Mute Choruses and Chanting
Some silent kings in silent eras long
Before the thought of history arose
Have left lacunae like some torn lost song
Or tuneless chants of silence. Joys and woes
Of royalty lie deep in neutered times
Among unwritten blanknesses. We guess
That there were triumphs, loves, and crimes,
But we can never know them. Shall we bless
These little emperors for leaving no
Decrees or braggadocios in stone?
Or shall we mourn the lack of any glow
From kingdoms past which left no shout or moan?
Just standing stones or places where once poles
Were now remain. The rest is silent holes.