The exercise:
Let us write about: the gladiator.
We had an electrician come by to check out the cabin in the orchard (aka our new home for the next few years) to assess what needed to be done and give us a quote on the damage. It turned out that not too much needs doing and the estimate wasn't nearly as bad as we were expecting.
So, all in all, it was a good visit. They'll be coming by next week to get things going and then the renovations will become our focus as the garden work begins to slow down. No real idea when we'll be able to move in there, but it's nice to get started.
Mine:
The man stands ready in the hall,
Listening to the crowd chant his name;
Whether he or his foe greets death,
He knows to them it's all the same -
They are merely hungry for blood.
The gate is pulled open by slaves
Foolish enough to envy him;
He steps onto the crimson sands
And the crowd howls its fevered hymn,
Their souls as clean as stable mud.
He looks across the arena
To see the man he's meant to kill;
There is no fluttering of nerves,
For he has great faith in his skills -
He has done this ten times or more.
The two men meet in the middle
Of a world gone completely mad;
The challenge quickly overcome,
He walks away to cheers and clad
In the sad disguise of victor.
Very somber, though I like the structure. I like the last line especially.
ReplyDelete- - - - - - - - - -
He the gladiator,
I the matador.
She of world conquest,
I of reconquista.
They of the Senate,
We of el Rey.
They are gone,
Still we stand.
and yet their words
echo through our hills
and plains
and mountains.
We a people live,
while they a people live on.
- - - - - - - - - -
I saw "gladiator", my succession of thought was something like, "Rome, Latin, Latin-Spanish conflict!" Some of my friends take Spanish, others take Latin, and we Spaniards like to tease the Latin Scholars, although I have recently come to respect Latin a bit more, it being the granddaddy of the Romantic languages and all, and actually one of my Latin friends has started working some Spanish into use, so I can't complain about that.
@g2: I like the structure and flow of your poem, though it feels a little unfinished somehow.
ReplyDelete@Marc: That's good news about the electrics, and I'm glad you've got something to keep you occupied during winter when the snow's buried all the seeds :) Hey! Maybe you'll even get your farming blog started! (:-P)
I like the rhyme scheme you've picked for your poem today, and the first two verses are fantastic. The second two are still good, just not as good as the first two :)
Gladiator
Through colonnaded halls he stalks,
One hand permanently at his belt,
Never far from the gladius
That entitled him today.
Caius Julius is hiding somewhere here,
A roman emperor beset by fear,
A man who set his slaves to kill
And never stopped to ask What next?
Sudden scuffles in the shadows;
A frightened servant fleeing hell.
Doors that open into rooms filled
To bursting with the spoils of war.
The Gladiator stalks the halls
Bringing arena-justice to them all.
Marc - That's a wonderful piece!
ReplyDeleteMine:
Today we present to you: The entertainer of the day – “The powerful gladiators”! They will be here shortly. Remember to keep that noise level to the max! Make sure they can hear you before they enter the hall of “The big fight”!
Shortly after a short commentary by the famous Roy Macy, the stands along the hallway were somewhat filled with fans and spectator from all over the world. Banners and self-written words-of-appreciation is making its way everywhere in the air.
The lights in the hall dimmed to a certain degree. Roy bends his body as he reached for the microphone from the judge panel. He waves his hands to all the audience as he brings his microphone closely towards his lips. Let us keep our lovely hands in the air, our aggressive voice to echo the walls, - “Let’s welcome – The powerful gladiators”!
g2 - thank you, I really like what you've done with yours as well. Particularly your final stanza.
ReplyDeleteGreg - great imagery, as usual, and I'm a big fan of your final two lines.
Zhongming - thanks very much. There's some great atmosphere in your piece; that's nicely done.