In the forest there are spies
Who walk in tongues
(And speak in parentheses
and footnotes)
we pretend not to see them
and
they pretend not to know us
because we tell ourselves
"they've got a job to do"
and let them do it
and they tell themselves
"we are nothing like them
nothing like them at all"
then the drought came
we were forced out of the forest
the spies are still out there
i'm sure of it.
* * * * *
then came
the aviators
these airborne
missionary priests of the ambiguous truth
flew over my forest
i heard of them
and i saw them
and i knew!
i KNEW.
the spies had truly found
their meter
* * * * *
years passed
* * * * *
then began
the Great Healing
and it was decreed
"from highest peak to lowest ocean;
from farthest stream to nearest brook:
we must hereby set in motion
changes everywhere we look.
"for, my friends, there is a danger
which i alone am fit to see:
it is in these silent strangers
who are so unlike you or me.
"they are the spies and aviators
who, together, plague our towns-
and they are not our friends, but traitors
who intend to tear us down.
"they were once part of our masses-
protectors of our citadels.
and we would nightly raise our glasses
and wish these ancient soldiers well.
"they were strong and so courageous
and entrusted with our lives.
and so it was for ages,
and our humble kingdom thrived.
"but they have recently grown wild
and much harder to contain.
they threaten every man and child
who might at any time be slain.
"therefore we must take action,
before this danger comes to life.
we must destroy this evil faction
which is the root of all our strife."
* * * * *
[i am a spy.
i
was born somewhere between twenty-one
and thirty-five years ago
i do not remember when exactly
nor does my station lend it pertinence
but i remember when /it/ began.
now, it must be made clear who
the spies are- because so few
know. and those who know are
mostly spies themselves.
a spy, after all,
is a friend of anonymity. and a lover of solitude. so,
only a spy
knows
the spies.
or so it should have been
until /it/ happened.
/it/ began like this.]
* * * * *
::my name is belisar
i
am an
a v i a t o r.
you down
.
.
.
.below
us
have such strange perceptions of things
you see
fine details
microcosmic grandeur
infinitesimal beauty
divinity in the invisible
i see
the overland-
that beautiful and ghostly
and so bruised overview of the world
i see the weather. i see the world
and i can watch it change. i see
how you affect others. i see how others
affect you. i see cause and effect.
i see evolution. i see the entire world
and everything in it.
and i understand it.
aviators
we speak in tongues too.
(just like you.)
but they are the tongues of the world
the aviators speak the language of fog
we speak the language of need
we hear God talking
to his angels
the funny part is
you down below-
you've got it all wrong.
and that's where we come in
the aviators.
the spies.
they call what happened simply /it/.
(they, however, do not know
what they speak of.
their word for /it/
is apollyon.)
they do not understand.
the aviators speak the language
of that which inhabits
the abyss.
people say
"the spies and the
aviators
work together"
which is risible
the
aviators
answer
to
a
higher
.calling::
* * * * *
[chaliys said /it/
was something far greater
than
any
of us understand.
cryanys
said /it/ was a damn shame
i say
/it/'s something else.
this is the
beginning
...of something bigger.
the aviators
see the
s w e e p i n g
r e s o u n d i n g
that which looms on the horizon
that which will come to be
the constant apocalypse warned of in the dark clouds overhead
and somehow
they've got
it in their
skulls that
they
know
everything.
that's risible!
they justified the
sacrifice
they called it a necessary evil.
we just call it evil.]
* * * * *
::i am Emesar.
my squad
is
Jaliospar
Hedramar
Alvar
Perriar
all going to
War::
* * * * *
[the aviators think there is a war at hand
well
you cannot fight
what you cannot catch
and you cannot see
what
is
too
fine
and
too
detailed
for
your
simple
bite-sized
overview
of
the
universe]
* * * * *
and so it began.
Author notes
legend-
[spies]
::aviators::
* * * * * transition
everything else is decorative or one-time usage
this is the beginning of something bigger.
i'm not sure what it is yet.
it's a story all right, but how far this story will extend
or how long it will take
is yet unknown.
** updated **
The 1st in a series.
1) Spies and Aviators
http://allpoetry.com/poem/2194826
2) Ghettoes of Kelmitzar
http://allpoetry.com/poem/2249567
3) 11
http://allpoetry.com/poem/2258098
4) Mechanos Calamitous
http://allpoetry.com/poem/2352077
5) Unseen Angels
http://allpoetry.com/poem/3040166
6) Those Who Seek
http://allpoetry.com/poem/3265846
7) River
http://allpoetry.com/poem/show/3595440
Thank you for reading.
In a list
Comments
1 - 12 of 12
-
This piece reminded me of the song "Spies" by Coldplay. I liked your inclusion of aviators within it, as well, since during World War II, there were many aviators included among the spies, specifically Howard Hughes and others in the known Hollywood realm. Good one, Connor. 
-
This...is amazing. I like how you say the aviator speak the language of fog, and can hear god talking to the angels- that, for me, was such a good image. Cool, cool peice.
