Poetry competition CLOSED 30th April 2024 2:34am
WINNER
Grace (IDryad)
View Profile Poems by Grace
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RUNNERS-UP: Samnash and DampKitten

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Empire Inspired

Connotation
Fire of Insight
United States 1awards
Joined 22nd Apr 2023
Forum Posts: 40

Poetry Contest

Write a poem relating to the spiritual influence behind or because of any empire(s) in the world's past, present, or future.
- Any kind of format or style is welcome.
- Please do not spam or chat in the competition thread.
- One entry per person, old or new.
- Write at least 50 words (this should really be a fluent topic)
- Try to capture how you interpret the spiritual influence behind or because of any empire(s), and how or why they are or were
- Sci fi or futuristic concepts are welcome, just be sure to capture how and why it is that way
- Competiton will be voted on by members

Here is an example of capturing the spiritual influence of an empire:

Equity angles, aligned.
Destiny chasm, beguiled.
Expertly baffled, divide.
Verily scattered, deprived.

Revelry actors, alive.
Reverie rations, inside.
Entropy gathers, provides.
Legacy shadows, applied.

Selfishly tangled, delight.
Sensibly fathomed, design.
Pedigree patterns, entwined.
Elderly Saturn, obliged.

Century standards, consigned.
Tendencies channel, reply.
Energy sanctum, sublime.
Jeopardy dragon, behind.

Entity factors, combines.
Presently fashioned, disguise.
Enmity answer, acquired.
Heresy heralds, arrives.

Empathy pageant, conspired.
Clemency cancels, defies.
Treasury daggers, comprised.
Sensory phantom, awhile.

Deviltry dazzles, complies.
Mentally feral, desire.
Treachery travels, resides.
Heavenly anchor, denied.

Enemy Pharaoh, remind.
Embassy captured, defined.
Penalty Tarot, decide.
Weaponry atoms, required.

This is not in the competition, it's just an example of what I'm looking for, conceptually.

Have fun!

Grace
IDryad
Tyrant of Words
126awards
Joined 25th Aug 2011
Forum Posts: 17029

Freedom from a distant King

(are we there yet...?)
 
 
letters borne on white billowed sails
flags of distant land  flying
all hail the descending royalties  
smug fat faces shiny and smiling  
oh how they exude benevolence  
 
bend the knees, palms to forehead
deities from the skies, all hail  
never a step missed  
never a frozen face frowned  
words of welcome murmured  
never above the safe decible  
 
they are greedy girth spanned wide
deny them not their food and drinks  
born of the peasants sweat  
palsied fingers paying  
gaping mouths of treasuries  
or else the tilled land of corns are theirs  
 
say not a word or dungeon becomes your home  
write not even on sands for they see all  
trust not in the smiling face of a friend  
for one hand hide what the other does  
work, shackles on your neck to the yoke  
of the keeper of the coins  

Pale faces with peeled eyes
speaks with seeds in their mouth
thrusts the people towards white walls
killing shamans with their books

a trumpet's call a world in chaos
their fingers burnt and they let go
they receded to their island
they are great no more

freedom comes with welded pen
that write a king to his throne  
with the pen man can push him to the ground  
where dogs may not deign to spit  
 
Written by Grace (IDryad)
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Connotation
Fire of Insight
United States 1awards
Joined 22nd Apr 2023
Forum Posts: 40

Thanks for your entry, Grace - it reads great.  To everyone else that reads, this is a good example.  Capturing some of the injustice in empires is right down the alley of this competition.

Rew
Fire of Insight
England 16awards
Joined 30th Sep 2022
Forum Posts: 557

Birthing Empires...

 Birthing empires can prove painful things    
this wedding of church to murderous thieves,    
their names matter not, Pharoes, Tzar or King    
they've no faith, stealing land is their belief...
     
In strange empires where sanctioned faith rules    
in conspiracy of priesthood and sword,    
each bolsters each terror reign on duped fools    
forced to believe their bible's ev'ry word.    
     
For sure they were force fed their killer faith    
ripped from innocence with fear poured in heads    
" You will do god's will " say priests " here on earth"    
" We teach his word, hark, or, be struck down dead!    
     
