Unknown enemy


In an alien world with three moons in the sky,
A luminous thing flies high in the air.
It looks like a pterodactyl,
But it has three heads and breathes fire.
My fellow soldiers and I are searching for resources,
Among the dead bodies, inside a spaceship called ‘The Debonair’.


It’s been here for over a hundred years;
But no man has been to this planet since.
It was just a coincidence that we heard its distress signal,
As we passed by, heading for Alpha Six.
Our home world we haven’t seen now,
For seven months and sixteen days.
But now we have a new mission:
Salvage what we can and bury the bodies in graves.


Sergeant Angelos is reading an elegy, to commemorate the dead;
While the scouts we sent out earlier, haven’t reported back yet.
The scouts are on gravity bikes looking for anything we can use,
But so far they have found nothing but volcanoes and rivers of sulfur…
But something has found them.


They didn’t know they were being followed as they returned to base.
There is a loud other-worldly scream in the distance
And we are all put on high alert.
“What the Hell was that Captain?”  “I don’t know Pike;
Hit the dirt!”


A huge ball of blue light is flying straight towards the medi-bay;
Soldiers run this way and that and thankfully we are all safe.
But the medi-bay is destroyed by an alien weapon.
“Fire at will!”  Shouts the Captain,
As strafes of bullet fire fly off into the distance,
In search of the alien.


“Where did it go?  Anybody see it?”
There is silence; then a shout.
“It’s there!  Two o’clock, beyond the red rocks!”
We all open fire and create a dust cloud.


As the dust disappears the Captain says:
“Did we get it?  Is it dead, or not?”
Before anyone can answer, there is another scream
And this time it comes from behind us.


“Oh my God!  This thing's got friends!
Round up the caravan’s lads, we’re hunkering down for the night.”
As the sky gets darker, more aliens surround us
And our bullets fire, lighting up the sky.


Blue luminous fire rains down upon us and our barricade.
Our ground to air ship, takes a Hell of a beating,
But it’s been through worse than this in its days.


By morning light, the shooting has ended.
We all walk out our ground to air ship and see what we can find.
There are dead aliens all around us, seventy five in total.
The cheers and joy of our victory,
Has been sullied by the number of our side who have died.
Fourteen gone from us; taken by an unknown enemy.
This is our job, our life, our fight and our destiny.


As we leave the planet behind, the memories stay with us.
We have conquered one enemy;
Now we are heading home to our family and friends.
The people we do this for and the people that we love.


(C)2016 Aa Harvey. All Rights Reserved.

As he walks on by, leaving you to wonder.


Walking home on a Saturday night, I saw a spaceship flying so high.
I tipped my hat and turned my back and I continued to walk on by.
You see I have already seen this, inside a memory inside my mind.
I have had this thought a million times, so I just let it pass on by.


A light burns in the distance,
As a comet flies through the Heaven’s above!
I cast a glance, a peek perhaps; nothing more than a quick look.
You see I have seen it all before, a thousand times or more
And all the wonder has disappeared, along with all the fun.


Other people do not believe in me;
They say I just tell fantastic stories that I create.
They tell me that I should just write a book of fantasy,
But I have never created a page,
That could ever shine as bright,
As the idea’s that you will find along the way.


Another morning after;
I awake with another story to tell.
They tell me that they are tired of the tales that I weave
And that they are no longer under my spell.
But that has never been my objective;
I never tried to change the way that you see.
A thousand non-believers have nothing to give,
To a wondering mind that has already been.


I want to believe in my own ideals
And follow a thought until the end.
They can disbelieve and question my words,
But they can never stop me from attempting to make new friends.


Maybe I can also speak the truth too;
Maybe not all I say is a lie.
Maybe one day you will see me disappear inside a cloud,
After a thunderous flash of light.


I have travelled over the oceans and I have walked under a moon.
I never thought to take you with me,
Because I thought that you already knew,
That I am just a traveller
And I am passing through your time.
Maybe next time I am passing through here,
I will try to drop you a line.


I would have liked to have taken you with me,
But it would have taken all of your hope.
If you believe enough in me, who knows?  We will see;
Maybe I could find a way to offer you a saving rope.
A way for me to lift your heart, when you are falling down.
I want to raise all of your spirits
And show you the universe, before I leave this town.


Some people say I never existed;
Some say I must have been a ghost.
The only man I truly knew, is unknown to you,
But he is the one I admire the most.
Some people tell my story, without ever knowing of his;
But I could never write an autobiography,
Without an acknowledgement of his tragedy.
I am living in his shadow, I have his memories inside.
I see an image of the man that I could have been,
But I must leave his body now and return to my life.


I’m heading off into the blue now;
I’m leaving you all behind.
I have left you with a memory…
As I leave you all to be mankind.
I’m leaving you all to wonder,
Who was the man that was talking that night?
And as I turn the corner,
I climb into my flying saucer
And I fly up into the sky.


(C)2017 Aa Harvey. All Rights Reserved.

In the silent cold of the desert night
cacti share a lonely trance
they stretch their stubby, prickly arms
the glow incites this awkward dance

they rest their ship on a vacant dune
shield their eyes from brilliant glare
the light that burns from distant moon
is more than they can bear

they have come to plant their rabid seed
that will race across the desert plane
to hunt the sleepers on which they feed
the seed now sewn, they await the rain