Another Side of Epic (part 7)
I tried to warn them what would happen, so I did
Old Moss readied his home beneath the tree for winter's wind
He lived within the roots as he was anchored to the ground
The tree had lived as long as the thick forest was
Old Moss was a magician to some
And a religious to the others
But as respected as the forest
Just because there is snow on the roof
That doesn't mean that all is dead below
He touched his white hair and shook his head
A mouse ran towards the door
I went to Lord Kyryn and his court and spoke, so I did
Old Moss understood the meaning of the stones
Their lie to the sun and direction to the stars
What hid in the holly and the meaning in the bush
Just because the locusts come and eat your crops
No one would invite the vermin in to eat them
What would be of the hunger they would have next
No one took his meaning or his council
He hunkered down for a long cold winter
The land is good and ripe with taking
Was easy for us to pull our boats ashore
Halkoc sailed the sea to here and the men can grow rich
With plunder
These peasants were easy to pick clean
No real resistance
When the winter winds cease to storm
We'll take are treasures home and
Have taken what we want and go
And live well
Our families will grow strong and right
For now in winter's soft low glow
We'll wait our time and remain warm
Mydaefandynm's hall was ripe with time
Tomorrow's march would be swift and strong
The dragon's ships would burn
This stranger's presence was still some sport
Yes, mead and meat were still on table
His head might join the traitors'
The darkness invited in a tongue to speak
Entertainment for the men and diversion from the death
Of some
This sport would play out soon
Speak your piece, cloth coat
Another Side of Epic (part 6)
Kyryrn was lord of some lands below the Forth
These were rich areas of calm and trade
These were towns using the law of land
And Kyryn was even and respected rather than feared
The first attacks from the dragon boats had come at
Midsummer
They had looted and burned
Killing subjects at random without conscience
When the second slaughter came during reaping time
Lord Kyryn collected men owing fealty and sent the sun-beards back
To the sea
But at a great cost in lives and autumn crops for the winter
This third landing was too much for the lands of Kyryn
And they stayed this time to winter on these shores
Merchants and landholders came to Kyryn to hold court
This court sent negotiators to the sun-beards
Their heads came back on pikes
There'd be no peace as long as they ruled the coast
The fearsomeness of Mydaefandynm and his men were known in
The world
It was decided to send emissaries to his court and pay him with
Trading rights, lands, and suzerainty
Mydaefandynm's lands had not been attacked by the dragon ships
Since he had sent them back into the sea burning
All men knew of his reign and champion Aethelrodmyd
To rid themselves of a frightful attacker they needed someone
Whose legend was more powerful
Homage was paid and accepted
There would be a force sent down from above the Forth
On winter's worn
The day the winter turned toward spring
This was good news to men in the lands of Kyryn
Mydaefandynm knew he could extent his rule
And give his men something to fight over besides each others' owns
Time to kill someone else besides lowland or highland lords
And he knew he brooked no prisoners
There was no ransom handsome enough for him
It would be a good fight
He was ready
Kill or die
He called his men to him
Another Side of Epic (part 5)
Rex Mydaefandynm mac Mydaefand from Firth upon Forth
Had only one lesson to learn while young
Kill or die
At five winters he was given a sword by his father
And set upon a dog with a bone
The dog died at his hands
By seven summers he was an accomplished hunter
Mastering bow and blade
He never knew too well his mother
She was a singer of songs and sat at his father's feet
Her being from the highlands and he being lord of the lows
Mydaefand a most fearsome warrior married his children well
And interlaced his conquests with holdings by blood
Mydaefand took no prisoners and had no use for ransoms
When he showed up on the fields or in the halls
There was no parlaying to be done
As his first born son he learned the hand was for two reasons
To hold a weapon and crush an opponent
By his eleventh summer he fought by his father's side
He learned the advantage of fear
Many ghosts circled his feet
He had drank from their skulls at their fires
When the father fell in Mydaefandynm's fifteenth fall
He stepped into his stead without a nod
And routed the enemy without leaving a single one standing
Destroyed the village and burnt down the fields
Those hiding went hungry that winter
And tales of this young lord grew long with the shadows
Around cold hearths of his cold heart
The winds whispered death at his coming
By his eighteenth spring he called his family to him
And told them to tell others of the coming storm
Because of his birth and place he laid claim to both high and low
Lands within
The call went out and homage was paid