I've spied empire builders now, be damned,    
Lying, grifting, thieving, bible in hand.
Written by Rew
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CasketSharpe
Tyrant of Words
United States 16awards
Joined 12th June 2013
Forum Posts: 161

Birth of a Chaotic Nation (Halloween Syck House Series)

      “What was coming was so beyond evil it made the Devil shake
He ordered immediately through demonic sacrifice to seal Hell’s gate,
      “God even stepped off his magnificent throne
To create an impenetrable barrier around Heaven’s home,

      “It was reported as a normal category five Atlantic storm
Which produced a haunting wind that was not the norm,      
      “Its rain bands made materials fragile like dead leaves
That also amplified the deadly effects of any virus or disease,

      “The storm reconfigured into a roaring Tsunami wall
With a length that stretched from Miami to Niagara Falls,
      “What was strange, the storm winds did not have any strength
But it affected the body and soul like a sinking ship,

      “It struck the American Atlantic coast at an incredible speed
Causing the stars on the American flag to fester and bleed,
      “Years of a nation’s selfish ideology fueled its own slaughter
That increased to inhuman levels contained within the American border,

      “Thousands of illegal aliens in a panic tried to cross back into Mexico
But melted under a hot sun from being turned into statues of living snow,
      “All who breathed the storms wind became consumed by their sin
Freely acting on their impulses with a blood lust wicked grin,

      “Politician minds transformed into snakes that exited from their eyes
To feed on their flesh, because of broken promises and horrible lies,  
      “Cities and small towns instantly were overrun by mutated freaks
Blood flowed in the streets as beast dined on sweet reproductive meats,

      “Lightning strikes in the Midwest set ablaze hundreds of miles of grain
In which black living flames hunted flesh without shame,  
      “Along the west coast from San Diego to Seattle
The unbridled raging elements killed millions like diseased cattle,

      “Twisted missiles of mass destruction launched from a chaotic nation
Impacting upon an unstable world with hellish devastation,
      “In a nuclear flash orgies of violence and savagery reigned supreme
Spreading the uncontrollable nightmare of the chaotic American dream,

      “Those who were common good now living in a world of chaotic strife
Were hunted, raped and crucified upon cannibalistic wood of antilife,
      “Furious prejudice-destructive hate had no bounds
As untold numbers ended their life by blade, poison or gun round,

      “But floating within the storm sat a dark figure with a wicked smile
A Dark Judge who orchestrated the chaos, bringing humanity to trial,
      “If humanity could not get along-acting like hungry rats in a maze
Then they would be brutally forced to get along as broken slaves”.
Written by CasketSharpe
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Samnash
Sam Nash
Dangerous Mind
United States 6awards
Joined 13th July 2021
Forum Posts: 25

Enheduanna Chapter 1

Act (1)
 
Summary:
Anna, daughter of King Sargon of Akkad, is summoned to her father's court. Sargon describes how he occupied Sumer and how he captured king Zage-Si and had him paraded into the city with a dog leash on his neck before killing him. He tells his daughter that he wants her to become high priestess of the temples of Uruk and Ur. At first she refuses. Finally Sargon appoints his daughter as high priestess and bestows upon her the title of "Enheduanna".
 
Setting:
In the great throne room in the city of Akkad. Sargon is sitting on his throne. Anna is waiting.
 
In the land where time began.
Before words were written down.
Where man began to lay
cities with stone and clay.
Kingdoms emerged
and died, until one man
finally came and merged  
all in one, gods as well as man.
Two people he did unite
and set the world alight.
His name was Sargon the Great
And this is how he changed the fate
of the world with his kin as bate.
 
-Court Announcer  
Her highness princess Anna.
Daughter of King Sargon the Great,
ruler of all the lands and seas,
beloved of the Gods Anu and Enlil,
destroyer of men and beasts.
 
(Anna enters and stands in front of her father in silence)
 
-Sargon
Welcome my daughter.
You look beautiful as your mother.
 
-Anna
Thank you father.
Your words give me great honor.
As they do Queen Tashlultum, my mother.
 
-Sargon
I am sure they do.
Do you know why I summoned you
to my court my daughter?
 
-Anna
I am yours to command.
I will do whatever you wish.
I am of your blood and flesh.
Your eyes, your ears, your hand,
Oh Great King of Kish.
 
-Sargon (laughs)
I see I have chosen wisely.
Your tongue is as quick as your wit.
I need that where I want you to sit.
I need that ever so badly,
as much as your beauty and every bit.
 
-Anna
You have generals and many others.
Swarms of men as well as my two brothers.
All able men that serve you like no other.
 
