CHRISTMAS 1966
I drove them
not yet wild
they were all sleek
advanced by whispering drugs
every hair sensitive to any new brilliance
in our slippery world
they had me
turn into the night
designated to be their deliverer
my eyes were stretching open
on edge to see what they were seeking
I had them now
I seemed to be pulling them out of their skins
I drove them hard harder
each hand in hand
strung together
racing along at unknown speed
at times almost flinging them off
into a faraway somewhere
as I turned drastically
into the dark eve of Christmas
yet I never lost them
they said this is it
so I skidded to a stop
in the gravel driveway of a common church
their minds now expanding rapidly
at the thought of where on earth we had arrived
we crashed into the brightly lit sanctuary
the roots of our existence
following us in the door
and we huddled together
here we faced them
the cosy families gathered for midnight mass
now askance at our oddest commotion
they looked back at us
surprisingly our eyes reached out
beyond all our human spirits
we couldn't wait for rituals to work
we felt a love so ponderous
that we were instantly stuck
to its wiggly blissful mass
we wailed passionate good-bye good-bye
as I poured them back into our impossible car
and we landed in each other's arms
for nights on end
the sun shone so intensely then
we were sure we had become the raw beings of myth
ready to talk with our world without hurry
and further the common pleasures of creation
~ James Soland
