- Non-Erotic Poetry
- Pagan Rites of the Barbarian King
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Click hereI had to hide in the bushes to watch
the pagan rites of the barbarian king,
as he ripped the heads off flowers and let
their innocent life sap mingle impotent
with the earth, crushing their soft tendrils
and smothering their screams.
He surrounded himself with minstrels,
troubadours and misguided mandarins.
I wanted to ask: Lord Emperor, do you
remember Auschwitz, Nagasaki,
or 900 days in Leningrad? What of Verdun,
Stalingrad, and the rape of Nanjing?
He just strummed softly at his harp
as the fires were lit, and the cities burned.
In the roar of that rampant, silent blaze
I could not hear the children scream
as they were swallowed by the flames,
their bones soon fashioned into swords.
- COMMENTS
flyguy69over 19 years agoThis line in particular: "In the roar of that rampant, silent blaze/I could not hear the children scream" is stunning!
flyguy69over 19 years agoThis line: "In the roar of that rampant, silent blaze/I could not hear the children scream" is stunning.
Catalina Friscoover 19 years agoashamed to be a human after I read your comment Jd/. wonderfully powerful poem
jd4georgeover 19 years agoAuthorThe 5.5 million military and civilian casualties of those six 20th Century events pales in comparison to the 20 million victims of Stalin's scourge, or the 35 million victims of the 1960's famine caused by the policies of Mao Zedong.
Sadly, they all died in the name of political righteousness.
Auschwitz: 1.2 million killed
Nagasaki: 135,000 killed
Leningrad: 1.6 million killed
Verdun: 750,000 killed
Stalingrad: 1.52 million killed
Nanjing: 300,000 killed
