What do you guys think this poem means?

Question

It's one of my own, called Remains. And it is copyrighted.

The deeds of great men are soon forgotten
nothing remains but rotted stones and decaying leaves
Rain through the ages erases all memories
and the years fly by endlessly without a sound

The din of tragic battles and the blood that was shed
fades quickly to no more than a whisper
and an unintelligible stain, leaving questions unanswered;
No one is left to voice a response

The bleak sun illuminates the myriad graves
that are now the home of our heroic fallen
The timbre of their voices and their deeds
now ghosts on the frigid wind

And so soon we shall, not only forget,
but be forgotten, as no one is left to remember
The stories will grow taller and contain less truth
then finally disappear altogether

The wars we wage, and the riches we plunder
will burn to ashes and blow away
Whatever is accomplished will be undone
and nothing, even a remnant, will remain

And I don't need to know if anyone thinks it's great or it sucks, though if you want to tell me what you think of it, that's fine too. I'm just wondering if anyone will get it.

Actually, the poem was written before the war in Iraq started. :)

Answer 1

The picture that comes to my mind is of the time I spent in Vietnam. It's all history now, the brave men and women who died there have been mostly forgotten, even though their names are etched into the war memorial. No one remembers most of them, and the stories the rest of us tell get stretched bigger and bigger as our memories let us down and memories aren't as sharp as the used to be. The bombed out buildings, the forts, all the signs of the war that was fought are dissolving into the fabric and dust of time, and when we who were there are all gone, and all the war junk left behind has rusted away, future generations will look on it the same way we look at the ancient wars in Mesopotamia. Just a page in a history book, that will also deteriorate with the passing of time. Maybe I should hate you for reminding me, or maybe I should love you for it. I can't decide, but it doesn't really matter, for will the passing of time I will also be forgotten as one of the ones who was there and endured decades of nightmares after returning. I think I shall thank you, it has caused me to think, and that is a good thing.
I'll send you my loving appreciation for that and a star on your question.

Answer 2

I get it, but understand that not all wars are for plunder or riches, and some wars have left us better because we decided to stand up to the bully (WWII...we don't speak Japanese or German, but we buy their cars). War is the continuation of politics when the politics fails to a solution. It's a tough lesson to have to learn, and relearn, and relearn. However, it isn't just the wars that are forgotten, it's also all the good men whose deeds have been interred with their bones. Yes, all we are is dust in the wind, even this too shall pass away...but we don't live for the memory of future generations, we live and do so that there will "be" future generations, and for all our mistakes, for all our greed and misused intentions, we move forward...and each of us tries to make the world a little more livable for our progeny. We may get it wrong at times, but when we build something that pollutes, others do something to try and make it green again...we balance each others mistakes with some of our own, and vice versa.

As far as your poem goes, it was an honest attempt at reiterating an old theme. You have some good lines, others that mix incongruent images. rotted stones, faded blood, tragic battle...and you miss a few good opportunities ike "the bleak sun shadows the myriad graves"...if it's a bleak sun, don't let it "illuminate", or if it "does", then modify the way it illuminates.

In any event, you wanted to know if we got your poem, and I'm pretty sure most of us did. Come back to it in 20 years and see if you still feel the same...if nothing else it will show you how much or how little you knew at the time and either way you'll have a precious smile on your face...and poetry can never ask for anything more than that.

keep writing

Answer 3

All the answers above provide good interpretations. I know you don't want anyone to say if they like it or not, but some of the imagery works well-- the leaves and the graves stand out. However, some lines don't flow very well, like "and an unintelligible stain." All the vowels in a row are hard to read. "Rotted stones," I'm not sure about. Stones don't rot like flesh, so it caught my eye immediately because it seemed incorrect, but maybe there is a metaphorical meaning you're going for there. The work also seemed to "tell" more than show, especially toward the end. I had a creative writing professor who pointed to my poetry and told me that many pieces should probably have ended a few lines back-- that I was trying too hard to explain at the end, and not letting the figurative language speak for itself. It was almost like, I didn't think the reader would understand, so I tried to spell it out, instead of letting it stay metaphorical.

I'm only saying all this because the piece does have some nice imagery and a clear theme, and if you rework it a little, emphasize the strong images, and let them do the telling, it will be a fine poem.

Keep writing.

Answer 4

It means roughly the same thing as this poem by Shelley.

Ozymandias
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
____________________________________
In the times we live we think that we will leave an indelible mark. This is our pride, our hubris. Time will ultimately have the final word on the works done under the sun.

Though, you didn't ask I did like the thoughts you brought up.

Thanks for sharing.

Answer 5

I understand the poem is talking about the sacrifices of many many and women, spent on wars. As I understand it's also about battles maybe not the ones fought by force. Even though these people have given their lives for a cause, at the end sadly not even a memory of their effort remains save for their graves.
Yes, I do like the poem as well, in case you would like to know :)

Answer 6

Yeah same as above, our existence is only really proved and we are only 'real' through our own memories and the eyes and memories of others. I believe having children is linked to the desire to preserve your memory and your existence, part of you will live on in the family lines and your existence confirmed in the minds and memories of your children.

Great men appear to be immortalised, stories told about them will tell of their existence for centuries if not millennia to come. However, this too is also an illusion as even the pages of the books will rot away or the stories will become so fictional that they will cast very little or any truth on the original person's life.

The last man on Earth will have nobody to tell his stories to and he will die and all human knowledge will die with him until all that remains are trace amounts of our once material bodies in the ground.

Answer 7

Obviously a very good poem. It reminds me of the whole book of Ecclesiastes, but especially:

"This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: there was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man."

Answer 8

That no good ever comes from the wars that men fight.
I feel I haven't got the full meaning but maybe that's what makes it a good poem.

Answer 9

I think you are trying to say that the war of Irac is senseless and nobody will even remember what or why this war has been fought.

Answer 10

Isn't that sort of like saying, I don't care if you like the colors on me or not, just tell me if I look fat in it?