[across the sky passes the shadow
daughters’ alter ego
The sun
Long forgotten
Still yearns to be a
Star]
I’m impressed by these fine tales
Of woe
And so forth
Delightful modulation
And characterisation
(is that the right word?)
But can I just say
Our boss doesn’t
Pay us to invest trust
In strangers
For we are not close friends
And to this end
I will regale you with a
Parable (yes, you heard me right)
That concerns
3 brothers who were sent to war
By some General of high repute
Who scooped up souls
Like jelly beans
And flung them in the fire
[which war?
Which general?
I have known a few]
[it matters not
You’d know his face
His names escape me
Unlike his soul
He had a moustache as I recall]
So/
The eldest brother
Strong and bold
Rolled across a foreign swamp
Big shot
Died within a week
The youngest
Otherwise deployed
Heard this and
Fell upon his bayonet
And was gone
[Idiots!]
[Indeed!]
But
The middle brother
Died in his bed
An old man
Who lived a good life
The average guy grown from
Thon average boy
Modest
Gentle
Mindful to let others have their place
For elevated folk can more easily catch
A bullet in the face