Does anyone know much about the ancient civilization of Carthage? Beyond the scene in Gladiator where it’s referenced I mean… Perhaps Hannibal the Carthaginian general and the marching elephants? No matter. I was equally untutored before some reading done recently. Beyond fascinating though. It was very much a Pre-Rome in terms of technological advance as well as numerous other aspects. Naturally, as is our custom, like early man eliminated our “monkier” ancestors, Rome, fearing Carthage, eventually destroyed it.

Today’s piece is tangentially related to the story in the sense that it is concerning balance. Eventually all cultures and all things face a reckoning. Rome was destroyed from within, Carthage from outside its borders. From where will your undoing spring?

May 7, 2018

That which goes up tends to come down

Wide smiles can mask many a frown

Peaks and valleys like Earth’s terrain

Parallels lives of joy and pain

Up and down as a yo-yo’s arc

Largest fortunes or days most stark

Accept they are necessary

Brutal nights for sunshine merry.

Granted the poem is written from a more micro focused view-point, however, I read all that awesome stuff about Carthage and wanted to talk about it.:) Great documentary series on YouTube as well, “Engineering an Empire”, the one historian is hilarious. That is not something I ever expected to say.

Be blessed, my friends!

-Alex Blaikie

Categories: poetry writing

Tagged as: brief featured new original poem poet poetry short writing

dreadpoetssobriety

A broken mind held together by cellophane and some tack.