nine hundred and ninety-nine smiles
plus
one quarrel ago, our eyes and our
hearts
were in agreement full that still
The sun rises in the East
And sets in the West, that
Still
Rains fall from above
Downward to the earth
That
Still smokes rise from the
Earth, reaching for the sky
That
Still our earth is round and
Not flat like a spread-out
Mat
and yet…
see where
today
you have
gone
to sit…
throwing…
stones
at us…
poisonous…
stones
at us…
satanic…
stones…
at us…
And if I still had my hands
On my shoulders I should raise
One of my hands above my
Head
And gauge and catch your
Stones, one by one, while they
Were still hot in the cool
Air,
and yet…
see where…
today
you have
gone
to sit…
hurling…
stones…
at us…
hurling…
stones…
at us…
infernal…
stones…
at us…
sinister…
stones…
at us…
But all the same, I shall not even
Utter your name, lest the fast and
Faithful
Winds repeat it to the hearing of
Our ancestors who are asleep
With
Their eyes, but not asleep with
Their ears, lest our ancestors
Angrily
Rise out of their nest and
Breathe out the winds that can
Shake
Till it breaks, the decayed drooping
Branch
upon which
of all
people
you today
have gone
to sit…
hurling…
stones….
at us…
wrathful…
stones…
at us…
saddening…
stones…
at us…
Charging precisely to our
Head, and if I still had my
Hands about me, I would
Gather
Your stones into a heap, and
Leave them there to lie till
Some morrow when we might
Use
Them to bring down to the warm
Tongues of some fire, fleshy
Birds, that above our heads are
Perched,
Just like you, upon the slippery
Branch of the air; and if still
I had my hands with me, I would
Catch
And keep your stones without thinking
Of throwing them back at you – but
The hands too soon you have stolen away
With
to where
today
you have
gone
to perch
throwing…
stones…
at us
venomous…
stones…
at us…
spiteful…
stones….
at us…
nine hundred and ninety-nine smiles
plus
one quarrel ago our eyes and our
hearts
were in agreement full that still
When a man lifts his foot, it is
Forward
That he places it, that still, each
Human
Being owns only ten fingers on two
Hands
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