Rak built her bones of feather stones
That came from steely birds.
She heaped up hope beyond the scope
Of sight and soundly words.
She claimed the land she found at hand
Among the howling toads.
She sought and seized the stranger seas
Down at the bowing roads.
The deal she made was but a trade
With what we’ll never know,
But what she gave’s beyond the brave,
Things you ought never owe.
She fought because that’s what she does
When not is not enough,
When right and wrong go right along
With fortune’s foolish bluff.
We mustn’t hold one of the bold
To such a lifeless test
As this and that, the pitter pat,
Past presently confessed.
Rak winged her way without delay
To what you may have guessed –
She let truth go long, long ago
And’s freer than the rest.

You can hide in your head
But not in your heart,
So I gave both away
And now have to start
Over again with a pen
And a spark.
I’ll put both to paper
Before going dark
And outwrite the flame
With wrinkling arcs
Till I don’t need to hide
What’s held in the heart
‘Cause all will be told
Before I depart.

Defy the ones who say how to,
Defy the ones who dare not do,
Defy you if you fear to try,
Defy myself, defy, defy.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my Soul my Soul to keep;
If I should wake before I die,
I pray my Soul go and defy.

Hopk wished for brighter stars,
Wished on them as they fell,
She caught them and she threw
Them back up with a spell,
Wished again as they flew
Away from her as well.

She poured sun into cups,
Sipped then sent them back up
To splash the flashing stars
With this one wish of hers.

She stirred storms in her pond
And with a silver wand
Sent skyward lightning bolts
To increase starry volts.

Hopk held court with the lords
Of fireflying hordes,
Gained their trust and their wings
And flew to her star kings.

Hopk wished for brighter stars,
She wished and worked and thought
On nothing else it seemed,
She’ll never be forgot
For she’s there in the gleam
Of every wished for watt.

Cess scratched himself
But before he could pout
Not blood but mud came rolling out.
This made him sweat
A treeful of sap
Which couldn’t help but make him fret.
In fact, it made him cry,
Honey spilled from greenest eyes.
Did his heart pump from puddles?
Had he grown roots and leaves?
Was his brain all full of bees?
Cess still worked fine.
He stopped cryin’,
Patched his scratch with sap
And sipped his self-made sweets.
This mud, too, was a treat,
He could make a gorgeous mess,
You can make anything from mud,
The proof was in young Cess.

You call it a haircut.
Hairs call it a peoplecut.
And once they’re free
They fly, they flee
Till each hair grows
A you or me.

Given a choice between kind and clever
I’d choose kind
And swear off clever forever.

But sometimes I must remind
Myself that my mind
Runs hot and blind
And forgets itself
And all else
And rambles on,
It’s gold and gone.

But when I remember
To make a choice
I try to choose the kinder voice.

I take my vitamins every day,
The best, the vital ones, I should say,
They’ll make me healthy and quite strong,
I forage for them all day long –

Reddish pebbles,
Sips from puddles,
A twist of bark,
A purple spark,
An old shoe sole,
What’s down this hole,
Pre-chewed gum,
Colorful scum,
This moldy dough,
A long lost toe,
Cigarette butts
And who-knows-whats.

I have to take my vitamins quick!
Because I always feel so sick.

Kings wear their crowns
So we know to call them king,
‘Cause they know they and us
Are the same same thing,
And it’s clear when the crown is doffed
“I’m better than you” is also off.