-Sargon
True....
But non is suitable to the task in mind.
I have a plan to bring to light.
I have conquered Sumer and Akkad.
Rulers and Kings brought to abide.
Cities and towns fell to my banner.
Walls of stone crumbled and fell aside.
Even their great king Zage-Si  
I paraded in the streets like a hog,
with a leash on his neck like a dog,
before I killed him with my bare hands.
However......
One task is still left untouched.
Men's hearts need to be conquered as much.
And that is a task that needs your delicate touch.
 
-Anna
That is a task impossible to grasp.  
Only the gods can win
men's hearts or forgive their sin.
 
-Sargon
That is precisely what I need.
Someone they can love,
serve or heed.
Someone even the Gods could appease
as well as men's flesh and souls to please.  
I need the high priestess of Uruk
on my side.
I need the priestess of the temple of Ur
and her might.
I need every god, goddess, every man, woman
to abide,
under my rule.
That is why I need you on my side.
 
-Anna (angry)
FATHER!!!!!!
but I am your flesh and blood.
You need a witch, a harlot and a slut!!!!!
 
-Sargon (laughs again)
Your mother would have embraced this deed.
If not that her health and hair so gray
she would have begged for that which I say.
She was a priestess and a harlot indeed.
That is where we met before I gave her my seed.
 
(Sargon is angry now. He stands up and shouts at his daughter)
 
Your escapades of love are well known.
Shouts of lust have even reached our court.
So don't pretend innocence as shown.
We are all the result of passion of sort.
Your mother, my mother we are all the same.
You know your father. I don't.
but still...
We live and die according to the will of the Gods.
And their will is now my own.
 
-Anna  
Please forgive my insolence, my King.
I spoke in fear, my Lord.
But you are sending me away,
to lands still hostile to our way.
The cities of Sumer are still in sway.
They revolt every single day.
You need an army to keep them at bay.
Not a priestess with the Gods to pray.
 
-Sargon
That is where you are wrong my child.
I need the calm to stem the wild.
I need the high to ebb the tide.
I need the passion to steer the mild.
That is why I need you by my side.
I need the high priestess to be their guide.
 
-Anna
You honor me with your words, my Leigh.
But can I do all the things you say?
I am only a woman I might add.
Please relieve me of this task, I plead.
 
-Sargon
It is not for you to chose to be.
It is for me. And you are mine.
And thus I chose you as my Ensi.
My ears to hear, my eyes to see,
to rule men and mold the gods.
Bring them all to kneel to me.
That is why you are to be, my En.
The high priestess of Eanna,
the light of Inanna, and wife of Sin.
You are to rule the great Uruk,
as well as Ur, just by the sea.
The great cities of Sumer are yours.
But don't forget.  
YOU...
belong to me.
 
-Anna (kneels in front of her father)
I am yours my lord.
 
-Sargon
Let it be known from this day on
your name will be Enheduanna,
priestess and adornment of An,
king of all the gods and man.
Let these words be written in stone,
chiseled on clay and sung at dawn.
When the light of Inanna shines,  
every mornings, evenings, alone.
 
Note:
 
1- Kish - one of several cities states in Mesopotamia. Sargon was the cupbearer of the previous king of Kish. He ousted him and took his place before establishing his own empire.
 
2- Ensi - Sumarian language meaning a ruler of a city or governor.
 
3- En - another meaning for a ruler of a city or governor.  
 
4- light of Inanna- The planet Venus is the first heavenly body to shine in the evening sky and the last to disappear in the morning.
 
5- the first form of writing was chiseled on clay tablets.
Written by Samnash (Sam Nash)
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Anne-Ri999
Thought Provoker
Norway 5awards
Joined 16th Aug 2023
Forum Posts: 218

PAR
PAULO ACACIO RAMOS
Dangerous Mind
Portugal 20awards
Joined 26th May 2022
Forum Posts: 310

crowned-sovereigns

Kou_Indigo
Karam L. Parveen-Ashton
Tyrant of Words
United States 69awards
Joined 15th Sep 2011
Forum Posts: 2804

A Persian Warrior

- A Persian Warrior -

In a time known to history, but forgotten by man,
The mighty Persian army brought low old Babylon.
Great was Babylon, that empire across the sand…
But the power of old Persia had that lost war won,
Leaving blood and desolation, both far and near.
I was there when the Ishtar Gate fell into splinters!
I was there when the proud kings knew utter fear.
My axe held high, the steel in the sun ever glitters,
But that light is soon covered in the blood of men,
And you keep being told to take a life yet again…
King Cyrus did liberate the Hebrews on that day,
And became to their people, a hero in every way.

