CHILDREN OF THE HOLY

? ? 99 - 11 18 10

The pale naked students
of a sunburned horizon
have risen to their twelve-stringed
master's toll in hypnotic bliss
fueled by summit echo

So engrossed they cannot be told apart
Only the objective is deciphered
in the scurrying and scampering
The course of the craggy mountainside

Children on the climb

scattered and sprawled upon the weathered stones
feeling for a grip / clawing for a crevice
that will humour them with leverage
until the light demands the next step

Climbing to be claimed

offered to the light of origin
on the peak of the rocky pedestal

Children of an age
Heirs of history
Pale naked generation

Author's Note

Inspired by the cover art of Led Zeppelin's "Houses Of The Holy" album. This was originally titled The Climb...then THAT song came out and THIS title got changed :P

(Album artwork by Hipgnosis)

Reviews

[Frieda P]

The song remains the same as does your poetry, impeccable. I think this is my favorite of yours to date Steve...I love that first verse, and it just got better. You know what they say, there is no such thing as a good Led Zeppelin song, only awesome songs, I could certainly say the same about your poetry. Outstanding my dear friend.

'master's toll in hypnotic bliss
fueled by summit echo'

That's money right there dude, ha did I forget to say holy cats! ;-)

[kublakhan27]

Dear friend, you have no idea how happy I was to read these words...I didn't bank on smiling a whole lot today and now I'm grinning from ear to ear haha I'm so glad that this is your favourite cuz there is so much of "me" in it on more than one level...thank you Frieda ;)

[Angi]

Looking at that cover and reading your words was cool. You were channeling Zeppelin for sure. Love! Angi~

[kublakhan27]

Haha my Dad had the album (which I now have) so they've been ingrained in my conscience for as long as I can remember...thank you Angi :)

[Angi]

...and that is a very good thing. You are welcome.

[kublakhan27]

:)

[Nick.B]

Love the album, also interesting poem with some good topic, especially agree with the last stanza....great job

[kublakhan27]

Same here, it's one of my favourites...thank you Nick.

[Caradoc]

The line, "heirs of history" is particularly resonant. It portrays a bitter fact well. We are the keepers of the present, the architects of the future, and as you said, the heirs of history. The past, and all the good and bad that comes with it is ours. We reap what those that came before us have sown.

And the cycle continues on as we plant our own bitter harvest.

A thought provoking write, my friend. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

-Caradoc

[kublakhan27]

I agree wholeheartedly, and can add little else...this started out as an experiment and became a commentary...they cycle does indeed continue...glad you liked it my friend.

[Muse]

Your words make this writing very surreal...music often inspires my work too. Very esoteric; this is good stuff!

[kublakhan27]

Thanks very much :)

[Pax]

wondrous creation...Brilliant!

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much :)

[MOON]

Inspired write from an Album Cover , deep love the imagery .

[kublakhan27]

Thanks, glad you like it^^

[The Random Writings Of ..]

I love the ending -
"Children of an age
Heirs of history
Pale naked generation"
Speaking of a generation past, the children climbing on the sunburned horizon, knowing Led Zeppelins music, and The House of Holy - You have a good inspiration here. Yes I can see the inspiration from the cover, but I also see the inspiration from the music -
"The pale naked students
of a sunburned horizon
have risen to their twelve-stringed
master's toll in hypnotic bliss
fueled by summit echo"
Hypnotic bliss - fueled by summit echo. Naked Students, this is not all of a serious piece, but one of state of mind. Well OK serious maybe the wrong word, what I meant was emotional...
There is a lot to be said of Led Zeppelin's work, and the picture you have used. The imagery you have given us here is extraordinary!
"scattered and sprawled upon the weathered stones
feeling for a grip / clawing for a crevice
that will humour them with leverage
until the light demands the next step"
Again great stanza - state of mind, children of the climb - house of holy, but how holy? Awe yes my friend lots to ponder here... Yet another great piece of work you have created!

[kublakhan27]

There is indeed no shortage of emotions and metaphors that can be associated with this climb...or states-of-mind for that matter :) They were a very cryptic group, and even though a ton of bios have been written on them, they refuse to confirm or deny anything in them except to write them all off as fodder for sensationalism. Having said that, Page makes no secret of the fact that he did study black magic for many years, but insisted he was never a Satanist. Nonetheless, conspiracy theorists are relentless in their belief that three-quarters of the group sold their souls in exchange for stardom, pointing out that the three members in question never went too long without having to endure some kind of tragic event. They also point out the theme of repentance, which surfaced with increasing regularity in their later albums.

