Millennium poem: paean to future--bring it on!

ًHgeocities.com/aruehls/index.htmlgeocities.com/aruehls/index.htmldelayedx=]شJےےےےےےےےےےےےےےےےےےےےب`•D¯;OKtext/html0x¯;ےےےےb‰.HThu, 12 Apr 2001 15:39:48 GMTf-Mozilla/4.5 (compatible; HTTrack 3.0x; Windows 98)en, *=]شJ¯; Millennium poem: paean to future--bring it on! <BODY bgcolor="#003366" text="#C0C0C0"> <TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT WIDTH=20% BORDER=0 ALT=" "> <TR><TD> <!put in graphic and alt text; put in table for placeholding, also alt for table> <IMG SRC="frwrkssm.gif" ALIGN=right ALT="fireworks animation"> </TABLE> <H2 ALIGN=CENTER> <A NAME="part 1: Begin">MILLENNIUM</A></CENTER></H1> Bring on the next millennium! I'll wear my silver spacesuit; you bring your little horn to toot. Hands conjoined, we'll share champagne, sing that Robbie Burns song a billion weak and strong trilling ancestry and hope, their ache staking off millennia from Jesus, one of us who spoke his godliness, only to be felled whose spirit, tortured, sputtered; held. Two thousand years and more, men pontificate. Two thousand years&#95and more&#95still women wait &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp to celebrate balance. Hear us, heed us, heal us on this sanctifying night: Come home; we need to mediate this war. One by one, we're shrunk a size too small. One by one we're stranded, estranged and explanted &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspdisenchanted after all. Two by two they diced the flood. Let's gamble on our old acquaintance Ovid, metamorphize. O night divine I'll bless yours; you shrine mine. You shoot the moon; I'll brew up fireworks for breakfast, sparking synergy of genders joined in fecund symbiosynchrony, a gift to pass into an age of pain and hope we'll barely see. <H2><A NAME="part 2: Power"><CENTER>II. The Power</CENTER></H2></A> Abound in me, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp root equation of all your science &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp cleaver of paradox, origin of source &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp parent of conception, animus of the dead Bring on your next millennium , &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp you who count in turns around an obscure star Before I brew my morning coffee and zip up &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp your dusty atoms will be the building blocks of cockroaches and desert sand Your names for me are the prattlings of a toddler &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp conceived in ignorance &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp whacking his friend over the head for a toy, calling it a holy war You pray for peace and plenitude &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Try dragging the oceans in which you drowned your humility, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp those decorated with mercury and black oil You dare call me male? I'll spit you from my self-seeded womb again and again until you know better; &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp clone myself until you're dizzy Gender I engendered to disjoin my mellifluous omnipotence &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp the apple was eaten before the tree was even born; and even I couldn't have foreseen the feat of divine engineering it would be! &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp right from Adam's tattling, blaming Eve... and the colossal collusion of your females! &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp a monument of kudos to my savvy foresight Criticize, yes, but anthropomorphize? Keep going&#95I dare you. Color you have, true-blue dogs, orchards, guilt and flights of fancy a galaxy of burnished, self-invented languages with which to fashion &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp soothing strings of poetry, the jewelry of jokes, the luxury of lyricism sunrise and sunset, guitars, hills to climb the foundations and beams of civility recipes for reciprocity elephants, rainbows, grace flowers, candles, baseball movies, smiles, stormclouds seeds and soil, bicycles and beaches redemption and radiant energy... Go wipe your knees&#95 stop blathering to me and heal yourselves. <H2><CEENTER>< III. "Mother Nature" Has a Word</CENTER> </H2> You call your God the Father? Sometimes I think even you daughters are smitten with those Y chromosomes. But remember this: yang doesn't work alone&#95 Your mother feels neglected when you forget to phone. Maybe some calling card is due: &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp a midsized asteroid or two? or, better yet, a homing hunk of space junk? &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp a real rumbler beneath your Yucca Mountain? &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp a few volatile volcanic fountains? Forgive me; I'm not myself today ; &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp my veins are visited with the discordant discarded &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp my skin is noisy with various versions of greed &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp my breathing cries out for conscious concentration &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp my heart is pressed to perform under pressure But that's okay; I know you're busy. Go on back to your reliance on science; I can take care of myself. <H2><A NAME="part 4: Lost"><CENTER>IV. Lament of the Lost</CENTER></H2></A> Where are my people? Where is my clan? My blood is thinned by a passel of passing strangers, sucking My labor is labored, milked and misused &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp horded for the unborn progeny of impoverished souls seeking solace &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp I am spent My culture's uncultured; my walls built of debt Smoke knocks at my windows, gathering like a curse I cannot find my kin. I commune with the confused &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp cast myself outcast &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp sojourn with the distant, the disturbed, the diffused &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp ride beside misfits Our pleas cannot engage the eyes of the empty Drying out, dying, we sniff for rudiments of animation, drink tears Who has broken the bones of my ancestors &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp paved over their paths &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp scrambled their signals? Now children killing children; raising themselves, each other &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp mother's milk dried of disuse &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp languages beaten into submission, dulled &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp ancient stories autopsied &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp healing wisdom walled off &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp integrity defrauded &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp government ungoverned &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp sustainability dissolved &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp puberty unplugged &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp