Now You, My Son

We're in an age of boring life
where poets play with rhyme,
and women paint their faces bright
and dreamers drift through time;
where all the gods have been dethroned
and pack the butcher's chest,
awaiting feasts, where those atoned
are crowned our noble best.

We're in an age of planting blame,
and dancing 'round, in awe,
an ancient flame, the very same
those slaves of pharaoh saw;
that shines its promise to the night
with visions raised to tame
and coax the beast in man to fight
and blind him to his shame.

We're in an age of ignorance,
where glaring truths can fade
and constitute no hinderance
as specious points are made,
and pliant minds are swayed,
and real is bent and twisted back
to mask, in innocence,
the laughter of those with the knack
to charm through arrogance.

We're in an age of righteous hate,
where men choose groups to cling,
and brotherhood is there for all 
who know which songs to sing;
who pack in rallies, now banal,
and rage on with their king
through spit and sweat, all sycophants,
assured what prayers will bring.

We're in an age where strangled dreams
are left in heaps to rot;
and plastic hope, recycled, seems
to double what we've got;
where proof pervades the plot,
a song of angels stuck in time,
each echo more perverse
and still the melody sublime.

We're in an age, the only age 
that man has ever known.
We've felt it swing from rest to rage
and back, and heard the moan,
as wailing ancients shake their cage
and beg us take the throne.
We offer nothing for their pain
and all their blood has sewn.

Now you, my son, were born with eyes
and ears a lot like mine.
You'll see this world of nurtured lies
and hear the squealing swine
and know that all the knots man ties
are rooted in desire,
and take your fill of everything
and let them see you smile.

Author's Note

Please let me know what you think.

Reviews

[Patricia Wedel]

dearest Poet… we had a Constitution that guided our Days… now we need Protection from the Loose Cannons that destroyed our Morals. It is a Sad Day… but Hope remains and the Sun will Rise after the Reign of Terror. tenderly, Pat

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading, Pat! :)

[Kesch (Finding Julia)]

I have read this at least 4x now, I really enjoyed this write.
This world needs more guidance then ever.
Amazing write here

[Ada]

Unfortunately the world is looking more and more like a less desirous place to be; greed plays a huge factor and so does commercialization. Lately a lot of poems I've been reading have this same theme going but we do the best that we can. Nice write

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading, Ada! :)

[Rew]

an excellent write.
I'll say no more.
Others tell it better.

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading, Rew! :)

[Robert Trakofler]

I just reread this I have to say once again this piece is brilliant one of my favorites on this site

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading it again, Bunny! :)
Your unique style of poetry is one of my favorites on this site.

[M. J. Smith]

Sadly, our children inherit the world we mess up. I once made the statement that truth is a bum no one wants around. This captures that truth and more. Well observed, my friend. Well observed. :(

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading! :)

[M. J. Smith]

Drifters see things others do not. So do poets. We are the voices crying in the wilderness. You are most welcome. I hope to review more of your poems soon.

[M. J. Smith]

Drifters see things others do not. So do poets. We are the voices crying in the wilderness. You are most welcome. I hope to review more of your poems soon.

[Patricia]

Unfortunately all here is true and such a telling of our times. Although I do believe it’s always been such, yes worse, but also because we can clearly see it with today’s technology at our fingertips that also makes people with ill intentions take advantage of that trying to immortalize themselves and their deeds while others secretly use it to do the most awful deeds known to man. I was just saying yesterday how there is less believers in God and it breaks my heart. And to those that wish to argue that belief I’m not listening or responding to that, you can’t shake me. We bring children into this horrible place out of love and it’s getting so bad I question if we should. Keep the family close and guide them well my friend and brilliant writing here to bring conversations to your page, well done.

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading, Patricia! :)

[William Michael Reeves]

It's surprising that anyone still believes in gods since they have been dethroned. By logic maybe?But then logic escapes some people which might explain why there's still belief.

