Thermopylae: 300 At the Hot Gates
I can hear Thermopylae beckoning me upon my return
Leonidas’ voice calls me forward to battle with hardened pride
Time’s grains shifting bellowing out the past I have lived
And I am of that past…I can touch the echoes of who I was
I remember the summers heat as we marched to battle
Laughing in the parching dusts as brothers-in-arms often do
Praying to the gods for a cool Aegean zephyr
To dissolve my fears of the impending battle…death
But why now does my ancient king demand of me?
Why do the hoplites summon me by banging shield and spear?
I hold at the moment of entering that mountain pass
Marveling upon these memories of someone past…of me
Stepping forward I can see the army of Xerxes pride
In the shadow of King Leonidas crying “Molon Labe!”
Do I allow this ancient knowledge to lead me forward?
Or file it away dismissing it as incidence or moments chance
A moment’s time I see the battle unfold as waves of Persians push
Washing over and falling back over my fallen broken brothers
I bid goodbye to retreating men as they go to rally the Pelleponese
Leaving we…the 300 champions to perish in honored glory
As I trace the steps I have trodden in centuries long forgotten
I am a part of all things divinely made by the god’s hands
Weeping for my brothers whose tender faces I don’t recall
I stand in the grandeur of Thermopylae.
Historical Note:
The battle of Thermopylae (also know as The Hot Gates) was pivotal in the
worlds history. The group of Spartans, Theban, and allies held off the Armies of
Persian King Xerxes long enough for Greece to rally an army of its own and
defeat the persians. Those who went to Thermopylae knew it was a suicide
mission. Also, the words "MOLON LABE", were the words King Leonidas of
Sparta replied, when Xerxes demanded their arms in surrender...it
means "Come and
take them".
Copyright © Charles Fuller | Year Posted 2007
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