“The cost of flight is landing”
~ Jim Harrison
He can be found on street corners
where predator and prey
shake hands in unity
-but ever so briefly
He can be found in churches and schools
-appropriately dressed
-getting good and evil to agree
-but ever so briefly
He works to adjust altitudes
-keeping addled minds occupied
by twinkle-twinkle little stars
that promise never to land
©Vivian Zems
This is for Day 2 of Jilly’s 28 Days of Unreason
Camera flash– Real Toads
Image:Clock of the Académie Française, Paris
Smell The Coffee 
June 2, 2018 at 11:35 pm
You have indeed created a picture with words here, Vivian. Love those last couple of lines!
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June 3, 2018 at 9:27 am
Thanks Jilly!
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June 3, 2018 at 12:30 am
Great message and imagery. How sad that it is “ever so briefly.” That is so often the case. So glad our paths crossed. 🌷
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June 3, 2018 at 7:15 pm
Thank you… I appreciate your comments 🙂
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June 3, 2018 at 12:31 am
My goodness this is good! I suppose they are like shadows lurking near the corners.. especially love the closing lines. Stellar write 💜
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June 3, 2018 at 7:16 pm
Thanks Sanaa!
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June 3, 2018 at 1:54 am
Very cool! I especially like “by twinkle-twinkle little stars / that promise never to land”!
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June 3, 2018 at 7:15 pm
Thanks qbit
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June 3, 2018 at 2:28 am
Getting good and evil to agree………that takes skill. I, too, like the twinkle twinkle………..
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June 3, 2018 at 7:16 pm
Thanks Sherry!
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June 3, 2018 at 7:16 am
kaykuala
where predator and prey
shake hands in unity
-but ever so briefly
Yes, there are reasons to believe they congregate at a common location where they can outwit each other!
Hank
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June 3, 2018 at 7:14 pm
Indeed!
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June 3, 2018 at 8:56 am
This poem is uncanny and sinister, Viv, and it made me shudder! We know these shady characters exist but can’t quite accept that they are everywhere. You’ve captured the elusive element so well n the repeated phrase: ‘but ever so briefly’. The stanza that made me shudder most was:
‘He works to adjust altitudes
-keeping addled minds occupied
by twinkle-twinkle little stars
that promise never to land’,
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June 3, 2018 at 9:29 am
I know it as rather dark-drug dealers tend to be like that. Thank you 🙂
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June 3, 2018 at 11:16 am
I read this as if your protagonist was Time itself.. a very interesting read.
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June 3, 2018 at 7:14 pm
Thanks Kerry- I’m glad that it could be read in so many different ways 🙂
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June 3, 2018 at 1:57 pm
I loved your poem, especially, “…but ever so briefly.”
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June 3, 2018 at 7:13 pm
Thanks Anell
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June 3, 2018 at 2:00 pm
If only we could seriously cash in on those very few / very brief moments of consensus before they dangle the new “Hey lookey-lookey over here” before our war-wearied eyes, eh?
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June 3, 2018 at 7:44 pm
The ever so briefly….the twinkle twinkle little star, the predator on every corner put me in mind of the ubiquitous pritest who molested children and are just now finally being brought to task.
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June 3, 2018 at 7:54 pm
Oh my! The church has a lot to answer for. I’m re-reading my poem and realise it can be read in so many ways. I meant it to be about a drug-dealer getting people high… and now I have so many more interpretations.
Thanks Toni!
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June 4, 2018 at 6:40 am
I read this as God making the universe in six days, He had to be fast. And the gravity that keeps the stars in place is useful everywhere. Very nice. Vivian. That’s one of the beauties of poetry, it says to the reader what each particular reader sees. My analagis are often different than the readers. And so many read me literally.
..
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June 4, 2018 at 4:39 pm
Such an interesting read Vivian.
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June 4, 2018 at 5:08 pm
Thank you, Linda!
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