The two places where it was not, laid smoldering by the fall
Raiders came to his coasts and ships were sent back to sea
On fire
The most feared harriers of his time came to him
They followed his every command
The only sound one heard at disagreement was the hum of his
Long sword
Before it stuck you down dead
There was no breach of confidence
There were no questions to be raised
He brooked no excuses and took nothing that he didn't want
But what he wanted was his
He could be cruel or kind, it stood at his pleasure
As he stood over other men by a head
He built halls and protected his lands against non-clans
There was but one rule of law
Kill or die
Not many challenged this court
Those who did, had their heads on a pike
He was king
Legends would soften his edges
Sing praises that were never there
Future generations make him seem as though fair
But those around his life knew that he was as fiery and as
Wild as his red burning hair
And the serpent with teeth that he wore on his arm
Oh no - the end
It's over, I'm done - stick a fork into me
Dylan has made a Cadillac ad
And compact discs are done as a medium
I thought it was over ten years ago now
When I last rid myself of hundreds of lps
And Bobby boy did an ad for Victoria and her secrets
At least that was funny and we all were just jealous
But this latest blow is too much for my head
Driving off to the desert in his caddy?
And what will I do with 3000 cds
I still have 500 tapes of the past
I've traded in enough for technology
I've done this before
Time to sit in my chair and rock to what I have
If a new sound comes along
I'll just spin the discs that I have
And tell all that I liked it the first time
Years ago, while I can remember when...
I'm an old non-downloading guy and cheap at that
I don't even want the chip implant any more
It's time I dealt with the truth
Move on world - I'm staying put
With a smile and a song of my own
Bob, do what you do and I'll watch as the parade
Passes by
Another Side of Epic (part 4)
Cykles nee Gryffred from Holyrood byrn
Dark boyhood memories of an ending of time
Burning pyres of flesh and smoke filled with death
The violent dragon ship raiders laid waste to everything
Living but the children
They left them alone on the coast with ash filled air
All the valuables burning or gone
He had seen his father struck down then beheaded
His mother raped and gutted
Violence too graphic for a five year old
He was gathered together with the other four children on the bluff
As everything was torched
When the ship pulled out, he weeped with the others
Cykles was saved from sure death of starvation, exposure
Gryffred, a traveler, a naturalist, a mystic had seen the smoke
He placed the others with farmers inland
And taught Cykles about the world
Why the stones faced the sun and how to read the night sky
The service of the Oak
The meaning of the seas and water
The chanting of the Holly
Like Gryffred, Cykles did not wish to join the service of magic
But stay in the world of nature and men
It's time boy for me to teach another and for you to use what
You know
You've grown true and peace shines through you
It's time for you to take an orb and a robe
Cykles remained in the highlands for three cycles of nature
Until he'd seen the signs of war and gathering clouds around
Mydaefandynm
He knew this was more than the usual clan on clan
The violence would be great and widespread
Commoners would be laid to waste as well as land
This was another ending time of grief and death
It was time for him to try and not see little ones left to nature
He would walk through the doors on this low gray night
It was time to tell the tale of the twine
And show a light from the crystal
To remove a hate from eyes
And a singing of steel from ears
Another Side of Epic (part 3)
The skin and leather clad harriers pounded on the table
Only two men wore cloth, Mydaefandynm and
The stranger
Neither flax nor hemp, just animal and steel
This was not the refined times of legend
These were not the warrior princes of tales yet to be told
Each man was testament to his violence
After hacking their enemies they would rape and kill the other's
Women
And pike the children that were left
Hate and mother's milk the same fed diet for the victor's young
From birth distrust of others anything that was different
A lock of hair on the other side of the head or hair at all
Skin signs on the arm instead of the back
Or a different design on a scabbard
It took little to make an enemy or foe
And only clan to make them with
Fierceness shone in their eyes
As hate pierced across the table to the other side
There were no friends only clansmen
Those you fought with today may die by your sword tomorrow
"Each of you have a piece of the crystal"
"It shines but a small part by itself, but like the sun when together"
Grunts and guttural barking of the groups within groups questioning
Language was not one of their weapons or shields
When the yelling died down
"Think on this, each of you is like a stand in the rope"
"Twisted together you have strength"
The boy understood where the men left off