nature declawed &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp passion drugged &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp insight pronounced legally insane &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp respect disrespected &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp cooperation coopted by corporations &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp science conscripted &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp poetry dictated &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp guns glorified &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp denial denied &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp parents discarded &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp business deified This is my culture. Where are my people? Where is my tribe? I am shattered, scattered. The scent of my trail is trapped in traffic &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp trampled by &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp last year's fashions &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp older models &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp the unrepaired &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp some wearing my fingerprints. I chew at my children; claw at myself. Where is my tribe? Where is my clan? Corporate cancers choke their hosts, drop their dross, bowl us over growing, growing... The apples are poisoned, waxed, polished; &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp so we sleep. I ache for awakening. You, whose fur fits this skin, your claws this curve &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp whose bite bites this shape, whose foot pads this print: Can we invent a reinvention? &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp renew, rebuild, restore &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp handle our land with quietude &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp harvest our own labor crops &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp customize our customs &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp honor honor? Can we heed a need to breed relation, communication? Drop messages in bottles, your redolence on corners tune in, send out scouts sign bounce smoke signals from satellites paint petroglyphs, code missives flag sharpen your feelers, fire flares scratch characters in cinderblock mark tattoo symbols of solidarity weave web sites... Can we extrude communion &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp without fatal intrusion on imagination, ingenuity, evolution &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp or not? What will the verdict be&#95in a thousand years, did we ripen, or rot? <H2><A NAME="part 5: Chorus"><CENTER>V. A Little Chorus </CEN TER></H2></A> The Cynics: Behold the human marketing of moments wherein these players, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp who, upon the rise of any other sun, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp would meekly to their daily duties schlepp &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp with half-closed lids and hearts and minds to match, do, on this rouged and sequined day, deck themselves out in chump hope as if the gods lay on them a reprieve from negligible lives this close to too burdensome to bear. But that they keep such gods' bellies yo-yoing with yuks preserves them only. The Symps: Hearken to the spirit exhibited anon: for all the lifelong nudges they endure toward the walls of their mortality, no horror bounced out by the gods does take, nor terror break, the bright wombs of their souls that do harbor their kickin' creativity with music morph their rages and palettes eighty-six their grief Behold how they are down for this dance, their dance&#95 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp they steal the gods' own blue suede shoes. This turn in time is of their own invention: They celebrate themselves. <H2><A NAME="part 6: Finale"><CENTER>VI. Finale: A Bigger Sound </CENTER></H2></A> Bring on the next millennium. You nab your snappy, new-age drum; I'll grab an old guitar to strum. We'll put plumes on our party pants &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp let fly a new galactic dance. Collect the clarinets, the castanets &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp triangles and trumpets Bring on the banjo, bongo, bass &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp piano, congas, lute, sitar Slide on over that trombone, a tuba and a saxophone &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp xylophone & mandolin, zither & accordion Ferret out a fiddle; fetch a fat French horn Join up a Jew's harp, lasso a washboard Rustle up some speakers, amps&#95don't forget to plug in cords Nick some nyckelharpas & borrow balalaikas String a song on a sarangi & procure piccolos Bag up bagpipes, a bassoon &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp we'll have a howl at the moon Oboe, meet marimba &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Cello&#95tambourine Hijack a hi-hat; snare a snare Timpani, you're over there Snag cymbals & a bright steel drum &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp tap, snap, rattle, shake, clap, hum Hola, ocarina; pedal, need a push? Hunt up hurdy-gurdys, harps, ukeles, flutes Ahoy to you, didjeridu; come on in, theremin Oil your bows & tune your toes Resin your lips, polish your hips Y, et, und and we're going to the boards with velvet vocal chords Bring on a new euphonious noise&#95 Women rhymed with men; girls cheered on by boys &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp (you appellated "queer:" you, too, are welcome here) Let's let loose on the universe &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp attract an alien or twain &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp paint neon rainbows on our pain &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp snake-charm big, bad bosses &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp abrogate our losses &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp fill angst with dread of harmony &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp alienate our anomie You wear your magic memories; I'll face the future on my knees. Bring it on, we'll grin & sweat We may be beaten, but we're not dead yet. You pass out gold antennae; I'll share my shekere. It's time; the time is calling us to play and pray, to pray and play. <!line> <HR color="#D60000"> <!table for author's note> <A NAME="note"> <TABLE ALIGN=CENTER> This poem, meant to be shared, was written in an attempt to look back, look forward, contemplate, and create a little something meaningful out of it all. I hope that it helps to bring this time a little significance beyond a couple of sloppy kisses. Please feel free to: <!unordered list to create bullets> <UL> <LI TYPE=disc>share this poem by copying and passing it on, or directing people to it <LI TYPE=disc>copy it, add graphics and/ or sound, (anybody play the didjeridu?) and put it on your own page, maintaining end credits and author's note. I don't have the time or equipment to add these things.</UL> If you feel the need to edit the text, please clarify that you've done so. </TABLE> </BODY>