PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

Pardon my jumping in, but you: Pardon my jumping in, but you make a fair point about the founders. They are sometimes turned into gods, which they were absolutely nothing near. Quite a few of them pushed for a revolution to avoid having to pay compiled debts to banks in England (large loan debts, not specifically taxes), Samuel Adams took great pleasure in leadings the tarring and feathering of his business opponents when ever he could use their loyalist ties to turn a crowd against them and Thomas Jefferson stopped talking about ending slavery after he realized - in a letter to Washington - that "breeding" his own slaves would make slavery far more profitable (which he then even proceeded to directly "donate" his own sperm to achieving).   Washington, meanwhile, participated in quite a few fraudulent land schemes in New York State (so did Hamilton) - using his surveyor license to doctor land titles and sell the same piece of land to multiple people (who sometimes had gun battles to the death while he counted cash safely in the distance, speaking of guns). That's not even close to the worst thing Washington did, of course. His massacre of indigenous people in what is now Michigan while in the British Military essentially was the powder keg for the "French and Indian" War.  Of course, there were plenty of slave owners, elitists who didn't believe most people should vote, and monetary manipulators (purposely issuing worthless money) among the group. In short, the constitution and each of it's amendments needs to stand on their own merits, not on the shoulders of men who weren't quite the giants many would like to believe. At their best, they were very intelligent men. But they were, more than not, extremely flawed to say the least.   Beyond that, I don't wish to offer any other specific thoughts on guns at this current hour. But I wanted to nod to your sentiments about the founders not being infallable. 

So many break-up poems just: So many break-up poems just skim the surface, but you, with poetic sleight of hand, knew that evocative simplicity and details were the way to make it real and pierce the heart. Your resounding question carries the loss even farther and deeper. Striking work. 

The amateur historian: The amateur historian (ancient history) in me---admittedly a rank amateur---suggests that your poem is the verbal equivalent of the Gordian Knot.

Although written well, this: Although written well, this was---from the standpoint of content---very difficult for me to read.  My own parental problem was not exactly like yours:  my parents often "set me up" to fail, or sabatoged my efforts to succeed---mostly socially.  Just after I turned thirteen, my paternal grandmother took me aside, apologized to me for my parents' attitude towards me, and insisted that none of it was my fault.  So reading this spoke to those old scars that I still carry around, and reminded me of how alone I felt, especially during my adolescence.     I think this series can do a lot of good to and for those who find themselves in similar situations.  Knowing that you have shared these experiences from your past will help those who are experiencing their own difficulties, and will help those who, like me, simply cannot forget those circumstances no matter how much they wish to do so.      I thank you for the courageous act of posting this, and I thank you for privileging all of us at postpoems to be permitted to read about these aspects of your past.  

Not at all, my friend! I took: Not at all, my friend! I took it as a compliment. :) Sometimes I have a mischievous streak in me and like to play little pranks like that anyway. Knowing me, and the place I was in then, I may have even titled this Caligula to get someone to stop and think needlessly in circles! Hope you don't mind bearing the brunt of it, should it be that was the case! Always appreciate your commentary, it's actually helped motivate me to write more. By the way, Dear Little Evan, #3 just posted. It was maybe the hardest one to write yet. Let me know what you think when you get the time.   Respectfully,   Evan

Thank you, sir, for the: Thank you, sir, for the reply.  I hope my comment did not seem like a criticism:  I thought, instead, that I was either missing some detail, or just badly misreading the poem.  I have loved ancient history---the Roman empire and, within it, the early Christians---and during my last two undergrad years, I spent a lot of time reading about the first five emperor, Augustus through Nero.  So your poem definitely caught my eye.

Starward, I'm pretty sure I: Starward, I'm pretty sure I was shit-faced hammered drunk when I wrote this and was reading about the Roman Empire. No real connection other than that. Or maybe there was and I just can't remember...?