‘Another Old Myth’ and Other Poetry by Peter Venable

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Another Old Myth

The Ancient One warned Noah’s doom was near.
Since men possessed with greed kept spilling blood,
That cataclysmic rain would soon appear.
So Noah built an ark before the flood.
No matter now that temperatures still rise
Or icy rivers melt, leave basins bare;
That forest fires scorch and burn the eyes;
And missiles burst while one or two are spared.
The Master warned (some call it balderdash…)
“The sun will hide, the moon will not give light,
The stars will fall” and fill the sky with ash.
Still, men will never sate their appetites.
Such legends many are dispensing with
Since they know Revelation is a myth.

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The quote from lines 10-11 is from Mark 13.24-25

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Legacy

Heat waves and ice
Corroded doors.
Termites gorged on
Pine floorboards.

A chimney stands
Among the trees
Amid the roar of
buzzing bees.

Tin soldiers rust
And a toy plane.
Under a shrub,
The old man’s cane.

The playroom floor,
Adorned with ferns.
The walls long gone
From seasons’ turn.

Their spirits’ watch
In vacant space—
I feel their breaths
upon my face.

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Peter Venable has been writing poetry for 50 years. He has been published in Windhover, Third Wednesday, Time of Singing, The Merton Seasonal, American Vendantist, The Anglican Theological Review, and others. He is a member of the Winston Salem Writers. On the whimsical side, he has been published in Bluepepper, Parody, Laughing Dog, The Asses of Parnassus, and Lighten Up Online (e. g. # 48).