Day by day, upon his throne,
a stool that once graced the bar
in Eddie's Pool Emporium,
the Emperor of the Alley sits, holding court.
Ass pinched by cold-stiffened plastic,
he overlooks his garden kingdom and rules.
As far as the eye can see is the detritus
of humankind, carelessly strewn. . .
Each grit of dirt is the Emperor's kingdom.
Each useless, filthy piece of splendor
belongs to the man who sits in power there.
His rule is benign, caring and complicated.
One August some wino stole the Emperor's throne.
Two nights later it had been returned,
now stained with the AB negative of some hapless thief.
The loyal subjects took care of their royalty.
If a man needed a lay-down, he just went to
the Emperor, who beneficently waves his arms
over yards of concrete steeped in stench -
providing refuge for the weary traveler.
Beneath the tattoos and needle tracked skin
of the Emperor of the Alley, crawls the deliberate
cancer that has the Emperor keeping an eye out
for his successor to the throne.
Author notes
http://dusmartisi.deviantart.com/art/bekleyis-70092387
A contest entry
- Huge points, huge options (Now with a free membership!) by Meroza.
16000 points, ended January 5, 115 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Tell me what you think, but kindly, please.
Comments
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This is a bit of a different take on the prompt compared to all the others. And I like this one, the story line and the details, made it all good.
Best of luck
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A strong, gritty and ultimately sad portrayal of the "Emperor." Your poem fits the picture prompt like a glove.
Very good,
Bill
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Hmm interesting, I am not sure what to make of this without an author's notes. I wish you luck in the contest.
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