Monday, October 31, 2016

abecedarian of faceless heroes



The project here was to create a poem (I chose the abecedarian form) using a dictionary of words. In this case, I chose the dictionary of Shakespearean words. I wrote this in no time at all, and I am pleased with this first draft. Thanks for looking! 




Abate the populace into the abhorring swamps of hopelessness. The
Benevolence of my mind has shifted into the dark spaces of demise.
Caitiff corpses fill the streets with a stench that maggots feast on. I let the
Devil wear black and see the defeature faces of fallen foes, hollowed eyes
Erroneous, yet wise, still wicked. Even the doves have turned into crows for
Facinerious feasts, like the maggots on the rotting bodies in the sewered streets.
God, not man, created war: anti-intelligent design: tanks, bombs, bullets, blood.
Haggish history of following orders—for honor: humanely win hearts and minds.
Ill-composed of hate and misconceptions: I never thought I could love my enemy.
Jaded men with black eyes, jaundiced and longing for silence with ringing ears—
Keel me, oh God. I am hot with fear and hate. I shake and sweat when I sleep.
Labour your lewd-tongued devils from my dreams and whip them to sweep the streets.
Maimed—mutilated—nightmares of tear-filled eyes with crosshairs. The
Nativity of warriors from generation Kill—we filled the streets. We didn’t
Object to drones that are now the Dovecrows feeding the maggot larvae.
Pontifical ribbons and decorations, we became our own gods. We
Quaff, only to sweat at night, only to be frightened by a transformer blowing—
Ravenous rage tries to stomp the innocence. I forget I’m not in Iraq anymore.
Soon-speeding with my rifle at the ready. Was I the sacrifice or am I now
Thrice-repured and clean? No longer stained with repressed eyeless memories
Umbered in the dark unattainted thoughts other soldiers still battle which my
Vow-fellows may never win. Twenty-two veterans a day commit suicide. It is
Web and the pin—disease of the eye—waging its own war of
Xeroxed honorable discharges, then tossed to the larvae and the
Yoke-devils become presidents and senators and vote for war. My brothers, feel the
Zephyr of hope. We are not alone. We are not helpless.





















abate (v.)         1          lessen, lower, diminish
abate (v.)         2          shorten, lessen, reduce
abate (v.)         3          deprive, strip, dispossess
abate (v.)         4          blunt, put an end to
abate (v.)         5          set aside, except, bar

abhorring (n.)  1          abhorrence, disgust, loathing
abhorring (n.)  2          object of disgust, something to be loathed

benevolence (n.)                     forced loan, imposed contribution

caitiff (adj.)                wretched, miserable, worthless
caitiff (n.)                   [sympathetic or contemptuous] miserable wretch, wretched creature

devil wear black, let the                     to hell with mourning!

defeature (n.)              disfigurement, defacement, loss of beauty

erroneous (adj.)           1          misguided, mistaken, deluded
erroneous (adj.)           2          criminal, wicked, evil

facinerious (adj.)                    extremely wicked, villainous, criminal

haggish (adj.)             like a hag, ugly, repulsive

humanely (adv.)                     out of fellow feeling, as fellow human beings

ill-composed (adj.)                 made up of wicked elements

jaded (adj.)                 low-bred, ignoble, contemptible

jaundice (n.)               sallowness, yellowness [as a sign of envy or jealousy]

keel (v.)                      cool

lewd-tongued (adj.)               foul-mouthed, scurrilous, abusive

maimed (adj.)             incomplete, deficient, wanting

nativity (n.)     1          birth
nativity (n.)     2          conjunction of stars at birth, horoscope
nativity (n.)     3          country of birth

pontifical (adj.)                      worn by a pope, episcopal

quaff (v.)                    drink down, take a long draught of
quaff off (v.)              drain a cup in a long draught

ravenous (adj.)                       rapacious, predatory, insatiable

soon-speeding (adj.)               quick-acting, rapidly working

thrice-repured (adj.)               highly purified, extremely refined

umbered (adj.)            shadowed, shadowy

unattainted (adj.)                    dispassionate, detached, unprejudiced

vow-fellow (n.)                      person bound by the same vow

web and the pin, pin and web            disease of the eye, cataract

yoke-devil (n.)            companion-devil, asssociate in evil

zephyr (n.)                  mild breeze, gentle wind [especially from the west]




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