That's just what we were talking about yesterday- all the knots man ties are rooted in desire. Desires born in instincts that he can't control causing knots that can't hardly be untied.

I think....I really liked this poem!

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading, William! :)
I've given up on figuring out toxic masculinity. I'm too dim to see the light.

[William Michael Reeves]

It's easy! Visualize Donald Trump. Toxic Orange. He is the epitome of toxic masculinity. Look at the Middle East. Men run amok with no women tempering.The light of your words is far from dim.

[mattavelli]

A couple weekends ago I went to the post office. As I parked, I noticed a big pickup truck. It had two flagpoles attached to its bed on either side of the back window, with American flags. In that window there were words, the only one I bothered to read was the biggest and boldest, TRUMP. A guy got out of the truck, carrying a couple boxes. He noticed me and hurried to get in before me, but I managed to beat him to the door, and let it close behind me. It paid off with him trying to get my attention, calling me a jackass. When I got through the inner door past the lobby, I made sure to give it a little tug to close faster. He eventually made it into line behind me and spoke angrily, "whats wrong, jackass, cant hold a little door for someone?" I turned and looked at him. He said, "uh hu", and puffed his chest out at me. He had on a t shirt that read "I identify as vaccinated". I turned around and farted on him. I waited about 15 seconds for his reaction, but when I turned back, he was walking out the door. I enjoyed it, childishly. I was being a jackass, but I rationalized that it was a federal building that needed defending. Maybe toxic masculinity translates to jackassiness. I don't know. I know a lot of women who like to argue.

[William Michael Reeves]

Jackasses are toxic masculinity. What a story! They have to puff their chest out because they can't hide behind all the frilly lace they wore centuries ago. You weren't being the Jackass, just dishing out some of what he puts out. Childish? A little. Part of maturity is letting the child in us out once in awhile. Women definitely let us know what they think in pointed argument. Wish I had logged in earlier, that was great. I've been working hard on the poem based on all this. Thanks for adding to my thought!

[shadrach hah]

Hi, poetry with an excellent flow and message. We are in a most disastrous age. Things are only going from bad to worse. Our children, what shall they be left? This is a most creative play on your topic. Your words seem to flow with such consummate ease and they are strong words within such deep poetry. Your son shall be strong because you shall teach him to be so. This piece is 100 in my book. The visions your words implant in the mind are so powerful. Have a wonderful Wednesday....Mike.

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading, Shadrach! :)

[shadrach hah]

You are welcome, Matt.

[lightsong]

So beautiful dear mat, obviously You've brought the best of You and write it down from the bottom of your heart with sincere desire to convey your message, and You've done it not only to your son but to all of us, to all humans to the world where unfortunately the right became wrong and the wrong became right, even the lies and deception are brought in the essence of truth to mislead You, and nothing You can do and tell your son to do is but to keep faith and awareness. all the best my friend.

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading, Light! :)

[Zoe Richardson]

This is excellent. And right on point. God has not been dethroned, though. He's just very patient and slow to judgment!

[mattavelli]

Thanks for reading, Zoe! :)
Which god is that?

[Zoe Richardson]

The one who wrote his definitive autobiography. It's been a bestseller for ages. Literally.

[mattavelli]

I smell a bible thumper. :p
I won't ask version or denomination. Its sugar for the shameful.

[Zoe Richardson]

Not a thumper. Just a calm believer. I've trod the path of rebellion and doubt and shook my fist in defiance. In the end, faith was the one thing that didn't abandon me. I would never thump, though. That just makes people nervous!