Mydaefandynm invited the stranger to sup as he threw off
A man to his right
He distrusted the cloaked man but wanted him close
Near him and Aethelrodmyd
"Speak your name and purpose for coming to us"
Names held keys to whys, wheres, and who
Another Side of Epic (part 2)
Before the headless traitor's bodies could hit the floor
Warriors on both sides of the long table kicking out their stools
Behind them were on their feet
No one but the serving boy had noticed the door open
At the far end of the meeting hall a cloaked stranger blew in
Like a summer's breeze on a stagnant shore
Men were yelling at Aethelrodmyd
Language in gutteral grunts and howls not far above the nature
In which they all lived
The king's champion, the only one seated, drained his mead goblet
Somewhere out in the damp rainy heath sat a salamander on one of the
Few solid spots
King Mydaefandynm pounded the table for silence and explained
Aethelrodmyd's role in trapping the traitors and claiming their heads
For the king
"Haroo!" howled the harriers when the tale had been spun for them
All sat to dine again
The boy still stared at the stranger in the multi-colored cloak
In a flaring light of the far brazier he caught the king's eye
As servers cleared the heads and bodies of the traitors
And brought more meat to the table
He spoke
"What means of a man are you to come to our feasting?"
All silenced at the king's questioning
"I beg your audience, great guests and master of the realm"
He drew out a large crystal that shone with inner light
All eyes were trapped in its wonderment
He threw it on the table and it shattered into as many pieces as were
There
Each man had a cut stone in front of them
"Like so many pieces as before you, all can shine better as one"
But no one paid attention to those words
Each picked up the piece of stone before them and stole it away
Into their purses
"Ah, like stands is each man, but together you can bind as rope"
Only the boy heard all of the words
And drew to the man as he handed him a clear but rose globe
And winked as if he knew
"Are you a wizard come to ensure our victory on the field?"
Mydaefandynm waved the stranger forward to a seat near him
"Battles be, but like the moor will turn it all to peat"
Aethelrodmyd reached back for his sword eying distrust
The silent giant stood still
"Be still all who sup with Mydaefandynm, I ask for passage"
"Nothing more"
"Can you see tomorrow and what the battle brings?"
"Aye, nothing but death. No knowledge there."
The Other Side of Epic (part 1)
Dark leaden gray clouds just touching wind bent trees
Little light shone into the murky night
Cold drizzle had become part of existence
The log and mud meeting hall squat on a rise
Inside
Air was thick with the smoke of braziers and burning fat
Tallow candles, and smelled of
Sweat from nights of men swapping tales from far away
Whens and wheres
Eating the roasted meats with two hands
Voices rising over one another in layers of truths
Armaments hung on pegs and leaned against the barkless beam walls
Mead steins half full and being filled
Drafted down with a broad swing of an arm
King Mydaefandynm knew the combined strength of his harriers
Toasts and meats were served by the comely maids of his
Lands
This was a gathering of warriors from the two oldest clans
That until this past reaping season killed one another
But now had a common foe
They sat on opposite sides of the long table
Half the men had tats of symbols not known to the others
Circles in circles, beasts with no names
Seared into their flesh after battles
Shaved heads and flowing locks met for this drink
Clansmen, I drink to your health and the death of our foes
A pounding roar like the waves of an angry sea
Yet, still distrust sat behind their eyes
Tomorrow, we hold the high ground tomorrow
And crush any that dare to advance before us
One sat silent with his broadsword sheathed on his back
Watching the men drink drafts next to him and whisper
They were a chink in the king's armor
we will not hold the ground to his left
we will be rich men come the sunset if there is one
With a single movement he swung his sword from his back and
Dropped the two men's heads onto the floor for the dogs
Men jumped and stood silent, but ready
Thank you Aethelrodmyd, you have found the traitors
Before they could do us harm
He sheathed his broadsword and sat and drank to the health
Of his lord
The door creaked open and a quiet breeze blew in
The Dark Room
He passed the room many times a day
Its dark interior calling his name, knowing his
Essence
Little light escaped, but there were shadows
Sitting like so many knicknacks propped on rows of shelves
So many incidents of self
All fading into the dark
Love life languishing loosing luster
Pluperfect tense
Calling to him like to many sirens
Just off the bow
But he was not lashed to the mast
Could've been a painter
Should've danced with her that night
Might've seen it coming
Would've known better than to study there
Had've made that decision when it occurred
And too haves and haves not in past tense
Knowing better than to enter
