Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Ash Wednesday Waltz

He bowed in your presence
to the falsity of bells;
As the rhythm of your essence
told of the god you sell.

Truth shone more loudly
than you could possibly shout.
Though you stared at him proudly,
He gladly tuned you out.

He watched the bowing masses,
crying for your reprieve.
He displayed some class
and mutes his disbelief.

3 comments:

  1. Did you purposely not capitalize "god" in the poem? For what reasons?

    You speak of this "god" being sold: is this "god" being treated as a vessel for exploitation rather than faith?

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  2. Yes, it was on purpose. You hit it on the head. The character in the poem sees faith in god (and other things not mentioned) as an exploitation of humanity's desperation to believe in something, anything. In addition, he also recognizes the hypocrisy of those who lead these faith-filled beings.

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  3. You have beautiful word choice in this poem, avoiding the cliche and bringing an essence of power into the piece. I especially like the following lines...

    "told of the god you sell."
    "He gladly tuned you out."
    "and mutes his disbelief."

    ReplyDelete

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