Anchored Defeat

A Poem by Talia

I saw this beautiful painting and was inspired. InTaliasWords.com

Beige foam fading from the sea’s rich teal

Strokes with pity the sun-burnt sand,

Off-white ash pierced by the anchor of defeat

And stained by the wrecked stern bleeding,

Crimson spreading rapidly across a shore’s murdered hope.

Tired heels of a broken people

Mark the ash only to be forever erased

By shaming waves.

Helmets fall, swords clatter to rock

And he sinks to sliced knees, mourning man’s pride

And his arms curl ‘round the waist of a woman,

Cheek buried in her chests emanating warmth

Of which the ash between his toes are void.

Empty of men, he cries.

Empty of men.

Three hundred tears rust the iron

Binding his shattered ankles to his past

And his past to the anchor

Six hundred more, nine hundred again

Until the remnants of lost men are sealed by rust.

Two fingers of a father

The forearm of a son

The embrace of miscellaneous gore

Around the waist of a mourning wife

Speared to the rust of the anchor

And to the flickering memory

Of the time when men had understood

How to be victorious

© 2013 Talia

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Featured Review

Augustus

I think your poem is actually more beautiful than the painting it describes. Only one who possesses the gift of imagery can do justice to other works of art using poetry as a medium. And you certainly possess that gift. I like the way you pick your metaphors. They are precise and balanced, but at the same time, extremely evocative. I was also impressed by your effective use of colors in the first few lines. The climax of the poem is extremely poignant, which is rather pleasantly surprising. Normally, one would expect a consistent tone maintained throughout in a poem that is essentially descriptive in nature. But you have managed to grow out of that premise and achieve something more grand. You don't stop at description. You proceed to reflection, and that elevates the poem to a whole new level.
My only suggestion would be to make the poem slightly less literal. Since the painting is already there in front of the reader, you needn't allude explicitly to everything that is portrayed in it. You could leave subtle hints for the reader to figure out. But that's a minor point. I thoroughly enjoyed this write! Well done!