He walked to the window to open it to the sunshine
The delight of warm light on his face
Caught in the bags under his eyes
Walk down those steps and walk outside
Keep walking until, jog out in space
His present remained tense
Until those pasts eased out of his muscles
A quick walk turned into a slow run
The pavement pounding his soles
Worked well for awhile
But racetracks have a way of the finish line circling back
To the start
His eyes
As daylight wanes and night takes over
Cold clear star nights are yet to come
And mist clouds sit just above streetlights
Young girls become women and see his eyes
In their dreams
And feel the damp pull of some harvest moon
Time and tide slow to a crawl
And the night raven calls one last time before
Venus rises in the East
Almost motionless he waits for her
Piercing black eyes scan the nearly deserted night scene
No cloak, no dagger
Just the thirst
A few pass by his perch on the corner
He watches them go, they're not right for him
Too old or too young, too purposeful or too lost
But he's not goldilocks in whiteface
People pass by on the other side of the road
They feel some malevolence and walk out of their way
He smells her approach
Tastes the texture of her skin on his tongue
She feels his pull like the moon on the tide
Like the serpent in Eden
His words of greeting are common but the sound is not
She bends to his will and her blood calls out for him
They walk on for a bit, then
Into his dark car
She proffers her neck
He tastes her sweet juices
She swoons in his arms
He sucks out her essence
And feels her life now his strength...
OK honey, I know your period is a pain, but
I'll get you some more midal
No, I'm not trying to suck the life out of you, I'll put the kids to
Bed and yes, I won't read them any scary stories
Why don't you just lie down, no, I'm not trying to tell you
What to do, no, I don't wish to control your every move
I'm sorry you're bleeding to death, it'll be ok, yes, I know that you've
Had PMS for two weeks, no, I'm not making light of it, no
I'm not a vampire
A drive
The night sky is obscured by low clouds
MaybeHe feels the darkness just beyond the headlights
Of the car heading 60mph
Hands white against the soft dark wheel
Hearing the sounds that the broken white center line made
Ca-chunk, ca-chunk
There's no radio out this far and the cd player is broken
He felt that he was about half-way from, to
So he was no longer driving away, but not yet driving to
Caught in that dichotomy of terms
He remembered the raccoon
In the early morning hours it slipped under the fence to fish
Sitting still waiting for the coy to swim near the edge
With one swift continuous move
The coy would have been plucked out of the just this side of green water
And sent flying onto the edge of the plastic-lined filtered pond
Turned from a fashion entertainment into a meal
The flopping fish finished in bites with some of its head
And eyes left for the light of the morning
Ca-chunk, ca-chunk
Was he driving towards the morning or away from it
As he drove towards the darkness just on the edge of his eyes
Open, looking, but not really seeing
He could feel the stands of his life unraveling
Like pieces of a rope being pulled apart by a black bird
Picked up and flown away
Sat down and drove away
She Smiled
I see you slowly tonight
And taste the texture of the color of your sky
It lifts the hem of my eyes
To wander in off the path and get lost
In the wordless wondering of your mind
Deep blue
I know that the sea has a floor
But I can't feel it when it drops so fast off the coast
I know that the ropes of our lives intertwine
Like dancing threads of DNA, swirling atoms
I sense the differences with distances from electron
To the center of your proton
I see you cross the room full of people
But they fade into the backdrop of painted curtain, shimmering
In time to your steps as you pass
Gravity pulls people to you as you spin around between
I feel the pull as your moon
As circling long distance astronomical bodies careen out to deep space
I wish to travel those paths
As electrons pulled from molecules create new colors
I need to be part of that blur
Later tonight when we're alone and we've become different people
I will talk with you about the time
And you'll smile at me that smile for awhile
Hey Granmom
They met every Tuesday night at Jeannie's house to practice. Between the five of them they had thirty-five grandchildren. And Sue's grandchild, Tim, was their publicist and promoter. Granny Sue was the drummer and backup singer. Granny Jeannie played the bass with Grannies Jane and Terry playing guitars and Granny Helen on keyboards. They'd all met in college and at a time of male dominated rock, decided to take the music into their own hands. From the early days of playing Beatles' covers to ripping through a set of Smashing Pumpkins and Alice In Chains, Sue played a backbeat to rival Ringo and Carman Appice. She brought her three boys up bouncing on her knees to a four-four beat. Her daughter teased on her metal sticks before there was any fear of lead in the paint.
