Mediterranean Salad
As I gaze upon the picture hanging on the wall,
of the Parthenon on Mount Olympus of long ago,
where history was made and mythology took roots
(and phalanx of hoplites conquered the known world)
while the gods ruled from the mountain top;
and bellowed obscenities from their mouths
and threw down lightning bolts upon the shepherds
and their flocks, non-stop, and I thought;
it must have been a relief to feel the breeze off the sea,
and to sit down and eat in peace,
a Mediterranean Salad with succulent sardines.
Categories:
hoplites, food, history, humor, mythology,
Form: Verse
From Valhalla’s fortress of spears and shields,
Valkyrie riders make their daily runs…
Crossing Bifrost to Midgard’s battlefields,
Harvesting warriors till Ragnorak comes.
Flying from Valhalla on their war horses,
Thundering hooves beat like old battle drums,
Odin’s blond daughters watching the forces--
Harvesting warriors till Ragnorak comes.
Legionnaires, Pikemen, Hussars and Spartans;
Storm Troopers, Crusaders and Saracens;
Musketeers, Vikings, and Gladiators;
Watusi, Cossacks, and Conquistadors.
As long as men hear the sounds of war drums,
They’ll harvest the best till Ragnorak comes.
Valkyries search for those to stand vanguard,
Recruiting Odin’s Einherjar armies.
Warriors pass Valgrind to live in Asgard--
Honored to be served by the Valkyries.
Hoplites, Commandoes, and Mujahideens;
Samurais, Yeomen, and US Marines;
Guerrilas, Dragoons, and Panzer Tankers;
Grenadiers, Mamelukes, and Bezerkers.
As long as men hear the sounds of war drums,
Valkyries harvest till Ragnorak comes.
Categories:
hoplites, death, mythology, religion, song,
Form: Lyric
My mind is euphoric from scenes historic
Assyrian chariots innovative wheels bristling Mesopotamian plains
Paring the ranks of each, dated infantry formation
In Greece, anesthetizing anvil of the Dorian invasion
Glorious bronze relics supplanted by cheaper iron distillation
Persian armies: Greek hoplites, Scythian archers; mercenary aggrandization
Shrinking rebel hordes in Asia Minor's wars of attrition
The venal nature of imperial Rome's persuasion
Crucifying a few, targeted rebels for cultural ingratiation
Devout, gentile Europeans crusading to Biblical heritage's door
Defacing cross with predations in route, arriving uplifting banner 'gainst infidel Moor
Normans in hordes splashing across the chilly, English channel tides
Under William the Conqueror's mantra, bridging the Anglo-Saxon divide
Categories:
hoplites, history
Form: Rhyme
With every page turned
I discover traces of myself
Behind the tattered covers
Of old family diaries
In the words of Homer
Within the songs of America
Amongst the GI’s, Hoplites, and Senators,
This is the masculine
I despise this cloak of anonymity
In the shadow of blackness
That veils my hubris
A negative casting
The horror of another
Nightmarish vision
In long forgotten and dusty texts
Against the backdrop of time
I looked into the battled hardened stare
Meeting the gaze as an equal
Whilst judgments eyes
Exhausted and proud standing
Voicing a praise unheard
Allowed me to stands with my fathers
Unashamed
For that moment I was with them
Now turning to depart
A chorus of voices calls my name
This body of men and kings
Times guardians
Chiseled each of granite
Strong willed
Broad shouldered
Defiantly proud
Beckons my eyes to pass over those likenesses of
Caesars Legions, American Revolutionaries, and Everyday men
Fixed within those pages I stand
Eye to eye and man to man
With myself
I am one of them
Brazen and strong
Categories:
hoplites, history, introspection, life, people,
Form: Free verse