107. The Cultural Revolution

“You say you want a revolution.”(Revolution, The Beatles)

The sixties.

A new revolution.

A cultural one.

Rock and Roll.

Elvis played.

Then the British invade

With beatles and animals.

Later monkeys and turtles.

They brought the mind tripping psychedelics

And doors that opened perceptions.

Sex, drugs, and colorful hippies

Danced,

Played,

Down and dirty in the streets.

Tune in, turn on, drop out.

Sit down and listen.

Watch.

Hear.

Music fests brought new freedom and rebellion.

All seemed far out.

But no one knew.

The next part of the decade saw great defeat

And great victory.

The descendants of the slaves

Started marching after an incident on the bus.

If it’s worth fighting for

Then they must put in the effort.

They stood up for their rights as equals.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke on the mall of his dream.

An amendment was passed.

Segregation ended.

Vietnam exploded.

Armies were sent.

But things became a lot worse with the new president.

The hippies found a cause to believe in.

They grabbed signs and protested.

They stood up to their government

As they preached peace, love and rose colored glasses

With flowers in rifles.

News became valuable.

Putting faces to the casualties of war.

“Our men are being killed!”

“We must bring them home!”

90. Napoleon

A new man came.
Napoleon!
A new Caesar.
Napoleon!
To some a great leader.
Napoleon!
To others the scourge of Europe.
Napoleon!
Born of Corsica.
Napoleon!
Joining the army of France.
Napoleon!
Rising through the ranks.
Napoleon!
To shed the short robes for long ones.
Napoleon!
Napoleon!
Napoleon!
From the terrors of the burning revolutions
With fire in his eyes
The deep, calculating general
Moved out and declared war on Europe.
Eastward!
Eastward!
East he marched
Taking land from Austria
With the dream of Rome in his heart.
He went through Spain and Portugal.
To the ends of the European world!
Napoleon found it hard to resist Russia’s calling
So he crossed the border.
The icy blast of the Russian winter drove him back.
He lost the fight.
He was dethroned and forced into exile.
He escaped and rebuilt his army.
Waterloo was his final defeat.
Napoleon only lived on as a person three more times
But his name and memory will last forever.
He joined the graveyard of dead empires and powerful rulers.
Crossing Hades’ mighty river.

82. Joan of Arc

All felt lost

In this tragic war.

France needed a hero.

A noble knight to save France from England’s tyranny.

A young lady

Waiting to be married,

In her thirteenth year,

Received a call from God.

“Go,” he said,

“England is not meant to have French land.”

The maiden of Orleans

Was terrified at first

But came around eventually.

She went to the Dolphin court

Presenting her plan to save France.

The Dolphin was impressed

She was dressed

In armor and given a horse.

At the battle of Orleans

She proved her mettle

With the long fought victory.

She persuaded her Dolphin

To march to their enemy Burgandy

Receiving the crown of the seventh Charles.

She promised to capture Paris

But Burgandy’s and England’s forces

Were way too strong.

They captured her

Accused her of witchcraft

Burning her at the stake.

Her passion lived on

As symbol for France

Driving them to win the war

Ridding England from the continent.

79. Marco Polo

Europe worried about the Golden Horde.
To her the enemy was at the gates
Waiting to come in.
Eyeing his prey
As they moved and carried on with business.
They needed emissaries.
The Polo family
Famous for their merchant voyages
Took young Marco eastward.
China told them they were interested.
“Go back to your land,”
The emperor said,
“Bring your religion, science and arts to me.”
“I must see them.”
They went back
Hoping to see the emperor again.
With the pope’s blessing
A trek of three and a half years
Brought Marco to Xanadu
Where the Great Khan sat.
The Polos fashioned new weapons
As Marco became the ambassador.
He learned many things in Asia
As he traveled to distant lands.
He helped escort a princess.
He told of his adventures
On his way back home.
They were told under lock and key
As prisoner of war
Then written down
As a free man
Telling of his famous journey.
Countries got rich with what he learned
Inspiring future explorers to seek out new lands.
He brought back a wonderful drug
As his stories inspired generations
The Silk Road was opened.
Then Kublai Khan fell to the dust of time
The Mongol empire fell with him
Disappearing under its sandy dunes.

74. Medieval Europe

The lands of Europe fell to war and strife.

The Franks made their empire.

Vikings invaded.

Muslims invaded.

Spain was captured.

Byzantium slowly eroded into nothing.

Their culture lived on in Kiev,

The future cause of problems in the world

Lombards took over Italy

Islam shattered.

The Holy Roman Empire came

With Charlemagne and the Carolingians.

The old Merovingian order fell.

Charlemagne expanded.

He tried to build from the ashes of the old empire.

Education was important

To clergy and people.

Christianity won many converts.

The dream of Rome lived on.

The great city.

The culture.

Charlemagne was the first to try to bring Rome Back.

Fourteen years before he died the pope gave recognition.

Then his death caused the empire to crumble.

As the years passed, Europe slowly organized.

Nations born of local tribesman.

England was born.

Scotland was born.

Ireland was born.

France, Poland and Denmark.

Trade flourished in Europe and routes were built.

Religion took center stage.

Churches got bigger.

More elaborate

As Rome was forgotten they became goth.

Hierarchies were formed.

Peasants on the bottom

Holding kings and nobles on top of pedestals

Knights gave them support.

With the flying buttresses of clergy

Directing masses

Chanting in middle way.

Some hoping an indulgence would pass their way.

Others rejecting such worldly goods

For simple monastic prayer.

49. Xerxes

Persia licked his wounds

Anger still festered deep inside

At the failed invasion of Greece.

His loyal servant, Darius passed away

With words to the scaly beast:

“Take my son Xerxes,” he said in dying breath,

“He will get the revenge you seek.”

Xerxes!

The powerful!

Xerxes!

The ruthless!

Xerxes!

The immortal!

Xerxes!

The conqueror!

Xerxes!

The vengeful!

Xerxes!

The conqueror!

As good as his father’s word

He built the dragon ships

By the thousands.

He raised armies

By the millions.

Attempted to bridge the Hellespont

But Poseidon wouldn’t cooperate.

He sent his mighty storms

To disrupt the dragon’s ships.

Xerxes whipped the mighty sea god

Three hundred times.

Then the god let them pass.

Knowing of Ares’ mighty men on the other side.

As Athena prepared her great wooden shield

The dragon sent heralds

Demanding sacrifices and offerings.

When they didn’t comply

They were marked for the dragon’s mighty fire.

Athena and Ares prepared for war.

Ares was given command of all forces.

Odds were against Greece.

Even Apollo at Delphi

Predicted they’d lose

Unless a mighty king made a great sacrifice.