Childhood

Some ways further down the line
Separated by an ocean of time
We scan the land to zero in on crown hill
And behind the sleepy meadow and a single occupant
Of the sweet summer day catching rays in the jade stone
Many miles from home

I see bumblebees and butterflies flutter by
I see the sun smiling at me from the sky
High above the clouds, they remind me of
The wooly white curls of my best friend Mani
She's my favorite of all the many sheep on the farm
And Dad says "her hair keeps us warm
And our bellies full of good food so we can grow strong
And survive any cold snow storm"

Cheeks flushed, sweet musk
The sun hanging high up in the sky and while the heat was
Habitually overwhelming this time of year
It's the fresh young cub that comes home with the lions share
Here in the shade, cusp of the tree line
Beside the belko hedge brimming with lush ripe fruit
Infused with light salty breeze from the east
Joy rush flushing out his being through the leaves

Mmmm these belko berries taste so sweet
But I can't stand the heat
So come on feet, take me to the river quick
To cool off and poke a few lizards with a stick

He hesitates, then thinks

I shouldn't go alone
I know that it's too far away from home
But I have to know what's going on
I'm gonna leave the ranch
And snap off a twig on my path from a branch

He scratches his name into the dirt with the stick
And licking syrupy belko juice from his lips spells S.H.A.L.I.M
One of the two parting gifts she had bestowed upon him
That fateful night all those years ago
When she had knocked on the door of celestia and boro
Whom shalim knew as mom and pops
So goes the balance of the cosmos
Infinite improbability the second of the gifts glints through the canopy
And seems to pull him into the thicket

I wonder if the land beyond is different and scaring me
Like in stories old people keep telling me
I let myself be guided on a path
That I have never been before in my life
And I'm ecstatic like a bunny rabbit
I'm shaking and taken my something
Coming deep from within me

Suddenly a shadow that envelops him
He feels a trembling in his melanin
Towering beast from the mud takes shape
With the limbs of a man and a blood-stained blade
Unfazed, he thinks to himself

Wow, what a pretty cape!
But such a gritty face
He looks so mean
Like a monster I once saw in a dream
I better head home so no one worries over me

In the bush behind the meadow a child stands staring at the scene on display
Seven severed heads on spikes and the air hangs thick with demise
Inscribed in blood on the bark are the words "bangali arise"
In the distance the rush of the tide