I hate to be the bearer of bad news
or pour cold water on your cherished views;
but it's been so long now, I think you know,
it's time to let those superstitions go.
At first his followers thought he'd return,
but, as time passed, a few began to learn
they'd seen the last of their beloved King;
it's just a fantasy you're worshipping.
For resurrection cults are quite old hat,
a thousand fables testify to that,
and when we die, it's clear we cease to live;
apart from atoms, we've nought left to give.
So let it go, it won't cause any strife;
it's time for you to get on with your life.
Remove these fancy notions from your head,
Sebastianism should be put to bed.
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Author Notes
Today's word: Sebastianist (n.) someone who believes something unbelievable.
I've chosen to refer to the practice itself in this poem, rather than the individual practitioner, and therefore have used the term Sebastianism.
In 1578, King Sebastian of Portugal is believed to have been killed during or after a battle against Moroccan forces. Back in Portugal, many people found the story hard to accept, and stories began to surface that he had simply disappeared during the fighting, and would one day return. With the passing of decades, the belief endured, and even grew. By the 1700s, a fully-fledged cult, Sebastianism had taken shape; its adherents claiming that Sebastian would one day rise from the dead to return Portugal to the glory it once knew.
My much-treasured Christmas present for 2017 is a book by Paul Anthony Jones: "The cabinet of linguistic curiosities". Each page contains a descriptive story about some obscure or archaic word. It occurred to me it would be a fun exercise to try and write, each day, a poem featuring the "word of the day" from the book.
Thanks for reading.
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