Socrates

I am walking Athens with Socrates And see the world through his eyes Barefooted with white robe Tied in a knot with linen rope I follow him like a shadow Starring at the faces of Athenians Who lived ago a couple of millennia I see Xantippe chasing chickens And a bunch of little children Chasing her in the square of Athens Screaming laughing, and clapping Socrates passed by quietly as if he Did not see the vivid loud scene Deeply immersed in his thoughts Teaching his students maieutics Socrates did not have time For insignificant petty things He always thought big And about important things He had to go to the war And was the only one Who was walking slowly Glancing back in case The enemy was chasing Him after the battle was lost And he once more Would have to protect Beloved city and its Citizens in the battle He was awarded a medal For such a brave act But he gave it away To a young man passing by On the street one day Believing that he did not Need awards and other Shiny meaningless things He walked market place Filled with beautiful items And he wondered how that is That there are so many things That he did not want Socrates was in dangerous business Of telling fools that they are fools And it did not last very long As Socrates would have guessed If he cared about consequences Fools like to hide under fancy Words and elaborated lies They don’t like to be called By their true ugly names But Socrates did not know How to lie nor he cared He never felt scared So he always told the truth Till one day he was accused Of conspiracy to destroy The old ways of the world Teaching young men How to think on their own That was the biggest crime In Western history of all times And he was the first philosopher Sentenced to be executed For telling the truth I was standing behind him In a dark cave where he Was locked till the execution I saw young Plato crying And desperately trying To convince wise man To escape the gloomy jail But Socrates as always Looked straight into the eyes Of his students and said He could not do such a thing It would be against his Precious teachings To be true to himself And to his words To escape as a guilty man Avoiding execution While all he did was He told the truth Socrates believed he Was an innocent man But he thought that he Had to obey the law Designed by Athens So he took a cup Filled with liquid poison Took another piercing look At young men that he was Surrounded by in the cave Smiled at them swiftly And in one gulp he put A stamp on his word That has never been Even once proven wrong Up till this remote day I saw the grieving faces Of his young followers And eyes filled with tears And moans of despair And the pain of the Athens That lost the only man Who loved them the most And the bravest philosopher In the history of the world I hold Socrates in my arms When he stumbled And started loosing sight His white robe shone In the darkness of night Like angels wings Spread wide in a swing And his words were written In the cosmic pattern Of the sky of that fatal Unfortunate night The skies became dark And I saw bright robe Floating towards the dusk Light like a lonely bird Crossing the burning sky Where the next morning Was slowly opening eyes And I cried grieving For the world that never Learned to cherish those Who loved it most