Thursday, May 22, 2008

Civilized Killing

A poem I wrote last year is getting published in a small collection of poetry from The American Poet's Society. It's always an honor to get published. So, I thought I'd repost it. :)

Civilized Killing

Ancient Arrows
Former slayers in the wars of men
Now mounted on the walls of their dens

Useless arrows
Too impractical for the modern age

There are easier ways to pierce a flesh-bound cage

Savage Arrows
Too barbaric for the modern man
You lack the dignity of the bombs in our hands

Hang, shrouded in mystery

Teach us something of our history

You are a senior citizen of war
Knocking on death's door

Lingering on life support
To
indulge our indignant thrill

Show us how far mankind has come
As we polish our efficient guns
Those brutal savages knew none
Of the civilized ways to kill

Hang, shrouded in mystery
Teach us something of our history

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So you want to outlaw guns? You know if you outlaw guns then that only outlaws will have guns, right? You know waving a cross at an intruder is not going to work, but my polished gun will do the trick...

Tia Lynn said...

This poem is not about outlawing guns, but thanks for reading into it something that is not there. :)

Anonymous said...

This is my second favorite poem by you. I love the perpetual rhyming one you wrote. Good imagery in both.

Meliss said...

I enjoyed this and smiled, because my family has a display case of arrowheads hanging in our family room.