Midi Title: Dream Lovers
DO WE DREAM
Of the wonders
of bygone years
Of days ancient and fierce
Zeus throwing thunderbolts
While Paris, Prince of
Troy chose
Among Hera, Athena and
Aphrodite
Declaring Aphrodite Uriana
Queen of heavens as the
Fairest woman
in the world
Thus earning as his prize
Helen of Troy wife of
Greek king
Menelaus
To become his bride and
thereby
Starting the Trojan War.
Do we dream of fabled works such as
The Pyramids of Egypt with delicate
Craft of golden statuary and art,
Or the romantic Hanging Gardens of Babylon
With terraced exotic plants mountain high,
The Statue of Zeus in the Temple
Of Zeus at Olympia or perhaps
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus or
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus built for
King Mausolus of Caria, or
The marvelous Colossus of Rhodes a
Hundred foot high statue of the Greek sun god Helios
Guarding the entrance to the harbor at Rhodes,
Or is it the Pharos of Alexandria some
four hundred and forty feet tall
A most famous ancient lighthouse
Unfortunately now destroyed.
Do we reflect, stand in awe of these
Most astonishing ancient feats, many of which
Now no longer exist but their legacy
Lingers on inspiring us to equally greater deeds.
Will our modern marvels stand the test of time
With our knowledge base vastly improved
Our engineering skills meticulously applied
Or will they, as in times ancient become the
Victims of the ravages of time, of natural disasters
Of multitudinous environmental pollution
Created in large part by our own humankind.
Thus will Cronus, Apollo, Uranus, Zeus
Smile upon our feeble attempts at immortality
While Artemis, Athena, Gaea, Hera, Rhea
Look with some benevolent amusement
At what is now going on and what is to be.
How will these deities of the ancient past
React to our outward thrust
The colonization of close by planets and moons
Where surely we will build as
Mankind has always been prone to do
Structures, monuments, shrines
Of every conceivable type to leave our
Permanent mark upon the face of the sun.
Herbert Holzbauer
© March 1999