Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tales of an idle man-- a poem

                                                  By Mory Keita



They call me the idle man, the pest, a nuisance to society.
They claim that I spend my days insolently daydreaming,
Because I read tales of man neither my forefathers nor I had seen.
I do not disclaim their sordid claims, for indeed I am a daydreamer.
I have seen far beyond the bounds of common men's thoughts in dreams.

For many a day, I have plucked and pocked my nose in this bathtub,
Visited and slept in golden palaces where I met many fair maidens,
And drunk drinks of fierce battle and lived my youth once more.

In my dreams, I fought alongside intrepid Jason against evil enchanters.
We parted in quest of the Golden Fleece to obtain his rightful throne.
I branded my golden shield like Achilles  roaring like the Nemean lion.
After that battle, Ares himself hailed my bravery and troops sang my name.

I also visited Caesar’s palace in Rome and sat at his dinner table.
we discussed issues pertaining to the good of the republic.
then, i was given command of legions of centurions to fight barbarians.
but such a task was too barbarous for my civility.

and then, I flew on a carpet to India and sat atop the Taj Mahal,
listening to the enchanting call to prayer of the Muslims.
It was  there that I was  taken to a fairy land with enchanting beings.
There I rescued damsels in distress from witches and evil doers.

As I retired from my noble quest, I was taken into the land of the pharaohs.
I felt in love with Cleopatra, fought with mark Antoine and Caesar and reigned.

In short i have lived and traveled across the Milky Way in a hot bathtub,
and I  have lived my life to the  fullest like the great Ulysses.




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3 comments:

the Crow himself said...

Great concept, Mory, and the last two lines are, to me, the most beautiful. 'traveled across the Milky Way in a hot bathtub' is very striking.

Because I love to read, the heart of this poem speaks to me. Let no man say that a day of reading is a day wasted.

Aishah said...

You are really very well versed with beautiful words and historic events. You took us on your magic carpet. Beautiful.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

divine imaginations.
well done.

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