VOL. XIX, NO. 5
DECEMBER 16, 1977
Boundary Keepers
BY STEVE VISTEEN
Put up the screen now
You have awakened again.
Like a snail without
A shell to hid inside of,
You scurry for protection.
What if your shell fell
Into a pit of acid?
Would you stand alone
Against the winds from the north,
Or would you freeze up and die?
And if you were dead,
Would your problems be over?
What lies beyond death?
You, naked to the unknown,
Would have no sanctuary.
In which you could cry
For yourself and for the tears
Which you threw away
Like a piece of carrion
To be eaten by vultures.
Put up the screen now
You have awakened again.
Like a snail without
A shell to hid inside of,
You scurry for protection.
What if your shell fell
Into a pit of acid?
Would you stand alone
Against the winds from the north,
Or would you freeze up and die?
And if you were dead,
Would your problems be over?
What lies beyond death?
You, naked to the unknown,
Would have no sanctuary.
In which you could cry
For yourself and for the tears
Which you threw away
Like a piece of carrion
To be eaten by vultures.
