Poem #11--Strangebot-309
Strangebot-309
I.
Strangebot slew the lumberjack--at least that's what they say--
far up north in Plateau Town on an evening cold and gray.
Ill winds bear the half-mast flags over all the world this day;
Lightning justice soon must strike to take the tears away.
- Strangebot, Strangebot-309, they'll take your life away.
Lawman Brown from Plateau Town set out to seal his fate.
Strangebot, watching from on high, could feel the lawman's hate.
The lawman and his Noble Ten would hunt the robot down.
Strangebot, fear the day your path will cross with Lawman Brown's.
- Strangebot-309, you stand so proudly in your plight--
- What is ticking in your head behind those blinking lights?
- Deadly data turns your gears--your heart is black as night.
II.
The lawman and his Noble Ten began the search in Kanin--
the Nobles split in groups of two around the Gulf of Aynger.
Lawman Brown went town-to-town, seeking information--
he asked around, but all he found was setback and frustration.
- "Strangebot, I will lay you low", he vowed on Mt. Surrai;
- "You slew the mighty lumberjack and now you have to die."
Strangebot found the Noble Ten on Hurricana Pass;
the hunted seeks the hunters when his patience ends at last.
At first he followed, plotting moves and calculating death--
Electric dirges for his foes who draw their final breaths.
- Strangebot slew the lumberjack and now he strikes again--
- One by one he extirpates the fearless Noble Ten.
- Their screams refrained from mountain tops to the bottom of the sea;
- a thousand miles across the plains the birds could hear them plead.
- Strangebot neither laughed nor cried, he simply did the deed.
Strangebot knew his fortune was to meet with Lawman Brown;
a premonitory confrontation back in Plateau Town.
Dreams of carnage filled his head--decrepit rivers running red,
flags of war among the dead--his motors burned with dread.
- Strangebot-309, a confrontation nearer looms--
- your star-crossed fate seems headed toward the hand of certain doom
- and though your strength is mighty and your powers seem unreal
- you do not realize what you've done because you cannot feel.
III.
Night came down on Plateau Town and thunder filled the night
as Lawman Brown was heading home beneath the lunar light.
The lawman searched from east to west and never found his prey;
his hunt had yielded little as he searched from day to day.
- "I plan to hunt again tomorrow like I did today.
- I won't give in to sorrow, I don't dwell on yesterday.
- A lawman has a job to do, and this is what I say--
- Strangebot, Strangebot-309, I'll take your life away."
And as the lawman spoke these words the rain came pouring down;
the lightning sizzled miles above then crashed upon the ground;
and when it did the lawman saw him--fifty yards ahead--
there stood Strangebot-309 and this is what he said:
- "Death is blowing in the breeze,
- on the land and in the seas;
- and when it comes I'd rather stand
- than die upon my knees."
The lawman knew the time was high for virtue to prevail--
Vengeance for the Noble Ten, who fought to no avail;
Vengeance for the lumberjack--the lawman wouldn't fail.
Justice soon would be secured upon the deluged trail.
- The lawman drew his sabre as he ran toward his foe;
- Strangebot didn't move; he never let his feelings show.
- The lawman screamed, "This is for the lumberjack you slew!"
- ...and as the lightning smote the sky he ran the robot through.
Strangebot stood a moment more, then heavily sat down;
his wiring sparked and crackled as the rain fell all around.
He pulled the sabre from his chest and put it on the ground--
and as his life began to fade he spoke to Lawman Brown.
- "Aren't you going to ask me why I slew the lumberjack?
- Don't you wonder what he did that warranted attack?
- I once gave him a flower, but he crushed it in his hand;
- that is why he had to die. I hope you understand."
And for the first and final time, Strangebot softly wept;
the clouds shed silver tears of pain upon him as he slept.
Lawman Brown from Plateau Town could finally understand
that Strangebot couldn't comprehend the laws that bound the land.
- Strangebot lacked emotions, something humans aren't without,
- but he accepted life was short--he saw it running out.
- "Destiny has closed the circuit", pondered Lawman Brown.
- Wearily he turned and headed back to Plateau Town.
I.
Strangebot slew the lumberjack--at least that's what they say--
far up north in Plateau Town on an evening cold and gray.
Ill winds bear the half-mast flags over all the world this day;
Lightning justice soon must strike to take the tears away.
