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== Asylon: A Collection of poems, with an Essay on Patriotic Poetry ==
by Ven Dhalgren



== The Poems ==


'''Awakening'''

After a long sleep

I am awaken.

The sun is shouting:

"Asylon, it's spring!",

and I smile with joy.


'''Pure Air'''

I could live with no

food, drink or shelter.

But my Asylon,

is the air I breathe:

the pure air of love!


'''The Poets'''

The poets compare you

to a shining sun,

but I say you are

divine nourishment

for bone, flesh and soul.


'''The Oak Tree'''

A powerful eagle

or a wise old man.

Like an ancient tree

you sum all virtues,

realm of Asylon.


'''Eternity'''

The sun shines through

the shrewd cracks of time.

Oh if I could die

in an endless hour

for you, Asylon.

== On the Canon and Style of Patriotic Poetry ==

He who wishes to write one of the highest forms of poetry, the one to glorify one's kingdom and celebrate its glory, needs to follow precise rules. A collection of patriotic poems needs to consist of 5 poems, each of 5 verses, each of 5 syllables. It is in fact a unity.

The logical structure of poem is then the square, even though it might not be evident to the untrained eye, that eagerly seeks material shapes instead of logical ones. This structure is said to represent the stability of a functioning realm, equally balanced on every side: military, politics, culture and economy.


The Logical Square:

O__O__O__O__O

O__O__O__O__O

O__O__O__O__O

O__O__O__O__O


The collection is then constituted by 5 poems, but it is also possible to represent it as 2+1+2, or 1+1+1+1+1. The middle poem is somehow separate from the other for, while all the others need to contain the name of the realm that is celebrated, the middle should not. In fact, the middle poem represents a break in the flow of the collection, together with its highest moment. The middle poem should contain the reflections of the poet and his inmost feelings for his realm.

The First two poems should be seen as a unity, and likely the last two.


The structure then is:

A

A

Middle Poem

B

B


That is the essence of the 2+1+1 structure.


The first poem should contain some reference to birth or awakening, it is in fact the opening of the collection. Similarly, the last poem needs to contain reference to death, seep or oblivion, although it needs not to be negative. As everything in life, the collection shall finish, and no sadness follows the reader for the glory of the celebrated realm is eternal.


It is because the first and last poems are so strongly characterized that we can represent the collection as 1+1+1+1+1, where the first, middle and last poems are known as the "strong poems", and the second and fourth the "soft poems". The second poem should be an offspring of the first, containing youthful joy and energy (let us not forget that the first two poems constitute a unity), while the fourth should contain the acceptance, patience and wisdom typical of old age (in unity with the last poem).

The final structure then is:


A (strong)

A' (soft)

Middle Poem

B' (soft)

B (strong)


Remember, there is no highest form of homage to a realm than a well formed collection of patriotic poetry.