A study of Death - poem

Shulgalaj's picture
A study of Death


Come and see! Come and see!
She dances on the grave of dignity
Hear the tunes of music playing
Dead feet moving, body swaying

Behind her see the starry night
Hear the screams of pain and fright
Of the burning piety false
From within the canting walls

Peasant and knight, both in the game
King and queen, for them the same
Dancing on the board of chess
Who's playing the time, can you guess?

Grim riders four appear in the sky
Can you hear their silent cry?
One is white, one is red
One is black and one is dead!

Stirring the cauldron; witches three
Making the poison of destiny
Death the only determined is
Thus, what is the meaning of this?

It's forever and everywhere, you see
It comes to you, it comes to me
No matter where you flee or hide
Beside you Death will always ride.


More of the same
theano's picture

Interesting. I like the

Interesting. I like the metaphors from the Middle ages you used. Knights had a code and faced death every day. I like the reference to the grim which is full of many meanings all foreboding and dark. That line of truth at the end that says "Beside you Death will always ride" Words of truth spoken, but it is nothing to be afraid of.
Shulgalaj's picture

Thank you for your sound

Thank you for your sound thoughts! You are correct, it was very much inspired by the middle ages, as you say. Also this poem states the inescapability of Death; thus it is an unnecessary fright, and unnecessary to even try to explain (according to me, since no man alive -of course- can tell what happens when you die).

In fact I made this poem because we were doing copper plate graphics at school and I wanted to make what I connect this technique to; my memories of the medieval images of the Black Plague and Death with his scythe. It became a series of 5 images connected to this poem. I might publish them here later. Smiling