Aux armes, citoyens! Rise up!

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Hermes soars atop the column on the Place de la Bastille.
Hermes soars atop the column on the Place de la Bastille.

Rise up citizens,

to save civilisation

with human kindness

Ronovan’s of Ronovan Writes has offered this week’s prompts of Rise and Save.

One of the most enduring symbolic actions of the French Revolution was the storming of the Bastille. The people of Paris nobly liberating the tragically prisoners trapped in this vile and noisome fortress. So complete was the destruction of this symbol of Royal oppression that not a stone remains. Then in July 1830 the Parisians again got all revolutionary and this column was put on top of the location where the Bastille stood to show the Parisians were revolting (again!).

How I can picture the iron gates of the Bastille being torn down and the poor, wrongly imprisoned scions of the people flooding out in their hundreds while the vile Aristos shuddered (quite rightly) in their gilded palaces.

Actually the total number of people released consisted of seven old men who were quite well housed and rather annoyed by all the disturbance: Two of them were classed as “lunatics”, four were forgers and the last was a “sexually deviant” aristocrat, the Comte de Solages. Not quite the noble plethora of downtrodden victims of Royal oppression that spring to mind.

Neverless, the 14th of July remains an essential part of French history. Vive la revolution!

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  3. Vive la revolution! It is always better to overcome with kindness rather than bloodshed. Loved your story of the Bastille. We have always celebrated July 14th in our house. Our cat Eliot, she was born on the 14th. The statue is impressive. Even though only a few were incarcerated, it was the action that counted. After all France certainly went through some major changes after the Bastille fell. Love you Haiku. A perfect sentiment in this time of the impossible mood for violence. jk

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    1. I certainly appreciate the symbolism of July the 14th and its place in French history. Modern France is so dependent on the principles of fairness and equality that the revolution brought about. I do so hope that kindness can help bring some peace to this troubled world. Very best wishes! 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much and I am glad you enjoyed the history. It was an amazing period in France but certainly not “kind”. We need a lot more kindness in the world at the moment. Very best wishes to you. 🙂

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  5. Pingback: Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Prompt #Challenge Roundup #58 | ronovanwrites

  6. Hi TJ! What a meaningful haiku. It’s inspiring and true. There is such a lack of kindness and empathy in the world nowadays. I blame over-medication. Many people don’t allow themselves to feel anymore. The minute they experience a bit of sorrow or worry they pop a pill. Sometimes it’s normal to feel sad, angry, scared, worried . . . These pills wipe out the good emotions along with the emotions people perceive as bad. 😦

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    1. Empathy is something that comes from a full emotional experience and I agree with you that the tendency to see strong emotions as an issue rather than something to accept and work through distressing. Of course no one wishes people to be miserable but learning how to cope with hard times is part of the human experience.

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