Villanelle : The Tower of Babel

This villanelle was written by TY pupil Igor Verkhovskiy, inspired by Pieter Bruegel’s 1563 painting of the spiralling tower of Babel (left), as a result of the first module in our TY rota, which is explained by teacher Ms Smith in today's other post here. (Currently there is a fine exhibition at the British Museum called 'Babylon', previously at the Pergamon in Berlin, which examines the many uses of the Babylon story in Western art over the centuries - see the Guardian clip at the bottom of this page).


'The Tower of Babel', by Igor Verkhovskiy

How much pain did the tower take?
Was it a prison that gave them the taste?
And how many lives did that fire bake?

This Giant tower, the ruler’s make,
Walls swallow blood like a blunt paste,
How much pain did the tower take?

The gods send an omen, for people’s sake,
But no tools were dropped, it all went to waste.
How many lives did that fire bake?

Warships and armies come to the lake,
Is it war, or is that not the case?
How much pain did the tower take?

Corpses and souls the tower will take,
And out of the tower people are chased.
How many lives will that tower take?

Emotions in this hell are never fake,
Where souls and bodies burn with haste.
How much pain did the tower take?
And how many lives did that fire bake?