Apocalyptic Prophecies

shiny boots and shoelaces

Apocalyptic Prophecies

 

as the beast eats and eats and eats

the sun rises and sets

over a blue sky

 

pock marked toothless urchins

all dressed up with

mismatched shoestrings

on worn out boots and

shiny brass buttons

on ripped and stained jackets

scamper about amongst the rotting

corpses that litter the rat infested streets

of a once great metropolis that now

lay in ruins and decay.

 

as the beast eats and eat and eats

the sun still rises and sets

and the sky remains blue

 

but the phoenix’s wings have been torn asunder

and when she burns up and turns to ash

never will she rise again to offer hope

to those dreamers and fools who dare to imagine

and without imagination banality and ossification

will soak into humanity’s breast and ferment

 

as the beast eats and eats and eats

the sun will still rise and set

and the sky may appear grey

to those who lost their way

but it is still and always will be

evanescent and blue

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

I've written a series of poems and flash pieces called Apocalyptic Snapshots- This is one of my poems in the series minus the flash-

Reviews

[Michael X]

Brilliant poem, It connects beginning, middle and end, the title says it in snapshot, the abstract notion rings true to the moment, as in the grey skies appear when seen through the eyes of the hopeless and the lost, at the same time, they are, and will remain blue even when the streets lay in ruin.
at the same time I can't help but feel a past, present and future with the scope of depth, great job!

[Greg Close]

I've read through all of the Apocalyptic series you've posted, and I really enjoyed them all. I am a sucker for interesting new takes on Armageddon (the mythical event, not the movie - just to be clear). You arrange the words well both in rhythm and rhyme, and certainly in imagery. You tie it all together nicely with the repetition of the phrasing of the beast "eats and eats and eats, but the sun/sky is..."
Also the visual structure of the words on the page is nice - it works like a Rorschach test all it's own. Well done.

[deeps]

Okay now you'r emy favorite poet, This is astounding, I could visual the whole write, I can feel the
affeects in this, I do admire your style and creativity. Awesome well structured write.

[Robert Francis Callaci]

The problem if it is a problem with much of my poetry is that sometimes they miss as standalones- This poem is part of a larger story of a series that I'm doing (about the end times) which also is an appendix of sorts too my main work "The tangled Tapestry" and can seem a little obscured, confusing, cynical or contradictory to those unfamiliar with my work or dystopian themes dealing with end time philosophy. All the reviews are quite valid-and are very much appreciated- Obviously Micheal's commentary on my poem is what I was shooting for but I do paint with a dark brush and it can seem cynical or lacking clarity. I do intend to show more of my series in full form and in standalones and if you continue to read hopefully you will see that these bleak pieces are really meant to show the resiliently and the divine light that lurks in all of humanity.

I thank you for reading...

[Susan]

a unique perspective poem. it is disturbing, yet at the same time, i can understand the depth of feelings and emotions goin on here..Maybe a little too cynical...

[Creepy Swine Guy]

It confuses me just a smidge. At first I read hopelessness, gloom and doom. But then, in the last two lines of the last stanza I pick up what feels like a hint of hope. I am a slow-witted old man and would love to have you clarify for me.