MYTHAWK
2005-06-05 05:09:08 UTC
Mythawk strolls in to Amethyst, a place he used to frequent alot back in
the middle to late 1990s. He greets Galileo behind the bar, shakes his
hand, and asks for a hot chocolate with extra whip cream. Mythawk then
looks around as he walks to an empty tanble in the south corner but sees
no-one from the old crowd he knew so well. One named Springer comes to
mind...
...which fires up the flame of Mythawk's poetic soul. He pulls a few
piece of paper from the backpack he had been carrying, along with a Mont
Blanc pen, (a college graduation gift from his parents sixteen years ago),
writes a poem in large letters, (easier to read), then, with Galileo's
permission, posts it by the bar:
From Troy To Constantinople:
A Poetically Presented History
Of The Western World
[I]
Many myths exist that we need to know,
So many lost necessary tales whispering to be told.
We need a modern mimicking of bard Homer,
Acting to stage a new ancient-modern show.
[II]
How many know: from whence sprang Rome?
Founded by Romulus and Remes,
Descended from Aeneus,
Who once called Troy home.
[III]
Priam was Trojan's king,
His son Hector a warrior bold.
Outside Troy's walls ruled Agamemnon;
A Greek fleet and army he did bring.
[IV]
Wise Odysseus was present,
Nearly invulnerable Achilles was there.
For ten years Greeks and Trojans fought
Over the hand of a maiden fair.
[V]
Helen was her name,
Inside Troy's walls she stayed
Taken by Prince Paris she reigned
For thousands of days.
[VI]
The end came in the belly of a wooden horse,
Which Trojans dragged it inside the city's walls,
Thinking it a divine gift from the immortals;
Greeks leaped out, defeating Trojans in due course.
[VII]
Aeneus and others did get away,
Traversed the seas for many a day,
Until the Tiber river did appear,
The Rome of Romulus and Remus founded near.
[VIII]
A republic existed first,
Then was born Julius Caesar.
Boldly he crossed the Rubicon,
And declared himself dictator.
[IX]
'Beware the Ides of March" - 44 B.C.E,²
A stern warning Julius ignored,
On that day it came to pass:
Several senators stabbed him till breath last.
[X]
Caesar's final words: famous to be sure:
"Et Tu Brute?"
Not even a friend was pure,
Via whom julius was lured.
[XI]
His nephew Augustus in 27,
The land in need dire,
Declared himself emperor,
And restored order to the empire.
[XII]
For four centuries the Roman voice,
Sounded over half the known world,
And conquered cultures had a choice:
Submit to the protection of the legions,
Or see no more earthly seasons.
[XIII]
Slow and quick were its death results:
Internal political decay and external assault.
Ostrogoths and Visogoths bearing ill will,
With the Emperor Honorius watching in 410,
Barbarically poured over the seventh hill.
[XIV]
In 476 Marcus Aurelius ruled
And oversaw the final collapse.
The western empire faded from history,
Thus now we study it as the past.
[XV]
The Roman spirit did survive,
Journeyed east in search of a new prize:
And it found the Byzantine empire,
In modern Turkey it did arise.
[XVI]
For a millennium it persevered,
But all things must some time end.
The year: 1453,
Constantinople fell to the Turks,
No more could its defenses bend.
[XVII]
So much of our world today,
Owes itself to the Greek and Roman way,
An unbroken cultural link,
Stretching over three millennia,
What else exists to say?
© j r romanyshyn 12 24 2004
the middle to late 1990s. He greets Galileo behind the bar, shakes his
hand, and asks for a hot chocolate with extra whip cream. Mythawk then
looks around as he walks to an empty tanble in the south corner but sees
no-one from the old crowd he knew so well. One named Springer comes to
mind...
...which fires up the flame of Mythawk's poetic soul. He pulls a few
piece of paper from the backpack he had been carrying, along with a Mont
Blanc pen, (a college graduation gift from his parents sixteen years ago),
writes a poem in large letters, (easier to read), then, with Galileo's
permission, posts it by the bar:
From Troy To Constantinople:
A Poetically Presented History
Of The Western World
[I]
Many myths exist that we need to know,
So many lost necessary tales whispering to be told.
We need a modern mimicking of bard Homer,
Acting to stage a new ancient-modern show.
[II]
How many know: from whence sprang Rome?
Founded by Romulus and Remes,
Descended from Aeneus,
Who once called Troy home.
[III]
Priam was Trojan's king,
His son Hector a warrior bold.
Outside Troy's walls ruled Agamemnon;
A Greek fleet and army he did bring.
[IV]
Wise Odysseus was present,
Nearly invulnerable Achilles was there.
For ten years Greeks and Trojans fought
Over the hand of a maiden fair.
[V]
Helen was her name,
Inside Troy's walls she stayed
Taken by Prince Paris she reigned
For thousands of days.
[VI]
The end came in the belly of a wooden horse,
Which Trojans dragged it inside the city's walls,
Thinking it a divine gift from the immortals;
Greeks leaped out, defeating Trojans in due course.
[VII]
Aeneus and others did get away,
Traversed the seas for many a day,
Until the Tiber river did appear,
The Rome of Romulus and Remus founded near.
[VIII]
A republic existed first,
Then was born Julius Caesar.
Boldly he crossed the Rubicon,
And declared himself dictator.
[IX]
'Beware the Ides of March" - 44 B.C.E,²
A stern warning Julius ignored,
On that day it came to pass:
Several senators stabbed him till breath last.
[X]
Caesar's final words: famous to be sure:
"Et Tu Brute?"
Not even a friend was pure,
Via whom julius was lured.
[XI]
His nephew Augustus in 27,
The land in need dire,
Declared himself emperor,
And restored order to the empire.
[XII]
For four centuries the Roman voice,
Sounded over half the known world,
And conquered cultures had a choice:
Submit to the protection of the legions,
Or see no more earthly seasons.
[XIII]
Slow and quick were its death results:
Internal political decay and external assault.
Ostrogoths and Visogoths bearing ill will,
With the Emperor Honorius watching in 410,
Barbarically poured over the seventh hill.
[XIV]
In 476 Marcus Aurelius ruled
And oversaw the final collapse.
The western empire faded from history,
Thus now we study it as the past.
[XV]
The Roman spirit did survive,
Journeyed east in search of a new prize:
And it found the Byzantine empire,
In modern Turkey it did arise.
[XVI]
For a millennium it persevered,
But all things must some time end.
The year: 1453,
Constantinople fell to the Turks,
No more could its defenses bend.
[XVII]
So much of our world today,
Owes itself to the Greek and Roman way,
An unbroken cultural link,
Stretching over three millennia,
What else exists to say?
© j r romanyshyn 12 24 2004
--
BUT I WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH FOR
YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT." - VOLTAIRE
<PEACE FROM THE CLOUDS><
"I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOU SAY,BUT I WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH FOR
YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT." - VOLTAIRE