Poets of a Certain Age

"Arma virumque cano" No more the Viking sagas Singed by the dragon’s breath No more the valiant charges Into the Valley of Death. No more the knights of chivalry Bewitched by a maiden’s pallor. No more the sword-drawn cavalry Galloping with dash and valour. Who now hears Roland’s mighty blast As loyally he stayed To fight on to the very last Though he had been betrayed Gone, the Homeric heroics Of those who made their final stands. Gone are the stalwart stoics Who charted the icy lands. Gone, are these men romanticised, All hailed with trumpeting noises. For poetry’s now been feminised And speaks with softer voices Of emotions deep, internalised, Of relationships and choices. Of mother’s love of a child prized, In whom the heart rejoices. And who am I to say it’s not A better voice, addressing The struggles of our daily plot Of our hidden hearts’ undressing, A kinder voice that speaks in verse To the need for understanding Our place in a godless universe, Infinite yet expanding. But I do so miss the surety Of those heroes crowned with laurels Whose valiant deeds and purity Filled our minds with higher morals. Of dignity and integrity Of knowing right from wrong That gave our lives some clarity As we listened to their song.