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Dream Splash VI - Dream of Zeal [2018] / Re: Only A Dream: A Poem of the Dream of Zeal [Written Word (Short Form)]
« on: August 02, 2018, 05:07:32 pm »
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it!
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Dream Splash VI - Dream of Zeal [2018] / Only A Dream: A Poem of the Dream of Zeal [Written Word (Short Form)]
« on: July 31, 2018, 07:41:38 am »
Hello and thank you for allowing me to submit a piece for the 2018 Dream Splash! (Seeing that today is July 31st, I do hope I have submitted this in time!) Even though this is my first time entering, I have been a Chrono fan for many years (and I would not be surprised to see that some of our paths crossed during the days of the CTRP, between about 2004 and 2007 or so). In keeping with the theme – the Dream of Zeal – this piece, a short poem entitled Only a Dream, is meant to draw to mind the great wonder and fleeting majesty of the Kingdom of Zeal, while also focusing heavily on its terrible end, as well as the ramifications thereof within the context of the Chrono universe.
Much as is the case with both Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, I wanted this poem to draw on a variety of symbolic influences from the realms of history, mythology, religion, and literature. In one example, I deliberately compare the Kingdom of Zeal to the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The astute reader will notice that I also use, more than once, part of a quote from the NPC, Doreen, who speaks to Crono and his party in Zeal. (This quote is, in part, a reimagining of a famous Daoist utterance attributed to the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi.) Last but not least, in writing this poem, I tried to draw off of some of the imagery evoked by a few of my own favorite poets and thinkers, among them W.B. Yeats, Farid ud-Din Attar, and Friedrich Nietzche.
With that context provided, I will leave further interpretation in your own hands. Happy reading and thank you all yet again!
--
Only a Dream: A Poem of the Dream of Zeal
Never assume
That what you see and feel is real
It's only a dream
The dream of Zeal
Can the quest for secret wisdom
Go too far,
Or is it truly worth
Worlds being torn apart?
A blood-red, blood-soaked machine
Powered by greed and fear
Is this the dream of Zeal,
Or is it a nightmare?
Never assume
That what you see and feel is real
It's only a dream
The dream of Zeal
Is it Enlightenment
To cast out fellow women and men?
It seems only madness
To place destiny in Mammon's hand!
O, Kingdom of Magic!
Hanging Garden of Heaven, floating in the sky
With tears in my eyes, I see
The dream of Zeal has passed me by!
Never assume
That what you see and feel is real
It's only a dream
The dream of Zeal
Much as is the case with both Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, I wanted this poem to draw on a variety of symbolic influences from the realms of history, mythology, religion, and literature. In one example, I deliberately compare the Kingdom of Zeal to the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The astute reader will notice that I also use, more than once, part of a quote from the NPC, Doreen, who speaks to Crono and his party in Zeal. (This quote is, in part, a reimagining of a famous Daoist utterance attributed to the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi.) Last but not least, in writing this poem, I tried to draw off of some of the imagery evoked by a few of my own favorite poets and thinkers, among them W.B. Yeats, Farid ud-Din Attar, and Friedrich Nietzche.
With that context provided, I will leave further interpretation in your own hands. Happy reading and thank you all yet again!
--
Only a Dream: A Poem of the Dream of Zeal
Never assume
That what you see and feel is real
It's only a dream
The dream of Zeal
Can the quest for secret wisdom
Go too far,
Or is it truly worth
Worlds being torn apart?
A blood-red, blood-soaked machine
Powered by greed and fear
Is this the dream of Zeal,
Or is it a nightmare?
Never assume
That what you see and feel is real
It's only a dream
The dream of Zeal
Is it Enlightenment
To cast out fellow women and men?
It seems only madness
To place destiny in Mammon's hand!
O, Kingdom of Magic!
Hanging Garden of Heaven, floating in the sky
With tears in my eyes, I see
The dream of Zeal has passed me by!
Never assume
That what you see and feel is real
It's only a dream
The dream of Zeal
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