Horatii Swords

The fingertips of poets

should peel with audacious;

 

 angst, from smearing the 

writing on the wall;

 

If only they could answer~

Why a good womans love

is so easily discarded,

and why great men

have died for philosophy.

“Love is fickle” he said

knowledge is sound...But

the greatest of minds

know,

it is better to have loved"

he pauses in Tennyson...

(He sees "her" face inside the painting

the one he lost; Hypatia he whispers;

one with the weeping women.)

I stare into the drip of David

and swear an oath,

Horatii swords in sweaty fist,

Hemlock on my lips...

he moves off

into the crowd

into midst

 of the

faceless masses

and I hear them

all silently

clamoring;

like Mime bells chiming

Wanting to be

 "the one"...

for somebody else;

I watched him go,

till he disappeared...

wine glass in his hand

Hemlock on his kiss.

Author's Note

Socrates and Lord Tennyson

Reviews

[...]

. a very captivating ode ... narrated superbly ... i loved the opening lines and i loved this stanza the most ...

If only they could answer~
Why a good womans love
is so easily discarded,
and why great men
have died for philosophy.

. i wish i had the answers ... i wish the answers were universal ... you've given me a lot to think about with your thought-provoking words ...