IV. Playthings of the Wind
1. Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind
"The past is a bucket of ashes."
1
THE WOMAN named To-morrow
sits with a hairpin in her teeth
and takes her time
and does her hair the way she wants it
and fastens at last the last braid and coil 5
and puts the hairpin where it belongs
and turns and drawls: Well, what of it?
My grandmother, Yesterday, is gone.
What of it? Let the dead be dead.
2
The doors were cedar 10
and the panels strips of gold
and the girls were golden girls
and the panels read and the girls chanted:
We are the greatest city,
the greatest nation: 15
nothing like us ever was.
The doors are twisted on broken hinges.
Sheets of rain swish through on the wind
where the golden girls ran and the panels read:
We are the greatest city, 20
the greatest nation,
nothing like us ever was.
3
It has happened before.
Strong men put up a city and got
a nation together, 25
And paid singers to sing and women
to warble: We are the greatest city,
the greatest nation,
nothing like us ever was.
And while the singers sang 30
and the strong men listened
and paid the singers well
and felt good about it all,
there were rats and lizards who listened
and the only listeners left now 35
are the rats and the lizards.
And there are black crows
crying, "Caw, caw,"
bringing mud and sticks
building a nest 40
over the words carved
on the doors where the panels were cedar
and the strips on the panels were gold
and the golden girls came singing:
We are the greatest city, 45
the greatest nation:
nothing like us ever was.
The only singers now are crows crying, "Caw, caw,"
And the sheets of rain whine in the wind and doorways.
And the only listeners now are the rats and the lizards. 50
4
The feet of the rats
scribble on the door sills;
the hieroglyphs of the rat footprints
chatter the pedigrees of the rats
and babble of the blood 55
and gabble of the breed
of the grandfathers and the great-grandfathers
of the rats.
And the wind shifts
and the dust on a door sill shifts 60
and even the writing of the rat footprints
tells us nothing, nothing at all
about the greatest city, the greatest nation
where the strong men listened
and the women warbled: Nothing like us ever was. 65
-----------------------------------------------------
The cycle of civilization, endless & repeating.
1. Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind
"The past is a bucket of ashes."
1
THE WOMAN named To-morrow
sits with a hairpin in her teeth
and takes her time
and does her hair the way she wants it
and fastens at last the last braid and coil 5
and puts the hairpin where it belongs
and turns and drawls: Well, what of it?
My grandmother, Yesterday, is gone.
What of it? Let the dead be dead.
2
The doors were cedar 10
and the panels strips of gold
and the girls were golden girls
and the panels read and the girls chanted:
We are the greatest city,
the greatest nation: 15
nothing like us ever was.
The doors are twisted on broken hinges.
Sheets of rain swish through on the wind
where the golden girls ran and the panels read:
We are the greatest city, 20
the greatest nation,
nothing like us ever was.
3
It has happened before.
Strong men put up a city and got
a nation together, 25
And paid singers to sing and women
to warble: We are the greatest city,
the greatest nation,
nothing like us ever was.
And while the singers sang 30
and the strong men listened
and paid the singers well
and felt good about it all,
there were rats and lizards who listened
and the only listeners left now 35
are the rats and the lizards.
And there are black crows
crying, "Caw, caw,"
bringing mud and sticks
building a nest 40
over the words carved
on the doors where the panels were cedar
and the strips on the panels were gold
and the golden girls came singing:
We are the greatest city, 45
the greatest nation:
nothing like us ever was.
The only singers now are crows crying, "Caw, caw,"
And the sheets of rain whine in the wind and doorways.
And the only listeners now are the rats and the lizards. 50
4
The feet of the rats
scribble on the door sills;
the hieroglyphs of the rat footprints
chatter the pedigrees of the rats
and babble of the blood 55
and gabble of the breed
of the grandfathers and the great-grandfathers
of the rats.
And the wind shifts
and the dust on a door sill shifts 60
and even the writing of the rat footprints
tells us nothing, nothing at all
about the greatest city, the greatest nation
where the strong men listened
and the women warbled: Nothing like us ever was. 65
-----------------------------------------------------
The cycle of civilization, endless & repeating.
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
Gets easier every day, because I remind myself of the times when I did let fear control me completely, and I never want to go back to those times again.
However, that combination isn't called the "Enamel Buster" for nothing. Watch out or the dentist might take you to town on this new favorite dish.
Also, in case you forgot, here were the other (actually healthy) combinations of food I was telling you about (or haven't yet):
- Green beans with Ketchup (a dash of pepper and hot sauce is great too)
- Brussel sprouts with Ketchup or hot sauce
- Cauliflower with ranch dressing (anything really, but everybody knows ranch dressing makes any vegetable better)
- Steamed cauliflower with Molly McButter (it's a fake, low-calorie powdered cheese you either love or hate)
- Fresh cucumbers dipped in soy sauce or a thick salad dressing (Caesar and Italian works nicely)
And one thing to note with all of these vegetables is that if they're to be cooked, I highly recommend those new vegetables that come frozen in a microwaveable steam package. They're a hell of a lot healthier and don't have that gross, oversalty taste that comes from the canning process. Just my opinion though.
Anyway, your kids are totally awesome and hopefully they like some of my tips!!
Take care dude.