Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The Fall of Heroes



Image borrowed from bing


The Fall of Heroes

“Name one hero who died happy!”--Madeline Miller.

Beller Ophon was a superb operative,
                      a lone wolf, a rogue mercenary,
                      a man with a triple brace of particular skills. 
He found it difficult to deal with authority figures
     so he always worked alone.

He made so much money
                              plying his trade around the globe, 
                                              that in the turn of the century
he could afford to purchase a Pegasus,
                              one of only three prototype
                              flying battle cars,                   outfitted with 
electric canons, bomb drops, & laser-guided missiles. 
               
                          He grew famous in espionage circles, after
vanquishing the Solyami Cartel
in Costa Rica, & defeating the dangerous
lesbian murder squads,                           the Amazons,
                                      in Mexico City.

These superhuman feats made him into the Go-To-Merc,
& brought him to the attention
of Zeus Petro, & its powerful CEO, 
Lon Bates---who was having a lot of trouble
                            with a new group of militant Islamic terrorists
                    who called themselves the Chimera;
           their black battle flags emblazoned with the mythical
creature; lion’s head, body of a goat, and tail of a serpent. 

The group of bullies & murderers,       hiding behind the mantle
                                of misconstrued Islamic prophesy,
were highjacking oil fields in western Syria,
                                 owned by Zeus Petro, which
provided the terrorists with the instant wealth
it needed to produce all kinds
                                            of videos & short propaganda films,
                that recruited malcontents from every ghetto
                                            on the globe, & these misguided
Jehadists would soon mushroom their ranks. 

Beller Ophon went into action immediately. 
               landing Pegasus on Middle Eastern highways,
               folding up its weapons
and simply driving right up to forty of their strongholds
               before making its instant battle transformation.
In one ferocious month he bravely tore the heart
out of Chimera, & its few
                          survivors fled, melting
                          back into the mountains.

When Beller arrived back at the headquarters
of Zeus Petro ready for his huge reward,
                         Lon Bates was not there to meet him;
for the CEO had decided to eliminate Beller
            rather than paying him--
            this was a very costly mistake.
                                          
                                     Beller slaughtered the 10 assassins
            who were there to meet him, 
and in the next two weeks killed a hundred more of them.
            Of course, Lon Bates changed his mind,
offering Ophon a king’s treasure,
& the hand of his youngest foxiest daughter, plus
the gift of Philonoe Vineyards in northern California.

For a few years,
          Beller actually settled down,
                             bought into his new role with verve
                                                & great passion, having several
                                                                           children, as  he
                                                 grew very wealthy & lazy.
                             but hubris is a demonic parasite
              for ex-heroes, & as his fame grew 
with the public at large, &
his interviews on CNN
pulled in big numbers of viewers,
              something in him snapped,
              & one bright morning he arose
                                  with that old fire in his loins;

he strapped on his old battle gear,
                    took the silver tarp off Pegasus.
                    & simply announced that he was going
                                    to fly to the White House
                                    & demand the recognition
                     that he felt had been denied him.

You are all aware of his plight,
the Secret Service brought Pegasus down
with twin weasel missiles,
               & even though Beller survived the crash,
               he was imprisoned & terribly tortured by
               the jack-booted SS, before
                                         he was stripped of all his wealth
                                         & his identity, & he was transported
in the dead of night to Detroit,
               where he was forced to live
as a homeless, penniless, crippled beggar
               on those mean & merciless streets.

He never tried to contact his family
or to visit them, for his shame was insurmountable.
                                           They say he died of exposure
one winter’s eve, wrapped in cardboard blankets,
next to an overflowing dumpster
               behind a Chuck E. Cheese pizza emporium.

One of his sons became the governor of California,
while another one died of AIDS;
one of his daughters became an actress,
but her chronic depression led her to suicide. 
His wife never remarried, 
but she did manage to launch
a designer line of clothes
at Wal Mart. 


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Poetics
This poem is based on the Greek myth of Bellerophon & Pegasus. 

Would  you like to hear the author read this poem to you?


20 comments:

Claudia said...

oh my goodness glenn!!
what a story!!
love how you weave this all together - excellent storytelling - and how his one decision just changed everything - even for his kids - sad but heck yes - i feel him - that was not the life a person like him wanted i guess

brudberg said...

Ha.. you can weave a story of a superhero from fragments of B-movies (or maybe not).. I see references to Rambo and Ironman here.. and what can be worse than being sentenced to Detroit... hmm..

Brian Miller said...

oh wow...you straight up rewove the legend into modern times...i think i might try that with m y next ones...the superheroes were our modern myth archetypes...now it is probably mechs and soldiers...with all the first person shooters out there....nice weave in of references as well....

Ken Higginson said...

Wow. reads like a novel...with a really good plot! Everytime I thought it would calm down there was another twist. Also interesting how the story covers huge swaths of time but never seems slow. Thanks for sharing.

Myrna R. said...

Amazing story. So sad, but kept me enthralled wanting to find out what was next. Very creative.

kaykuala said...

Great story Glenn! Very cleverly weaved into current happenings to bring reality into the picture!

Hank

Gabriella said...

This would make such a breathtaking TV series, Glenn. You are quite a story teller and have certainly created a hero with mythical dimension.

Mary said...

Glenn, you have definitely 'aced' this prompt and created an excellent modern myth. Well crafted...and yes, I see a movie here.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Yes, a TV series! This is a gargantuan work! Fantastic!

Truedessa said...

Wow, this was quite the action adventure..landing Pegasus on middle eastern highways..I always
enjoy coming here to read your tales..The Fall of Heroes you have captured a lot within these lines.

Anonymous said...

I never know what I'm going to read when I come to your site, but I DO know that I won't be disappointed.

Sumana Roy said...

Excellent story telling and a true modern myth...wow..."His wife never remarried, / but she did manage to launch / a designer line of clothes
at Wal Mart."...and what an end!! love how you show that even modern life has the elements of myth making...

Anonymous said...

You have woven mythology and modernity into a seamless story so beautifully. And, the way it looks is so visually appealing too!

Katie Mia Frederick said...

The writers.. the poets.. the actor.. the singers.. the dancers.. the directors that produce the play of emotional life.. in building bridges of love.. are perhaps the smart heroes...

that stay alive...:)

i like life.. no jumping off bridges to save people for me...... ;)

but yes.. someone has to do it.. and i can only respect that...:)

Marina Sofia said...

Ah, the myth of the lone wolf hero... I love what you did with this! You take on the whole American myth of the superman/Lone Cowboy/saving the world compulsion... Oh, and an ancient Greek myth too

Mon.Esprit said...

Looks like the comment I posted didnt make it. I am always a fan of your details... and today it was almost watching an action flick.

When I thought of this prompt I didnt realize you could go take it to this magnitude. Thanks for joining.

Unknown said...

Glenn, the myth references and how you used them were spectacular... Immaculate storytelling... the downfall of a hero...

Anonymous said...

In this week of uncertainty Glenn this poem struck a chord. Great story weaved there and the narrative booce resounds throughout. Well done

lynn__ said...

Enjoyed your modern myth immensely, Glenn. Your take is epically entertaining... I laughed at "Zeus Petro" and sighed at the hero's sad end (but at least his wife profited - ha!)

Kathy Reed said...

Excellent! Sometimes, most times, real life imitates ancient myths; when one observes from afar, it's clear how we are flawed and how we idolize warriors and soldiers who are only human after all..action heroes, legends and true history are sources of such great commentary ; yours is superbly told and read.