Sunday, 4 February 2007

Puppet-show poem

This poem is based on a story told by Baha'u'llah from His childhood.

For the story, see the book "Summons of the Lord of Hosts"

Small world

Witness the king’s royal court
Where powerful struggles are fought
At the end of the day
Its all just a play
When that court is the puppet-show sort

Observe how the courtiers parade
In cloaks made of silk and brocade
How they get in a spat
On the height of a hat
Or the width of a strip of gold braid

Now enter some troops with a captive
Accused as a thief to be active
He gets a fair trial
And in a short while
An axe makes the sentence effective

More happenings follow apace
That typify joy and disgrace
Thus the cord-pulling charmer
Puts on such a drama
Which, when done, he takes home in a case

Well the moral is easily got
In this tale of the string-puppets’ lot
O their life on the go
Makes a wonderful show
But their world is a very small spot

2 comments:

Lorraine Hétu Manifold said...

Hello again John,
Thanks for your comments on another poem of mine again. No, unfortunately, I just wrote poems for a span of about 3 years, then it suddenly stopped, I don't know why. So you think I should take it up again? That's a thought :)
I reallly liked your poem Puppet-Show, and the story in The Summons of the Lord of Hosts was very interesting, hadn't read that one yet. Thanks so much for your feedback.

John Bryden said...

Lorraine, certainly if you feel inclined to write more poetry at some stage, I think you should go for it. You have a good eye for an image and a good ear for a line. (Thanks for your kind comments on the puppet show poem.) - John

My personal reflections on this blog take inspiration from the Bahá’í teachings.