THE EPYLLIADS
TheGospelofPerseus Pantheon BonniePrinceCharlie
The Gospel of Perseus
The Spirit of the Age
Argument This poem is one relating to the zeitgeist of my times. To fully examine the spirit of an age, one must allow for every event in history that has led up to this moment. Therefore, the first part concerns the PAST. The second part, the PRESENT, will then analyze how society stands today, how mankind & his status quo look upon the inherited bastions of society. The third part, POSTERITY, is purely conjecture, wherein a future is prohphesied, but only under the auspices of knowledge acquired by man up to this time. There are twenty-four poems in total, mainting the epic sensibilities of epyllia, each consisting of four quatrains – a quatrain of quatrains if you will. These poems are then divided into the three parts – Past, present & posterity – which are each introduced by a single quatrain. Then the whole poem is introduced by a single quatrain, bringing the total number to a round 100. As to the use of quatrains, the PAST & POSTERITY parts of the poem both use the English version of the form; that is a rhyming scheme of abab in iambic pentameter. The second part, the one concerning the PRESENT, consists of eight separate poems, each using a different type of quatrain. These range from the ancyent Persian form modernized by Tennysson, to the intricate, cynagged-infested Englyn of the Welsh Bards.
The Gospel I am moved, by man, to muse poetry, Distill'd through these centennial quatrains; His past, his present, his posterity, Fills canvases as rivers flood the plains.
Part One – Past Poesis building, maturing as wines,
Tradition survives, then let this pen flow, Entwined harmonies of lore-laden lines, Mere moments for me, for thee long ago. Romanization Then where to begin I lean first for Rome, She was, by law, the one to lay Greece low, Sending her furtive gods yon Alp & foam To flirt with tribute broken spears bestow. Damascus shook, pict-woad flung from the Forth, Arts flourish, Greek-rooted sciences shoot, Hard valour halts the nomads of the North, Guilt raises Christus from reason's refute. I saw men lift their laurell'd lords aloft & civilize the savage of his stench In perfumed rooms, but aubergines bruise soft, Wisdom once won soon winters with a wrench! As greatest empires last a thousand years The Goth-youth of Cisalpine Gaul return, Europa cleans'd, cauldron of roman tears As now pale, pagan princes take their turn. Spiritualization Who are these men Ye prophets, thee that ride Thy steeds illustrious, the common host Miracle amassing, this willing bride Of sainthood sure, as horses sense his ghosts. From Galilee, some say, came God's own son, Who gave his life so other men may live, Sect centred on the vortex Vatican, Perpetuating powers priests forgive. As papistry secured the western soul A desert butterfly would flap its wings Causing the hurricane of Islam's call To penetrate the palaces of kings. Thus soon the crescent & the cross made war, I linger'd lonely oer those awful days, Til Acre fell, as relics fled the shore, My Pegasus flew from that frightful phase. Civilization

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