The Burning Man

G

Gunslinger

Mildly Dipped
I recently submitted this poem to two magazine publications, one in Long Beach and the other in my school. My school, after much consideration, has decided to publish it but I have yet to hear from Long Beach. Anyway, I was inspired to write this poem by several sources: the story "Fahrenheit 451", which I was reading at the time, the song "Gasoline" by Audioslave, the character of Trashcan Man in Stephen King's "The Stand", and the pyro animations in Fallout :D . (BTW, this is copyrighted material, please don't embarass both of us by plagarizing my poor work).

"The Burning Man" - by Steven Nguyen

I am the arsonist, the burning man
With me I bring along a dark plan.
Explosions and incineration are the goals
To spread to the world my fiery coals.

I have coursed throughout the Earth
Toting around cruelty and cynical mirth.
Behind my path, an angry fire burns
Infernos are what my heart yearns.

Rising to the sky is a plume of flame
That is my calling card, my call to fame.
Scorched skeletons and ash are my gifts
Parting the cracked earth in sodden rifts.

My fires engulf the tallest skyscraper
As I, like a satyr, dance and caper.
An effigy of what the world will be
Once my fire destroys and leaves debris.

I scoff at your regulations and warnings
Your hydrants are just part of my burnings.
In the end, I consume everything and all
Conflagration will be your ultimate downfall.

For destruction is my malignant domain
I am the faithful consort of death and pain.
Gasoline cans and matches are tools of the trade
With them my fires will flourish and cascade.

I weave and twist sparks in my hands
Magic happens at my simplest commands.
I pay homage to the torch of the sun
The world will be barren when I’m done.

The earth will just be a beacon of fire
Declaring death like a funeral pyre.
Smog shall churn about the clouds
As I lay out your burial shrouds.

For I am the arsonist, the burning man
With me I bring along a dark plan.
To fulfill a personal vendetta, a dark goal
By setting the world on fire like my lost soul.
 
I'm not a poetry fan. In fact, people who know me well would probably claim that I carry on a personal vendetta against poetry.

But well done, Gunslinger. Even I liked that. Nice one :D .
 
Nice...It was well written. Can i just ask how you think of the linges? I've tryed to write poetry before but i allways seem to fail missrebly in my attempts.
 
Here's the 101 in my esteemed career of poetic license since kindergarten to highschool:

Find the rhymes first, LOL. That's about my only rule. Then get a coherent theme and scheme. "The Burning Man" had no layout at all. I wrote it in twenty minutes while listening to music. I simply thought, "Hell, I feel like burning something. Might as well write about it instead of acting on it." Well, not really. The thought was still fresh in my mind and I just wrote. Some people are like that and others require some planning.
 
Uh, one more thing: avoid adding useless adjectives and adverbs.

Shakespeare said "Brevity is the soul of wit" or something along those lines. Think of saying this poem aloud and, if the ending rhymes are too far apart, chop the lines down. The rhyme scheme keeps the poem together.

Well, unless if its a free rhyme poem. But I never considered free rhyme *real* poetry :wink:
 
Nicely done

Nicely done!

Yes, I see the Trashcan man in the lyric.

You do realize no one will trust you around matches ever again.
 
Nicely done

Nicely done!

Yes, I see the Trashcan man in the lyric.

You do realize no one will trust you around matches ever again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top