Alamo by Philatone
#1
Burdened casket
hollowed of bones
whose fingerprints paint
the leaves of live oaks;
beneath footsteps
you slept

until they came
to your splintered door
with lips dripping compliments--
Legend of the Desert,
Pillar of Hope,
Cradle of Liberty.

They lured you from the clay
and dropped cages
of steel shadows
the moment you appeared.

Scars, they covered like matches,
every tooth replaced,
every broken bone
removed;
under Texas sun
you sit,
exposed as a looted tomb,
face stolen
into calendars and matinees,
evening photographs
under a sleepless flag,
magnets, names, purses, textbooks,
names, ornaments,
names.

They have strapped
the city to your back
and laid a road to march,

leading with trumpets and drums
as if you had won a war,

But go back,
shrine
of a lonely sun;

return to open arms
of clay,
ones that rocked
everyone you knew
to sleep
when no wall or roof
could keep the soul
down.


Read the original thread here
It could be worse
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#2
I'm glad you posted this Leanne as I missed it the first time through. It's a fine poem.

Thank you!
The secret of poetry is cruelty.--Jon Anderson
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#3
The love and respect for the area and its history are tangible in this poem -- I get something more from it each time I come back to it, and that's what a good poem should do (well, one of the things anyway!)
It could be worse
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#4
i never really liked the spoiler. i just thought 'who hasn't heard of the alamo'
then i realized not everyone saw davy crocket die on tv Smile

another well chosen one leanne.

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#5
I've heard the story a million times. From drunken relatives, Disney cartoons, pioneer journals, movies, TV and historical fiction- and occasionally porn- but even with all that, you put a new spin on things:

Philatone Wrote:. . .
under Texas sun
you sit,
exposed as a looted tomb,
face stolen
into calendars and matinees,
evening photographs
under a sleepless flag . . .

My favorite part Smile

Nice job, Geoff.
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#6
I'm in love with this selection! Well done, Philatone Smile
PS. If you can, try your hand at giving some of the others a bit of feedback. If you already have, thanks, can you do some more?
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#7
This exquisite poem evokes the cry 'remember the Alamo' better than anything I have read previously, nice work!
My new watercolor: 'Nightmare After Christmas'/Chris
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