In playground of imagination
I'll climb
the tallest mountains with no stress,
I just need~
a helmet, rope, and other climbing gear,
warm layers, good boots, maybe some fear,
a bit of my heart in my mouth,
to chase the butterflies from my belly—
no need to fight against my shadow~
it'll be too tight upon the rock,
wrapped
as image around
the creeps
like a siamese twin
afraid to be
u n j o i n e d...
then, with gentleness,
without my blood running cold,
so the teeth of cold don’t bite too deep,
up my legs will climb~
a step at a time,
slow and steady~toward the top,
trusting my body to do the rest~
just pausing...
to refuel my throat and tum,
sip from the hydration bladder,
and from my backpack, grub a hiking snack...
When at the peak—/\
show me the bullet,
let me bite~
now too far for my feet to still be warm,
release the wings~~~
let me f l y
like an eagle~~~
let me s o a r
far into the sky where no star gleams
and no moon glows nor sun shines,
where angels peep~and I can see them
and the roars of lions are like
w h i s p e r s
and thunderbolt shouts are dim,
where s i l e n c e is loud, yet never speaks
where lights are like shadows,
with f l i c k s brighter than the sun,
and fires that burn with no flame—
just pale blue s m o t h e r s ~
in a womb so sullen and solemn.
Will I get friends among the a l i e n s,
if I fly~~~in a saucership, oxygen-filled,
and with dinitrogen oxide~ to force a laugh,
to rise from where l o n e l i n e s s
has thrown me:
down in the dump;
face like a wet weekend;
just to have the blues;
what if the saucercraft c r a s h - l a n d e d ?
Will I be found—still human—
like in
"There are Martians Among Us?"
But wait...
are the lights on, and no one at home?
am I far away with the fairies?
If true,
then there is
a method
to this
m a d n e s s.
Copyright ©
Maclawrence Famuyiwa
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