this is my assignment on 1 line poems.

1. “Cliff”
4-stringed virtuoso, trapped under bus.

(This is not about a literal cliff. This is about former bassist of Metallica, Cliff Burton.
He was tragically killed when a bus he was in skidded and he ended up crushed by it. I rendered it “trapped under bus” to reference the Metallica song “Trapped Under Ice.”)

2. “The Middle Is”
Middle kingdom holds the reigns of the present.

3. Jacket Truth
Potent cocktail of Newspeak and Doublethink.

(This is intended to convey the idea that truth cannot be palatably served with uniformity while remaining truth)

4. Box Spider
Is this gladiator, too, Spartacus?

(This is a reference to the movie Spartacus (Directed by Stanley Kubrick) a famous scene included nearly every gladiator claiming to be Spartacus as a show of solidarity with the real Spartacus.)

5. Lace
Crude pastiche of romance, ripped in lust.

(This is a reference to the “bodice-ripper” genre of fiction.)

6. The not-so little Prince
B612-Prime (Baobab trees not uprooted!)

(This is a reference to how the little prince on asteroid B612 had to uproot baobab trees as his asteroid was so small that any trees would cause it to crumble. The baobab trees in the original stories could be seen as metaphors representing divergent ideals. Hence this would represent B612-Prime as an intellectual utopia.)

7. One Slipper
The ultimate communist- useless alone.

8. Death
Sweet kiss of true bliss, ending this grotesque travesty.

9. Prison
Am I my brother’s keeper?

(This biblical quote is given new meaning in this context. It intends to point out that prison wardens are but proxies for us in society. We are hence indirect opressors of fellow citizens unjustly punished. It is meant to cause people to search their consciences about this.)

10. Snow
Cruel ashen cowl garrotes mother Gaia

(As everyone writes of winter as a thing of beauty, I decided to take the counterpoint and point out how it snuffs out)

Dawn of victory- Rhapsody

For Ancelot
the ancient cross of war
for the holy town of gods
Gloria, gloria perpetua
in this dawn of victory