AN ODE TO THE CENTURY PAST

That was the age of despair, disrepair
but this is now, the New Utopia.

That was the time when we killed off our muses
throwing their remains to the ravenous dogs.

Our innocence disemboweled, our hopes quartered
with five hollow-point bullets on that cold december night.

When six million replaced six six six as the accursed number
of all eternity and
six million nameless faces, six million faceless names
were extinguished for that greatest crime of all -
Existence.

But this is now, the Neo-Utopia.

That was the age of despair, disrepair
When raven-black sun  
threw rays of shadow upon the earth and
giant bullfrogs ate pygmy antelopes
hooves, bones and all.

But still we fought on, hoping for meaning to appear
yet when it arrived, it was only in our dreams
dissipating as soon as we awoke and tried to grab at its
gossamer threads with our crude, clumsy hands.

And this is now, the Last Utopia.

Reviews

[Kitty]

Such a powerful piece of writing!!!!!!! So deep. So dark. And so true. Your imagery is so prevailing. This is a superb piece!!!!!!!!!!

Keep it up, Boris. You have AMAZING talent!!!

Josie

[An owl on the moon]

Such a brilliant depth exposing our horrid darkness. You so vividly define a world bent on destruction, yet grasping for hope and peace. Excellent!

[Robyn]

I love the dark, somewhat eerie, imagery in your poem. It's insightful and a true reflection of the reality we live in.

[Michael]

I like the work, even the symmetry of the loss of one with the loss of millions. Have you thought about going back and adding more stanzas? The century was full or many more examples. Just provides you the ability to make a much longer work. Just an idea, I like it how it is.

[[untitled]]

Hi Boris, People are under the mistaken impression that the 666 is a myth...silly people. We are heading into rough seas and a cashless society, which in turn means "Micro-chipping" It is already compulsory for pets...we're next...not me! Utopia indeed...don't think so! Have you ever seen any of Barry Smith's DVD's?
Worth having a gander at.
I like your form, placement and use of words. An intelligent piece of writing.
Cheers,
Helen:-)

[Charles Sapp II]

I agree as well with the previous reviews. Although we all live by the moment we cannot help but experience the "Now" and what effects it may have upon us and our scope of understanding the future while respecting the past. Great imagery and reflection!

[Justin Tobey]

I completely agree with Siddartha. The poem is very captivating, and there are some cataclysmic elements in it. However, it shows hope for the future as well, and I find that very uplifting. It's difficult to explain how a poem can have optimistic and pessimistic sides to it, but that's what you've created in this piece. I particularly like the fact that you didn't use a pattern for how many lines you have in stanzas. I'm just breaking out of that habit, and this is a good example of that technique. Great write!

[Siddartha Beth Pierce]

Powerful words - definitely apocalyptic in tone - if we are the Last Utopia - then it seems the end is near in this writing. Gives one much to ponder although so many atrocities have happened for centuries before us as well. You definitely have a wonderful writing style - I was mesmerized from beginning to end. Thank you.
Light,
Siddartha

[Deborah Leah Krempa]

Well written, beautifully penned. Thank you for sharing. Debileah

[Shara Faskowitz]

This is a beautiful piece of writing, even with it's enumeration of sad events and appocalyptic vision. The wordplay is excellent (internal rhyming of "despair/disrepair") and the clever "nameless faces/faceless names." Themes emerge from themes and images build on images. If I were being picky (and I'm not) I could find a few places where you might want to add a comma (after "muses" or "antelopes"), but overall it's so powerful, and appeals to me personally for obvious reasons (if you see my last name, you know). I hope you submit this for publication in a poetry journal or ezine. I'm sure it would be accepted.