Poem: "The Silver Horde"
This poem came out of the February 5, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from siliconshaman. It has been sponsored by tabard.
The Silver Horde
somewhere else in time,
another turn of the Wheel,
Genghis Khan lives on
there is no dagger
held by a Tangut princess,
no ignoble death
he tramples onward,
grinding history to dust
under heavy hooves
he unites Asia --
China, Japan, and beyond --
and then keeps it whole
there's no division
of khanates among his sons,
no shrinking power
here there is only
the thundering cavalry
of the Silver Horde
the Khan's men alone
are these, warriors of old,
white-haired and mighty
they do with cunning
what the young men cannot do
with mere strength of arms
"sit down," they order,
when the young noyans stand up,
"sit and wait your turn!"
the younger men sit,
officers at the proud feet
of the Silver Horde
they will have their turn
only after the Wheel rolls
and the Khan is done