Thank you to Editor Glory Sasikala of GloMag for publishing "What Old Portraits Warn."

https://view.joomag.com/glomag-glomagoctober2018/0977701001540694061?short

What Old Portraits Warn

Portraits on dusty bookshelves

where dire warnings rule

bad beliefs disabused,

good sense overruled.

We on the upswing,

their memories slipshod,

best advice not taken

their cautioning declarations.

We become roped in,

doubtlessly shaken,

we skip along sidewalks

ignoring the roadblocks

pinning us in to taste sin.

We, like shipwrecks that had been,

from back when

fires were set near rocks

to draw prey in.

Weren’t those ancient tales just meant to shock?

Walking those burning sidewalks now on feet unshod,

tells us the hindsight of those portraits

were not just facade,

and what they wish to tell,

their retrospect alarm bells

delivered from their watchfulness

and their cautiousness,

we should heed.