Original Poetry: "Ring of the Fallen"

Ring of the Fallen by Logan Dalton

Rotting gold on the cairn,

Sprinkling ashes on the ground,

Trifling glances at the grave.

Understanding faces go insane.

Vexation grows inside me.

Underneath my marble face,

Tears well inside my soul

Swallowing my body whole;

Remembering the fallen...

   I have five primary inspirations for this poem. This week I've been working on my senior thesis paper and comparing Achilles from the Iliad to Wolverine from the X-Men movies. One of Homer's trademarks in the  Iliad is the use of ring compositions which is like A happened, then B; there's a hinge, B happened then A. For example, (A) Priam prepares the wagon. (B) He gets the treasure for Hector's ransom. (C) He talks to Hecuba. The hinge is Hecuba fearing for Priam's life and hating Achilles. (C) Priam tells Hecuba he's going. (B) He loads the treasure in the wagon (A) He starts driving to the Greek camp. I decided to do a ring composition with the first letters of lines (RSTUVUTSR) as a postmodern tribute to the first great poet.

   My second inspiration was personal. Last month, I visited my grandfather's grave, who died one year ago today. We had a really good relationship. He gave me advice in hard times and went to my basketball. I enjoyed helping him paint his shed and helping him around the house when his health deteriorated. He was a very patriotic man, serving in the Korean and Vietnam wars and and the best grandfather anyone could have. The images of sorrow come from his death, and the stark white tombstones in the military cemetery.

   This week, in American history class, we watched the compelling and heartbreaking documentary Civil War by Ken Burns. For long stretches of time, there is no narration just stark images of dead, rotting bodies at battlefields from Maryland to Mississippi. Those bodies, killed, fighting their own brothers really made me angry at the violence between people from the same country, and the leaders who allowed the future leaders of tomorrow die bloody deaths charging impossible hills and fortifications     http://americancivilwar.50megs.com/Sunset%20In%20The%20West.html 

   My fourth inspiration is also from the Iliad. At the end of the poem, the Trojans burn him on a pyre high on the walls of Troy. This was a fitting end for the greatest Trojan, who stayed loyal to his city despite an unjust war fought over a woman. I can see the women of Troy scattering his ashes in the sacred temple of Pallas Athena.

   My final inspiration is a song, "The Memory Remains" by Metallica from their 1999 live album S & M with the San Francisco Symphony. This song talks about the shortness of fame, and how it corrupts. It has biting images of bloated celebrities , like gold rings on every hand and "Dance little tin goddess."

Would you like to post your poetry on Popology? Email me at lakerfakerinroanoke@gmail.com.