- Strangebot, Strangebot-309, they'll take your life away.
Lawman Brown from Plateau Town set out to seal his fate.
Strangebot, watching from on high, could feel the lawman's hate.
The lawman and his Noble Ten would hunt the robot down.
Strangebot, fear the day your path will cross with Lawman Brown's.
- Strangebot-309, you stand so proudly in your plight--
- What is ticking in your head behind those blinking lights?
- Deadly data turns your gears--your heart is black as night.
II.
The lawman and his Noble Ten began the search in Kanin--
the Nobles split in groups of two around the Gulf of Aynger.
Lawman Brown went town-to-town, seeking information--
he asked around, but all he found was setback and frustration.
- "Strangebot, I will lay you low", he vowed on Mt. Surrai;
- "You slew the mighty lumberjack and now you have to die."
Strangebot found the Noble Ten on Hurricana Pass;
the hunted seeks the hunters when his patience ends at last.
At first he followed, plotting moves and calculating death--
Electric dirges for his foes who draw their final breaths.
- Strangebot slew the lumberjack and now he strikes again--
- One by one he extirpates the fearless Noble Ten.
- Their screams refrained from mountain tops to the bottom of the sea;
- a thousand miles across the plains the birds could hear them plead.
- Strangebot neither laughed nor cried, he simply did the deed.
Strangebot knew his fortune was to meet with Lawman Brown;
a premonitory confrontation back in Plateau Town.
Dreams of carnage filled his head--decrepit rivers running red,
flags of war among the dead--his motors burned with dread.
- Strangebot-309, a confrontation nearer looms--
- your star-crossed fate seems headed toward the hand of certain doom
- and though your strength is mighty and your powers seem unreal
- you do not realize what you've done because you cannot feel.
III.
Night came down on Plateau Town and thunder filled the night
as Lawman Brown was heading home beneath the lunar light.
The lawman searched from east to west and never found his prey;
his hunt had yielded little as he searched from day to day.
- "I plan to hunt again tomorrow like I did today.
- I won't give in to sorrow, I don't dwell on yesterday.
- A lawman has a job to do, and this is what I say--
- Strangebot, Strangebot-309, I'll take your life away."
And as the lawman spoke these words the rain came pouring down;
the lightning sizzled miles above then crashed upon the ground;
and when it did the lawman saw him--fifty yards ahead--
there stood Strangebot-309 and this is what he said:
- "Death is blowing in the breeze,
- on the land and in the seas;
- and when it comes I'd rather stand
- than die upon my knees."
The lawman knew the time was high for virtue to prevail--
Vengeance for the Noble Ten, who fought to no avail;
Vengeance for the lumberjack--the lawman wouldn't fail.
Justice soon would be secured upon the deluged trail.
- The lawman drew his sabre as he ran toward his foe;
- Strangebot didn't move; he never let his feelings show.
- The lawman screamed, "This is for the lumberjack you slew!"
- ...and as the lightning smote the sky he ran the robot through.
Strangebot stood a moment more, then heavily sat down;
his wiring sparked and crackled as the rain fell all around.
He pulled the sabre from his chest and put it on the ground--
and as his life began to fade he spoke to Lawman Brown.
- "Aren't you going to ask me why I slew the lumberjack?
- Don't you wonder what he did that warranted attack?
- I once gave him a flower, but he crushed it in his hand;
- that is why he had to die. I hope you understand."
And for the first and final time, Strangebot softly wept;
the clouds shed silver tears of pain upon him as he slept.
Lawman Brown from Plateau Town could finally understand
that Strangebot couldn't comprehend the laws that bound the land.
- Strangebot lacked emotions, something humans aren't without,
- but he accepted life was short--he saw it running out.
- "Destiny has closed the circuit", pondered Lawman Brown.
- Wearily he turned and headed back to Plateau Town.
posted by Tom at 3:28 PM
1 Comments:
I was driving home from Beckley one twilit evening when the line "Strangebot slew the lumberjack/at least that's what they say/far up north in Plateau Town/on an evening cold and gray" came into my head. I was just turning right at the traffic lights directly in front of Beckley's Omelet Shoppe when it happened. Beckley, which sits on a plateau, is Plateau Town. The look of the red sky, warning of coming night, inspired my mood, I guess. It was a warm, awesome summer night. It only figures that I would write instead about a doomed misfit and an evening cold and gray.
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