Force Majeure
He moved like the shadow of Byzantium’s fall,
A city once golden, now a whisper, nothing at all
His steps echoed soft, like ropes from a tower,
Where the last emperor clung to his power
Eyes like falcons, distant as the moon,
He spoke in parables—an omen too soon
Not a lover, but a prophet in disguise,
Building empires, then revelling when they die
His touch wasn’t warmth, but the scorch of ice,
Not cold but aware—like a coin’s final price
He’d stretch out his hand, just to see if I’d fall,
Like the tapestry soldiers who watched the last wall
In the hush before dawn, I felt his approach,
Like the sigh of Carthage before it was encroached—
An empire of words, lost in the sand,
An ancient dream slipping from my hand
Yet there was a softness in him I couldn't name,
A quiet calm of hands wrapped around the flame.
Both peace and storm in tangled bind —
A love not love, yet more defined.
And as the Ides approached, I knew the end,
His hands would find a knife, leaving wounds fatal to mend
For he was both crown and the guillotine,
A kingdom's fall, and the rise of a new reign.
@azurePond
Such grandeur created in this poem, such majestic imagery, and yet so fatalistic. I find it so fascinating how you manage to weave stories about the subjects of your poems with such potent emotional impact and yet without the satisfying closure of complete revelation, (It is a quality I found intoxicating in the work by one of my favourite film makers, David Lynch). You have such a great talent for condensing imagery and narrative into tight stanzas with no wasted lines. The way you combine soft with brutal imagery keeps one off kilter and makes it hard to judge if the poem is one lamenting the subjects presence in the narrators life or bestowing a strange admiration.
Some of the most impactful lines for me where "Not a lover, but a prophet in disguise, Building empires, then revelling when they die": Such complicated emotional description is so reflective of how real emotional landscape works. Where human reactions to another cannot be reduced into a convenient and neat bundle, but are cloudy and muddied by experience and expectations.
"His touch wasn't warmth, but the scorch of ice". Not cold but aware - like a coins final price" feels incredibly intimate and yet so one-sided. It is a distance that is painful in it's intensity and feels so inevitable.
"Both peace and storm in tangled bind - A love not love, yet more define" Is such a beautiful play or paradoxes. I feel as if this is the summary lines of the entire poem. This peculiar blend of opposing forces and the emotions they engender. Complicated, yet distilled into something raw. Undiluted feelings which we can look at, feel their intensity, but cannot possibly understand for their meaning is subjective to the narrator.
The last stanza makes one feel such sympathy for the narrator. Though it speaks of past action, we feel it as if it is reopened afresh and share in this powerlessness to prevent what was inevitable. We are left feeling small and confused in the wake of the grandiose. Entranced by it all, but watching it come crashing to a destructive end.
Hmmm, my read of it became very dark towards the end. I am not sure if that was the poems intent or if I just got carried away by the historical images and powerful themes and set myself spiralling. Either way, your poem engendered these thoughts and feelings, so bravo master poet.
@BastionKnight Wow, thank you so much for such an incredibly thoughtful and in-depth comment! I truly believe your comment deserves an equally appreciative and analytical response. So here it goes:
Your insight into the poem really resonates with me, and I’m honoured that you took the time to dive so deeply into the imagery and emotional undercurrents. I’m especially touched by your comparison to David Lynch’s work—it’s a real ego boost to even imagine that my poetry can evoke that sense of mystery and complexity that you enjoy in his films. I also love his movies, particularly "Blue Velvet"—controversial, yes, but there’s a certain darkness and duality in it that echoes themes I explore, like the duality of human nature, the loss of innocence, and the allure of the forbidden. While I’m not saying his work directly inspired this poem, I do think there’s a subconscious influence, given how much I admire his films.
The way you described the tension between soft and brutal imagery is spot on. I love how it keeps the reader uncertain, unsure if it’s a lament or an admiration, because that ambiguity is exactly what I was aiming for. I also see that as a reflection of the messiness and contradictions inherent in human emotion—how feelings can never be neatly categorized, how intentions are not always what they seem.
I’m glad the paradoxical nature of “Both peace and storm in tangled bind” stood out to you. The character portrayed is, in many ways, a paradox— as the title says - a force majeure, an act of god. You can’t easily judge the act of god as good or evil. That line is meant to capture the blend of opposing forces and raw feelings we can’t always understand, but can’t deny either. It evokes that sense of inevitability, where everything falls apart despite us knowing it’s coming. But that falling apart doesn't mean it is bad nor it is the end.
As for the dark read you took towards the end, I think that’s one of the beautiful things about poetry—it’s so open to interpretation. It’s fascinating to hear how the historical and emotional themes I’ve woven together have stirred such powerful feelings in you. I’m truly grateful for your kind words and for the care you’ve put into analyzing the poem. It means so much to me. Thank you again, master poet, for your brilliant feedback!
@BastionKnight Also, the fact that you love David Lynch films makes so much sense .... I’m thinking- why didn’t I make that connection earlier? It totally explains a lot about your poems too (not that I’m reducing your work to just one thematic influence, but the undertones, yeah). Anyway, Bastion Knight poems are their own genre and not just one tone or theme!
@azurePond
*Smiles happily* Your words touched me, and I will be smiling all day.
*bows to you*