A stroll along the unspectacular landscape,
Or
does the everyday paper-bag wrapping
Conceal the most spectacular display?
Blocks of pavement squares
enshadowed, un-enlightened,
slope-hammered down
to allow sprinklers' overflow to
river a painter's stroke, a stream,
a kiss like rushing goodness
over desert-dry,
shoe-trampled
stone.
Festive flag: vibrant/vivid green,
fluttering, rippling, chortling in summer's breeze
Aloft the castle's pointed turret spear--
From nowhere, the darkly thrumbling hedge of doom
slams down with boulder-tonnage, threatening
to crush castle, turret, ramparts, throne and king, and--
A crash of wicked thunder, a crack of bone-finger lightning strikes!
Roar-rumbling with hideous
laughter, exploding to shake the valley into echoing dust---
Until the king, quite content, lifts a finger
which lifts a standard
which lifts an indestructible wall
hewn of marble mined from eternal depths and--
A bird sings in the suddenly open sky.
The flag begins to move, and--
All is well.
