2014-2015, Poem

Daydreaming a Flightless Adventure

Featured in 2015 Spring Issue of Rambunctious

Daydreaming a Flightless Adventure
Anyi Liebler-Bendix, '16

Empty, thoughtless process
mind wanders over yonder
far beyond the pages of blank paper
the hands on a clock
like a compass pointing you in the right direction
north, south, east, west
you follow the yellow road
the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man
greet you with surprise
and they warn you of the wicked witch
you travel onwards
enjoying the peaceful, contentedness
of absolutely nothing
until the tornado
that wraps you in a blanket of ashes
carrying you for miles and miles
dropping you off in a little town
empty barrels
flying bales of hay
ghostly whispers of haunting aches
the echoes of hoof beats
pounding on the dried-up dirt
dust sticking to your tongue
tasting like sand
you ride off West
leaving your presence
as a vague appearance of the imagination
drowning in your fears
water waist high
feet sunk in deep
you stand still as it sucks you in
further and further
until the horizon line has disappeared
completely from sight
a cannon is fired
from the distance
armed men in uniforms
dance profoundly among the battlefield
draped in blood
a gunshot rings.
It’s the bell.
You’re not in Gettysburg anymore.