Sunday, February 25, 2024

Mother Courage

 


Earlier in the day
I noticed pink flowers blooming
On the illinois lawns
In february
Children playing in t-shirts and shorts
In the alley
And I was reading a book about
The various ends of the world
The one we are on would be
End #6
Maybe life he said
Is just a way for the planet
To distribute its various elements
We die and certain chemical
Processes initiate
We live & we catalyze others
The planet needs
Its lifeforms to do that
For it to remain
Earth
He said I think
At night I went to a play
The actors were on stage
Dressed as soldiers
Marching and singing
Trapped in an infinite chain
Of european wars
And there were people on the margins
Hustling dodging bullets
Hiding their livestock
There was a wagon that didn't roll
And a magical gun
That poured wine
From its muzzle
We went across the street
To talk about it
Over beer cider cbd soda
I didn't know the man
Across from me
I learned he was a theater director
Who'd begun
As a poor renegade
But was now renowned
We've been traveling he said
India for a wedding
Rome for thanksgiving
(Though the guy who invited us
Wasn't there when we arrived!)
We saw the colosseum & the taj mahal
And we flew to london
And saw different plays
Some bad some good
I didn't really understand this
It seemed a little late in the game
For all of it
We were in the middle
Of End #6 after all
And I thought of an idea I'd had
For a science fiction story
An alien species
Wants to live on earth
Regardless of its condition
So it hoodwinks humans
Into transferring underground
Carbon into the skies
Viscous black bubbling
In 1859 Pennsylvania
Seemed like a stroke of luck
It was not
We weren't moving around
The right chemicals anymore
The aliens had tricked us
We were flying to Paris
To see an opera
And I was driving 10 miles home
Instead of walking or biking
Or taking a horse
This was a mistake

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