
Unknown Artist’s Conception of El Dorado from pinterest.com
glistening dream
gleaming legend
enveloped by
updrafts of steam
the pained sighs
from a bloodletting
slaughter of jungles
a dream who climbs
warpaths and rituals
into to the mists
of mute mountains
in search of a
shimmering
city of gold
fabled fountainhead
told of in torture
at swordpoint
a keen inquisition
in rapture of vast
inexhaustible wealth
metaphorical grail
the recalcitrant
riddle of gilded
intractable priests
its one stubbornly
undisclosed secret
persistent of
incomplete conquest
there had to be more
there just
had to be more
tenía que haber más
the lamenting refrain
carried northward
and southward
across tribal
deserts of stone
for a distance
of five hundred years
while in cloudbanks
that cling
above treelines
to unmapped
untrodden
invisible peaks
sprawls a city
so golden
it shines like
the heart of the sun
‘tenía que haber más’ – A good American epithet! Too much can’t possibly be enough . . .
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the remarkable science, industry and culture they encountered were meaningless to them – gold was their only appetite
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“intractable priests” and “there had to be more”
Love this Paul.
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many thanks, penny
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As ever, Paul. Superb on every level.
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cheers, my friend
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Fine language artistry, glistening images.
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gracias senorita sook
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El gusto es mio 🙂
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Your poem is remarkable . the environment soo essential for our existence is not important for some greedy ones who value Gold only.
kindly read my poem IT IS RAINING .your support is always valued
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much appreciated
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Thanks .
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The sheer beauty of your words shines like the last stanza, Paul. There is so much more beyond material dazzle and filthy lucre.
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amen
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You are a brilliant poet! Pleasure to meet you
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the singular skill, manufacture and acculturation they encountered were nonmeaningful to them – gold was their only appetite
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and thusly were they impoverished by their gold-blindness
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