h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was in a poetical mood so I wrote some. I think I shall put more poems I wrote long ago in here, some of the better ones. When I was in high school I edited the literary magazine two years in a row. As editor I had lots of duties, my favorite one of which was filling in the holes in the pages with made-to-order drawings and quickie poems like these. I'm sure they could stand some editing, but they capture the way part of my brain is feeling at the moment. That's the Dionysian beauty of verse.

Morning Song

When I awoke, my brain still dreaming,
I thought I heard them call my name.
When I got up, my muscles screaming,
I realized that I was lame.

Lost and wandering this world,
My mind is made up for me
I should have known it’d be like this
But no one ever warned me.

I struggle hard against my cage
of driftwood and barbed wire,
swallowing a twisted rage
That smolders softly, gentle fire.

* * *

Found

Found.
A child with tattered wings,
lying on the Interstate
just outside of Kirkwood.

There was a stain from a coffee mug on the newsprint,
and it looked altogether too normal.
The type was set in the cheap way
that even supermarket tabloids
have improved upon.

I hoped
they’d bring her back soon.
It’s dangerous out there
for a brainchild.