"Life is the dancer and you are the dance."
Eckhart Tolle

Friday, November 19, 2010

My queen #29 big tent poetry — a cascade poem

“Shine your divine light
So we may flourish”




From your mighty throne you rule
Watching all your lowly subjects
As they scramble for a lifeline
You may toss in their direction

Your kingdom is sacred and powerful
As you soil in your brocaded robes
The stench never reaching below
From your mighty throne you rule

A sceptre is held high, always piercing
And ready to strike those of a lesser
class, but never as filthy as you. Forever.
Watching all your lowly subjects

Pigs on oaken tables with apples
stuffed in their snouts. Royalty
at your side gorging on the feast, observing,
As they scramble for a lifeline

You lay your head at night on a bed
of satin — silk, dreaming privileged
cerebration, paupers waiting for
Something …
You may toss in their direction

30 comments:

  1. That says it for royalty! Wait until the royal wedding.

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  2. OH MAN, was this terrific! I love the anger and bitterness within this piece...were you thinking of the royal family?

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  3. Cynthia,
    I'd say I added some anger to this, but it most certainly has nothing to do with the royal family. Though I did insert a bit of history in the piece.
    I wasn't sure what to name it. If I named it "My King" people would think I was writing about God.
    Which also is not true. Thanks for the comment.
    Pamela

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  4. Gautami,
    Thanks. I was irked while writing this. Not at God or the royal family.
    Pamela

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  5. I like the spin you put on that first stanza. The cascade works well with you descending image of majesty gone wrong. Really good write, Pamela,

    Elizabeth

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  6. Well done cascade, Pamela. Each new stanza really fleshed out the one before.

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  7. Elizabeth,
    Thanks and yes it is the majesty of many a people I have met. I certainly don't want these words taken out of context.
    Pamela

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  8. Cara,
    Thanks. I was a little uncertain of this.
    Pamela

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  9. Very well-expressed. You didn't choose easy lines to work with but did a great job of pulling it off.

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  10. Many thanks Victoria. You are right. I laid this out and then worked with it. As I was trying to structure the cascade I realized I hadn't chosen the easiest lines. But I didn't want to lose my
    premise of the poem. So I stuck it out.
    Pamela

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  11. Oh, yes! I like how you bring the mighty down! And the cascading aspect is like a staircase with the king going down, down, down!

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  12. Linda,
    Thanks and the bigger they are the harder they fall.
    Pamela

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  13. Pamela, the cascading downward form does indeed work beautifully with the "story" of one on high looking down on others. A smart joining of form and content here.

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  14. Thanks so much Robin. This form is interesting. I had heard of it before, but never tried writing one.
    Pamela

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  15. Glad you hung with this one - it shows so much and still allows the reader to choose the 'royalty' who disses the workers.

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  16. Susan,
    Thanks and that is more of what I had in mind.
    Many people who DO NOT come from royalty certainly
    act like they do.
    Pamela

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  17. I love how you took the mighty down, too ! I am loving your poems lately!

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  18. Diane,
    Thanks and I love how you always support me.
    Yes the mighty shall fall and fall hard.
    Well at least with me. lol!
    Pamela

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  19. This is terrific. It evokes the ornate and excesses of "royalty." Very naturally cascading with a great ending. Ugly power on a bed of satin and silk.

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  20. Great metaphor, well constructed form, scathing imagery. Being ruled over is a demeaning and frustrating experience.

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  21. nan,
    Thanks. Yes, power can be ugly.
    Pamela

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  22. hedgewitch,
    Thanks for the visit. It can be very demeaning.
    Pamela

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  23. hmmm the haves and have nots... painfully true... love yr clause the force of speech... there is a saying something about the meek shall inherit the earth... and oh by the way, love the poinsettias... yes, hopefully mine will bloom indoors as it did with my sister last year...

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  24. ms pie,
    Thanks, yes our poinsettia is gorgeous this year. We cut it all the way back in the spring and it is doing beautifully.
    Pamela

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  25. This is one of my favorite of your recent poems, Pamela. You have described so well the attitude of a certain kind of person!

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  26. Amazing drama in this I could feel it as I read it!

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  27. Mary,
    Thanks and I appreciate that. When I wrote this I was irked with someone and I think that shows.
    Pamela

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  28. Amanda,
    Thanks and it is a bit dramatic.
    Pamela

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