Intro:-
Hippocrates, father of western medicine, was highly skilled in performing brain surgeries. He was also the first to announce that seizures had nothing to do with the wrath of the gods, that it was purely physical. This poem is about an army commander who loses his first war, and he's devastated, scared of Ares' (God of war) punishment.
N.B. the surgery part is true, along with the instruments. The rest is fictional.
Trephine is a surgical instrument used to make circular inscisions, like ones in a skull.
POEM
My spartan brothers share my battlefield
The man to my right is my shield
Warriors of river Styx eternally victorious
Warriors of Olympus, so glorious
High hopes left us cold and dead
The enemy has interrupted our tread
Shocked men crawl in search for their swords
Slayed men telling their very last words
I see my undefeatable army tremble
Might becomes fear with failure to assemble
How has the enemy interrupted our tread?!
Scraps of wood and blood on my head
Sky moves slowly and the ground turns light
My army has lost their very first fight
In a confused storm of men, I hear the screams "RETREAT!"
In a haunting shadow of our first defeat
"Golden crimson sand, my ears defeaned"
"Chopped arms, dangling nerves, swords through throats driven"
"Threads of sun-baked skin holding a mutilated his face like delicate feathers"
"Begs from my warrior's eyes and shrieks like those of a disgruntled griffin"
"I plunge my merciful sword through his heart and pray I'm forgiven"
The overthrown commander falls to the ground
Coiling in agony, jaws clenching, breathing bound
His once feared armor now stained by streams of his people blood
His body against the heavy metal clamored and skin cut
Froth splattered from his mouth, tongue trapped between his teeth
Eyes lost in head, bones start to creak
Warriors wounded and weary stood silent and still
Following his writhing torso with glaring eyes
"Let him be" whispered one. "That's Ares will"
"The wrath of Him drills through his brain"
"Holy spears chisels his sanity to pay for his sin"
"That's not god's will" Hippocrates culled.
"It's blood and humour trapped beneath his skull"
Solemn, he knelt and slowly turned his head
His seizures stopped and so all gasped and crept
"Carry him carefully" he lulled "and lay him on a clean bed"
Smooth trephines, smooth circles in his skull
He drained the blood and with linen rags stuffed
Glimmer in commander's eyes returned
With honest prayers to Ares it yearned
Torn between what's real and what's safe Hippocrates smiled
"Medicine and god saved your master mind in this unfortunate night"
Hippocrates, father of western medicine, was highly skilled in performing brain surgeries. He was also the first to announce that seizures had nothing to do with the wrath of the gods, that it was purely physical. This poem is about an army commander who loses his first war, and he's devastated, scared of Ares' (God of war) punishment.
N.B. the surgery part is true, along with the instruments. The rest is fictional.
Trephine is a surgical instrument used to make circular inscisions, like ones in a skull.
POEM
My spartan brothers share my battlefield
The man to my right is my shield
Warriors of river Styx eternally victorious
Warriors of Olympus, so glorious
High hopes left us cold and dead
The enemy has interrupted our tread
Shocked men crawl in search for their swords
Slayed men telling their very last words
I see my undefeatable army tremble
Might becomes fear with failure to assemble
How has the enemy interrupted our tread?!
Scraps of wood and blood on my head
Sky moves slowly and the ground turns light
My army has lost their very first fight
In a confused storm of men, I hear the screams "RETREAT!"
In a haunting shadow of our first defeat
"Golden crimson sand, my ears defeaned"
"Chopped arms, dangling nerves, swords through throats driven"
"Threads of sun-baked skin holding a mutilated his face like delicate feathers"
"Begs from my warrior's eyes and shrieks like those of a disgruntled griffin"
"I plunge my merciful sword through his heart and pray I'm forgiven"
The overthrown commander falls to the ground
Coiling in agony, jaws clenching, breathing bound
His once feared armor now stained by streams of his people blood
His body against the heavy metal clamored and skin cut
Froth splattered from his mouth, tongue trapped between his teeth
Eyes lost in head, bones start to creak
Warriors wounded and weary stood silent and still
Following his writhing torso with glaring eyes
"Let him be" whispered one. "That's Ares will"
"The wrath of Him drills through his brain"
"Holy spears chisels his sanity to pay for his sin"
"That's not god's will" Hippocrates culled.
"It's blood and humour trapped beneath his skull"
Solemn, he knelt and slowly turned his head
His seizures stopped and so all gasped and crept
"Carry him carefully" he lulled "and lay him on a clean bed"
Smooth trephines, smooth circles in his skull
He drained the blood and with linen rags stuffed
Glimmer in commander's eyes returned
With honest prayers to Ares it yearned
Torn between what's real and what's safe Hippocrates smiled
"Medicine and god saved your master mind in this unfortunate night"
Mentally marked this as my favorite.
ReplyDeleteWe are very glad about that
ReplyDeleteGreat poem . The rhyming is magnificent
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work
This is perfect. It's my favourite poem in your new set.
ReplyDeleteAmr, thank you and yes we will keep it up.
ReplyDeleteEsraa, thank you very much. Your opinion is always needed and appreciated.
ReplyDelete