"Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."
- General Douglas MacArthur

There is actually a perceived methodology about equestrian statues:
if one leg is raised, the rider was wounded in battle and may (or may not) have died later. If th


The Warrior

Here where children skirmish
A granite plinth and a statue
Of someone no one remembers

On a horse with one leg raised
And not yet shot from under him,
His sword raised and pointing

To some forgotten battlefield.
Or perhaps he's cutting a path
Through dead and dying in retreat,

Though such statues never honor
The soldier who left and lived
To fight another and better day.

A general no doubt, neither blue
Nor gray now but bloody rust-red,
Eyes fixed on an unseen point

In the hard-fought past that must
Have mattered then but doesn't now,
Time the implacable enemy

Of both the victor and vanquished;
His presence no longer commanding,
Epaulets of pigeons on his shoulders.




Poetry by countryfog
Read 400 times
Written on 2010-12-14 at 14:10

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Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Well done, Fog. Though it's not at all derivative, this poem reminds me of Shelley's Ozymandias, the pharaoh's memorial having been shrunken down to fit in a town square.

All of us of a certain age understand that time is the greatest enemy, and it's getting stronger. We are not.
2010-12-19


shells
This will make me look at statues in a whole new light, great visuals especially your last line.
2010-12-15


John Ashleigh
The imagery is so lively, it's as if I am dreaming whilst reading such talented words. It has brightened up such a dull day.

Your friend,
John.
2010-12-14


ngaio Beck
This is simply a great piece of work. I love the simile of the pigeon dropping/epaulette. I've been,(most of my adult life),a mercenary soldier,and recieved little more than birdshit in the way of accolade or respect from an adoring public.
2010-12-14