I am a monument
To your sins and despair
In the dark of the world
In dead leaves and cold air
I stand a gray statue
Caught in winter's snare

I am the eternal self
Bound to the Earth and dirt
My toes dig like roots
Green leaves form my skirt
Memories of far away times
Deliver winds of old hurt

I am an innocent child
A simple and tender age
Basking in warm sunlight
Awaiting the next stage
Blessed by green gardens
An untamed sage

Deep in my soul
     I felt weak and weary
And knew that my end
     Hung silently near me
But on the wind
     And through the trees
A sound fluttered down
     A nearby breeze
It danced along
     A deviant path
Bending and phasing
     In a joy filled wrath
My hollow bones
     So light and enchanted
By that colorful tone
     Not evil nor slanted
Pushed ever onward
     And looked out below
The source of this song
     I was thirsty to know...

I came upon a white city
     Shining in the distance
If it weren’t for the music
     I would have missed it
Eagles soared above
     From mountaintop trees
They flew with grace
     Together on a breeze
I felt myself hopeful
     And drawn to their course
To that faraway city
     Far off to the north
With haste I dashed
     Down rocky plateaus
For I felt at home
     From my head to my toes
Like a child I raced
     As the sun finally set
Until I was caught
     By a rope-wound net!

It was forever as if
     I floated across those plains
My captors carried me
     With grace so strange
As the music got nearer
     Eagles sang with flutes
Piecing together a melody
     Known by trees and their roots...

I was placed in company
     Of a magnificent king
His crown was white
     And his robe, and his ring
He bid me welcome
     To live among his people
In his white city of courtyards
     Towers and steeples
As I opened my mouth
     And my heart to say yes
He stopped me before that
     With one lone request
I must dwell in this realm
     Until the end of my days
For in hiding, he said,
     We all must remain
Hidden from the darkness
     That dwells beyond the mountains
Hidden among fairies,
     Family, and fountains...

So there I dwelt
     Until the end of my life
In that shinning white city
     With my children and wife
I’ll never forget
     That most fortunate day
That by music and eagle
     I was once led astray...

Late night,
In an Uber,
Faded black lipstick...

Prison in Chicago,
With her foot on my leg.

In the year 3131
They come to devour our suns
Terrible, godlike, interstellar giants
Inconceivable beyond all reason and science.

Humanity and all her colonies,
Divided amongst the galaxies,
Finally united once and for all
For our race dare not fall!

To eliminate the threat of annihilation
We constructed planet-sized stations
That house massive and powerful guns
To protect and defend our vulnerable suns.

As our fears vanished behind us
Those in control sought to rebind us
For systems of authority never change,
Not even with pervasive freedom in range.

With the powerful distracted by their lust,
For control over every speck of dust,
There emerged a demented cult
That believes our race is at fault,
And beings that come from above
Do so out of divine, parental love.

These naive and delusional zealots,
Inspired by avarice long embellished,
By a ruthless society lacking empathy,
Have developed an ever enduring apathy.

Seeking to destroy our only defenses,
They mount violent and ****** offensives,
Their rugged, disorderly fleets crucify
As humanity is unable to reunify.

However, there is another cooperative effort,
A last stand, self-organized endeavor,
This vigilante group battles cultist detestables
They call themselves The Solar Sentinels.

Bound by a principled, passionate collaboration,
The Solar Sentinels defend all people and nations,
Engineers and military minds come together
To ensure our survival and prosper, whatsoever.

Now, one existential question remains:
Will humanity break free of its chains,
Awaken, realize that we are all one,
Disregard old orders and save our suns?