[Joebill]

poem: a kinda reverse Walter Mitty

[ copyright by me, 2010. All Rights Reserved. ]
[ but you can download it and read it if you want to]

[ background music: 'Free Fallin' and 'Learning to Fly' by Tom Petty
and the HeartBreakers ]

[ spoken at the same speed as, and kinda along with, the background
songs ]

She gets tired,
of commanding that old battle cruiser,
amongst the stars,
blowing up solar systems,
nebulae,
and maybe a galactic wing of starships,
trying to prevent her,
from doing her job.

She would rather be,
a waitress in a small diner,
serving blue plate specials,
and the most complicatedly bad thing,
would be burned toast,
instead of a hanger, over on the port side,
being mostly not there,
leaking air with no way to repair it,
the repair crew,
floating alongside...

Oh, he does the Vega Run,
on an old beat up starship,
delivering the cargo,
but he would rather be,
a delivery guy in Old Marsport,
bringing flour, sugar, and water,
to a bread company,
( they give him 6 free loaves if he is on time)
so they can bake their daily bread.

Instead he has to watch out,
for the rocks,
left over from forming various things,
and places,
along this part,
of the galactic arm.

Now me,
all that average stuff is not for me,
I would rather learn to fly,
a starship,
beyond the clouds,
a way out there,
oh, but I'm stuck you see.

Driving a delivery truck,
over to Marsport,
with a load of flour and sugar,
to a bread company,
who makes daily bread,
I have to get there quick,
a dust storm is blowing up soon,
have to get back,
and open the ice cream parlour,
so the rock miners can cool off,
before the dust fills the containers all up,
and makes it all gritty and dusty.

Out yonder,
as I travel between towns,
and it gets dark,
except for my lights,
shining along that desert road,
the stars shine so loudly,
way up above,
over yonder is Andromeda Galaxy,
what a sight to behold,
sometimes I can see the Magellanic Clouds,
glowing yonder in the night !

I dream of traveling,
out to some star named Wolf three fifty-nine,
an old pardner,
says he has a more interesting job for me,
way out there.

But I have to learn to fly,
in this thin Martian atmosphere,
and give lessons to the tourists,
and save as much as I can,
as I only have a million or two dollars,
which is about one quarter of the fee,
to travel over to that Wolf 3-5-9 place,
and see if they got a good paying job,
flying amongst the stars !

But I'm free falling,
in this here truck,
just paying my dues,
working for pay,
and living cheap,
so one day I can fly amongst the stars,
not just be,
a face in the crowd,
looking hopeful,
up at the stars.

[ spoken normally ]

I'm a member,
of a long line of planet bound folks,
trying to break that monotony,
of working under gravity,
I think I can,
I think I can,
learn to fly amongst the stars !

And no longer,
be,
just a face in the crowd.

[ exeunt ]