When a country goes for broke
it begins craving a hero
someone new, one that can - put on,
tighten up the laces of a pair
of running shoes or a prize fighters pair of gloves
and go all twelve rounds
It's focus changes as politics, politicians
fall from stature, fall from favor
in want of cause that can deliver it
from a state of hopelessness and ready to
carry it through hard times, like a Woody Guthrie song
played to a lonesome whistle....
It prays quietly around a thanksgiving table
of last blessings for a triple crown winner, a little
team that could (can) take on a giant and conquer the world
And it waits..with its last breath of plenty
for this hero, shy and unpretentious to drink
from the cup of Victory, impatiently -
while everything is silent, still
hanging on for a Max Baer to enter the ring..
a Sea Biscuit to turn the back stretch
ready to wear the roses, and wave
the flag...once again
bkmackenzie
copyrighted 2010
Magpie Tales #42
This is in one word ~ magnificent!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Helen. Damn fine piece that got into my soul.
ReplyDeletejust - wow!
ReplyDeletewell said.
ReplyDeleteawards/treats 4 u
what they said.
ReplyDeleteI love the song "Glory Days." And your poem. I do think people crave a hero, but people find in the long run that everyone (even heroes) are merely human. Happy holidays to you!
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ReplyDeleteStill waiting.
Still craving.
Ah, well.
Beautifully written.
~p
want of cause that can deliver it
ReplyDeletefrom a state of hopelessness and ready to
carry it through hard times, like a Woody Guthrie song -
This is good, real good.
Very true thoughts. We all crave a hero. Maybe the hero is within.
ReplyDeleteWe all needd to believe in those heroes who finally face there is too much mess to tidy up
ReplyDeleteWell written, moving.
ReplyDeleteNice piece, the search for the hero... yet any of us who does something spectacular, with the weight of the world then placed on our shoulders, to carry forward as an example. Well written piece.
ReplyDeleteWe do love a hero, especially when they are of the unexpected, Seabiscuit type. Very well done. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYour words are golden and true Bkm...i love this! Thank you for the wonderful words over at Poets United....you are such a lovely and encouraging friend...thank you! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow. The first paragraph was amazing. Really fabulous.
ReplyDeletedon't forget to link some of your poems to potluck tonight,
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday!
we value your support.
Very topical, and I think sad, because our heroes especially politically fade so fast and are measured by such false standards that no one can last. Like this very different take on the prompt very much.
ReplyDeleteThe world thrives on hope.. sometimes a tad too much ... don't you think?
ReplyDeleteExcellent poem!! Really powerfully worded!
a hero to me would be a person who speaks the truth and does the right thing - instead of only looking out for his or her self. Rare individual these days. Great post!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful writing and a suggestion that a Sea Biscuit may never come again and we may have to make do with a real human being who honestly does his/her best, knowing the odds, but pushing ahead anyway. To me you are saying we must suport that real person as we should always have, but have rarely done.
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