| The Biographer | |
| 61 | Biographers don’t have to write |
| to paint a picture clear. | |
| And that’s good news for aging men | |
| whose sight fades by the year. | |
| 65 | An elder man sits in the park, |
| a sculptor of the phrase. | |
| He chisels, carves, and blows at dust, | |
| unfolds a hidden face. | |
| One day he sits beside two boys. | |
| 70 | He’s seen both kids before. |
| They run around, play make-believe, | |
| throw real life out the door. | |
| Old man decides to join their fun. | |
| He paints a world from scratch. | |
| 75 | All three discuss and come alive, |
| their fairytale unmatched. | |
| The mother of the boys stops by. | |
| She walks her golden dog, | |
| which storytellers turn to fey : | |
| 80 | a slimy pet green frog. |
| And while this fam’ly laughs and plays | |
| the old man spies abroad – | |
| across the park he briefly sees | |
| a mute ideologue. | |
| 85 | A lonely sight, if truth be told, |
| the sole man strides away, | |
| but not before he yearns to hear | |
| the old man’s group’s parley. | |
| Biographer then starts to craft | |
| 90 | that young man’s sorry tale: |
| a life of outside note taking | |
| devoid of zest, just stale. | |
| The story formed in old man’s head, | |
| a plan develops quick. | |
| 95 | He waves goodbye to boys and dog, |
| and heads off with a skip. | |
| Next day the stealthy old man waits | |
| until he spots his prey. | |
| Then he confronts the thinker man, | |
| 100 | who plainly shies away. |
| “Tell me what you’re thinking, sir. | |
| Please share with me your thoughts.” | |
| But ponderer, as you might guess, | |
| just answers he will not. | |
| 105 | “Oh come now, sir, don’t steal your mind. |
| Please, any thought will do.” | |
| The young and thoughtful target says: | |
| “No one’s as strange as you.” | |
| At this the old man has his in, | |
| 110 | a gauntlet, if you will. |
| He spins out tales of modern knights, | |
| and stranger men yet still. | |
| The younger man snaps at the bait. | |
| A conversation blooms. | |
| 115 | The men compare the men they know, |
| each detail well-exhumed. | |
| Biographer’s plan did succeed. | |
| The two men speak at ease. | |
| A thought alone cannot do much | |
| 120 | But shared, it’s limit-free… |
November 19, 2014
Ballad of Man 
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