There are Bulls in our Library With horns as great as bridges of stoneballs:

When Only The Soul Is Saved Spring ae eee These chains have held me for an eternity The plants cry from undemeath for the as Se ber it ul os _ Against this cold, stone wall $ aaa at cen anid brains thé sizé of tiny littlé Tocks.\" ~ Above me, hanging from dim lights To start their j to brine life Spiders weave their webs. = Sa Nobody knows quite how the bulls got here

Below me, is the bare cement floor 5 Been doing research ever since.

Stained crimson with blood

From others - just like me. oe Desperate for distraction ey live From my dry, dehydrated lips asily grasping it in my claws in the English ioe ee I watch the five men, who hang, | about Eliza it Like ancient pictures, = a Naet caring of the scars I leave. as if they owned it On the wall opposite mine. ee . Munching the texts The sounds they make then suddenly I see her. digesting the thoughts Are the sounds of aa wlan Remembering that I once let Her go, Screaming, moaning, crying. I try to grab hold of her once/again. They like the oldest books best-- In anguish...in cg But éverytim&! close my flaws, the Lollard tracts made from rags There is a horrjble clanking She lips right\through them. which have turned into silage a ie wh ce aye these walls The birds are Decing iee to welcome : ; ‘nl fail they’ve been here so long. uch longey than I, spring cae i hain in outrage; The dirty snow gives way to the new life ie ac teen lt But the Be ety Sey ee as ME pointless protest. iain : ; es’ ¢ Wits each haky breath 1 draw And the smell of refreshed air fills the soul ; cure sige = There’s talk of rafts enone an I wish for sanity For the essence of spirng has come to unfo!dd arco JCa, to protect the last of the library bu’ My coat ah avila aes pee Heck, nobody uses the top three floors of

My eyes aré drawn to the corner ; Coming from the tiny, barred window the library these days anyway.

There is light:

I look at Felix, ho is closest COKSSCSSHSSSSSSSHSSOSEHEOSHSHSHHEESEHHHEHE eeeeeeeoeeeeoeoeeoeee The bulls are happy

To the brilliant rays. and peaceful They’ ve learned how to drink

from the water fountains

It’s really quite cute Cee They’re friendly, and slow

You can run a good distance before they catch you.

His eyes are fixed on the sight But his face lacks expression. He turn toward me ae And his blank, empty stare ~\_ Needs no translation.

He says, with unnerving clarity, ’’There is no hope.”’

I turn away quickly

Trying to block out his message. Around me, there is a hum

The droning sound of pain

After compiling a few books from upstairs they churn out their articles

Maintenance spreads their scholarship

on the university’s fields

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TO O @ cP tt

Of hopelessness and defeat. eeeoee--* Ft eeeeeeeeseeser*- ee+ +e: ee og: I hear the screams of my children set be Untitled ni and the toilings of the bulls Of my beautiful wife ES e aN fertilize the minds of.the students As they are beaten by a guard o We sit, we wait, we watch, we wonder sg in the best collegial tradition. Who had no conscience. vf rie What the future holds. Who held my world in his hands fe Visions of You Moméntary flashes of insight, but ng logical A few'students tried to move the cattle out And decided solutions, but To my utter disbelief (9/ 1 5/ 93) Only meaningless self-gratifying addictions they were slow, stupid That those three lives Walking the streets of downtown, eee \ The bulls taught them. Which I would gladly have died for I see you wherever I look. We argue, we fight, we justify, we decide Were worthy only of sacrifice. I know it cannot be, Who will fetch our delight. So nobody minds them I hear the men on the wall, But I miss you! Some go, some stay, soon together If you’re quick you’re okay Their ribs protruding, \ Sharing the spoils of our fantasy But they’re not here forever Moaning with hunger. I miss your eyes Sometimes they ‘‘retire”’ Then | hear it. \ which Se ; I slump into my chair in a relm of estacy : my ee i ; Louder than the screaming A The sound of your voice and pain The library bull Stronger than the chains Ms Wanting to be talked to wanting to be left is harmless enough Far above the Hate’ and deliver us from Evil’”’, alone. “4 end tha taadl ie 2004. it whispers. I’ve become caught up in four stories,...false cs James Foley I close my eyes, / ie a eye * a 3 . Remembering a little white church / nly to be helped by the insecurtiy of ; , With a great big cross. others. eee Cows in the Periodicals The taste of salt from my tears Ss, é , ee They mostly ignore you Is as sweet as the kiss of young lovers. you will always be near! a ~The night-tike our delight will come and go; preferring to stay by Field and Stream Finally, there is Hope. Marco Scappa Yet the pain and suffering remain. You can milk them if you’re friendly Then, suddenly, | realize. Internal strategies faught and lost and don’t disturb the calves It is me who is praying. Eternal consequence. though the drink tastes J. Callbeck Anon. musty James Foley ee

series : March 21, 1995