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A landscape with unexplained lights, glowing lava, old pahoehoe, a hint of an old straight road green auroras, and the beams of searchlights carried by two explorers.

Beyond the Green Luminous Mist

by

No horrors prowl here,
nor bitter chill bite bone deep.
No hounds roam and roar,
and Nothing Watches.
Your diskos and armor are unneeded,
your capsule unflesh and discard.
Silence has no terror here,
Giants cannot loom,
slugs and scorpions and Humped Men
do not come here.
The Night is lit, here,
not by Sun, glorious golden god
blazing brilliance,
but by this green luminous mist,
concealing and revealing, without shadows.
The Silence sounds here,
not of song and laughter,
lost birds calling,
but of sigh and whispers,
reassuring rustles
that something Is.
Leave your tablets and dry water,
and nourish here,
not on lush fruit and tangy brews,
hearty grains savory with oil and herbs,
rich viands and dripping cutlets,
but bland solid fare,
real wet water,
wholesome and simple.
No love nor fear will trouble you here;
the green luminous mist soothes all
desperate dreams, wild hopes,
and we drift, serene,
beyond all Night.
Is this not heaven?


Related stories: Heaven Sent and its sequel Beyond, by Gregg Marchese.

© 2008 by Gregg Marchese.
Image © 2015 by Kate Coady.