The Silent Echo

[Johnb31]

Notes:This poem is the tittle poem to my series of poems which include The Pain, The Penitent, The Harbinger, The Inception, and The Desolates. This poem doesn't fit within this order per-say, but it is about the same idea as the rest of the poems it sort of gives the back story. This poem is also written from an omniscient perspective sort of like someone is reading the story out of a book and is making a comment on what was being read. There will be many more poems using these similar motifs, syntax, and symbols.


Long ago lived a man
A man unlike any man
He was so strong
And yet so wrong

He lived his life behind a knife
Stabbing at anything that gave him a fight
The man was so blind that he couldn't even see
The very people he made bleed

He was so blind, in fact
That he killed everyone who had his back
He did not trust or care
But rather he would dare

And set fire across the land
In thought that he could bring about reprimand
Instead he fell into a land of death
And forever will you feel his breath

And be reminded of the pain
From a life long slain
For he saw the desolates
Rise from its decadence

He was the silent echo
The very man who never let go
And even now you can feel his pain
Echo through the age-old rain

[mexico62]

Hi Johnb31, If you remember, your first poem ("The pain" I think), caused a big controversy, but if you put this at the beginning it explains the rest, for me is better at least, and altogether is a remarkable and enjoyable piece of art, I haven´t finish reading all the series, but thanks for sharing with us, it is amazing and make our mind fly free to the world you create, our friends of ATL are right, you should write a book.

[Doug Denslowe]

Question:Can a Silent Echo be heard or felt?I seem to feel it.But,I'm old and hard of hearing!

[Johnb31]

Yeah this one and the silent echo 2 explain the story. I wanted The Pain to be controversial so people would start reading the series, but anyway I wrote the pain a few years ago it was the first poem I ever wrote then I wrote the Desolates, but I really never saw a connection until I posted them on this site. This site helped me to formulate the rest of the story, and take something that was once riddled with darkness and despair, and create it into something with hope. If u have not figured it out yet the man in these poems is not a man he represents the hope in people. Hope dies when people "stand amongst the dying men" meaning that the despair and terror causes them to loose their faith. Throughout the series hope in the people begins to return and the Harbinger represents those who woke up. This series represents the world and it's people, and how we are falling, but within us all there is still a fight waiting to shine the light.

[Johnb31]

The silent echo for me is an echo that lies inside but only you can hear it or feel it. So the silent echo is that inner fight it's like our inner self telling us there is something wrong.

[Doug Denslowe]

Only wrong,not right as well?

[Johnb31]

Its both it's any feeling inside that takes over, the echo can be an echo of fright, pleasure, happiness, terror anything. The echo in this series can be interpreted as anyone sees it but for me it means that despite the pain and darkness we will find a way cause I believe that beauty comes from the ugly.

[Doug Denslowe]

Well said.I'm glad you find it so easy to explain your work.I mostly write and hope someone,somewhere gets it or better yet,digs it.

[Johnb31]

Haha I don't understand any of my work everytime I read them again I get a different idea of it I sort of just give the basics of what I think something means but I would rather let someone else find what they believe within my work cause there is no right or wrong answer to what it means. It could be what ever you think it to mean.

[Johnb31]

Check out the sequel The Silent Echo 2