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GA Writing Prompts - 64. Poetry Prompt # 14 Ballade

The prompt: write one Ballade based on images from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The Second Commandment

Don’t make for yourself an image of God,
Of heaven, earth and what is beneath it
This image is illusion, not the Lord
Phantom of the mind, painted bit by bit
By imagination and corrupt wit
And the painter’s artful execution
Don’t bow to an idol, don’t worship it
Do not fall for a self-made illusion

The colorful image is just a plot
Drawn to draw you in and tempt your spirit
Ignite and stir desires, keen and hot,
Fuel the daydream that you have painted
Until you’ll worship and idolize it
And live for what is only delusion
Be warned, it is never easy to quit
Do not fall for a self-made illusion

People lie, betray and turn to bigots
They kill for imaginary profits
They worship idols, corrupt and wicked
They fight for illusions, trust a despot
They think that this figment is all worth it
And faith in it will grant absolution
They think a painting provides benefit
Do not fall for a self-made illusion

The story’s written in the Holy Writ
God commands to beware of delusion
Don’t worship a painting, don’t bow to it
Do not fall for a self-made Illusion

 

 


 

Dolores Esteban
  • Like 5
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Former Member

Thanks, Dolores, for taking the poetry prompt challenge! I think I'm first struck by the power of your refrain. It certainly concludes each stanza and the final quatrain in a decisive way, and I like that.

 

I also like the images in the poem and how you unfolded them. Very nicely done.

 

I look forward to seeing if you revisit this form in the future. I bet you could use the Ballade most effectively for other themes as well.

Dolores Esteban
On 10/09/2015 02:05 AM, AC Benus said:

Thanks, Dolores, for taking the poetry prompt challenge! I think I'm first struck by the power of your refrain. It certainly concludes each stanza and the final quatrain in a decisive way, and I like that.

 

I also like the images in the poem and how you unfolded them. Very nicely done.

 

I look forward to seeing if you revisit this form in the future. I bet you could use the Ballade most effectively for other themes as well.

Thank you. I'm glad you like the poem. It was a difficult prompt and I had never heard of the form, but it was an interesting challenge. :)

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