A Lion of Brass
He moved as if the floor were carved for his steps alone,
Veins brimming with the syrup of lineage and stone
Spooled gold spilling from his throat with each laugh,
His fortune unshaken, his power steadfast on his behalf
His hands, mapless, traced the lacquered spine of a chair—
An heirloom of battles he did not bear
A blade, unslept in its scabbard, sat at his hip,
Its purpose no greater than silk in his grip
The chandeliers wept diamonds, their sorrow untold
Marble columns knelt, their loyalty cold
He was the architect of nothing, yet crowned with all,
A lion of brass, awaiting his call
His roar merely the echo of a father’s breath,
A whisper entombed in the silence of death
The servants moved in the hush between his stride,
Like ghosts who in silent terror abide
Drunk on syllables of his own creation,
He swayed in the ballroom of adulation
Feet sinking into silk rugs, woven with toil,
Where unseen hands laboured, bound to the soil
The walls bent to cradle his arrogant grace,
Each tapestry whispering of conquest misplaced
A man does not know he is an effigy bright,
Until the fire strips him bare of his light
And then, the quiet, a sudden decay,
A voice feathered with dust, slipping away
Rising from the cradle of death’s embrace,
His mother, now a mere parchment of her old face
Her lips unstitched the fabric of his name,
The truth bled through, a moth-eaten shame
"You are not his son," she said, low,
And the words sliced through like winter’s first snow
Not an inherited name, but a borrowed guise,
Not a throne, just a stage for a life built on lies
The mirrors, once loyal, now shattered his frame,
The halls, once silent, now whispered his shame
His hands, once steady, now burdened with dust,
Where once there was glory, now ruin and rust
He turned to the door, but it seemed to be proud,
No longer a servant, no longer cowed
The chandeliers flickered, their diamonds mere glass,
His being now a shadow that time would surpass
He stepped forward, though all remained,
Still a feudal lord, with no claim to his own name
The kingdom around him unaware, unchanged in its frame,
But within his mind, he was never the same
@azurePond
Holyyyyy guacamole.
You did it again 😭🙌. Thank you for blessing me with another poem to read. I loved this one, the imagery was just chefs kiss. When you talked about the marble pillars it felt like I could feel its cold touch against my hands. When you mentioned the rug all of the sudden I was there too. The mothers sown shut lips, unsewn to tell her son he wasn’t his fathers child, ughhhh so good. I could picture every detail you said, amazing. I wasn’t expecting that ending! I was sure he would be kicked up of his kingdom and end up deprived of his riches, but he was really just deprived of his pride 😧. To live in inside a world where you’re provided everything you need, and to the world others live in your still their king, but inside your own you know you’re living a lie. This work brought out feelings in me I didn’t know I had. Great work!
@twerp Oh my days, you’ve absolutely made my day with that! 😭🙌 Thank you so much for your words, honestly. Living the lie while the world still sees you as the king -- The way you’ve described how it made you feel, though... that’s exactly what I was going for. Honestly, you’re too kind! Thanks again for the love!
@azurePond
Holy sh*t
This is incredible. A beautiful rhyming scheme, an impeccable flow; and the imagery is *powerful*.
I really connected with the stanza beginning in, "the mirrors once loyal". But my favourite line was "The truth bled through, a moth-eaten shame". There was just something so sickly sweet about it for me; I could smell rot on a forest floor.
Wow. Just wow.
@Dingleboop Oi, you’re making me blush here! 😅 Honestly, that’s the kind of feedback that makes it all worth it. At first, I was thinking, “Is this even relatable?” – felt a bit like a first world problem, and I wasn’t sure if I should post it. But the comments have made it all worth it. Appreciate the love, truly. You’ve got me all kinds of motivated now! 🙌
@azurePond
What more can one say; another tour de force from the esteemed AzurePond. Such privileged arrogance and unthinking pride brought low by the ruin of self awareness not developed but thrust upon them. It has a fairy-tale feel coupled with powerful melodrama...Brother's Grimm meets Shakespeare. The imagery is fantastic, and the foreshadowing with the chandelier is a master stroke. I love how you have used the imagery of opulence to evoke a sense of grand disdain. The brass lion feels part Beauty's Beast and part Henry VIII, and yet still feels as if it could be talking about a contemporary. With each swaggering line we grow to despise this feckless blowhard, and so the change in fortune when it comes feels somehow just. Karma delivered. Yet it somehow still manages to evoke sympathy.
I found the line "Not a throne, just a stage for a life built on lies" particularly poignant. It steals in one single line all the bravado, and gilt edges, and superciliousness. It reduces the subject to nothing more than a comical figure pretending to greatness. What's more, they know it, and will always torture themselves with it, with no one to care or comfort them. Prisoner to their own thoughts.
I wonder what inspired this one? It is definitely one of my favourites.
@BastionKnight Thanks a lot, Bastion Knight, for such a thoughtful and detailed analysis. Honestly, it’s a real honour to get such high praise from someone like you, the master of poetry! You're far too kind comparing my poem to the Brothers Grimm and Shakespeare, but I won’t lie, it’s given my ego a bit of a boost—though it also pushes me to step up my game with the next one.
As for inspiration, I can’t say there’s much of a grand process behind it. I just make up stories in my head and turn them into poetry—mostly just daydreaming and writing whatever comes to mind. That said, the brass lion character? He’s like the anti-Jon Snow, really— call him Jon Heat or something.
Also, when I first saw "tour de force," I read it as "tour de France" .... but hey, haha!
Thanks again for the amazing feedback!
@azurePond
*grins and giggles*