Saturday, 24 May 2014

THE TOWER OF BABEL*

Artist : Chelsea Bednar
courtesy : Imaginary Garden With Real Toads






Those were not dream bubbles

But solid sweat and toil

Oneness sailed smoothly in joy

In the hope of light

That fear-beat sensed troubles

And unrest began to boil

Hovering eyes pledged to destroy

The amity with all might

Hope disintegrated

 In thousand

Languages

Everyone

Was

Dazed

The super power gloated

Self-satisfied


* The Tower of Babel forms the focus of a story told in the Book of Genesis of the Bible.[1] According to the story, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar with the intention of building a tower reaching heaven. The Lord confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech as He feared that nothing would be restrained from them which they would imagine to do. This policy of divide and rule is religiously followed by the rulers everywhere. I used Chelsea Bednar’s sketch and tried to combine Challenge #1:  Words Count with Mama Zen and Challenge #3:  "Figurative Language" .

Posted for Margaret’s Play It Again, Toads #5 @ Real Toads

&

Shared with Poetry Pantry @ Poets United

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28 comments:

  1. brudberg24 May 2014 at 22:51

    I see the Tower of Babel being resurrected virtually - but I also see it being turned down,.. Loved your words.

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  2. Mary24 May 2014 at 23:58

    I cannot imagine what this experience must have been like when suddenly all were speaking in different languages. Your words gave life to the story.

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  3. Claudia25 May 2014 at 00:06

    higher...bigger... better... and then a big disaster... i wish they had been content with what they had, then probably we would understand each other better today..

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  4. Gabriella25 May 2014 at 00:06

    I think the idea is that by building the tower, people were playing god. You have depicted their defeat very vividly.

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  5. J.N.T.25 May 2014 at 02:03

    I remember this Biblical story well. Yes it was told in the book of Genesis. the Lord saw that their project would be harmful so he struck them with his power resulting in the multitudes of languages spoken today. Very good piece you have here...forever entertaining you are Sumana!!!

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  6. kaykuala25 May 2014 at 02:24

    The story of the Book, aftermath of the Great Flood. Beautifully set out, Sumana! Combining multiple prompts is just fantastic!

    Hank

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  7. Grace25 May 2014 at 03:49

    Then and now, the policy is still being applied ~ No wonder the super powers are still gloating ~ Thanks for the backgrounder on your poem ~

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  8. Brian Miller25 May 2014 at 04:14

    i wonder if we are not going to be in the opposite problem soon enough...our unity was shattered for wanting to reach the heavens...and in our disunity we destroy the earth...

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  9. Anonymous25 May 2014 at 04:27

    Very thoughtful and charged poem, Sumana. K.

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  10. ZQ25 May 2014 at 05:21

    Very interesting and wonderful piece.
    ZQ

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  11. Vandana Sharma25 May 2014 at 06:20

    Good one and nice to know about this tower.

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  12. Charleen25 May 2014 at 07:43

    Hmm, this is a very interesting poem that says many things even though it is short.

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  13. avalon25 May 2014 at 09:59

    That story has worried me over the years - almost as if it is against the laws of nature or the rules of religion to become fluent in other languages
    Your lines aptly depict the confusion of crossed lines of communication.

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  14. Anonymous25 May 2014 at 10:02

    Great opening line.

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  15. Gail25 May 2014 at 11:02

    I love how you've taken this story and retold it simply perfect.

    I can reply to your comments so I thank you here. List me in the dirt poor column. Thanks for coming by.

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  16. annell425 May 2014 at 11:08

    I enjoyed this piece.

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  17. Sherry Blue Sky25 May 2014 at 12:03

    We have a modern day Tower of Babel going on right now - this poem resonates! I see a satisfied corporate entity gloating.

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  18. scotthastiepoet25 May 2014 at 12:43

    Hi again dear Sumana, A telling piece - "the superpower gloated, self satisfied..." says so much... With Best Wishes Scott

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  19. Jim25 May 2014 at 13:56

    Sumana, God did not respect that "solid sweat and tears" enough to let them keep their toy. So many times I wonder why He lets us have all our high tech toys, especially in the media and communication where we may be going places He never dreamed of. About the same in communication areas.
    ..

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  20. Peggy25 May 2014 at 14:38

    I enjoyed reading your re-imagining this story, which I was not familiar with. Good use of several prompts!

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  21. Myrna R.25 May 2014 at 15:01

    The breakdown of communication seems to be the destroyer of relationships and perhaps of humanity. I enjoyed reading this. We all build towers that sometimes crumble.

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  22. Lisa A. Williams25 May 2014 at 18:23

    Wonderful poem! When we can no longer communicate what is there? How lonely it must have been when people lost that ability and now many are losing the art of communication, all text etc. Nothing like heartfelt conversation, nothing like poetry.

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  23. Magical Mystical Teacher25 May 2014 at 19:19

    When unrest begins to boil, grievous damages are not far behind.

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  24. Locomente26 May 2014 at 04:45

    Informative and poetic...
    Nice one Sumana :)

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  25. Wendy Bourke26 May 2014 at 17:42

    a thoughtful articulation of divide and rule, with superb lines like: "Those were not dream bubbles".

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  26. Stacy M.S.26 May 2014 at 18:08

    another wonderful post from you.

    i always leave your blog feeling as if i've learned something. thank you for the lovely poetry and the little lessons you share!

    stacy lynn mar
    http://warningthestars.blogspot.com/

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  27. Unknown27 May 2014 at 19:03

    Love the idea of dream bubbles, although there weren't any. What amazing imagery!! Well done!

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  28. Margaret28 May 2014 at 20:11

    Superpowers and the will to control all… yes, truly frightening.

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