The Tale of New Atlantis

A mix of mythology and real events

Poseidon came to reclaim his land
To below the level, it sunk like sand
And all they could say
And what failed to do
Didn't matter after that day

A new Atlantis consumed by Poseidon's Sea
The children lost, the earth turned blue
Man tried to go beyond their bounds
They challenged the rule of Poseidon
And seize his lands from under the sea

They built a great port, a new city
Constantly pushing back Poseidon's advances
They had become greater than the gods
They felt that nothing could break their grasp
Upon this city stolen from the sea

The sands of time passed for many and still the city stood
But soon man became hubris in their contempt for Poseidon
Constantly ignoring the wisdom of the Oracles of Orleans
A simple action was all it would have taken for a hero
A minor motion by those championed by the people
But they had become fat upon their bureaucracy
And relied on the people to be naive and sedated

Even with the final warnings in the tears of the Oracles
The heroes of the mighty city fled with tails tucked
They never tried to make right on their role of protector
And thus Poseidon laid his wrath upon the new Atlantis
The people swallowed into the cold bed of his kingdom
The city swept into a watery grave

As we sit here today man tries again to reclaim the city
Chasing the day where Poseidon will surrender and leave it in peace
The people left with moments scarred into their minds
We wonder how long can this city claimed from the sea survive
Can it ever rise to be as it once was before Poseidon's wrath
Or will Poseidon finally have the city that was once his

Author's Note

This peom was inspired by the tragedy of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I just think that people aren't looking beyond what happened and trying to see the why. What occured was tragic, but what wasn't done was even more so. The city is below sea level, which means it floods very easily (I've seen it, a simple rainfall can cause issues.) There are pumps to try and expell some of the water that encroaches on the city, but they need to be better. There are leveys, but they need to be stronger and higher. The local government of Lousiana and New Orleans should have dealt with that ASAP, but they didn't bother. They were quick to blame anyone else after it happened but themselves. What the people of the Gulf Coast went through could have been partially avoided with proper work by those elected to do so by the people in that area, but then again, you build a city below sea level, there's bound to be issues. That's my two cents, please feel free to add to it.

Reviews

[Carole]

You posed some very viable questions here with your piece, Blake. So easy to play the blame game-and not accept responsibility.

As we sit here today man tries again to reclaim the city
Chasing the day where Poseidon will surrender and leave it in peace
The people left with moments scarred into their minds
We wonder how long can this city claimed from the sea survive
Can it ever rise to be as it once was before Poseidon's wrath
Or will Poseidon finally have the city that was once his

Very thought provoking. When I think about the tragedy in New Orleans, it is almost incomprehensible...
Thank you for taking the time to share! Carole

[L.G. Knight]

Thanks for sharing first off, second i think everyone has been laying blame for so long that its hard to see what could have been prevented and what couldn't. Very well done. It raises alot of thought provoking issues. Great piece.