what was forgotten

what was forgotten - Liliene de Surville (Marin Catholic High School, Eleventh Grade)

“The most important weapon to conquer the devil is humility.” - Saint Vincent de Paul

Oh how pity settles like dust

Upon the dynasties of old 

Blood spilled on ancient ground

Forsaken as the tales once told

The steady beat that men uphold 

The path was shown, yet turned away

Forbid the open hearts to stay

We didn’t hear the thunder coming.

The thread of fates was snipped like twine,

Beaten and crushed like grapes to drink,

The mirror held a gift divine,

The taste of fame was oh so sweet.

And yet the lightning kept on drumming.

And as we walked over lands so vast 

Skeletons of a glittering past

In the lion's jaw we shook our heads

We stood on our mountains and laughed at the dead!

The ghost of society hung in our minds

The clock ran its untimely rounds 

While humans bow over reflective pools

 For something waiting all along.

The whispers of the past were humming.

Over and over, we run ourselves

Tripping over cloaks of gold 

This great Narcissus carousel 

The Romans built in days of old

The rain began to fall.

We gazed above, too high to see

The rusting gears at work below 

And Vincent’s hungry haughty beast

Ate out our deep and cavernous souls

Will our eyes, so glazed, be opened then 

Once pity settles like dust again?