Three Hundred Spartans

In twilight’s ash three hundred stars await
As blue-black thunder roars with battle drums,
Three hundred voices murmuring of fate,
As odds and armour stack in fearful sums.

Oh watch, my brother, watch your patient steel,
And wield it knowing valor keeps you strong,
And feel, my soldier, feel what all gods feel.
When future matters not, our fear is gone.

“Alala!” cry our men when arrows plunge,
When Hades reigns, when blood encrusts our hands.
“Alala,” sing we still, and onwards lunge,
From blood-slick fields to jasmine-scented lands.

So pity not our long-dead bodies slain,
For what is life compared to timeless fame?

 

 

Mother Teresa

On lapis wings she swore the rebel’s pact
To paint with gold this tarnished clockwork land.
Her starry eyes defied a sky too black;
Her hands unravelled each infernal plan.

With hope for ink, she rewrote history,
Breathed life into the scripted scores of pain;
This woman who could feel our misery,
This saint who never doubted, all the same.

If only I could smile with her same zeal,
Or stand as tall as all her amber love.
So easy did it seem for her to heal,
and never let her kindness be enough.

Yet, though she’s gone, all hell will not relent;
So we must don the wings of her intent.

 

 

Sancia Milton is a tenth grade student at The Bishop’s School.

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12 Responses

  1. Joseph S. Salemi

    The first poem brings to mind what the Spartan commander Leonidas replied when the Persian King Xerxes demanded that he and his men surrender their weapons. Leonidas answered in typical clipped Spartan style “Molon labe,” which means “Come and take them.”

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      What Leo said . . . And I hope there will be more of this from the young, up and coming Milton.

      Reply
  5. Sally Cook

    Dear Sanchia Milton —

    I was in high school when I began to write poetry, and have never forgotten how satisfying it felt to put words and lines together to make poetry.
    That feeling has never left me.
    Please always keep it, refine it, and strive to do the best possible. You are talented, and have the potential to become an excellent poet. I’ll look for more from you.
    Sincerely,
    .

    Reply
  6. David Watt

    Sancia, this is well-wrought poetry, irrespective of age and experience.
    I also look forward to reading more of your work.

    Reply
  7. C.B. Anderson

    Ms. Milton,

    If you could read the crap that I wrote in tenth grade, then you would have good cause to value highly your own efforts. I know nothing about The Bishop’s School, but, after having read your polished offerings, I wish I had sent my own children there to be educated. If you like what what you have done here, then you have little choice other than to keep it up — it’s a win-win for everybody.

    Reply
  8. Donna Bond

    Dear Sancia,
    What a joy to witness this beautiful praise and to have your exquisite work recognized for the obvious talent you share. I acknowledge your courage in sharing your gifts. And, as echoed above, I will look forward to more.
    With Love and Light,
    Donna Bond

    Reply
  11. Monty

    High-class stuff, Sancia.
    I’m not aware of what age one would be when in the ‘10th grade’; but if you’re anything under 25 . . this is accomplished poetry.

    Reply

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