Armageddon Prophet
You stand, as though a pulpit is in place,
to proselytize your views on living life
and stomp your soap box podium. Disgrace
yourself with words of war and constant strife;
pound portent in as though you wield a mace.
A comic book caricature, precise
in doling out your wisdom to a mass
of impassive but motivated mice,
who happen to walk by while you harass
myopic minds. Stare like a Cockatrice
at those who dare to question what you sell.
Your shouting makes the message circumspect.
Repeated omens; wave-sounds from a shell
still echo. Broken mirrors will reflect
much more reality. While you dispel
your seeds of doom; the horrors you erect
are merely postcards from your private hell.
Larry D. Jennings
Larry, well done in your usual seemingly easy way, though this was very doom saying, maybe because of the words given?
Steve
Larry,
Your poem fascinated me, you have described the prophet to a T. I have read it multilple times, and each time i drew more from your choice of words. You have chosen a subject few dare to touch on.
Excellent poem
kimi
Hi larry!
This is good--and well written.
Your lines are great. I couldn't really relate to
the subject matter, that much. Are talking about
those "fire and brimstone" kind of preachers?
I try not to listen to them...they just mess up
my day ;-)
K
Hi Steve, Kimi & Karen,
Thanks to all of you for stopping in to read. What? No crits?
Steve, I keep telling you that the finished product may look like it was easy but this one took me nearly two weeks to utilize the given words in a sensible and coherent form. Thanks for the accolades anyway. The subject matter was indeed related to the words given; especially "soapbox". The "streetcorner doomsayers" have utilized them for centuries and yet, we are still here.
Kimi, the only reason I touched on this subject at all was because of the challenge words I had to utilize in it. I don't really have a lot to say to these kinds of people other that they seem to have an ulterior motive or else they are a few oars short of a full crew. Either way, I place people of that ilk right beside Karen's "fire & brimstone preachers" and a lot of politicians. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
Karen, I wrote this as a challenge piece with given words from "Pandora's" and it refers more to the strange beings who stand on street corners with their "Chicken Little" messages rather than the "Suthun' Babtist" fire and brimstone preachers. They walk the same road but only one of them gets paid for his/her efforts in this world. Both will probably recieve their just rewards later!
Again, thanks to all of you for stopping by.
Larry
Good afternoon Larry - what an excellent use of the, 'given words'! The seams didn't show at all.
It seems that not everyone is familiar with the Challenges in Pandora, and failed to realize that you were constrained by those self same given words.
It was good to see your answer to the Pandora Challenge published in Hermes - but maybe you could consider adding the Challenge words at the end of your poem.
I certainly agree with your expressed distaste for those who seek to force their own particular brand of religion upon the credulous, and even casual passers-by; and their certainty that they alone have, ' Got the Truth.'
I stumbled a little on the word - dispel, but can't remember if that was one of the Challenge words.
To my mind, 'dispel' means to drive out, chase away etc.
But it is a clever, and even more importantly, completely comprehensible poem!
Leo
Hi Larry -
I don't have any crits but I do have one nit...the use of 'mice' and 'mass'. These are commonly used terms to described ignorant people and I found this to be your only 'slip' in an otherwise very creative write. Personally, I don't have a distaste for the street-preacher, I save that for the so-called intellectuals who believe they are above any kind of truth other than their own. But as you stated, everyone will receive their just rewards later.
Dispel - To rid one's mind of...a scattering. Works for me.
Robin
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)