The sky was melting, as the fire grew warmer;
I saw them dancing - with wooden shields and no armor -
In the place that I’d thought was another corner
Of the Third World peace and dictators’ safe harbor.
Their numbers were humble, as they asked for assistance
In spreading the word of a rising resistance.
The two decade world of cold-warless existence,
Reacted with merely staying at distance.
The third-party threats to the tyrants were glowing
With fanciful phrases of deepest concerns;
Whilst priests kept on chanting and widows were mourning,
The quick was saving the flesh from the thorn.
Their knees did not tremble, as they got an offer:
Their hearts were bleeding, and their voices were softer,
As they knew that the tolls will be paid by the orphans.
The lesson was learned and it won’t be forgotten -
The bloodshed conditions the rebirth of a nation.
Independence is the end of the dragon’s predation.
The poem “Birth of a Nation” was created as a response to the last decade world political events that happened at different times in the Arab countries, India, Russia, and are currently happening in Venezuela, Thailand, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ukraine. The poem is dedicated to the strong people of these countries, who do not give up fighting for their rights and freedoms, and against corruption and authoritarian leaders and the regimes that support them and impoverish the people. This theme touched my heart, as I read the news about the struggles of the protestors, who keep their positions and do not lose faith despite being persecuted by the police and government.
The words I selected for this poem reflect the realities of those people; they are aggressive and reflect the rebellion’s nature. Words “thorn” and “dragon” are the metaphors that substitute the words “dictator” and “tyrant”, where the word “flesh” means the country and its people. Thus, the phrases “to save the flesh from the thorn” and “the end of the dragon’s predation” mean the overthrow of the predators: the dictators and their government. Some of the phrases are used to depict the sorrow and pain of those, who stayed alive, for those, who fell in the battles. The word “cold-warless” does not exist in the classic vocabulary, however, it was invented to describe the world after the cold war that was doing its best to keep the peace and not intervene into local conflicts to evade another nearly 50 years of the East-West confrontation. Apart from containing a big number of metaphors, the poem has several assonances, especially in the second verse. They are used to build up the pressure of the atmosphere of resistance.
The poem combines a number of different meters: Iambic, Trochaic and Amphibrachic. The purpose of this mix is about making the poem sound more rebellious, stressing on the chaos that surrounds the events of unrest. I believe that the feelings of anxiety, fear and uncertainty are best expressed in a chaotic manner, and the stable rhythm would make the poem sound too polished and pleasant to ear.
The sensorial details used in the poem intend to enhance the reader’s feelings and understanding of the atmosphere, and take him or her deeper into the events. For example, the shields are described as wooden on purpose, to make the reader understand that the rebels are almost defenseless, but are still standing their ground with courage. As people understood that someone will have to eventually die, and as the tragedies were approaching, the voices of the commoners and rebels became softer in the dramatic anticipation of the lives to be lost. The third-parties’ (the countries that were commenting on the events, but did not interfere) statements were glowing with the expressed fanciful concerns, and the words “glowing” and “fanciful” were used to show that their statements were beautiful, but useless in the protestor’s realities.
