Poem by Philip Appleman

I have to tell you this, whoever you are
that on one summer morning here,
the ocean pounded in on tumbledown breakers,
a south wind, bustling along the shore
whipped the froth into little rainbows,
and a reckless gull swept down the beach
as if to fly were everything it needed.
I thought of your hovering saucers
looking for clues, and I wanted to write
this down, so it wouldn't be lost forever --
that once upon a time we had
meadows here, and astonishing things,
swans and frogs and luna moths
and blue skies that could stagger your heart.
We could have had them still,
and welcomed you to earth, but
we also had the righteous ones
who worshipped the True Faith, and Holy War.
When you go home to your shining galaxy,
say that what you learned
from this dead and barren place is
to beware the righteous ones.

Philip Appleman