You don’t become a hero by doing as told…
You become a hero by being both kind and bold.

But no king was I, just a man who saw too much,
Of battle, and bloodshed, that few could watch…
My axe slew scores of the army of Marduk proud,
My ears heard the sounds of trumpets calling loud.
Amidst the screams of men both dying and dead…
I walked in utter madness of both wrath and dread.
We were there to liberate a people long suffering…
We were there to bring glory to country and king.
But it is hard to think of glory, when life is spent…
And from a dozen wounds your body is soon rent.
In the end, you are told you are a hero renowned,
But you no longer care by then, for king or crown.

You don’t become a hero by doing as told…
You become a hero by being both kind and bold.

The smoke of Babylon, was black in the hot sun…
The desert was cruel, but crueler things were done.
Idols were cast down and palaces were laid low…
We believed God had told us, that all had to be so.
But I saw a hurt child, lying bloody in the streets…
Wounded by a man I once called comrade, friend!
God never did command such evil for His needs…
I slew my old comrade to save the child in the end.
When the war was over, I kept the child I saved…
She became my daughter, as the banners waved.
For her I never again took up the axe in any cause,
To her, I was hero enough to earn men’s applause.

You don’t become a hero by doing as told…
You become a hero by being both kind and bold.
Written by Kou_Indigo (Karam L. Parveen-Ashton)
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Anne-Ri999
Thought Provoker
Norway 5awards
Joined 16th Aug 2023
Forum Posts: 218

Ljdynamic
Dangerous Mind
United States 18awards
Joined 18th Aug 2017
Forum Posts: 374

Sagrado

With her feet firm,
she stands resolute,
absolutely captivating
as she radiates,
creating a visible aura
of defense.

Intensity is so high
some are left blinded.
The open-minded
could see her glory.
Stories told
of ethereal glow
showed no justice
to her presence.

Sense the strength
in her divine grace.
Lacing my hands together
in prayer.
Scared straight
into believing,
leaving faith imprinted
on my soul.
Written by Ljdynamic
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Vikky_Dollar2222
Lost Thinker
Nigeria 1awards
Joined 10th Apr 2024
Forum Posts: 30

The powers behind.

The forces that holds our being,
Living in our existence, we are not even seeing.
The powers that control our mind, heart and soul.
Living and being controlled by the things unknown.
Fighting with the truth or should I say what people consider the truth.
Flowing with the wave.
In the ocean where little makes sense.
Moments when we can't explain why we do some certain things.
The spiritual controls the physical.
Where our lnner man fights for liberty.
But do we give it a chance....
The unknown powers behind us.
We can't see it.
But definitely we can feel it.
Creeping and picking.
This powers.

Lord save us...

DampKitten
Fire of Insight
United States 3awards
Joined 20th Apr 2024
Forum Posts: 19

Second Coming

Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four
Behold, I knock upon the door
that whosoever… three, two, one
We have ig-ni-tion.

Orian sighs and by his breath,
all life returns from after death.
A swarm of ships from Heaven’s realm
amass and duly overwhelm
the somber dark before the light.
A thief has come unto the night.

Swirling spheres that make no sound
split the sky and torch the ground,
zig and zag with proton speed,
phantoms of the galaxy.

Angels lead a vast descent
inside their shiny armament.
Spinning saucers grace the clouds.
Turin peels away the shroud.

Mountains quake and from their core
souls emerge from years before
like candles sparkling through the mist
that float into the deep abyss.

Judgement waves its heavy hand.
 Lasers beam across the land.
Every being must atone.
Every secret shall be known.

The rich will fall.  The meek will reign.
No hate or envy will remain.
Nirvana melds with Mother Earth.
Believers seek a second birth.

Across the black of outer space,
the stars align into the face
of God himself.  The planets bloom.
We rise into the upper room.
Written by DampKitten
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admin
DU Webmistress
Mistress of the Underground
1awards

The winner of this competition and any runners up were decided by public vote.

Thank you to the following members for voting:

Trome, MidnightSonneteer, fianaturie8, WillowsWhimsies, eroseternal, ajay, dimpy, monovox128, ReggiePoet, Tallen, Isgyppie_, Phantom2426, deadwolf, Marks, lepperochan, HowlingHeart, A_hidden_talent, MadameLavender, Verdonna, Thor_Azine

Grace
IDryad
Tyrant of Words
126awards
Joined 25th Aug 2011
Forum Posts: 17029

Thank you for the votes. Honoured🥂

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