, lonely, and scary.

“Kill my landlord.  Kill my landlord.”

The author finds the solution to his loneliness by finding a purpose in his life.  His “landlord” is a metaphor for the darkness, meaninglessness, oppression, and lack of enlightenment in his existence.  He must kill his “landlord” to be free.

“Watchdog barking.  Do he bite?”

Thus is reflected the uncertainty in this endeavor of “killing one’s landlord” and finding peace and enlightenment.  One’s fears often stand in the way of the greatest and most purposeful of endeavors.  Indeed, we all often wonder whether the barking watchdog bites.

“Kill my landlord.  Kill my landlord.”

The metaphoric goal is repeated.  Our enlightened author realized that he must push on without fear of the repercussions, as such is life.

“Slip in his window. Break his neck.
Then his house I start to wreck.”

Our archetypal hero accomplishes his goal, “breaking” the ties that have bound him to ignorance.  The “house” is symbolic of the world created by this “demiurge” who has bound him to this state - through his enlightened and free mindset, he proceeds to “wreck” his house.

“Got no reason. What the heck?”

Life had no reason prior to his discovery of the Purpose driving his True Will, and thus he had nothing to lose.  Indeed, “What the heck?” ought to be the motto of us all.

“Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.”

The sign of an artist, repeating the purpose once again so as to emphasize his point.  Truly brilliant.

“C-I-L my land lord!”

At first sign, the author appears to be misspelling the word “kill”.  But as we have seen, our friend Tyrone Green is a true genius, and this is but a bit of “misdirection” meant only to perfect the poetry.  He obviously meant only for intelligent minds to understand his purpose.

It turns out that the poem is transcribed wrong at this point.  Tyrone Green obviously intended the following:

“C.I.L. my land lord!”

C.I.L. obviously stands for the Latin phrase, “Cessat Ipsa Lex,” meaning “The Law itself Ceases”.  It is more notably a part of the phrase, “Cessante ratione legis, cessat ipsa lex,”- “When the reason for the law ceases, the law itself ceases.”

Our friend is thus truly free, even as he serves a life incarceration for the brutal murders of his real life landlord, his landlord’s wife, and their two children.