Nebuchadnezzar

Pronounced (ne-b-you-cadnezzer) (an ancient king of babylon whose pride brought ruin to himself) An epic style poem written for a brit lit assignment

The sun is just rising,

The frosty dawn air biting,

The wood is still dim with the last of night,

And winters white blanket on the ground.

 

Amongst the black tree trunks life stirs.

Its trod is swift through the soft snow,

The cold silence only disturbed the snapping of twigs under hoof,

THe morn is come, the night is leaving.

 

This apperation of the forest,

A noble stag, kingly robed in rich fur,

Its head crowned with antlers like the branches of an oak,

And a neck like the trunk of a red wood.

 

The king of the wood travels his dominian,

He like Nebuchadnezzer surveys the splendor of his kingdom,

His proud head held high,

Like a proud statue of Babylon.

 

The silent ice of the air is cracked by a noise,

The majestic one's ears prick,

A snort of defiance,

A competitor is near.

 

The stag marches forth to battle,

 In all the power of the warring kings of old,

His antlers held high like gleaming lances of an army,

His muscular physique like a machine of war.

 

In such glory he enters the glade from wence difiance rang,

He snorts his battle cry,

His large brown eyes search for the competitor,

His ears wit for the snap of twig or russle of leaf,

 

Booming thunder fills the listening ear,

And lightning blinds the searching eye,

White hot fire alights in the stag's side,

Searing pain spreads,

 

The pain is great,

The giant falls'

Goliath is felled,

Proud Nebuchadnezzar defeated.

 

His rapid breath slows,

His racing heart fades,

His eyes begin to cloud,

As the hungry darkness consumes his kindom.

 

The king's heart beats no more,

He lay on white linens stained scarlet,

His great head lies still,

His large eyes stare yet see nothing.

 

The hunter claims his prize.

 

Author's Note

Note this is free verse so it has no ryhme scheme.