In days of olde, the hero knew
and bravely faced his foe.
With so much wrong,
today's young knight
has much farther to go.
He has to cross a wasteland
strewn with bodies left and right,
a landscape full of woe,
with not one dragon in his sight.
I once dreamed love would save us;
stuffed a flower in a gun,
sang songs of love and peace
and trusted all wars would be won.
A hero came upon the scene;
we didn't recognize him.
Then the pendulum swung
and who came next
was someone who despised him.
Oh woe, oh woe, oh woe, oh woe,
those pretty dreams we dreamed
have turned into a nightmare
even scarier than it seemed.
We need someone in armour
carrying the Sword of Truth,
followed by an army of
robustly singing youth.
I will not live long enough
to see how this turns out.
I just hope to make it to the day
we un-elect this lout.
Well, this turned out differently than I had hoped. But perhaps a smile is not such a bad thing these days. The hero, of course, was Obama. I cried tears of joy when he was elected. He gave us such hope. But the repubs wouldnt work with him. Even so, he did so much good. The buffoon who followed him has undone everything he accomplished, and has wrecked a whole lot more. Now people are dying under his inept watch. This four years has been hard on my once hopeful spirit. I pray the end of this term sees the last of him.
For Brendan at earthweal, who is asking for A Hero's Journey, to lead us toward the new world we want to live in.
i think we're all dreaming of that! We have our own clown in office - the worst death rates in Europe - totally unnecessary - and still telling us how well the government are doing. it seems clear that governments that put the economy first have fucked up and let people die. I'm so so angry about this, sorry if my language is wrong, but I cannot be calm about this.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I really enjoyed the sustained rhyme and rhythm - you never seemed to stretch or strain - and your contrasts between our dreams and our reality is well drawn.
Mine turned out differently too, Sherry, and I’ve been thinking about it for a few days. I wrote about a hero who only thinks he’s a hero, with a slight nod to the current POTUS. I also took hope from Obama’s election and hope that Michelle takes up the gauntlet. I agree with the suggestion that ‘today's young knight has much farther to go’. I too ‘dreamed love would save us’ and ‘sang songs of love and peace’. By the way, I'm with Sarah on every point she makes.
ReplyDeleteYes - it is concerning that our human response the the current situation is largely shaped by our governments response - and in the case of america, that is just downright terrifying. may it all ease soon.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I agree with Sarah - the rhyme and rhythm work well to carry our heroes along to the poems conclusion.
The shadow of the hero is the clown, and both have much to teach us from the high and low roads they walk. But I pity da fool who trusts the tears of a clown! Well done Sherry - B
ReplyDeleteYou got me laughing! After such a history of heroes--turns out we need collective action! I didn't write what I expected either. Sigh. And I can't even seem to stay political these days. (I remember putting flowers in the paths of guns.) I think you get the prize for the hero poem.
ReplyDeleteheroes are made, not born, we hope. and that some are on their way ~
ReplyDelete