Rhymes -normally I love them-
But tonight they seem like sweet-tongued harlots.
Cheap.
Cliche.
Predictable.
More concerned with sounding right
than capturing the truth.
A poet would use them to empower his words,
but, instead, they rob him of his dignity,
chaining him down,
clipping his wings,
building walls around his baffled imagination.
Tonight, oh rhymes, I would chase you with a firebrand
as did my spiritual namesake.
You stir me with anger,
make me wish to grab a gladius,
leap into the trenches,
and cut away all pretenses until I free her-
the true love of all true poets:
Truth herself.
11-12 December 2023
Categories:
gladius, truth,
Form: Free verse
From mouth to ear, from hand to hand
Through persecution in dangerous lands
Jesus is looking for souls
And in response, the heroes of the Gospel shine their light
Most not assigned to war before; called now for the highest of fights
While this most precious fact remains
That at some point they each said to themselves
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Is worth more than my life
And so they ride at the speed of God
As an extension of His mercy
And carrying His law
Way back to Acts of the Apostles
There have been heroes of the Gospel
Through gladius and lion's teeth
Through torture, fire and unbelief
There weren't too many hearts unshaken
When heroes prayed for their assailants
They wear the chains that don't unlock
They've preached the word from chopping blocks
But they would never feel whole
If they weren't trying to save souls
Way back to Acts of the Apostles
There have been heroes of the Gospel
Until the enemy is toppled
There will be heroes of the Gospel!
Matthew 16:18 KJV
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Categories:
gladius, bible, christian,
Form: Rhyme
It was a dangerous mix of midriff and moons.
A nude goddess was riding a tiger.
Moralization. I will not allow my peaks to
fail me. I was running on the road to salvation.
It cuts across the flames, then the zilch,
poised for becoming a rag-picker.
The pseudo-lies were half-truths. The alienation
was hung in air, in graveyard and homes.
Now the sun follows me in dark.
It was nothing short of a miracle,
eating the forbidden fruit and lying still
in the company of hydrangeas and drinking
nothing. Tears and salt displace the clouds.
Satish Verma
Categories:
gladius, art
Form: I do not know?
It was a dangerous mix of midriff and moons.
A nude goddess was riding a tiger.
Moralization. I will not allow my peaks to
fail me. I was running on the road to salvation.
It cuts across the flames, then the zilch,
poised for becoming a rag-picker.
The pseudo-lies were half-truths. The alienation
was hung in air, in graveyard and homes.
Now the sun follows me in dark.
It was nothing short of a miracle,
eating the forbidden fruit and lying still
in the company of hydrangeas and drinking
nothing. Tears and salt displace the clouds.
Satish Verma
Categories:
gladius, adventure, allegory, angst, animals,
Form: I do not know?
Confessions scratched hastily
On brittle yellowed parchment scrolls…
Glory bled dry of life on the edge
Of Marcus Brutus’ smitten gladius…
Caesars gold alabaster empire
Lays in the decimating firestorm of envy…
Wielded by coveting men
Legions of voracities avarice march on Rome…
Retribution’s sweeping winds
Deliver his great realm into Libitina's hand…
A vision divine unfulfilled
Only silver in the pockets of assassins…
Civilizations legacy realized
That all greatness is finite within bitter hearts…
Reveling in our distant past
Filling the worlds ears with a cacophony of drivel…
Every empire fallen
This blueprint follows it’s way to the future…
Categories:
gladius, history, imagination, inspirational, life,
Form: Free verse