Graveyard Of Gods

Graveyard Of Gods
© Surazeus
2023 08 29

Lost in dark shady sadness of stark vale 
where Saturn slumbers by time-deadened stream, 
I find beside him on foul sodden ground, 
listless and unsceptered on ancient Earth, 
Apollo and Jesus in trance of death, 
near powerless as fallen deities. 

Not so alone as he was long ago 
that ancient god, who once ruled stormy skies, 
stares with faded eyes at our modern world 
cluttered with sprawling cities of glass towers, 
wondering how proud usurpers of his power 
have come to join him in graveyard of gods. 

They once created worlds with shining words, 
commanding loud with magic spells of truth 
nameless people to build grand monuments 
that reflect enormous strength of their will 
to sift our atom-universe with voice 
of confidence in rightness of their choice. 

Yet Law of Nature that enforces change 
of constant transformation in new forms 
pushed these proud gods of arrogant respect 
from veritable pedestal of truth 
to fall in ever-shifting flow of time 
for they are neither beginning nor end. 

From swirling chaos of parental gloom 
light blooms from primal egg of everything 
to flare forth from first flash of the big bang 
that spirals atoms into galaxies 
which nurture planets rich with conscious beings 
who fancy themselves first parents of truth. 

I join three gods by stream of constant change, 
still as stone in garden of paradise 
cluttered with thousands of once-divine gods 
worshipped by millions of vast empire states 
who all are now mute skeletons in graves, 
though I see their faces clear in my mind. 

Gods who epitomize spirits of nations 
to embody greatest virtues of empires 
shine bright as long as tribes they symbolize 
thrive on fertile river shores of honest faith, 
but turn to stone when their worshippers die, 
and dream forever in graveyard of gods. 

While I sit among statues of dead gods, 
gazing with curious awe at face of Jesus, 
latest god to fall from bright height of Heaven, 
Athena gives me lyre Hermes designed, 
so I strum strings and chant grand epic tale 
about philosophers, seekers of truth.