It might be none or any one of us
Who stay to see this through,
Who pulls a coat in closer
And who gives his arm to you;
But who of us wouldn’t follow
From the dusty hallway
Into the early afternoon
Which of us hasn't always...?
--Joe Henry from "Charlevoix" on Shuffletown
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some Saian mountaineer
Struts today with my shield.
I threw it down by a bush and ran
When the fighting got hot.
Life seemed somehow more precious.
It was a beautiful shield.
I know where I can buy another
Exactly like it, just as round.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I am not a well educated man except that I have educated myself, and, because I have educated myself, what I say will not stand up, for lack of recognized authority. This in turn leaves me free to say what I will, in the hope that, like those small forces that do not threaten empires and are thus not fully pursued, the things in which I believe can survive in some high and forgotten place until the power of empire subsides."
--Mark Helprin
Excerpt from
"Il Colore Ritrovato"
In his collection The Pacific
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
my user name at gmail
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~