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The Thing That Was Coming


by Darryl Price


is here. We knew that something was coming. 
But we didn't trust the ones we trusted. 
They didn't lie, they sang songs and we didn't 
listen. What good is a spirit whale 
if it doesn't feed you its knowledge? The 
bitter, revengeful thing that was coming 

was surely awful, and now that it's here, 
it's worse than finding nothing in your efforts 
to stop it has worked. The thing that was 
coming is fear. We knew it was not the 
right or the real answer, but the problem. 
But we didn't want to admit we had 

hold of the answer all along. We're going 
to look foolish either way for standing 
still. Movement is what keeps everything 
alive in the pond. The clouds could tell you 
this truth, if you can take a moment to 
read the skies. The trees could tell you this, if 

you could quit defining speed as something 
you can see. Beauty revolves with the Earth. 
The Earth revolves with the solar system. 
Your shoes take you places and eventually 
return you home. It's your innocent, 
childish mind you've got to be wary 

of, it's got a lot of holes in it through 
which can be poured endless amounts of nutty 
hate and careless rhetoric. The thing 
that was coming was an all-consuming 
beast dressed up as a man pretending to
be a reason to live or die. The thing

that was coming is here because we let 
it convince us that we needed to feel
something again. I'm here to remind you
now is when you get to be as smart as 
you are creative, brave as you are talented,  
human as you are spirited.
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