Said the Priest to the Elder

[metalfan91]

Hi metalfan91!

I intended this to feel vaguely of a fantasy piece as well and leave unclear as to which instance of colonization I allude to. I felt it better to leave it vague, yet concise rather than specific and overwrought.

I get it.

I like the poem-as-dialogue, between the foreign/conquering priest and the native elder. This could play out in any of a thousand places (the Americas, Polynesia, Australia, etc.) around the world in many, many eras. I like the universal aspect of it.

This

You will flee to the lands of the West

adds a provincial note that doesn't jibe with the universal aspect. Maybe drop the "West" reference. Why flee? Why not just die? So many native Americans, Polynesians & Aborigines died from diseases to which they had no antibodies (measles, smallpox, etc.).

You could tinker with phrasing here & there but I get it. Nicely said.

nb

Well, I was trying to be universal in our reality. But, in the poem, it is a fantasy. It is the act of conquering set in a fantasy universe, but alluding to it universally in ours. The West is just a region in this fantasy setting. But it can allude to westward movements on Earth. I chose flee because it means they still have something to live for. They could either stay and die or flee and live. I could still think about tinkering with it.

Anyway, thanks for reading and getting it. It's always nice when someone gets it.

---

"Conquerors who've slain our daughters and sons."
"We've come to civilize"
--

i don't agree with the use of these verses. these words [slain/ civilize] are so much spoken in both sides of history that they became hollow in some way.

In what ways don't you agree. And by what do you mean "both sides of history" (there are only 2?)? This history of colonization is multi-tiered. For example, the Spanish conquered the Aztecs,yet, before that, the Aztecs conquered neighboring societies and those people fought for control with eachother. There are multiple sides right there.

(Or by "both sides" do you mean the Us v Them paradigm?)

The sentiments were very real in history. I don't think the extensive use of those words signify a hollowness, rather, I think they signify what they mean to different people at different times and the complexities arising therein. There are plenty of primary accounts expressing the views toward the "civilized" and the "savage." Of bringing the light of reason to perceived irrational pagans/heathens.