terra cotta
sweat is so cunning
he thought
so able
as he watched it deftly pick its way
through the landscape of his rough skin
a hue of terracotta burned into it by the tireless sun
but he too had been tireless
he too had been able and cunning
and the mountain also was scorched earth
and their distant monarch
their impotent god
all-powerful in his monotonous course
was the same for them all
and unlike the sweat, he had always reached his destination
at the top of the mountain
always striving against the odds
and never succumbing
never defeated
never evaporated into nothingness
mid-way
and so he took a slow lungful of the still hot air
and pushed on
cart bricks and all
up the barren summery slope
uphill (the island wasn't of the size
that might accomodate any real mountains)
the house awaited half-built
a disharmonic protrusion in the dull brownish scene
his steps (it was always like that)
started off slowly
then sped up rather abruptly
then slowed gradually
as the road winded tirelessly upwards
and the man still and still resumed his course
in the sky (as often happened) a bird appeared
rather close
too close for comfort
a big black bird
and every time the bird appeared
he shivered and hid his face in his palms
and let the cart slide jerkily onto his torso
the support of his hands suddenly and unreasonably gone
and the bird come
come bird
come black bird
come closer come claw at my eyes
the little voice seemed to whisper
and the bird cawed terribly
terribly louder
and louder
on the ground (as sometimes) an ant was tracing the cart's
tracks in the rocky dirt
the ant was disproportionately large and friendly
its head alone was like a golf ball
its length exceeded his large palm's
and it licked the wheel now and then
with a long black tongue
as if to say
that the action of the wheel dug up a pleasant mineral
perhaps some sort of stimulant
and that the ant was very happy
almost intoxicated with the substance
its tongue looked harsh
but seemed to be soft
sweat is so cunning
he thought
so able
as he watched it deftly pick its way
through the landscape of his rough skin
a hue of terracotta burned into it by the tireless sun
but he too had been tireless
he too had been able and cunning
and the mountain also was scorched earth
and their distant monarch
their impotent god
all-powerful in his monotonous course
was the same for them all
and unlike the sweat, he had always reached his destination
at the top of the mountain
always striving against the odds
and never succumbing
never defeated
never evaporated into nothingness
mid-way
and so he took a slow lungful of the still hot air
and pushed on
cart bricks and all
up the barren summery slope
uphill (the island wasn't of the size
that might accomodate any real mountains)
the house awaited half-built
a disharmonic protrusion in the dull brownish scene
his steps (it was always like that)
started off slowly
then sped up rather abruptly
then slowed gradually
as the road winded tirelessly upwards
and the man still and still resumed his course
in the sky (as often happened) a bird appeared
rather close
too close for comfort
a big black bird
and every time the bird appeared
he shivered and hid his face in his palms
and let the cart slide jerkily onto his torso
the support of his hands suddenly and unreasonably gone
and the bird come
come bird
come black bird
come closer come claw at my eyes
the little voice seemed to whisper
and the bird cawed terribly
terribly louder
and louder
on the ground (as sometimes) an ant was tracing the cart's
tracks in the rocky dirt
the ant was disproportionately large and friendly
its head alone was like a golf ball
its length exceeded his large palm's
and it licked the wheel now and then
with a long black tongue
as if to say
that the action of the wheel dug up a pleasant mineral
perhaps some sort of stimulant
and that the ant was very happy
almost intoxicated with the substance
its tongue looked harsh
but seemed to be soft
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