Robbing the Tomb

The year was bad, the crops were burnt,

The dragon turned his back,

The River Wei was almost dry

The earth was brown, and cracked,

The peasant army, risen up

Destroyed the House of Chin,

Set fire to all their palaces,

Their army turned and ran.

 

But we were left with nothing since

The death of Chin Shi Huang,

That first and greatest Emperor

Who'd ruled across the land,

He lay within his tomb up there

Hid deep within Mount Li,

And left us all with nothing but

A distant memory.

 

So Wang and Tong, my neighbours

With both Zheng and Shao along,

Had thought about the riches that

Lay underneath the ground,

They'd murdered all the builders and

The architects, the slaves,

So no-one could reveal the plans

Of Chin Shi Huang-ti's grave.

 

The ruling class were weak, had fled,

We thought this was our chance,

Why shouldn't we be rich, we thought,

We'd fought with sword and lance,

We'd long defended Chin Shi Huang

So now we should be paid,

The riches of the tomb lay there

Down where his corpse was laid.

 

'You know the penalty for this,'

Said Shao, 'we'll lose our heads,

If anyone should get to hear

That we've disturbed the dead.'

'We're going to die soon anyway,'

Croaked Zheng, 'you'd rather starve?

I'd risk my head for just one ring...'

The rest of us just laughed.

 

'What if his ghost has roamed abroad

To rage and roar at us?

Down in that ghostly sepulchre

Where he was laid in trust?'

'No man survived to see beneath

Those workings that were done,

They buried all his concubines

And workmen, every one!'

 

'I'd face a thousand ghosts,' said Tong,

'A ghost can't do you harm,

'I hope you're sure of that,' said Wang,

Who blanched in his alarm.

'Of course they can't, we'll get to work

The moon is full tonight,

We'll tunnel down, lie low by day,

Work while the moon is bright!'

 

It took us just a week to find

The steps to take us in,

The air was musty, smelt of death

The death knell of the Chin.

Then Shao had lit a candle, and

Cried out, a note of fear,

We stood and stared agape at horses,

And each charioteer.

 

And lines of archers, infantry,

That glared us in the gloom,

A whole division of the Chin

Had filled that darkened room,

But soldiers, made of pottery,

They stood as if in death,

To wait for Chin Shi Huang to rise,

To take a mortal breath.

 

We made our way between the rows

An army from the past,

And every face was different there,

A grim, unsmiling mask,

There must have been a thousand, or

Ten thousand, who could tell,

The army of an Emperor to

Breach the gates of hell!

 

Eventually we found a way

To tunnel through the walls,

Some passages led out of there

Deep down into the halls,

Where concubines were lain, asleep,

The beauties of the land,

But when Shao touched a tender cheek

The flesh was yellow sand.

 

So down, and deeper down we went,

The tomb must lie below,

We had no thought for safety, we

Just wandered anyhow,

And then a twang had sounded, as

A bolt took cousin Zheng,

Straight through the skull, the crossbow

That he'd tripped, was meant for him.

 

He died before he hit the floor,

Then other bolts flew yet,

The traps for plunderers like us

The Emperor had set,

One took Shao, entered at the throat

And pinned him to the wall,

His eyes had glazed, and then he died,

He couldn't even fall.

 

That left just me and Tong and Wang,

To crawl along the floor,

We came to heavy cedar doors

We knew we'd found the core,

The pictographs said 'Don't come in,

Or you will feel the curse,

Of Emperor Chin Shi Huang, your sin

Will drive your pauper's hearse!'

 

Tong kicked the door in with his boot,

Then ducked, and fell instead,

A blade came snaking to the floor

And Tong had lost his head!

It rolled unknowing down a stair

And landed, staring up,

From diamonds, rubies, sapphires,

And gem encrusted cups.

 

The coffin was magnificent,

A massive copper sheath,

And round about, such artefacts

That gleamed, beyond belief,

Wang couldn't stop, he crawled right down

And over Tong's dead form,

I screamed a warning, turned and ran,

And cursed that I'd been born!

 

I never saw Wang Bin again,

I made my way outside,

I slunk back home and hid for weeks,

I'd lost face, and my pride!

As Wang went down those chamber steps

I just wished that I'd hid,

For as Wang reached the jewels, I saw

The coffin raise its lid!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Ellen Hammond]

Such an intriguing story poem that kept me hanging onto every word, written with you wonderful flair. I've often thought of all the riches buried in tombs while many starved and of the servants, concubines, etc. who were buried in the outer chambers. It says a lot as to the priorities of those emperors and kings. I really enjoyed this read as I always love to read your work. Thanks for sharing.

[Tate Morgan]

LOL You do know how to capture he moment.That was sublime!!!!

[Nirmala]

Entirely brilliant! Enjoyed every moment of the trip down and specially up again! That was a whole movie with no intermission! All detailed in colour and form giving poetry dimension to a fantastic yarn! Will be a frequent visitor to your writings!

[Creepy Swine Guy]

Long poems do not usually keep my attention as the authors usually get careless with length ... But you have superior imagination Mr. Padget sir. I was referred by DRock0211 and I am glad of that. Your poem was an epic and so well constructed. You obviously suffered long over this work to see to it that every word was in it's proper place and no words were there that did not belong.

Fabulous.

[Doreen]

Again, you've written a marvel. Your poetry is a gem, and tells a wonderful tale.

[emmajoy]

What an incredible piece of writing .. a tale set in the most wonderful metered verse .. a real masterpiece.. well, another real masterpiece!

Your other reviewers have said what I feel that not only is it story and poem but writing with a moral .. all that glitters is not gold ..

That last line .. oh my!

' Where concubines were lain, asleep, The beauties of the land, But when Shao touched a tender cheek The flesh was yellow sand. ' .. made my spine tingle'

[R J Askew]

I got turned on by 'soldiers made of pottery' which I read as 'poetry', instantly seeing an army of surging versemen coming to kill me. I was more turned on by this dig into romance and greed. Yes, I wld like to possess a pot of jewels more than win a Rachel. I prefer the romantic concepts your confour up here to the thought of having to deal with a live Rachel. Winning treaure through feat of arms is far more appealing than winning a woman's love. And anyway we know that womens' love follows the glint of treasure.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Wonderful! It's amazing to me how you so vividly draw us into your world. It's as easy as breathing air.

Linda Marie

[Valentine]

Dang you David...you tricked me again with a surprise ending..Here I thought he was going to be the only one to carry off some of the riches and instead he saw the coffin lid rise and ran..You are the greatest story teller I have ever read..I am so happy that you are my friend and mate..love to Lyn and God bless you both..Kathie

[Mark]

How masterfully created, combining the Terras Cotta soldiers of Chin Shi-Huang, known to all readers of Life or the National Geographic, with a little "Mummy" and "Indiana Jones" inference-mythology, to bring home the lesson that the ends do not ALWAYS justify the means. Your lessons (for lessons they are, couched in poetry!) betray a level of spirituality and theological insight most of your fans would not guess at. You astound me afresh each new day, David...Say, don't I recollect a certain OTHER David who wrote long spiritual poems? Must think on that ...

[Lena M. P.]

You suck me in like the dumb blonde in ever horror story when you scream at the screen "don't go in there you idiot" but she does anyway. I start reading, knowing where you are heading and I can't stop. You are the source of my psychosis. Wonderful write as always. Your research into your subject matter just makes it that more frightening.