12-02-2011, 03:35 PM
Alamo V. 2
edits:
S1,L1 removed "that escaped"
S2, L1-removed day
S7- removed the "last record."..to the end of the stanza
Burdened casket
hollowed of bones
whose fingerprints paint
the leaves of live oaks;
beneath footsteps
you slept
until they came
to your splintered door
with lips dripping compliments--
Legend of the Desert,
Pillar of Hope,
Cradle of Liberty.
They lured you from the clay
and dropped cages
of steel shadows
the moment you appeared.
Scars, they covered like matches,
every tooth replaced,
every broken bone
removed;
under Texas sun
you sit,
exposed as a looted tomb,
face stolen
into calendars and matinees,
evening photographs
under a sleepless flag,
magnets, names, purses, textbooks,
names, ornaments,
names.
They have strapped
the city to your back
and laid a road to march,
leading with trumpets and drums
as if you had won a war,
But go back,
shrine
of a lonely sun;
return to open arms
of clay,
ones that rocked
everyone you knew
to sleep
when no wall or roof
could keep the soul
down.
-------------------------------------------
*to clarify, the Alamo is a former mission-turned-mini-fortress of sorts in San Antonio where a battle was fought in Texas between Americans and Mexicans... This is a very raw piece that has put up quite a fight over the last 2 weeks (fitting for the topic), so any help in taming it would be wonderful
Alamo
Casket that escaped,
hollowed of bones
whose fingerprints paint
the leaves of live oaks;
beneath footsteps
you slept
until the day they came
to your splintered door
with lips dripping compliments--
Legend of the Desert,
Pillar of Hope,
Cradle of Liberty.
They lured you from the clay
and dropped cages
of steel shadows
the moment you appeared.
Scars, they covered like matches,
every tooth replaced,
every broken bone
removed;
under Texas sun
you sit,
exposed as a looted tomb,
face stolen
into calendars and matinees,
evening photographs
under a sleepless flag,
magnets, names, purses, textbooks,
names, ornaments,
names.
They have strapped
the city to your back
and laid a road to march,
leading with trumpets and drums
as if you had won a war,
But go back,
shrine
of a lonely sun,
last record
of lives left
under paved fields;
return to open arms
of clay,
ones that rocked
everyone you knew
to sleep
when no wall or roof
could keep the soul
down.
edits:
S1,L1 removed "that escaped"
S2, L1-removed day
S7- removed the "last record."..to the end of the stanza
Burdened casket
hollowed of bones
whose fingerprints paint
the leaves of live oaks;
beneath footsteps
you slept
until they came
to your splintered door
with lips dripping compliments--
Legend of the Desert,
Pillar of Hope,
Cradle of Liberty.
They lured you from the clay
and dropped cages
of steel shadows
the moment you appeared.
Scars, they covered like matches,
every tooth replaced,
every broken bone
removed;
under Texas sun
you sit,
exposed as a looted tomb,
face stolen
into calendars and matinees,
evening photographs
under a sleepless flag,
magnets, names, purses, textbooks,
names, ornaments,
names.
They have strapped
the city to your back
and laid a road to march,
leading with trumpets and drums
as if you had won a war,
But go back,
shrine
of a lonely sun;
return to open arms
of clay,
ones that rocked
everyone you knew
to sleep
when no wall or roof
could keep the soul
down.
-------------------------------------------
*to clarify, the Alamo is a former mission-turned-mini-fortress of sorts in San Antonio where a battle was fought in Texas between Americans and Mexicans... This is a very raw piece that has put up quite a fight over the last 2 weeks (fitting for the topic), so any help in taming it would be wonderful
Alamo
Casket that escaped,
hollowed of bones
whose fingerprints paint
the leaves of live oaks;
beneath footsteps
you slept
until the day they came
to your splintered door
with lips dripping compliments--
Legend of the Desert,
Pillar of Hope,
Cradle of Liberty.
They lured you from the clay
and dropped cages
of steel shadows
the moment you appeared.
Scars, they covered like matches,
every tooth replaced,
every broken bone
removed;
under Texas sun
you sit,
exposed as a looted tomb,
face stolen
into calendars and matinees,
evening photographs
under a sleepless flag,
magnets, names, purses, textbooks,
names, ornaments,
names.
They have strapped
the city to your back
and laid a road to march,
leading with trumpets and drums
as if you had won a war,
But go back,
shrine
of a lonely sun,
last record
of lives left
under paved fields;
return to open arms
of clay,
ones that rocked
everyone you knew
to sleep
when no wall or roof
could keep the soul
down.
Written only for you to consider.