-
The drought in section one seems like it is refering to an absence of ideas, like writers block. Perhaps the spies are the true meaning behind our words (hence dwelling in "footnotes [and] parenthesis"). The "avitars" appear in section two and the text refers to the as the "meter" of the spies. Your text is too deliberate to believe you meant "masters" but perhaps the meaning is not so far off. If the "avitars are "metering" the "spies" then they must be exercising control of some sort. (Hence the "priests of ambigious truth.")
In section four a new group is introduced, perhaps humans, who feel the avitars are not doing their job controlling the spies. This comes through very clearly in the section's well written couplets.
Section six gives names and titles to the avitars and spies. We learn that the avitars are angels and the spies the dark confederates of the devil (Apollyn). Section six also clarifies earlier passages allowing us to understand the battleground between the two is metaphorically the truth and literally the physical world. And so the couplets from earlier show the birth of religion and thus the dividing line between the avitars and spies among the human alliance.
The rest of the piece goes on to define the difference between the avitars and the spies. I think you have aptly renamed these two segments as the spies represent those who are always search for a way back into grace (definable in a multitude of ways) and the avitars represent those that are held up in esteem by the religions in which they play a part.
It takes some reading to be fair to the piece, but thats ok. I will digest this and move on to the next piece tomorrow.
~Das -
-
I believe it is "aviators", but I thank you for the check on spelling etc. anyway.
"Meter" - measure. To meet one's meter is to meet one's equal, one's rival, that which will test the other. No control meant.
I would urge you, Das, not to look too hard at the literal meaning here, or the precise definitions of each word and section. You will find little to satisfy your apparent craving for a neat and tidy explanation of the ideas in this poem, and already are appearing to miss things (such as deciding that the spies are confederates of the Devil).
I understand that you're a judge, and so it is a little foolish on my part to tell you how to interpret the piece; I also understand that I brought this upon myself by submitting the 5th piece in a series, rather than a stand-alone piece. However, I hope that being a judge does not prohibit you from enjoying poetry simply for its own sake, and so I hope you can enjoy any work of mine which you decide to read as it truly is, rather than as a collection of strictly defined words in well-organized sections.
Thank you very much for reading. -
-
heh... I misread the word once and then my mind subed it for each occurance there after... Plus my misundertstanding played well as I meant to type "avatar," so there was a misspelling involved as well. (Avatar would have worked in the piece where aviator is instead... funny how the the mind works.)
I have never heard to expression to "meet ones meter" before, which is probably impressive given the amount of reading I've done for this contest alone.
I welcome your incouragement on interpertation. There aren't any authors notes to go by, which makes the work a bit more difficult than it might otherwise be.
Beyond that, I am not a "nice poem" sort of citic. If you put this out for other people to experience then I assume you want feedback on how it is playing to its audience. If you do not, I'll stop.
Despite the errors I have apparently made, I am enjoying the trip. And I can only assume that the errors are a-ok with you, as you would have been more specific if you were concerned.
~Das
-
-
Hmm? Oh - I didn't realize I sounded like I only wanted "nice poem" comments. I don't - I'm really quite tired of them, as they're all this site seems to offer its poets besides a nice cozy place to store your writing.
That aside - I appreciate your feedback on how it is playing to its audience, but as you said, I'm not terribly concerned about it, either. That's really what I'm trying to say - feel free to leave the meaning open, feel free to let some things remain mysterious.
Perhaps I'm simply jaded from years and years spent in English classes deciding what precisely was meant by this or that passage in this or that book, or what John Knowles's usage of prepositions suggests about wartime societies - I'm not one for "nice poem", but I'm not one for semantics, either. So I guess the end message is, well, have fun with the reading, I suppose.
Peace and love, bro.
-JD -
-
In a way, it is all moot. I am going to recommend to the Raven judge commission that you move on to the final, that decision being based on one section in your entry piece.
So, in a sense, I am only here for the sake of completeness and, I suppose, to make sure that there isn't anything racist, etc, in the other five sections of the story because that would be rather embarassing.
Since it is somewhat obnoxious for me, and you aren't effected by it one way or the other, I'll leave truncated remarks on the other three as I read them. -
-
Well - thank you. Sorry that this is obnoxious for you, but to be honest, despite being pleased with my other works, these five are the only poems I've written that I really feel are worthy of putting into a high-level contest; nothing else I have done comes close.
Thanks for your time and for reading my petulantly written comments. -
-
It really isn't that bad.. I meant that leaving forever long comments on a piece I am going to recommend for promotion anyway is obnoxious.
The contest asks for genius in the written word. If this is what you have I am glad you entered it.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Nice Buffalo!
-
Just wanted to let you know that you got Honorable Mention in my contest. Congrats!
-
Great story-telling & style usage.
I didn't mind the length at all! This was a truly captivating write. The story that you told really sucked me in, I couldn't stop reading it. I loved the transitions you had, not only from segment to segment but from style to style. Each style had a form and uniqueness all of it's own and it worked incredibly well for this write.
The segment containing the following lines:
"[the aviators think there is a war at hand
well
you cannot fight
what you cannot catch"
has to be my favorite because of how powerful the words are.
This was definitely an enjoyable poem to read!
Adding your comment:
1 - 12 of 12