[mattavelli]

Ya, death worshippers who come preaching make me nervous. I mention them in this poem, sycophants. The gods i mention are not the imagined ones, but those forces we have overcome and come to understand through the development of society and culture, be it a beast or the elements. Call it domestication.
Our species is not flawed, because there is no perfect template to measure against, and those who claim there is are just trying to domesticate you. You are the creative energy shaping this planet. You have overcome the gods of your ancestors, and the faith you mention is just blockage in the cultural bowel, a taught thing that imitates history, a parasitic thought.
Fear death only if you fear sleep. I wrote a poem about christianity. Its called Mind Twist. Check it out. :)

[Zoe Richardson]

i have found, at the root of every argument opposing Christianity, the same lie. The original lie. 'You will be as god." I have no desire to be a god. That's way too much responsibility. Faith frees me from that, because I don't have to be in charge. Does that make me weak? Some might say so. I don't feel weak, though. I've lived through hell in this existence. I've no desire to extend my stay in the next one. It is, as all things, a personal decision. Nothing more, northing less. And I will check out your poem!

[mattavelli]

You won't get that lie from me. "You will be as god" is a silly thought. There is no magic outside of fantasy. Humans do not possess the absolute powers given to the imagined gods. Calling it the original lie is far-fetched. The worship of christ is far from the original religion, and far from original. What you refer to as faith is an evolution of the concept of fate, fear of the unknown fueling obsession, corrupting that purest feeling of wonder and mangling it into that disgusting behavior of worship. From your words, I'd assume your religion provides you comfort and convenience, but I think you're stretching your true feelings a bit for the pleasure of the conversation, a bit of banter. I imagine its no fun thumping to people who share your predilection.
Do you truly feel that your faith, your trust/confidence, is a conscious decision you've made?

[Zoe Richardson]

I do not consider my faith to be an emotional experience at all. I dislike the emotional attachment to so-called "worship." Nor do I consider the world void of religion before Christianity. My faith is a relationship with a living being who is fully invested in me, the person he created. It is not confined to a building, or a preacher, or a group. It is not dependent on what can be proven, but it is also not based on feelings or emotions. I distrust emotions more than anything else, so when I approach issues of faith, I do it with my brain first. I ask question. I challenge the narrative. I demand answers. I don't sit quietly and do as I am told. If I believe something, I have found it to be true in many ways. Not because someone told me so. It is my choice to believe as it is yours not to. I would never insist you believe what I believe. That would be intellectually dishonest.

[mattavelli]

Thats all very interesting. :)
I do not choose to not believe things. Though, I have having running assumption, I either know a thing or I dont. Belief is pretending to know.

[Zoe Richardson]

Everyone has faith in things they cannot see or touch. When you jump, you have believe that gravity will bring you back to the ground. When you breathe, you believe the air has oxygen. That is what you have been told, even though you have never seen gravity, or an oxygen molecule. Are you pretending to know this? Is it true because scientists have said so? Do you trust those scientists? Do you believe in evolution? That is a theory that is accepted as fact when it is not proven. I choose what I believe. I do not deny that, and I don't try to make it anything other than an act of will. No one can force me to believe, or force me not to. It is a never ending process of asking questions and looking for answers.

[mattavelli]

Oh come on, the religious attacking science by misinterpreting terms is a cliché. Haha
I dont see how choosing to believe a thing even works. From your comments, I think your god may be a theory.
Why do you choose to believe in gravity and your god?

[Zoe Richardson]

I see you side stepped my point with a blanket statement about 'religion.' I do not consider myself 'religious.' Religion is mindless. It requires nothing but repeating empty words and phrases and following a bunch of rules made by a church or a person who claims to speak for God. That's not faith. That's brainwashing. I believe in gravity because even though I can not physically see or touch it, I feel the effects of it. I trust the air I breathe because each time I inhale, I don''t choke and die. I believe in God because I have a relationship with him through Christ Jesus. I have tested his words, and found them to be true. I've not experienced any supernatural events, or emotional rapture. I've looked at what God says, and I've asked him to prove it to me. I can't ask him to prove it to you. You wouldn't believe what I said was proof. But it was enough for me, and it is not some list of rules or requirements or collection of teachings by some person or group.

[mattavelli]

You put the cart before the horse, then you say there's no horse. You've been indoctrinated and you're in denial.