None Will Claim the Throne

Poem by: Alexander Byrne

Reads: 365 | Likes: 4 | Shelves: 3 | Comments: 6

A short poem on the end of religion and deity worship and the beginning of humanity (rather than mankind).

Strewn across these lands

Gods lay defeated and slain

Propriety wrenched from hands

That brought about the rain

Deities of darkness and light

Rulers of earth and sea and sky

Creators of all in search of sight

Of that which will live and die

But here they lie and rot

Their bones turning to dust

Oblivion, their everlasting lot

Posterity scattered by a gust

No godhead to serve as heir

No lies of hellish immortality

Sundered by the end of prayer

And the advent of Humanity

Submitted: December 22, 2021

Poetry god poetry religion gods atheism

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Comments

olive tree

Nice. You should have kept going! There’s something here.

Fri, December 24th, 2021 1:28am

Author
Reply

Perhaps I can revisit it one day and expand on it. One shouldn't go past one's reach. Thanks for the enthusiasm!

Fri, December 24th, 2021 12:31am

olive tree

I agree tbh

“A painting is never finished. It simply stops in interesting places.” - Paul Gardner

Sat, December 25th, 2021 12:15am

JE Falcon aka JEF

I think Olive tree has a point, I liked it but I have this gut feeling that it's not finished. (???)

Mon, January 10th, 2022 9:01pm

Author
Reply

Thanks for reading. I'm curious, what do you think is missing? how could it go further? Honestly, this was an idea I got during an evening walk and I wanted to get that intention down. It's entirely possible that this is something I could continue further, perhaps how in the godless, Enlightened world people go about organizing themselves, the pursuit of a better society, etc. Because it's basically a humanist-atheist-agnostic declaration.

Mon, January 10th, 2022 1:37pm

Q. Gonzales

Hello Alexander!

This poem was very interestingly written. Tell me, are you speaking of religion as a whole? Also, that is a very interesting title you chose. Why did you choose it?

Sat, January 29th, 2022 12:53pm

Author
Reply

Thanks for reading, Q! Yes, I am speaking of religion as a whole. I chose the title because people feel more comfortable when they know someone is in control - be that God, a monarch, a president, a cult leader, or even some world controlling villain conjured up by paranoid conspiracy theorists. The title is about leaving that position of power vacant, that the truth does not come from above, from a leader (the leader's truth), but rather from all of us looking for the truth together. The throne is left abandoned.

Sat, January 29th, 2022 5:25am

anonymous 1520

It is an intriguing poem, quite clear on its message.
Something that reminds me of the philosopher Frederic Nietzsche.
Particularly one of his most famous works; Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
I can find a relation of how you imply that as individuals we must become the ubermensch (The superman).

Fri, February 25th, 2022 11:52pm

Author
Reply

Thanks for reading. Honestly, Nietzsche is far from my mind in this regard. While I think individuals desire to become some ubermensch, I would argue that is impossible - much as Joseph Conrad wrote that our 'strength arises from the weaknesses of others', not quoted perfectly - the ubermensch requires people to be lesser, whether that means he/she looks down upon people who are loyal/disloyal while they value disloyalty/loyalty, as an example.
If anything, this poem is more about people as a collective coming together and throwing off superstition and dogma, rather than one individual being the messianic ubermensch. It's not about evolution, in the crudest understanding of the term, but rather enlightenment.

Fri, February 25th, 2022 10:28pm