Ceremony of a Kind by Neil Ellman

(painting by Perle Fine)

Ceremony of a Kind

(after the painting by Perle Fine)

In celebration of the day

our world ended

and a new one born

swaddled in a cloth of stars

we march to the beat

of a distant drummer

and raise our flags to victory

and the magical arrogance

of the children we were.

It is a ceremony of a kind

with ritual sacrifice

letting of blood

effigies on fire

and painted faces

to mask our misgivings

and our fear

no longer children

we parade beneath

the arches of a life

we had left behind.

We are the inheritors

of a history

forgotten or never learned

that we shall repeat

because we have

no other choice.

Neil Ellman is a poet from New Jersey.  He has published numerous poems, more than 1,000 of which are ekphrastic and written in response to works of modern art, in print and online journals, anthologies and chapbooks throughout the world.  He has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize and twice for Best of the Net.

Editors Note: This is an ekphrastic poem and based on a work of modern art. The title of this poem is that of the original image, Ceremony of a Kind by Perle Fine- Image shown above.