|
(Based on a Greek story. Alexander, the Great, along with Marcellus, the experienced General and a big army surrounded the town of Thebes, but surprisingly withdrew after 18 days. The magic is in the verse below.)
‘Enough is enough,’
Thundered the mighty emperor,
‘General, this is my final order,
Spare none, raid, destroy, plunder
and rage to the ground
the city of Thebes into oblivion for ever…’
Fire was there in the fierce command,
yet cool remained the witty General;
he smiled, was unmoved and was genial –
to add fuel to the fire of anger of the emperor…
‘Delay not a day, General,
leave not a single Thebean
to see the light of the day tomorrow,
Eighteen days have rolled by,
how dare they resist, have refused to surrender.’
Marcellus, the merciful General,
with many a triumph under his belt
in all calmness pleaded,
‘How can you do that, oh King?
Pindar, the bard, whose verses you loved,
read, memorized and recited as a child
and hum to this day, my dear emperor,
lives in a modest home here in the city centre…!’
‘Is that so, General?’
silent fell the mighty Alexander,
A lull after the storm.
The next day the sun rose as ever,
the kids came out to play,
the pretty girls walked down the pavement
with the baby elephant’s elegant gait;
but the cavalry, the archers and infantry
instead of raiding the city were on their retreat!
What happened, the Thebeans did not know,
But the Emperor knew, ‘The poet is a treasure,
to a spiteful war and a victory far superior.’
|
