Song Of Ravana Poem by Jordan St. Stier

Song Of Ravana



I am the king of a kingdom sparse
Where the devil stoops and demons dance
And temperance sleeps in a drunken trance-
And I am the King, and I am the King

My giant brethren mock and enthrone
Woe and fear on Vishnu's bones
Which I happen to claim I own-
For I am the King, long live the King

I enslave the churchmouse and whip the fool
And take from my harem, the one whom I choose
For come Sitā, in her rags, I need some substitute
To favor the King, I am the King

I, Ravān and Raksasas, armed
We shall advance, we do no harm
To the great sages great alarm-
For I am the King, the harmless king

We lap up the blood from the foaming corpse
And Khār trumpets from a horn so hoarse
That mortals shriek out in remorse
"Hail to the King! " who knows no remorse

And Yām is forced with a finger's flick
To rid of the foe, much to our trick
And those brothers of mine, are so foolishly thick-
For the brothers of the King, are not the King

Into Surya's sun we ride
With death and destruction riding beside
The funeral procession for the ones who hide
From the King, and I am the King

And Rama, his silly bow knows not
Of the thousand arrows I have shot
Into the heart of a whiny snot-
Who defied the King, I am the King

The forest mendicant monks do tell
A tale in which I go to Hell
But I'll be there sooner than a leaking well-
For the penitent king, might be me, the King

Now reader, alarmed you may be, so fine
I do not care what you take of my time
For I could take yours with a lone bell's chime-
That tolls for me, for I am the King

And into Surya's sun we ride
With death and destruction riding beside
And I might as well enjoy the people's chides-
For the King is I, and I am the King

And as the devil himself, of me does sing
"I am the King, I, Ravān, am the king".

Monday, September 11, 2017
Topic(s) of this poem: intention
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
This poem futures the Hindu demon king Ravān, also known as Ravana in anglicized references, was the main adversary of Rama, the protagonist of the Hindu Epic, the Ramayana. Ravāna is depicted as a lust-filled vagabond who abducts Rama's wife, Sita and carries her off to Lanka, which today is Sri Lanka, to be his queen, and to also mock the Hindu Gods which he claims that he is more powerful than. Rama and his brother Laksmana, along with a colorful assortment of demons, monkeys, warriors and miscellaneous animals, find Ravān's hiding place, re-capture Sita, kill Ravān and his demonic courtiers, and ultimately burn Lanka down. The ancient poem depicts gore ‘He ripped up twenty Sal Trees and cleaved down five raksasas and made their blood stain the Earth', death ‘All the wives of Dasaratha mourned' and heroism ‘Rage burned in his eyes as he heroically brandished his bow. Not much is known about Ravān, but what we don't know is perhaps better than what we know.
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Chinedu Dike 12 September 2017

An interesting mythology, well articulated and nicely embellished in poetic rhyme and rhythm. Beautiful narrative piece, well texted and nicely thought-out. Thanks for sharing Jordan.

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Jordan St. Stier 21 September 2017

Thank you very much!

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