The Diamond and the Damned

One ring may rule them all
But two will bind us together.

Commitments hard as diamonds,
Bound to an infallible ideal
Designed to reflect change and weather sieges,
Daily remind us of choices made that
Cannot be unmade.

Remind us that choices bow to the commitment
And commitments bow to the ideal.

Ideals as hard as diamonds,
Opaque walls that muffle
Sight and sound,
Warnings and calls,
Cannot be scratched or broken
Impervious to persistence.

Free will as hard as diamonds,
Last resource of the damned
Refuge of the evolved,
Hides beneath the ring and
Waits
For the hammer on the anvil.

Musings on a Sparrow

Sparrow in the mouse trap
A fairy bound to the ground by a goblin’s chain
Flutter, flutter, sputter
Capabilities of flight rendered useless
By a sprung clamp no amount of flapping
Could dislodge.

Who will set him free?
Who will defy the goblin captor?
Who will fight for his freedom?
I will. I will be his champion.

With broom and stick I approach the
Shackled sparrow.
“Shhh. It’s OK my sweetie” I say in my
Best Dr. Doolittle Voice with my palms
Gesturing downward. “Be still”
And he was still.

One, two, three the trap is flipped.
I see the bloody, trapped leg.
“Oh Honey be still one more second.”
One, two, three and the clamp is lifted.
Hesitation, then flight and freedom.

Who will set the sparrow free?
I will.

Musings on Sheep

Dreams of writing something dark and
Deep slip out of consciousness when
All that comes to mind are sheep.
The visit to the farm,
Sheep paintings on the wall.
Sheep everywhere. Sheep, sheep, sheep.
Ah, but we do a disservice to the sheep
Who distract us by being woolly and cute and
Sometimes bring us sleep.

They don’t talk about their past.
They don’t talk about it at all.
A forgotten piece of the capitalistic puzzle
When they displaced the yeoman from their fields,
Sending them unprepared into a world
That didn’t know what to do with them.
The curds and whey and wool of social upheaval,
Never have so many followers changed the world so
Unwittingly.
Who will be the sheep of tomorrow? Baaa!
Who will lead where they follow? Baaa!
Curds and whey and bleu sheep cheese
Will take me to the dark and deep
And I’ll change the world while I sleep.