Monday, September 27, 2010

The Symbol of Man

She laid dying on its footsteps
Life shattered by love and hate
The crowd gathered ‘round as it always does
…This place was no longer safe

Nor had it ever been
For many lives, countless, have lost
To our love and to our hate
…This was supposed to be ‘our place’

A place for some to rest and pray
But for others, a place to criticize
This is not a house of worship, though
A monument built in man’s eye

It is here where people gather
To give respect to fellow man
Yet also to tear them down
Because it stands for every man

Though built with great intention
It has driven so many apart
Like us, this monument, this symbol of man
May have been doomed right from the start

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The symbol of man, our monument to us
An illustration of our totality, in accuracy
Deservedly, and
Unfortunately...

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19 comments:

  1. Oh, How beautiful.. this is a wonderful, touching and thought provoking take on the prompt.. I am cheering for you.. well done..

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  2. Lots of truth in this provocative piece - nicely done!

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  3. Nice take on the prompt. Wonderful poem, this one.

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  4. brilliant piece.
    bravo.
    love the life lesson behind your work.

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  5. We are very interested in your work and encourage you to enter our call for POETRY.
    Entry forms and information can be found on the 'art calls' page at
    www.new-art-review.com. You can easily upload your work online.
    NOTE: The deadline is OCT 1
    Thank you in advance for your time. Your work is just what we are looking for!
    If you choose to enter you will have at least one poem published in the book since I contacted you!
    Randy

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  6. Provocative and raw-ache heart honest work.

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  7. nice write...and humble truth...nice one shot.

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  8. Poetry is a way to call people to look aat their inadequacies without causing offense.

    this was so well done and too close for comfort

    Hope it works out with the new art thing

    Moon Smiles

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  9. Your poem forces the reader to look in the mirror and into the heart.

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  10. This is a reflective poetry. So much to thing about.

    the middles makes it

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  11. This one seems to have been specifically inspired. It would be interesting to know the story behind it. Nice One Shot, JRM!

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  12. This piece was inspired initially by the prompt over at One Single Impression. The prompt for the week is 'monument'. Once I started writing, however, it took a life of its own.

    Thank you all for the awesome comments!!!

    http://onesingleimpression.blogspot.com/2010/09/prompt-135-monument.html

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  13. Intriguing piece that hooked me in right from the start! Perhaps some monuments need to crumble after a while...

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  14. To me, this poem speaks of the awful truth of our own humanity, such as in the stanza,

    "It is here where people gather
    To give respect to fellow man
    Yet also to tear them down
    Because it stands for every man."

    Honestly writ, well done One Shot!

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  15. True words and how egoist we all can be if given chance..
    Good one Shot...

    ॐ नमः शिवाय
    Om Namah Shivaya
    I will great if you connect with me at Twitter @VerseEveryDay to read daily #FreeHaiku on love, life and longing

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  16. Wow...this is truly so beautiful JRM...:)

    we build, but we destroy in the end...this is true of human nature.
    there will come a time when

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