She loved saying, "One, two, three, four," so much that all of her kids knew to countdown before saying grace or even turning on the TV. Her five grandkids loved the fact that granny was a rocker. So much so that most went to her with school problems long before they would even consider going to mom or dad.
The Tube Tops had one local radio hit back in the 80s entitled, "She'll Wreck Your Teeth," which was full of references to both candy and sex. They had even opened for The Fixx once when they came to play in town. Now they were practicing to play at Martha's (granny Jeannie's grandkid) prom. They had to practice some slow songs - not usually on their play list.
"OK, enough slow boats. Let's hit a rocker, huh? Or I'm going comfortablly numb on ya'all," yelled Sue to no one. "One, two, three, four..." Sue laid down the grove and waited for the others to pick up.
Helen started banging the opening chords to "All The Way To Memphis" and the girls joined in. Tim and Sue just laughed. And when they got to the line about getting his hands across her state line they all screamed it at the top of their lungs.
Gravity and time may be pulling be their bodies, and their voices may have a lost some of their youthful timbre, but there was no denying the way that they still attacked the music. None of them could still wear the tight run-away Joan Jett leathers, but that didn't mean that they'd lost their sexy. Jeannie could still turn heads and even the youngest fan knew that there was no rocking chair in these ladies' rockers. Sue had already smashed through a snare head tonight and she was surely trying to kill another. She may have always sat at the back of the band, but her drumming was always at the forefront and defined its sound - wild and nearly out of control.
She knew that she wouldn't tell the others about her lump until after they'd played Martha's prom. Her husband Ken knew, but no one else. The ten of them had grown up and old together. When Terry's husband had his two heartattacks, they all stood solidly behind her taking care of her kids while she nursed him back to health. Sue took her two youngest for six months. She even taught Bobby to play some mean licks with her hot sticks.
Now they open every gig with Moby Grape's "Hey Grandmom" and laugh throughout the whole song. Sue's youngest grandkid, Robby, had written his school paper about his drumming granny. No finger cakes and tea for this group. They didn't drink beer like they use to and the six pack may have one left over, but they were still young enough to rock and roll and certainly not old enough to die.
Another Day, Another Disapperance
Tears re-moistened her lashes and her smooth cheeks
The sun would rise, but their bedroom was still dark
She reached over and felt his dent in the mattress
It no longer would feel his warmth
A small shiver made her cold
There was no questioning that would fill the void
It was the morning after...
Purple bruises rose on his skin beneath the saffron robe
He sat on the concrete silently repeating his prayers
Hoping for the strength to make it until evening
Knowing that he may not see a moon rise again
Waiting for it to begin again
His eyes still burned from tear gas
Body beaten but spirit intact
The choice was still strong even if his legs would not hold
Up
There were soft cries in the dark
Many others had not made it this far
He felt blessed to be sitting on the damp floor
The sun would bring no warmth today...
They felt as broken as their equipment
Bright lights, gleaming helmets, black guns had busted into
Their home
Solders smashing everything with the butts of their rifles
Broken glass shards flew into their carpets and their
Skin
Pieces of plastic littered the floor
As the guns had brought them down too, defiant
Blood running down their cheeks
Now crusted on their swollen eyed faces
Just how much time had passed
She wasn't moving...
