Photo by Katy Brown, Davis
IN FIVE YEARS' TIME
—John Haines
In five years' time
our faces may be a map
of roots printed
in the shade of a wall.
Or this: the armor of things
will have fallen,
those who now resemble
alligators and gars
will be sleek in fur.
Or else in the slime
a sleeping engine wakes:
all the ooze and the bubbles
will burst, and the hat
of the forest fly off.
In five years' time,
torn from the fiery
bubble of ourselves,
we may all be walking
in heaven,
battered and dreaming,
our shoes in our hands:
"Where did we come from?
How did it happen?"
Over the cuckoo-land
of our seeming-to-be,
a brief rumble passes
like a cloud:
This story of things
that never happened.
—John Haines
In five years' time
our faces may be a map
of roots printed
in the shade of a wall.
Or this: the armor of things
will have fallen,
those who now resemble
alligators and gars
will be sleek in fur.
Or else in the slime
a sleeping engine wakes:
all the ooze and the bubbles
will burst, and the hat
of the forest fly off.
In five years' time,
torn from the fiery
bubble of ourselves,
we may all be walking
in heaven,
battered and dreaming,
our shoes in our hands:
"Where did we come from?
How did it happen?"
Over the cuckoo-land
of our seeming-to-be,
a brief rumble passes
like a cloud:
This story of things
that never happened.
__________________
—Medusa
Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the artists. Previously-published work is okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com).