One man was robbed within the sight of yet another man.
When first would take the second's gold the third man swiftly ran.
The first man stood and second cursed as miserly and mean;
without gold gift he'd, with short shrift, dissect the second's spleen.
The second man wry smiled and said, "I've met your like before,
and all the gold I had is gone, there is no deeper store."
The first man whirled the second 'round and grabbed him by the hand
and from his finger snatched a ring, a golden wedding band.
"It really is quite worthless but it means the world to me,"
the second said, with lowered head, "twas Mother's ring, you see."
The first man laughed, with wily craft he stuck it in his kip
and said, through sneer that taught one fear, "Don't kid with Rick the Gyp.
I am the first man hereabouts, you really ought to know
I take precisely what I wish when'ere I will it so.
There never was a second man, nor ever shall there be;
the only god-damned bastard in this whole damned world is me!"
The second looked him in the eye, and asked, with saintly voice:
"And wouldn't you much nicer be had you been given choice?"
The first man looked him straightly back: "I tell you what is true:
For every one of me there is there's always one of you.
You just can't see the glory and the grandeur of the plan.
Your eyes are blind, you cannot find the seam where it began."
The second choked a bitter laugh, concealed his sudden glee;
the thirdly man did fast approach, and fully armed was he.
He'd gathered up a fowling piece and held it in his hand.
The goodly third who swift returned had formed a rescue plan.
And now he stridently did call: "Lay down your evil sword
or I will blow your ass away without another word!"
Then Rick the Gyp, the first man there, raised sword with awful cry:
"Before I ever know defeat, I swear I'd rather die!"
The thirdly one now cocked the gun, which went off with a roar
and there was now a large-ish hole where Rick had stood before.
The second one, afraid of gun, to third man did defer
and to the third, with honeyed word, did smile and call him "Sir."
"Keep everything he took, good third, and I'll most grateful be
if now my blessed Mother's ring thou wouldst vouchsafe to me."
The third man long and loudly laughed and loud and longly cursed:
"I used to be the third man, friend, but now I am the first.
I'll pull your sting and keep your ring, soon's I reload this gun."
The second grasped the fleeting chance and, like the wind, did run.
And soon he'd gotten out of sight his spirits soon did lift
but then he saw a fourthly man accosting yet a fifth.
"I have a pitchfork home," he thought, "I'll get it if I can,
and I will aid that innocent, the fifth assaulted man."
He never fell but, like gazelle, to home and hearth did fly.
While valor burned, with fork returned and killed that fourthly guy.
And there he stood, so pure, so good, so certain he had won.
But where were all the other men? Was he the only one?
He thought: "I killed the fourthly man but 'tis not plain to see
by that I saved the fifthmost man when I was number three?
The second man I was who ran, with pitchfork or with gun,
but I believe that I perceive that now I'M number one."
He looked around, there was no sound, no man was there to see
and said, astounded: "I have found no other man but me!"
He stuck his mitt into his kip and felt the strangest thing.
Within his hand, although unplanned, he found the golden ring.
He knew it for a worthless bauble, hurled it far away.
Forever in an instant everything was clear as day.
Then nothing was of anything, the playing field stood bare.
Save for one thing, the golden ring, which sang
eternal
there.
A contest entry
- The Second Battle of the Poets Contest! by Previn.
540 points, ended September 6, 2007, 19 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - 163rd Contest by Tarja.
450 points, ended January 22, 2008, 8 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - The Downfall of Humankind by elmundopasa1.
600 points, ended April 15, 2008, 18 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Round 1: CRANE JOUSTING!!!!!! by Great Cthulhu.
1000 points, ended May 3, 2008, 10 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Rapture by WithoutWings.
500 points, ended September 30, 2008, 10 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Options/prompts. This one will be insane. by Poetic Drug.
840 points, ended July 3, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 12 of 12
-
Violence creates violence, and hate creates hate. This cycle will never end until there is no one left to continue it. The end of the world totally in the hands of man. Thank you for entering my contest.
-
Extra Creepy!
Your dark vision with the twist at the end made me smile!
Nicely accomplished rhyme and the rhythm works very well. Your last stanza is my favorite, very melancholy and despairing. Wonderful verse from the end! Keep your pen to the page and thanks for entering! -
An Exceeding Excellent Write and Fantastic Read
Great to see you captured Gold in the end, best wishes in life and the contest.
Peace in light and love
Noah
-
great job. i dont know how you havent won a trophy with this yet. really well written.
-
Oh bugger...... I know what I know now!!! xx Look handsome, nothing so violent and terminal is worth an AP gold........!!!!! x
-
Though this was a bit long, it was totally worth it. The rhyming was excellent and the story written into it was great. Thanks a lot for entering and good luck.
-
Oh, I have discovered a fine poet! What a happy day for me to read this wonderful adventure poem.
-
Ok
Stanza 7, the last two lines - sword and word do not have a sound rhyme, as the other couplets do.
Stanza 12, line two, comma missing between 'burned' and 'with'
Thats all.
Like I said, only two insignificant things.
Regards -
A great ending, deep in its implicity
I enjoyed reading this although it did stumble in parts
The rhyming was mostly consistent.
A great story told in an interesting format.
Thanks for entering.
Previn -
I like it a lot! I think it's very creative. Well written. And a great story as well as poem. Alittle confusing at times...but I understood it pretty well...I only had to reread like a few things One more time and I got it....but I liked it overall.
And I clearly understand your point.
Nothing Material is really worth anything.
You life is the most important.
Then the other point I got from this was that....at times we are all the first man. We all have the capacity to be bad and do wrong and in time we do. Am I right or did I miss you purpose for this completely? -
Absolutely wonderful! I don't know if this is an actual form...if so, I would suggest naming it in the A notes. The writing is purely amazing. I love tales and especially those that impart something truly important. This is a reflective concept that encompasses all of mankind and ends with a wonderful revelation. Thank-you so very much for entering!
-
-
Form?
Is that all there is now? Or even then?? What's this form obsession???? Not criticising your comment - just that AP comments seem to veer wildly between the erudite and the illiterate.....
-
Adding your comment:
1 - 12 of 12
