A Dungeon for Dragon Slayers
Distorted symphonies usher about the hero of another night,
Dragons to slay dues to be paid yet petty tasks are of no concern,
Mountains are stairways and alligator filled moats are gold fish puddles.
Unsightly growth of a third eye tags along as an unwanted spy or paparazzi
An awkward protégé of the evening exposing the flaws of flesh and skin
Unquestionably dripping tasty tittle-tattle for the pleasure of the townsfolk
Shaken but not perturbed all heroes are only results of their overcoming,
Perhaps a witty remark, a say of hand could give illusion to a perfect knight,
For one cannot withdraw the processional, the lots had fallen; the princess awaited.
The final thud of the drawbridge jumps the mind to the cold insecurity beyond the castle walls,
No bridge to be burnt for such actions hamper the return journey,
Each beast to be waltzed and spun in a delicate dance to court an approval for passage
The table set wine poured but the eyes could not be delivered from the boiling pot of oil,
Stabbing prawns the cackle of the throng delivers their tactful blows and strike,
Weather, fortune or skill know no trick could wound, for a unwavering soul is the strongest of armors.
A proud moment a legend in the making yet tonight there was no victory,
The battle in vain these pages will forever lack luster in the book of tales,
Thought the hero fought valiantly he rides home distraught; the prize he decidedly left unclaimed.
posted by neseirf ekim at 11:46 AM
3 Comments:
Thanks for keeping me entertained, Mike. About that email...
(In my best "condisending poetry snob kind of way"...)
Michael Friesen's poem, "A Dungeon for Dragon Slayers", published in the November issue of The Badger Lounge, tailors to a very small minority of neoclassical readers. His use of archaisms, primarily those encompassing Early Modern mythos, are unfortunately clichéd; however, his attempts to transcend temporal boundaries, through allusions to "unwanted sp[ies]" or "paparazzi" add originality, much like the fantasy Rome constructed in Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" or the three-century Britain in "Henry IV, Part I". Overall, Friesen's punctuation, when present, is erratic, perhaps signifying a need to defy borders, or as the hero in his poem must "waltz and sp[i]n" each beast to win the approval of the townspeople, so must his nonexistent commas and semi-colons hide within the margins of his page. Friesen's distorted grammar likewise lends itself to the post-structuralist themes that emerge within the poem, as in the line, "Thought the hero fought valiantly", the word "thought" might be interpreted as either "though" which would make grammatical sense, or else it might be taken in its concrete meaning, breaking up the line into two distinct branches of "thinking" and "fighting" with the hero bridging the chasm between them through a type of post-modern didacticism.
:) Cute poem.
Hmmm, I think there might be something in the water at the Testosterhome. Might want to get that checked out . . . :oP
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