“Spanish Village” by Rhodes Rumsey
terracotta skies
a warm roofing for
modern humilities
privately plagued
by repentance of
uneasy histories
conquests of empire
throne upon throne
cut through seas
to indigenous suns
of new continents
heritage residues
language religion
eclipsed ancient
cultures with layers
six centuries deep
stealing ritual magic
from fortified temples
converting the pagan
subduing the savage
released from the
rapture of jungles
consigning to mystery
secrets of seeming
improbable intellect
complex mathematics
prophetic astronomy
fine architectural
methods of monument
oh so much gained
against oh so much lost
an accounting elusive
of ultimate cost
there’s no science of
what might have been
Poesy plus Polemics 
“What might have been”… now, there’s a phrase, eh?
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yep
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🙂
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And that, Paul sums it up to perfection. Lands of more questions than answers.
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so much of history is like that
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The final lines are masterful, my friend, simply masterful!
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many thanks, peter
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This really took me back into another time. Such simple words and I could feel as if the loss of ancient greatness was my own. I feel like a lot of ancient cultures around the world have been snuffed in the middle of their greatness by Christianity and science (not that either of those don’t have their good points as well, just that they’ve seemed to take over most of the world). Love the imagery. Like “methods of monument” and the unexpected rhyme of “lost” and “cost,” really puts an emphasis on those two words as themes for the whole poem.
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I appreciate your thoughtful comments most sincerely
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Reblogged this on Ethereal Writer.
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thank you for sharing my poem with your readers
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No problem 🙂 You make good stuff, deserves to be shared
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How all the mighty fall. Own hands the worst of ememies.
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time to make them friends
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I wish.
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Like “methods of monument” and the unexpected rhyme of “lost” and “cost,” really puts an emphasis on those two words as themes for the whole poem.
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I sincerely appreciate your take on this piece
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We love this poem, Paul! Would it be okay to republish it on OpenAmericas.org with credit? Feel free to reach out to us at team@openamericas.org
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