Now I KNOW they would never try to capitalize on those tragedies, but I am more inclined to believe that they simply knew how to work the media strictly through the music, as opposed to being subjects of some dark influence. But the artwork for this album puts me in mind of all of that stuff, to the point that I couldn't resist writing sort of allegory-flavored piece about it.

Plus, you may have seen it before, but the inner artwork shows a naked man atop the mountain, holding up one of the kids in a sacrificial-looking manner. This for the album that followed up the one with Stairway To Heaven on it...but in spite of all this, I tried to write it in the voice of someone seeing the picture by itself, knowing nothing of its origin or connotations...maybe I should have just mentioned that first and skipped the pop culture lesson LOL But you are so supportive of me and my work that I try to offer as much of my mindset at the time of writing as I can, as a gesture of my sincere appreciation :)

[The Random Writings Of Me..Kates]

You did a fantastic job! With a piece like this and the art work provided you have done a great job letting us into your mind and showing us your interpretation. But I am glad that you did give the "pop culture" lesson, because those of us who are familiar with Led Zeppelin's work, I think it is a good reminiscent of the band and what they were about... or rather what you write about above, which shows you clearly wrote from your standpoint of the picture :)

[kublakhan27]

Oh okay, I thought I might have been rambling after a while :) I actually don't write a lot of stuff based on visual art...I'm not sure why, but I should probably do more lol But rock and roll (at least how I define it) has lost a lot of its artistic panache in the last two decades...it's true that Green Day is a bit of a "throwback" group, but with the exception of them and a few others, there isn't a lot of real musicianship or poetry anymore...that's why maybe 90-some percent of what I listen to is the Prog-rock from the 70s and back...those groups knew how to be sophisticated while still being fun to listen to :)

[The Random Writings Of Me..Kates]

First - YOU NEVER RAMBLE!! I love our conversations!! Second, I agree 100%, a lot of music now has lost real feeling/meaning. I mean don't get me wrong, there are some really good song writers out there, but.. there is some really dumb songs to that I listen to and I am like WHAT????

[kublakhan27]

Haha ok, that's a relief, and I'm glad you do :D Yeah I hardly listen to the radio now...most of what I hear doesn't do anything for me lol I actually collect vinyl, that's how old-school I am lol I've got lots of them too, a few hundred at least :P

[The Random Writings Of Me..Kates]

Nice!!! I love vinyls!! I have some of them signed from my "techno" days :) - not that, that music is really poetry, but I love the beat :)

[kublakhan27]

That's cool :D I like a good bit of techno actually, at least I think it's techno...there are so many different names for it now lol One of the "newer" albums I have is Daft Punk's Discovery, which is a masterpiece I think :)

[The Random Writings Of Me..Kates]

Yes!! For sure :) I like the older stuff though early 90's Chicago house, early Oakenfold, Bad Boy Bill, just to name a few, but again their older stuff... Their new stuff, is so "poppy" lol. One of them even did a record with Brittany Spears!!! WTF!?!?!?!

[kublakhan27]

:D Wow that IS old-school LOL Yeah it seems like everyone is going pop now cuz that's all that ever gets played on the radio it seems x_x

[The Random Writings Of Me..Kates]

This is very true! Like you I am not much of a radio person :)

[kublakhan27]

Haha I'm not surprised, we seem to be on the same wavelength on a lot of things :)

[The Random Writings Of Me..Kates]

Yes we are! lol

[kublakhan27]

lol :)

[Ufi Auttorri ~ Amy C. T..]

I have to laugh at myself. A shared context is so important. On first reading, I had not read your author's notes and the whole thing seemed to be about a bunch of art students with guitars and paint/cameras climbing a mountain that had a 12-string guru playing mantras at the mouth of a cave. Then I found the notes, looked at the album cover and it all made sense. Tutor turtle has survived another trip in Sherman's WayBack machine. Kubi you are a rascal of sorts, aren't you? :O)

[kublakhan27]

LOL I'm not a natural rascal but I seem to have acquired that ability in recent times :D I always enjoy your interpretations though...I'm usually light years away from them when I'm writing something yet they make perfect sense once you bring them to my attention lol

[B-poet]

Great poem. The transcending towards a higher purpose while children are climbing to reach their desired mountain tops is very inspirational. Great visionary diction as well. :)

[kublakhan27]

Thanks very much :)