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Poetry
Winter 2006
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by Harry E. Gilleland, Jr.
Source: Gilleland Poetry (2005), p.187
As Adam and Eve sneaked away from
The Garden of Eden in disgrace after their fall,
shamed by their sin, their way lit by the full moon,
an angel began to cry due to the enormity of it all.
Her cry rose in intensity, rising to the heavens,
filling the world, ringing in Adam and Eve's ears.
Other angels, despairing of Man's paradise lost and
his life of perfection now replaced with one full of fears,
hardship, and pain, joined the first angel in the crying.
Their cries blended into one plaintive wail, lingering,
becoming a howl riding the night wind. God, hearing this
wailing for Mankind's fate, deemed it a fitting serenade
for Man to hear their howl so that he would not miss
the sorrow felt by Heaven for the future he had made.
So that Man might be forever reminded of his sinful
misdeed, of the fate that all men must now endure,
and his loss of perfection, God gave the angels'
sorrowful howl to the canines on earth, that their pure
plaintive sound would always reach Man in his soul.
Forever since, the call of the wolf, the coyote, even
Man's best friend the dog, upon howling at the moon
constitutes the angels' wailing in sorrow in disguise.
Man forgot the meaning of the canine call all too soon;
today its purpose in unrecognized, hidden meaning lies.
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Shark Attack!
by Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
Source: Poetry for the Common Man,
p. 179
At the welcoming sea,
upon the sugary white sand,
under the summer sun,
in the chest-high surf,
the young child laughs and frolics,
jumping, diving, splashing all about.
Like some injured fish,
signals the child is sending out
Far away, an unknown menace
detects this turmoil and responds,
Like a torpedo
homing in on a target,
his dark shadow speeds
hidden beneath the surface
swiftly approaching the unsuspecting child,
bringing death and mayhem
in rows of triangular teeth
in powerful jaws
in a wide, gaping mouth
in a sleek, muscular body
totally devoid of a drop of mercy.
A smiling face freezes
with surprise and confusion.
As under the water
the child is now dragged,
there appears a circle of red
staining the azure blue canvas.
The child burst through the suface
screaming, with a face filled
with pain and untold terror.
Panicky onlookers now rush
into the suddenly inhospitable sea
where this perfect killing machine
may lurk amongst them still,
unknowing if possibly they
his next victim will be.
Carrying the child ashore
all bloody and torn,
the parents don't realize it,
but the child was lucky,
and they will get their wish,
because this shark wasn't trying
to kill a child....
only a fish.
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