A Glorious Revolution

def: rev-o-lu-tion [rev-uh-loo-shuh n]: a sudden, complete or marked change in something.

Don't say I shouldn't sing
in these barren streets,
Don't say I shouldn't cry
and scream to my hearts
content in this wasted
place.
Shouldn't I dance for joy,
whatever they say?
Who cares if I'm crying?
I'll cry anyway.

And out in the fields the
flags are flying.
And in through the town
the voice of your name
is a thunder roll as
flashing dancing angels
clap hands and echo
the mercy waves of you,
whilst every man and
women lift their heads
to cry; 'Oh! What a glorious,
What a glorious revolution!
Today, I am made new.'

Reviews

[Vanessa]

Yet another remarkable(and I mean REMARKABLE) piece.
I loved the way it sounded, particularly, when read in my head.
The placement of words was too perfect for words. I have to say
that my favorite part was the first half of the first stanza, the
part that read:
"Don't say I shouldn't sing
in these barren streets,
Don't say I shouldn't cry
and scream to my hearts
content in this wasted
place.."
I loved that with such a passion.

Anyhow, your poems are wicked, to say the least.
--Vanessa Alyse

[paul]

wow. beautiful, powerful stuff

[Raef C. Boylan]

The first stanza reads so smoothly it could be an anthem, chanted passionately in pubs. That kind of goes for both stanzas, but the "say...anyway" rhyme makes the first more jaunty.
The defintion you give for revolution suggests that this piece isn't about any of the national 'revolutions' that would naturally spring to mind - I felt, despite the flags and comradeship, that it might be the narrator's personal revolution. Probably wrong though.

Great write. Thanks to Emily Burns for sharing this with me.

p.s.
"scream to my hearts
content" [heart's ?]

[AK]

This could apply so many different ways... I like that! Thanks for leaving the door open for each of us to decide what to shout about! Shout I will!

[Mr. Misanthrope]

Such a beautiful poem. I can imagine this colourful revolution taking place. By stating all of these sequences at once, you mastered the confusion one would normally find in a revolution.

Very well written, and well done!

Luke:)

[Emily B]

Oh! What a glorious revolution. . . Today I am made new.

I choose to read this as a cry that isn't pinned down to one particular place and time. Like kortas, I prefer to think it could have narrated any number of remarkable occurrences. Beautiful writing.

[W.k.kortas]

I am probably miles off base here, but...it struck me immediately that there is no specific place and time as the setting here; we know very little about it, save that it is a "wasted place"-- it could be Kiev in 1917, or Havana in 1959, or any one of a dozen other places and times, making the poem more a study of the nature of the appeal of revolution-- how it promises a new start, how it allows one to be "made new." It could also be surmised that, given the fact the narrator is having to defend his emotions, that this is a somewhat sardonic look at the joys and attraction of revolution. Whether or not I am on track in terms of the theme, I'm confident in saying that the execution of the piece is rock-solid; the pacing and structure of the piece catch the feel of speech extremely well. A very nice piece of writing.