He held his ticket in his hand in the gray-green bus station
On a bench that had been polished by anxious seats of others
His parents would just now realize that he was gone
The knapsack took up all of his lap
They said that the battle was not his
But he knew
The fight would rage on
The horizon waiting...
There were no singing angles
No choirs lifting their voices on high
Just a sound of moaning underneath the earth's noise of moving
Who is listening today?
Some withered hand reaches out and crushes a budding rose
But buds behind buds blooms will not stop
Even if the roots were dug out
Another seed floats on the wisps of the wind
Waiting
Thanks
Hey, I just wanted to take a moment and thank Jo for all of her hard work setting up a forum for all of us to join and participate. Jo and Bob have done a nice job giving all of us something to creatively circle our wagons around. The inspirations are great and always thoughtfully selected. Thanks...
Four guys on their way to a dance
Billy Boys by Jack Vettriano
Three brothers and a friend with the sunset at their shoulder
And their futures just beyond their shadows
I hope that she'll be there
I'm glad that we all bought new hats
This shortcut is ruining my new shoes
I wish these pants fit better
Working farms in the lowlands
Haying, milking, herding, plowing, sowing, fencing,
A full contact life
Hands callused to a hard sheen
Cutting strong lean figures moving purposely across the
Evening's low tide mudflats
On their way to an early fall town gathering
In the square where torchlight will reflect on the folks' faces
Both their histories and their hopes
I wore my tie too, but I wish I'd had a jacket I could borrow
This new suit fits well
Damn my shoes are getting all sandy
Those pants are riding up on him
The night like life is all before them
The evening is anticipation
There's music coming from beyond their shadows
As a dance band warms up the cooling shade
"Hey, you look real cool in your suit"
"Why didn't we go along the road?"
"She's gonna be there you know"
"Do you think these collars are too wide?"
Whip thin and steel strong they move like the moon will rise
As the fading light catches in their eyes
That fire glows bright
I hope that we don't come back this way, my shoes
Now, it's left, right, left, left
The beer should be cold by now
I'll just stand to side, smoking, until I catch her eye
This is a moment in time like a bug caught in amber
Captured as they go, from, to...
A bird whistles its evening tune in the distance
The horizon has become the stars in the night sky
Tomorrow will have to take care of itself
to her #435
She moves like mist across an early morning
Summer lawn
Her dress surrounds her form as function
It's radiant print matches her smile
As it lights up her perfect face
But the radiance doesn't come from some moisturizing
Cream
It's that bit of star stuff that she uses
To shine like a sun
Her touch is like a whisper
That I feel through my skin
Nothing else but you seems to matter when I'm in your
Presence
Talk softly to me about your day
Whisper words that take me away
As I hold you closely I feel your warmth
The present is all that I have and you are here
We dance in the light
As I move with delight
A joy of this moment that we have
Knight's Night
I saw the tall knight with the aerdale crest walk
Into the trees
I lay on the edge of the battle field
Waiting to meet God
Our king would be proud of the outcome
The setting burnished sun is filtering through the leaves
Remembering seeing the sea in the west
When I was boy, before
I took down many a knight this day
The fight was a good and honorable one
I feel as though I have spent hours on a rack
My leg is broken, my arms are heavy, there is a
Spreading wet warmth on my side
I have a thirst that will not will not be quenched
A fleeting thought of honor and death
That there is no honor after death only death
But that will pass after passing
I must lift my arms and cross my chest plate with
My sword
The light fades from his eyes
They look like the thousands of other eyes now
Empty
The tall knight has entered the brace of trees
He sees men dead and dying, but not as many as
Laid on the field
Two horses had died under him this day
He's sorry that they are gone
His first one was cut out from under him
The second ran away as he cut through the standard barers
He walks towards the west slowly
And purposefully
Carrying his broad sword on his shoulder
Its blade is chinked and stained
His breast plate is covered with dirt and blood
Its polished gleam but a memory of yesterday
His legs and his arms are covered with pieces of
Others
With is short sword sheathed in his side scabbard
Still sharp and deadly
There are no enemies now
Just bodies on the ground waiting
For burial or death
Today like yesterday he is walking away
But tomorrow he'll worry about when
The solder sits in a foxhole, he sits in an armored car,
She waits in a bunker for daylight
The night seems to go on forever
A bullet tears into a helmet
A club explodes bone on the side of a head
What mark of Cain sits above each of us?
