They say beautiful were those times
When in a golden pillar rose the sacred flames
And Rome looked to white virgins for protection:
Who sat, like a Senate, with the Caesars.
Meanwhile, the Druids and dark Lithuanian hordes
Cursed the sin-laden goat – their brows
Gilded with a living torch, yet the sacred flame
Ended like all gifts which from Heaven came :
History followed legendary ages
And holy fire ceased to guide the sages.
(We – by contrast – have safety matches cheap:
Hold one up properly – depress its tip
And rub against your shoe – a flame will leap.
A Turk takes the coiled hookah to his lip.)
(Cyprian Kamil Norwid)
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Based on Topics: Beauty Poems, History Poems, Government PoemsBased on Keywords: depress, caesars, druids, lithuanian, hookah, sin-laden