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Kristien
| Open Poetry #6 |
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Kristien |
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PoeticKnight Senior Member
since 2000-01-20
Posts 1144New Orleans, LA |
KRISTIEN (Apologies for length) 1/3/88 Ages past, before the coming of Man There was peace throughout the land The trees were alive, sweetly they talked Under the infant sun and moon they walked Pure was their civilization One united nation In the world time stood still As the trees did God’s will One friend to another From one sister to a brother They, guardians of the Earth Knowing only joy and mirth The bliss lasted nigh an age ‘ere the book turned a page And like all animate creatures With all the mortal features Hate was a part of life A double edged, cold steel knife It began to break free From under lock and key In differences they were divided Narrow minded prejudices guided Slaves to the drive of obsession In the grip of a nameless possession Divisions were made thenceforth To proceed apart henceforth Among these, were the maples and the oaks Once old friends, now little they spoke Only to disengage from each other’s sight Or, to stay the ground and fight For the maples maintained certain rights As the lofty oaks stole all their light No one can live amongst their enemies As proven by modern day countries But, before Man, the maples were dying Or running off to hide, crying For the oaks were just too mighty From massive roots to topmost leaf In forest once called Kristien To love thy neighbor was now a sin And the maples were weak and oppressed Giving up their pride for chance to rest The dominance of the oaks lasted ‘til the dawn of Man had passed And the trees beheld all that He did From paradise to be divided Too many princes and kings Not enough of which to sing The trees were greatly saddened And hatred between them lessened But the differences still remained To the maples, it was still the same For ancient pride resisted the urge Of resentment to purge It is said that their unnoticed tears Created many rivers through the years It was about this time There came a young maple named Aerond Barely a sapling he must have been But with a heart bigger than any of the trees In Kristien, he began to question What was being done Often wandering far and wide Hoping from humans to hide In this way at last he came To the king of the oaks, Grugame Seeking perhaps an audience with him Under the tall oaks, light was dim But Grugame shone with a light Of ancient wisdom and far seeing sight Bowing reverently before this oak so big They laughed at him and called him ‘Twig’ Rising with dignity, and boughs to the sky He solemnly asked one question…”Why?” From the oaks came back scorn “Leave our sight Twig. Be gone!” With these words, Aerond fled As mournful thoughts filled his head He wandered up a nearby mountain Wondering if there ever could be peace again Lost in these reflections, he was amazed To find upon a great, ageless boulder, runes engraved In the common tongue of all trees Archaic, yet plain enough for all to see After reading, he began hurling stones With all his slender might, down upon his home In Kristien there was curiosity As to what this might be So, up the long slopes of the mountain Came all, the spruce, the fir, and even the pine All types of trees seemed to come All parts of Kristien they came from And when the oaks discerned Aerond A brash young oak grabbed him from behind Without thinking clearly at all, He threw Aerond from the mountain’s wall Then silence fell over the crowd The impetuous oak not especially proud When he followed their gaze to the boulder and its runes Its message came to all so very soon Carved into the living rock was inscribed: ‘Like Man we were born, like Man we live, like Man we shall die.’ |
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| © Copyright 2000 J.M. Landry - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648 |
Excellent piece of writing, JML. Thanks for posting it! Denise |
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Meadowmuse Member Elite
since 1999-12-27
Posts 3263 |
JML, this is wonderful...epic poetry with an important and insightful message. I really enjoyed it! ~ Claire |
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