The road is serpentine,
ten thousand years old
and disappearing into the thicket
of ultimate repose.
It is a bad omen.
Stone and fire
have glinted machinery
from the void,
steam and atoms
spiraling into the hands
of a smith
girding the planet in steel.
The beast has consumed
ribbons of rust,
lapping clouds
of red miasma.
The holy man and poet
die in their caves
while the earth purges itself
in hot green apocalypse.
ten thousand years old
and disappearing into the thicket
of ultimate repose.
It is a bad omen.
Stone and fire
have glinted machinery
from the void,
steam and atoms
spiraling into the hands
of a smith
girding the planet in steel.
The beast has consumed
ribbons of rust,
lapping clouds
of red miasma.
The holy man and poet
die in their caves
while the earth purges itself
in hot green apocalypse.
32 comments:
...while Bush fires the scientists.
Love the title in particular!
The Earth will have the last word.
The tone and the rhythm of this poem lead us to the inevitable, Billy. Perhaps a miracle will preclude the apocalypse?
Sometimes I think the matrix agents were right. We are a disease of this planet.
TC, not to worry. George says we have until 2025. Jeesh!
Written, the title kind of leapt off the page. Sounds like the name of a drink that will land you on your backside in seconds flat, like long Island Iced Tea.
Sandy, I think a miracle is all we have left. Gore's movie said we have a decade to begin serious change before the runaway effect starts. That was two years ago. The clock is ticking. It only takes another 2.5 degrees to hit a tipping point.
Charles, I like the analogy. Or like the Borg said, we are infestations to be assimilated.
I've always likened humanity to fleas on a dog's back. When the fleas grow too numerous and pesky, don't be surprised when the dog starts to scratch.
And this is especially evocative if one thinks of the planet as an entity with its own consciousness.
The Mayan calendar ends in 2012. Maybe we get ringside seats to apocalypse, but I prefer to think that it will just be a seque to a more enlightened age, with or without the aliens to usher it in!
I find grace and eloquence in your work. A certain stillness which one can only detect in fountains or cigar smoke in precious lulls.
I find that poem you wrote on the moon ´s drift through an introspective night spell binding.
it is so refreshing to find poetry which has so many textures so many colours .....this indeed is literature in full flight. And I shall frequent this precious site for inspiration for wonder and for that which only you can write.
"Hot Green Apocalypse" -- the words will stay with me for some time to come. Incredible work.
Oh my!!
George Carlin postulates that we are but fleas on a healthy planet.
One day, the planet will simply bathe in Hartz and go on being a cooling glob of magnum and rock...
To quote George- "We're fucked, but the planet itself is fine..."
I was just thinking of Carlin too, Scott, lol.
I can't quote him, but yeah, he talks about the day the earth will shake us off like a bad case of fleas.
Can't argue with that one bit.
Love the title, nicely apocalyptic.
Written, I saw a show the other night on the Mayan calendar ... and 2012. Creepy, eh? Personally, I'm ready for the Age of Aquarius.
Crimsonflaw, what a lovely comment. I shall have to work even harder to live up to your praise. I'll visit your blog as well :)
Lisa, thanks. It's a ten dollar title alright -:)
Scott, as much as I like Carlin, I haven't heard the analogy until Written mentioned it above (and Raine below).
Raine, maybe I watch too much History Channel, but I think Planet Earth is in trouble, what with global warming, nuclear war, and earth-crossing asteroids. Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh don't help much either.
Great imagery, Billy, this is very powerful, love that fourth....and good on you for using miasma, a favourite word of mine :)
Save the planet!
I LOVE that third verse :-D
Good post.
....The vast magma caldera under Yellowstone could trip a surprise hot ash apocalypse anytime from what I've heard.
I've just commented about the 'stillness' of your poems on your last post and then read this one which really stirs it up!
A blazing portrayal of a cataclysmic future.
Great title too:-)
That poem's sad but true...
Very powerful Billy. We have to kill that beast.
powerful indeed, good interesting comments too
Jo, thanks! Long live miasma. Were it not for its negative connotation, I think it would make a great name for perfume.
Miladysa, the first draft for this one came to me rather quickly. Thanks -:D
Julie, I think mother earth has definitly got indigestion!
Lana, sadly, yes. But is it too late? Just a few years more without action and ...
Lane, yeah, I was thinking that myself--I really veered away from the stillness this time. I wonder what booze would go into a drink with the name "hot green apocalypse"?
Marja, hey!!! Thanks, and I hope you're doing well!
Juliet, This poem, written quickly, came out better than I thought -:)
It's incredibly frustrating to be treading water like this, when we know of the deluge to come.
As always, Billy, this is rich and evocative. I wish more people would read, and really understand.
Billy your poem is as always wonderful. It is a stark reminder to us all of what awaits. I love the flow and sound of each carefully chosen word. Each stands alone and is powerful. I sometimes think it is already too late.
Have you read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy? It is a deeply moving account of man's misuse of Earth. A post-apocalypse tale of a Father and son on the road in America.
love, Melanie-bd
Exquisite as always. Too many lines I love to pick them out, although I am particularly partial to "the holy man and poet die in their caves." Awesome as always.
I hold to hope, though - and faith that we are waking up in time and that earth and all of us with work through our relationship issues and come out stronger and better for it.
I hope so. Lucky for me, I will no doubt be long dead when the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan.
Raven, you are so right. The catacaclysms will not affect our generation, although some predictions have things getting dicey by 2020. (!!!) Still, like you, I hope and pray for wisdom to descend upon our leaders.
Sarah, it really is so very frustrating. I think of the line from the folk song, "Oh when will they ever learn ..."
Melanie, you're right. We will indeed feel some effects. It's now a question of degree. I haven't read that book, but thanks for the tip. Im going to write down the title. Sounds interesting.
Hi Billy, your poem has so engages
the five senses, you have a way
of putting this reader right into
the thick of whatever road your
poem is traveling on.
Cynthia, thanks yet again :) This one had more compression to it. It would have made a better post for earth day lol.
"The beast has consumed ribbons of rust, lapping clouds of red miasma." wow...so descriptive.
once again, billy, you hit a home run. i love coming here and reading your words....your writing is exceptional.
Rebecca, a home run? Gosh (blushing). Thank you so much!
liked the imagery a lot
good one
keep it rollin;)
scribbler, thanks for stopping by. Much appreciated :)
I come to this poem late and all the previous comments are spot-on. This particular poem reminds me of Auden's "Second Coming"-- "the darkness drops again. . .and what rough beast, its hour come round at last..."
Scary but very well written.
Pam, thank you. I hadn't thought of the Yeats "Second Coming" comparison, but I think it fits :)
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