AN ODE TO THE CENTURY PAST

That was the age of despair, disrepair
but this is now, the New Utopia.

That was the time when we killed off our muses
throwing their remains to the ravenous dogs.

Our innocence disemboweled, our hopes quartered
with five hollow-point bullets on that cold december night.

When six million replaced six six six as the accursed number
of all eternity and
six million nameless faces, six million faceless names
were extinguished for that greatest crime of all -
Existence.

But this is now, the Neo-Utopia.

That was the age of despair, disrepair
When raven-black sun  
threw rays of shadow upon the earth and
giant bullfrogs ate pygmy antelopes
hooves, bones and all.

But still we fought on, hoping for meaning to appear
yet when it arrived, it was only in our dreams
dissipating as soon as we awoke and tried to grab at its
gossamer threads with our crude, clumsy hands.

And this is now, the Last Utopia.

Reviews

[Toni Prehoda Kahler]

I read this several times, recognizing punctuated events, some obvious, some not so. I like the flow in repetition and repeated variation, from most recent to the first (evolutionary?) age. I wonder is it despair you are fighting? "But still we fought on" speaks to an energized hope, a focus toward some hopeful outcome - But hopes are dashed, disappearing into thin air...

The use of "Utopia" to suggest the opposite is powerful.

Is the "raven-black sun" reference to an eclipse? If so I like the concept, it seems to be running throughout in some sense. The eclipse of hope by despair, and so on.....perhaps in each specific event, something (ideals, morality & human dignity) is eclipsed....

I like the heavy weight of words and meaning at the close. So solid and final. Yet, I can't accept the premise for myself. Tell me---what is the hoped-for meaning that appears while you sleep? ("When it arrived...") I must know this, I am curious...is it an idea, a person? Is it your Utopia?

[jen]

really like this... it has a frantic, angry feel to it, until the last part...
"But still we fought on, hoping for meaning to appear
yet when it arrived, it was only in our dreams
dissipating as soon as we awoke and tried to grab at its
gossamer threads with our crude, clumsy hands.

And this is now, the Last Utopia"

then sadness, disillusionment and the price of human frailty...

[Pleiades]

This really is breath-taking indeed! I love how you capture a unique feel in a flowing serenade. It is curious to what a Utopia would be, and how it would be different for everyone.

[David Lewis Paget]

That cold December night, when John Lennon was assassinated in New York, yes, I remember it well. I spent my midnight crying into my carpet. The man who wrote 'Give Peace A Chance' had joined John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert, and Martin Luther King on the pyre of idealists seeking a new Utopia. Who dares today to hope for Utopia after the six million dead in the holocaust? Well put, though not so much an Ode as a cry of pain I think, with the realization that such ideas are dreams, 'gossamer threads' which evade our grasp. I don't suppose it will ever be much different. I gave up those particular ideals in the 70's - check my piece, 'Looking Back 1963-76' on Poemhunter.com)

Our dreams were hopes for all the world
When John was murdered, in some dim
November, dim remembered in
The way the world bleeds, at the rim
Of rank misfortune, suffering.

Thought provoking, however, and always a theme for every recurring generation. DLP
PS - My only query is verse six which to me is rather obscure.

[Wildfleour]

Six million lives and even more. This poem deeply moved me.

I hope that we have not surrendered our last chance at Utopia. I don't think the dream of it has dissipated completely, do you?

[Krishna]

I sense you would be good at script writing, as you seem to link contemporary issues well in your writing. Have you ever tried playwrighting and that sort of thing? Your writing is larger than poetry, there is more dialogue in it than simply one message, it's more multi-dimensional and that is obviously well suited to fiction.

[Emily B]

Amazing what you've built with these words. I'm glad this finally came my way. I wouldn't have missed this for anything.

I have to wonder if there have been other Last Utopias. . . before.

[Just Manoosh]

six million nameless faces, six million faceless names
were extinguished for that greatest crime of all -
Existence.

Your command of language deserves high admiration. This piece had me transfixed.

Thank you for this post, I am glad I stumbled across it.

Mx

[Bluet_Belle]

Beautiful. i love this verse:



When six million replaced six six six as the accursed number
of all eternity and
six million nameless faces, six million faceless names
were extinguished for that greatest crime of all -
Existence.


Beautiful...

[Sara]

It is human nature to strive for perfection, but sadly we have never succeeded in that goal. However, there is time still yet to come! perhaps the 'New Utopia' will become a reality. we can only hope. :-)
great write, it ponders a powerful point, and I find that poems that point out the mistakes of our past are the most beneficial to the reader.
-sara