Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Poets and Poems: Mike Bond and “The Drum That Beats Within Us”


Reading the poetry collection The Drum That Beats Within Us by Mike Bond brings to mind the concept of “warrior poet.” The phrase came unbidden to mind, and then I had to go searching around for why it did and what the common understanding might be.

I found a definition at Urban Dictionary. Like others, it cites words at the ending of the 1995 movie Braveheart, which told the story of Scottish nationalist and hero William Wallace"In the Year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland - starving and outnumbered - charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets; they fought like Scotsmen and won their freedom."

The two terms seem almost contradictory. A warrior poet is simultaneously tough and tender. He can lead other warriors into battle and be a ferocious opponent, giving no quarter, and return to the campfire after battle and recite both epic poems and love poems.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

No comments: