the way things appear
the way things really are
the smooth illusion
of surface appearances
the ripples below across the water
undercurrents undertows rising waves storm surges
reality has as many weather faces as actors have rolls
script spoken script implied script in a glance
script in the heated eye
a body of stone motionless
the gravity of a mountain moves
who will wake the earthquake?
who will release a ripple into a tsunami wave?
who will vote for honourable peace?
who will in warrior pride rage for war?
who holds a ceremonial role
who holds real power in shadows
decides unseen for peace or war?
the smoke of the fires burning
still fills my nostrils scares my hands.
Copyright © Terence George Craddock
This is brilliant. It makes me think of Thucydides. What is the illusion? The war, or the peace? Which represents what we call reality.? Which do we perceive as reality? This goes on the favourites list!
Who indeed? some great questions put forward here. The worlds handfew seems to decide our fate.......
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Yes I basically completed a second major in classics, so did Myth and Legends in the Ancient World, Greek and Roman (Drama, Literature, History) plus architecture, pottery etc; philosophy. I did a few essays on subjects you would like Mark, The Importance of Theology in Aeschylean Drama and To what extent do the gods of the Iliad define for the audience the heroism of the mortals in the poem? These answer even now to a large extent the answer to your last two questions.