Bitter hemlock, was my fate
for “corrupting minds of young”
and “denying gods of state”
through history my words are sung
my students gave me fame
so you my judges are to blame
The death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David
For trifextra we should use apostrophes, in 33 words. And I thought why not go all classic today and let Socrates speak a little.
—
September 13, 2013
Björn Rudbergs writings 
oh I do love my visits here Bjorn. I am sorry I don’t get here everyday.
but this one, I enjoyed very much. It “Sang”.
Thank you.. rhymes are good… sometimes.. and I love that ol’ Socrates myth.
Love this wonderful, rhyming tale in 33 words. Throughout history, so many have been condemned by judgmental society. I guess even a great philosopher isn’t immune.
Oh no.. but Plato made him to what he is…
Your 33 words are a credit to Socrates. I’m glad you went “classic” with this piece!
Of course .. this had to be classic… like a mini-sonnet I thought
I remember me reading a while back “Socrates in Court”. I feel as though the great philosopher did not do anything wrong. He was just opening up minds to a whole new possibilities of thinking. It was cruel and unfair what they did to Socrates.
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
Socrates
I think that he was condemned because he was becoming to powerful … Quite common also these days
a recurring theme throughout history – tough to take on the powers that be when they will do anything to hold on to whatever power they have – but what is the real legacy we should strive to attain? good one
Thank you .. It’s all about power .. And still happens
It works well!
Poignant poetry, and as relevant today as ever.
I love the term mini sonnet, and it was just what I was thinking. Love the couplet!
I think if you tweak it -change “was” for something like “oh!”- you will turn it into an apostrophe. As it is, you’re writing about hemlock, not to hemlock. Subtleties of second languages : )
I embedded the apostrophe as Socrates talking to his judges — but you might be right
Got it. I guess I read it as him addressing the judges directly… Nevermind…
The judges are always to blame…don’t they have anything better to do ?
History blamed them… as usual
That’s a classic one Björn. It’s always interesting to read your stuff.
Always a great place to visit and I should/will more often. You wield the power of the poem. That’s for sure! Classic is correct.
Well done.
I love what you come up with. Nice work.
Well done, as usual. Always love your writing, even though I don’t always have the time to comment!
Great poetry, and thought-provoking.
best,
MOV
Thank you,, will get back to read all the entries tonight.
Absolutely mind blowing!Love it Bjorn!Congrats on your well deserved win 🙂
wow…our posts so symbiotic…love the way this played out…possibly Aristophanes gave him the hemlock?:)
Or Plato… but they saved his legacy.
not a bad death..as far as death goes…only your brilliance made it beautiful.
Blushing
awe…I imagine that’s a difficult task.
A murder mystery re-written…
Didn’t need the pic, B… as soon as I saw Hemlock, I knew where you were heading! And, you did it so well… almost saw one of those ‘speech bubbles’ coming out of his mouth.
You continue to impress, Bjorn!
Thank you for linking up!
This is great – very reminiscent of the classical examples provided on the about.com page. Great writing.