Everything my friends have fought for has been ground into particles finer than the sand of the desert I grew up in. It is my fault. My failure to live up to the promise others saw in me has damaged families and damned galaxies. I have renounced the sky; it was hubris to think I belonged anywhere but on the ground, extraordinary only because of the things I've broken. But if the dry husk that remains of me can be useful as kindling to create a fire others can warm their dying hopes by, I will give it up and try to be the hero children need me to be.
New hope crushed by old
resentments that did not die.
Failure defines me
only if I do not rise
one last time for tomorrow.
Song Choice:
Hurt by Johnny Cash
This tanka prose poem was created by the prompt given over at Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads:
If You Meet The Hero On The Road... where we were asked to write about a hero. I chose to base this tanka prose around Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies. This piece will also be linked to Poets United:
Poetry Pantry 404.
Ah, having recently watched the latest episode of this epic tale, I like the portrait of Luke. I prefer him as the boy, in the originals, but I guess we who grew up and aged together, can't help but see ourselves in the older Luke.
ReplyDeleteI will always have a fondness for young Luke looking out at the setting sun and dreaming. Admittedly, the direction they took his story in the latest movie broke my heart a little, but yes there are few among us who have grown old and have no regrets.
DeleteThanks Rommy -- I've watched a few of the Star Wars films, enough to catch the drift of the hero's journey in Luke (George Lucas was a fan of Joseph Campbell). This is the far end of the tale, where the hero's death serves the tribe; the hero can no longer defeat the dragon but his end inside that dragon can represent the apotheosis of something -- journey's end, I suppose. It's easy to read this as a 22d century hero in the final cinders of a burnt out human civilization (there are those who say this is the only end for a technology-driven culture), and it bears more than a little of the savior or sin-eater, the one who takes on the entire burden of the tribe. Well and thoughtfully done.
ReplyDeleteI did hope that people would be able to extrapolate a narrative bigger than the story presented in the movie. Yes, the idea of a sin-eater was in my mind as I created this piece. Thanks Brendan.
Delete'..extraordinary only because of the things I've broken..' that is really a fine line, Rommy, and it gets to the marrow of what a hero is, because so many times that broken thing is the ever-resilient force we call evil. I agree with Brendan about the 'sin-eater' motif coming thru strongly --the hero is only a man, flawed, who reaches beyond that to face what no one else will because he has to. Here you tell the old story in new shoes extremely well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joy. I was a little ambitious with this piece, wanting to get across as much as I could because the source material has been such a huge part of my life. I'm glad I was able to do it justice and highlight a few of the themes I thought got overlooked among the special effects and action sequences.
DeleteI wonder how many people can gloat at their death? More likely there will always be that last something they did not achieve or a memory or a word said that leave questions asked by others such the word "Rosebud" in the film Citizen Kane.
ReplyDeleteTrue. In even the most heroic of lives, there usually is a little regret. Those who make it through life with none at all are a rare breed indeed.
DeleteThat image of dry husk that remains is so strong.. I don't Star Wars... but... "only if I do not rise
ReplyDeleteone last time for tomorrow." resonates deeply!
I am glad I was able to touch someone who doesn't have much knowledge or interest in the source material. That's one of the biggest challenges in creating a piece like this.
DeleteSomeone once told that "We only lose our chance at being eternal heroes after we die, for even after a life of nothing (or, of somethings that aren't always nice), we can die well so others can live better." I used to think those words a bit... well, creepy (in a dangerous way). But revisiting the meaning through your poem takes away the sinister tone of the words, turns them into a last change for redemption and even a bit of last minute growth.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, failure can only define a soul that doesn't get up to fight again.
LOL, I can definitely see how that can be creepy af. I might want to play around with that perspective some day. But yes for Luke, especially as he was in The Last Jedi, he needed that chance to redeem himself.
Delete"to live up to the promise others saw in me "
ReplyDeleteIndeed this is the stuff that heroes are made of; the expectationd of the adoring many.
Nice Tanks prose Rommy
Much♥️love
Thanks Gillena!
DeleteYes, I like what you have written! A fine tale, indeed!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it
DeleteI like this. Indeed one must not let failure define one....important to rise up ONE more time, one more day!
ReplyDeleteI concur.
DeleteThis speaks to me too... a hero might be someone who does what he/she can... I realize I have missed a bit from the Starwars series, but it still resonates with me.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad. It's not easy to get people who have no connection to the story to feel the way a die hard fan might feel. I was very moved by Luke's final arc, as sad as it was.
DeleteThis poem resonates deeply.. we musn't let failure define us.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteAs I started reading this, without looking at the picture, I was thinking of Luke so when I looked at the picture I smiled as it was fitting...a wonderful poem....to inspire and lift us up to keep fighting like our heroes.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to decide which picture to go with, old or young Luke. I decided that even though he was older and sadder, his last moments lived up to the hope that the young boy had when he looked up at the setting suns.
DeleteRise again, Luke, rise again! That's what truly defines a hero.
ReplyDeleteIt does indeed.
DeleteI agree with Mary. It is important to keep rising.
ReplyDeleteIt's a reminder we all can use at some time or another.
DeleteWell done, Rommy! I, too, was disappointed in the arc that Luke’s life took in the movie. Thank you for giving me a sad, but lovely, alternative.
ReplyDeleteIt's all in the way we frame things. Those last moments, sad though they were, were his shot at being the hero he dreamed of being.
DeleteA raw message of hope we need to be reminded of. There's always hope..if we can rise just one more time. My favourite line :
ReplyDelete"... New hope crushed by old resentments that did not die.."
Glad you enjoyed it
DeleteShowing this one to my kids, Star Wars and poetry enthusiasts, all. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWoot! I hope they enjoy it. :)
DeleteThis is...wow. Revivifies emotions that I'd assumed long gone. Great image & poem!
ReplyDeleteYay! I am glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteThere is something so wonderful in this piece for me--The sense of dreaming--the sense of failing and the sense of repurposing the remainder of our lives--
ReplyDeleteI am glad I was able to get that across in this piece.
DeleteExcellent!
ReplyDeleteZQ
Thanks ZQ
DeleteKeep rising...inspiring.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed
DeleteMy grandson is an avid Star Wars fan. Not sure how he feels about Luke skywalker.
ReplyDeleteBut I know he would want him to rise again. Keep trying.
I'm always excited to see the younger generation getting into Star Wars.
DeleteI enjoyed this read - particularly the direction and depth to which you took the 'hero's' reflections and self-deprecations. In doing so, I think you, got at the core of a true hero ... which is: to be painfully aware of the clinks in the armor and still be moved to rise one last time.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it
DeleteStill thinking about that empty husk. Excellent!
ReplyDeleteI was happy with that bit of immagery
DeleteYes! That is so right as Luke's final redemption; you've caught the character beautifully. And I like the title, identifying him just enough, and reminding us of the boy he was.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes am really (horrifically, dreadfully) bad at titles, so I'm glad I didn't do too bad this time.
Delete