The Heroes in Black and White II
Brandon Cook
We read the stories and know reality
That these are often children taking the stage
It would be hard for any of us, with so much gold in the holds of our ships,
To expand outward towards horizons beyond our shore of self
Are they conceited?
Sure
But with so many adoring, it would take a great soul to know there’s anything more--
It comes so close, after all
To being known
Such a strong narcotic to feel the drip of so much drug
Almost like a hug, just barely falling short of close enough
But then they create
Like a dragon, the genius is unleashed
And it’s poetry and symphony
Suddenly they are their best selves, drawn out without pretense,
A phoenix
Participating in something so much bigger
And burning bright as light and right
The music is not something they make
But something that makes them,
They just dance in it
It came before and will endure after
So for a glorious golden moment,
Like a child in a toy store, playing
They are truly free
In harmonies, they discover the line by which we all dangle
During our long fall
They are great, after all
These poets who burn a trail of freedom
Our collective better selves, whose songs we sing