The Swan of Avon known as the bard
Born on St Georges day
A wizard of words not one line marred
He wrote many a wonderful play
The legacy he left for us
Still can bring us joy
Star crossed lovers witches and kings
All did his pen employ
Julius Caesar and Macbeth
The Tempest and King John
Pericles and Cymbeline
The list goes on and on
His work was staged at the Globe
more than 400 years ago
Still seems fresh still seems new
And still moves us so
Yes this genius of a man
Whose writing was so fine
Was not of an age
But a man for all of time
The Swan of Avon still lives on
In every play that's seen
If you see one you'll agree
He is the greatest that there's been
Categories:
pericles, art, tribute,
Form: Verse
Herodotus climbs ladder of history
Every time he does it he falls off
But he does not break his back
And does not lose scrolls of Ulysses
As historian I too love ladder climbing
But do you know how many times,
Pericles has broken my neck?
And snatched my scrolls of history?
Categories:
pericles, history, metaphor,
Form: Imagism
Mubarak is a case in point. You leave
a man on top too long, he loses track
of what he is, beginning to believe
he's Pericles. Thus white shades into black.
Magruder, Coulson, Mitchell, Liddy, Dean -
they all lined up to help him tell the lies.
The end can never justify the means.
Who put the blinkers on such piercing eyes?
Up to this point, the office stood for Good,
all that could be hopeful in mankind.
But Nixon grinned, as only Nixon could -
a thousand placemen wilfully went blind.
The strangest thing about these law-destroyers,
these wreckers of the State? They were all lawyers.
Categories:
pericles, political,
Form: Sonnet
aim true
don’t shake
spear the beast
measure for measure
this is the taming of the shrew
the tempest as you will
it feels much ado about nothing
as if it is the comedy of errors
now on the twelfth night of the feast of hades
love’s labour lost as you like it
this the winter’s tale
but you are the merchant of venice
here to sell your wares
here to charm
the merry wives of windsor
and touch
with your inbred smile
many others
cymbeline
pericles
the two gentlemen of verona
here for their own laugh
troilus and cressida
all ships in the night
a rose by any other name
but then you waken
and it was but a midsummer night’s dream
or was it
it is nothing more than a play
or is it
in the end is not life a stage
and us merely the players
these
the days
the plays
of comedy
you know from your balcony
all’s well that ends well
as i bid you adieu
my prince
sweet dreams
and dream no more
the days of joy are upon us
so live
eyes wide open
this time is yours
Categories:
pericles, word play,
Form: Free verse
before the beginning,
aches burnt slow fuses
in blood shrapnel'd fog,
salted feet tread spattered rain,
as men held spent while veiled mothers wept;
growth rings sat lonely on soot tarnished walls,
regrets wrung young necks snatched in flight down dank halls;
tho' faithful bones preach virtues of battle,
good soldiers pray not for eager roots,
duty once burnished brave Pericles' helm,
now under hill barrows form shadows for muster,
feeding shot powder thurible blessings;
as the fiddle fears the concerto's note,
unbaptized souls flee the thieving stoat;
under the moral eye,
sabers eased in tin, in sighs,
engendered discourse with the Other,
shattered friends, splintered foe,
remnants of another time;
desperate for the author's joke,
unbidden blades pierce tattered cloaks;
once upright men, wounded grimace men,
hobbled yet heroic still,
would dare yet to delve the authentic heart,
and wake the sleeper, sharpen pen, for
without ritual, gods survive war.
Categories:
pericles, war,
Form: Free verse
Shoulders hunched, bluetooth crackling
In his ear, wandering at callers whim-
"It is I, the deep forest calling you;
Cast off the tethers to your soul!
Run naked through the trees!
Answer the howling wolf in the distance!
Stake your territory, like our brothers
Before you!
Drink from the spring
Newly discovered!"
Assemble your riches!
Gather fresh berries and pine knots
To fire your brew!
Know that you are not alone,
Beat the drum of Pericles!
The golden age is upon you!
Let not the daily tempest bruise
Your soul!
Be free!
12/09/13
Categories:
pericles, analogy,
Form: Lyric
ACROPOLIS
Ancient fortress, the wind carried to me your silent call,
Commune with your warring deities way deep in my soul.
Rooted among the scarred ruins strewn through the ages,
On thy hallowed ground I stand to pay my humble homage.
Parthenon, implore Athena to shield the shining city
Over whose skylines you kept watch for centuries.
Like an eagle surveying this old Hellenic kingdom
In majestic splendor - now and forevermore -
Stay regally proud, mighty and strong.
PARTHENON
Phidias by his labor sculpted you into a majestic temple
Atop the craggy Acropolis to watch over Athens beautiful,
Rugged boulders, pine forests, ancient agoras and all.
The mighty god Poseidon lusted for the siren call of your city.
Her wisdom dictating, goddess Athena won’t cede it away.
Eons ago you rose up for Athena and till this day you survive,
Not anticipated by Pericles and other mortals, dead or alive.
Only you alone for sure can tell the rest of humanity why
None could put you down though centuries had gone by.
Categories:
pericles, history, imagination, places,
Form: Acrostic
Phidias by his labor sculpted you into a majestic temple
Atop the craggy Acropolis to watch over Athens beautiful,
Rugged boulders, pine forests, ancient agoras and all.
The mighty god Poseidon lusted for the siren call of your city.
Her wisdom dictating, goddess Athena won't cede it away.
Eons ago you rose up for Athena and till this day you survive,
Not anticipated by Pericles and other mortals, dead or alive.
Only you alone for sure can tell the rest of humanity why
None could put you down though centuries had gone by.
Categories:
pericles, history, places, time,
Form: Acrostic