When will old men stop sacrificing the young?
I sit watching the ocean lap at the sand
The sun is now just a memory of the day
Eternal Vision
The not quite young man who has more questions than
Thoughts
Slipped out the back door of his house
On a crisp November night
Heading for the open field
He had dressed by the night light in his room
Double socking his feet so he wouldn't make a
Noise
Picking up his pre-packed backpack and other things he need
Listening to the silence of the house
Hearing his mother snore was a good sign
He walked quietly down the stairs avoiding the creaking step
Through the kitchen and into the mud room
He put on his heavy jacket and boots
His mother would be disappointed that he'd not worn a hat
Making sure to not let the back door slam
And he was gone
He walked across the heavily dewed grass that would be
Crunchy in few hours from the first frost
The clear cold night was alight with stars
He went sideways through the break in the fence
Making sure not to scrape his tripod
The field opened before him like his future
He spread his blanket on the hard ground
Matting down the wet grasses
In little time he had the tripod set up and mounted
His telescope
Using his flashlight to only get out his star book
There was no other light except from the sky
He could see the moisture from his breath hanging
In the air a moment before it became part of the atmosphere
Mixing with other breaths that had come before him
He fixed his glass on the galaxies
Looking at time
Light struck his eyes that had been traveling before
The first man struck another with a rock
Starting long before he would think about girls
As he focused on Andromeda he knew that the light
From the far side of the galaxy had traveled billions of light years
And its light was that much older than the near side
Which had traveled billions of light years to his eye
The oldest light would be from before the earth was formed
But it wasn't just distant light that he looked for
He peered into the darkness of the void
He saw the spaces between the stars
Watching the nothingness was dizzying
He'd read of dark matter and wasn't sure what it meant
Knowing nothing is there and understanding it all
Was not quite in his grasp yet
He looked away from the eyepiece and just laid down
On his back
Like boys and men and girls and women before
He marveled at the lights as they did their slow dance
Across the heavens
Moments, hours passed, the light was time
He focused back through the milky way to what was beyond
"I knew that you'd be out here"
He jumped through his thoughts
"I think that it's time to come in now"
He left his bedroom door open and his mom had seen his night light
She knew he'd taken to the field
And stood with a smile of calm recognition
Star gazing was over this eve
They crunched as they walked back to house
With her arm around his shoulders
He told her that he'd watched time
And the name of the stars he'd seen that night
He yawned
She nodded
"Where is your hat?"
"Now try and get some sleep" was her advice as she hung up his coat
When he got up to bed
He opened his curtain
And fell asleep as he watched the cosmic dance
Finished Line
Ok, that's it, I've quit the human race today
I've hung my sneakers up and said enough
Environmentalists stop the whining scree
I'm cheering for the polar bears but only if they eat you
Our senators are worth their wait in gold for sure
But I wish that they were thinner
Maybe the polar bears would have them over for dinner
Oh, Bartelby write this one down
Oh sure you'd prefer not to
Try this on as something new
Our sport's teams cheat to win
And their owners only care about the buck
What? greed corrupts the outcome
Say it ain't so Joe
That's like saying the burger joints don't care about
Nutrition
That they only care about the bottom line
And not about the wide bottoms that they create
Nah, all is lost without the cost
Let's trickle down on the rest
Sleep tight my child of delight
For they really are out to get you
I quit I cry and yell at the ocean
As it washes the sand out beneath my feet
And I stumble backwards on the shore of discontent
Bark at the moon and scream at the stars
Oh hell, I have a cold
If this snot quits running onto my lip
Maybe my disposition will improve
And I won't want polar bears to eat those crying in the wilderness
Just those creeping in the capitol