Ming Gwam

Ming Gwam was a tease

frolic and mischief were his companions

schemes and plans filled his dreams

smoke and fog were his tools

He lived a life the envy of many

for 7 generations he ruled the game

in the spry of his youth

he flew with a grin

In the black spine of the Rockies

he lived under a bridge

made of sequoia's, aspen, and moss

each night for a thousand years he lit his pipe

He taught man to swim

and woman to cook

he created laughter for children

and wisdom for elders

He hid the sun from the moon

behind the earth, who didn't know.

~ rpleith

cultural note: "ming-gwam" in the Anishinabe language is the grease that acculmulates in a person's eyes overnight, typically next to the bridge of the nose...RPL

The Ego & The Id

In her dreams

she had no name

her life & death

were her only companions

in her dreams

her spirit wandered

torn & forlorn

rubbish heaps her only home

In her dreams

she was black

& her mother was white

her feet were raw & bloody from battle

when the sun rose

she rose from her bed

of pine needles, twigs, grass & ants

to avenge her mother & bury her father

Up she climbed

on her mother's horse

shame was her companion

nobility was her path.

~ Rpleith

They... They... They...

They killed the daydreamers first

for they were the most dangerous

with 12-inch rulers, loud frightening voices

and bags of marbles and rocks

tied to their knees

They brought hope & salvation

in bags, in robes, in books

redemption was their wicked twin

sin was imminent, worn like bloody scabs

Satan was their slave

always the first to arrive

never the last to leave

They held high his banner and cross

when you met Them

obliged you were to wear the rosary

They tied it to your neck

then they would twist it until you died.

~ Rpleith

10,000 Eunchs

10,000 Eunuchs

He was one of a kind

The King of Queens

he would never walk, only stride

sumptous in his divine glamour, glorious

His field was the court, and the court was his field

he would hold court on his field

no one approaches the Empress but by me

no one speaks to the Empress but by me

He had been castrated when he was 12

almost too old for the job

he never knew what would become of his mind

they drowned him in sweat and sewed him up

Now he was 40 and the number 1 of 10,000

he was in his prime, he was a gelded stallion

beautiful to all who glanced his way

the deep green eyes held passion and lust

Worry was his mask, nonchalance was his appendage

but as always he kept his testes in the sack around his neck

like the albatross of death, green with envy, black with blood

he held the 10,000 closer than night soil, to be spoiled if need be

He was the King of the 10,000

the Empress trusted him with her life, with her empire of gold

the Eunuchs plotted and planned, seething with glee

his painful death, poison, steel, reptile, gossip or lies,

he was theirs

~ rpleith