Carson

[Alan Sondheim]

Carson


the heart of darkness in the jungle, the menace of men and animals, fires
burning in the night, typhoon, soft trade-winds bringing men and women,
ships that sail the sea, to their senses, to their destination, to the sun
and the level ocean, to the moon and the level sky -:aye, this evil
haunting us forever, the good Lord notwithstanding, Uma the native girl,
Fiona the long-lost love disappeared far before the tale begins, Jim at
the helm, Jim with the engines, Jim with the Beaufort scale over the top -
you just had to look into his eyes, they were those of someone hunted far
worse by himself than ever an enemy would bring to the fore - their eyes
reflecting his, these pilgrims held to the ground by their stern belief,
the captain grappling with the first mate, first mate with the engineer,
stay out of it, there's the lush beauty of the islands, the dark beauty of
the girl -:my old friend. he's always infuriated with Dylan Thomas and
that line of his, as if Dylan hadn't done anything else in his bloody
life. but he's got a chance to read it again, the outcast native girl, the
missionaries, the dim view of humankind in general, more and more
betrayal, another drink for the old man, penny for the old guy. his Lord
Jim's the meandering of a soul with division inherent among the races,
ratings, and that pain of his, a coward against those of Islam who tend
beneath steel-grey skies - who tend, I say to my old friend, as if there's
yet another mindless sea-captain, fat or thin or tall, who can tell?
-:aye, the natives and their fearsome beliefs:aye, the voices breathing
down our necks:
aye, the voices chanting in the distance
aye, the voices changing all about the fire, but where
aye, the voices breathing down our necks
aye, the natives and their fearsome beliefs
aye, the whites and their pale skins and paler morals

aye, the voices breathing down our necks:through my the heart of darkness
in the jungle, the menace of men and animals, fires burning in the night,
typhoon, soft trade-winds bringing men and women, ships that sail the sea,
to their senses, to their destination, to the sun and the level ocean, to
the moon and the level sky -!



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