"Titans of the Titanic." Poetry to learn by...by mepatriot

Titans of the Titanic

Mistress of the spanning seas,
muscled power, no need of breeze.
Flying through thick foam and spray,
New York! before the break of day.

Pride of man before the fall,
comes to innocents, rich, and all.
"Unsinkable," they deride God and say,
"just Watch our talents carry the day!"

Pure microcosm of our race,
Wealth such as kings would ne'er begrace.
Crystal and diamonds, gold and fur,
see the bright things dance and whir.

Yet, contrast decried beneath the decks.
Sweat, and grime, and bulging necks.
Feeding life to a burgeoning beast,
No hope for joining the elitists' feast.

In these dark bowls great danger lurks,
cheaper welds and engineering quirks.
Thin plate alone 'gainst the greatest forces,
All the king's men, and all the king's horses...

Eyepiece not given, warnings ignored,
who could presume to risk all on board?
Evil that lurks in the hearts of men,
reaches to sea, to boardroom-- but not heav'n.

Influential men of our original stripe,
would never have stood for such confounding tripe,
As a few laid their plans at an Isle named Jekyll,
obstacle eliminated with handshake and shekel.

Yes, 'twas an iceberg of enormous size,
and there was brittle steel to compromise.
But all could discern that lifeboats too few,
would doom men of distinction--many who knew...

That schemes were unfolding to entrap the land,
taxation direct, new money of their brand.
Just the next year and all would be changed,
chairs on the ship of state rearranged.

No more "We the people" making laws,
but forces of money with rapine claws.
Sending good men and their children to death,
gulping for air in the chill of last breath.

A nation betrayed and a great ship sunk,
for they had all of saints' blood drunk.
Risking much to enrich a few,
no opposition left who knew.

Pyramids dipped and bowed in homage,
to men remaking a God in their image,
Theirs, of course, t'was mammon, plain,
rising from hell like their dew and their reign.

Severing ties that blessed the land's youth,
filling their tills and trampling the truth.
Sending down to a watery grave,
some of the best of the home of the brave.

Single eye raised to claim the pinnacle,
all done in secret and trappings most cynical.
But God in his heaven sees all and hears,
a final place worse than the worst of their fears.

Temples may rise and temples may fall,
But the King of the universe regins over all.
You run and desperately cling to your gold,
but you will wither, fade, and surely grow old.

Then, as time fades like a ship in the night,
what will you do in your dour, naked plight?
Pleading for the mercy to others you spurned,
Riches, fame, possessions...all burned.

(at Amity, 5-17-18)