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Rest in Peace

Rest in Peace

A Poem by C. Harter Amos

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He lifted his hand as if to bless the crowd
and all I could think was that with his words
he changed the world.
They stood still in their mania long enough to listen.
In his innocence he didn’t know.
Or maybe he knew it was already too late
Maybe he folded under the responsibility’s weight.
He should have shed tears
that could not be forgotten
on the left edge of tomorrow
but was shot in the full sun of his day.
 
Another Christ?
Another cross?
It got their attention last time, didn’t it?
Graphic enough and on the cusp of a different fall.
So easily led, these sheep he called.
 
The thought made me wonder at what exact point on this line in time
we failed to stand up to the lethargy and intimidation  
that bred yet another generation
of silent majority Americans on their knees
turning the age of peace into a world of too many tombstones
and too much greed.
 
Our social structure crumbles
Even our poor planet grumbles
At what we’ve done
And failed to do.
 
The anchorman’s makeup runs as he sashays
and tells us what irrelevance is important today.
How heavy the fears
when we bow to our peers;
turn our backs to the obvious, we’re stupidly oblivious
to the fall of yet another Rome,
the place of ultimate self-indulgence
that is what we call home.
 
The young ones will hurt from what we don’t believe,
From what we choose to accept and fail to perceive.
When did it become too heavy a weight to bear,
to fight what monsters we know to fear?
Is it a lost cause now that we can see catastrophe's approach
in the ice sheets that melt, the dictators that boast?
 
Maybe it’s their belief that makes them face death for their ideals 
while too many of us give up on the possibility goodness can be real:
Harmony and respect within one space,
A good God who wipes tears from each face.
 
Give me liberty or give me death?
Rest in peace, Abraham, Martin and John
You did all you could do.
There’s no one left to take your place
And we’re not willing to renew our faith.
It breathed its last breath with yours.

© 2008 C. Harter Amos


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Featured Review

oooooh my....... Mimi !
This is absolutely breath-taking piece. There are so many lines I would love to comment. My favorite was this line: "In his innocence he didn't know." For it is true, the innocent one doesn't know. he is just feelign without reason. I am so proud at you that you offer this style of writing. We all, in all countries of this western world have to think about the way.....how it goes. We lack altruism and we lack compassion. I adore your silent critics. We all have to learn to share and to love!
Not only the favorite soccer club or TV show.
fantastic, illuminating, important, terrific write.

Posted 15 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.




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Posted 15 Years Ago


oooooh my....... Mimi !
This is absolutely breath-taking piece. There are so many lines I would love to comment. My favorite was this line: "In his innocence he didn't know." For it is true, the innocent one doesn't know. he is just feelign without reason. I am so proud at you that you offer this style of writing. We all, in all countries of this western world have to think about the way.....how it goes. We lack altruism and we lack compassion. I adore your silent critics. We all have to learn to share and to love!
Not only the favorite soccer club or TV show.
fantastic, illuminating, important, terrific write.

Posted 15 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.


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2 Reviews
Added on July 13, 2008
Last Updated on July 26, 2008

Author

C. Harter Amos
C. Harter Amos

Lexington, SC



About
Born in the swamps of the South Carolina Low Country. Brought up on the Classics with a great deal of emphasis on music. I spent about six years at the University of South Carolina in Columbia soakin.. more..

Writing