Antique Monsters Poem by Barry Middleton

Antique Monsters

Rating: 2.8


so many there are, the armies, the wars
gray haired charioteers of autumn

old men pray the Pax Romana will fail
as the youth pray for peace

antique monsters are at home and abroad
the lust for slaves, the boot on the neck

so the poets should be weeping
but they are filled with the anger of tears

so warm hands should be joined
but the cold eyes turn away in distrust

and so it is time for peace to wonder
was hope only a metaphor for dreaming?

yet there is no victory in death, in war
no victory at Actium for Augustus

Antique Monsters
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Topic(s) of this poem: terrorism
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Bri Edwards 19 May 2016

The boot on the neck? ? I'm afraid this poem is a bit beyond my comprehension. A bit at least. Let me look at one more. Bri :)

1 0 Reply
Barry Middleton 28 May 2016

War and terror are always about enslaving people, either literally or figuratively to place a boot on the neck of the conquered. The phrase is somewhat obscure but should be obvious from context. It means to conquer and subjugate. It seems that every war is the war to end war, the idea is a monstrous antique. The war mongers do not want Pax Romana, they want war. Indeed the Pax Romana was a fraud - the victory of Agustus at Actium brought peace for a very short time. The poet, me in this case, has given up hope for peace. Peace itself is a metaphor, not real, war is in our DNA. The poem does not draw a happy conclusion.

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