Poem - Tribes, Tales, and Knaves

[kokopelle]

I wrote most of “Tribes, Tales, and Knaves” while I was at the Fall 2016 LEAF gathering. I wanted to consider how History is molded by mankind in the short term, but ultimately, the tiger is held by the tail with predictable results.


Tribes, Tales, and Knaves

Legacy spun by History’s hands
now to be spurned or perhaps to be grabbed
the choice of the ages has come down to this
by angel or devil the age is now set.

This tale would be simple if not for the tribes
none of them right and few of them wrong
defending their rights in face of their foes
burning with fire the ones they deplore.

The links in the chain provide a shorthand
known only to those with to decode
transcriptions in red by the blood of the saints
grim letters of shame none dare to explain.

The heroes are pawns moved by veiled hands
the leaders no better in time’s awful space
as sad as the victims they seek to suppress
when ashes to dust is their final end.

Tribes, tales, and knaves are dairies’ cast
each is a current in the perfect flood
asking all to decide where they stand
with devil or angel as they’re swept away.

2016, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved, 20161024.