For more than a score of decades In dusty Xian they guarded him faithfully protecting him as he had planned this boy, this emperor The Unifier of all under Heaven architect of a Great Wall Preparing his immortality At twelve tender years gathering this imperial army - soldiers, horses, chariots marshalled in preparation for the impending death of the King of Qin Now in a Shaanxi mausoleum curious visitors throng to the unearthed tomb of Qin Shi Huang gaze with half-interested tourist eyes on this defeated terracotta army. The mighty fearsome custodians of China's first all-powerful ruler Toy soldiers of a long dead child.
Note: This was an entry for one of a series of colour-themed contests (this one being Terracotta) on Allpoetry.com. When Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum was discovered, there was an army of full-sized Terracotta soldiers, horses, chariots buried with him in the tomb, which now constitutes a museum at Shaanxi province, Xian, China. (c) P.J. Murphy, 2005 www.pjmurphypoems.blogspot.com
