“Great is his Monument” could easily be a poem about Putin or Netanyahu in times to come. And some war or other will still be raging. The only thing we can be certain of is man’s ability to learn little from all the killing.
"Great is his Monument"
Here he lies in state tonight: great is his Monument!
I think you're right to like Completing The Pattern. What good indeed is erstwhile loveliness. Or any loveliness for that matter. Seen in slow motion, life fools, but push the fast forward button, and the facts would quickly acquire shock value.
It might be nice if life zoomed ahead at rocket speed, from start to finish in seconds. No long unbearable stretches that way, and no transmogrifications. Hello goodbye. Now you see me now you don't.
Sounds like he might've. No idea if he quoted those lines at dinner parties to tickle the feasters. Good words to put in somebody's mouth anyway. Good when truth is spoken even if always ignored. Dramatists often do that, let other speak their minds, or so I would suppose.
“Great is his Monument” could easily be a poem about Putin or Netanyahu in times to come. And some war or other will still be raging. The only thing we can be certain of is man’s ability to learn little from all the killing.
"Great is his Monument"
Here he lies in state tonight: great is his Monument!
Yet Ares cares not, neither does War relent.
― Michael R. Burch
One would like to think some younger generation of humans will learn more than Putin and Nit-and-Yahoo.
I'm glad you liked those poems and thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
I think you're right to like Completing The Pattern. What good indeed is erstwhile loveliness. Or any loveliness for that matter. Seen in slow motion, life fools, but push the fast forward button, and the facts would quickly acquire shock value.
It might be nice if life zoomed ahead at rocket speed, from start to finish in seconds. No long unbearable stretches that way, and no transmogrifications. Hello goodbye. Now you see me now you don't.
Sophocles agreed with you:
Never to have been born is best,
and blessed.
To have seen the light then be swept instantly back into dark oblivion
comes next,
The second-best outcome.
—Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Sounds like he might've. No idea if he quoted those lines at dinner parties to tickle the feasters. Good words to put in somebody's mouth anyway. Good when truth is spoken even if always ignored. Dramatists often do that, let other speak their minds, or so I would suppose.
There are enough similar quotes from Sophocles to call him an antinatalist.
and voila, the missing s.