"The Witness" by Jeff Patterson |
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t.2002 Bad Day Studio |
I stood outside Nagasaki and watched atomic fire blister the landscape. I've watched herds of sauropods stampede across the plains of Pangaea. I had breakfast with the elders of the Anastasi the day they vanished. I was Aaron Burr's second in his duel with Hamilton. I've shared figs with Hammurabi while discussing Amorite law. I saw Gilgamesh slay the Bull of Heaven. I have seen the secret burial ground of the Sasquatch. I partook in the rape of the Sabine women, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I have seen the fiery beasts perform their violent mating dance at the molten core of the earth. I chronicled the invasion of the Indus Valley. I watched Robert Johnson perform the day before and the day after his meeting at the crossroads. There was a marked improvement. I have seen what is imprisoned in the vaults below the Vatican. I watched Salome dance for Herod. In all honesty she wasn't that good. I watched Mata Hari dance, she was that good. I heard the prayers chanted by the high priest of Atlantis as his beloved city slipped into the sea. I've had high tea in the Dreamtime with the Aboriginals. I stole golden idols from the catacombs of Tenochtitlan. I saw Vesuvius bury Herculaneum and Pompeii. I sailed with Odysseus, Jason, Ericson, Vespucci, Coronado, Drake and Bering. I fought alongside Alexander, Judah, Arthur, Khan, MacDuff, Montezuma, and Grant. I walked with Mohammed during the Hegira. I walked with Moses along the fossil-encrusted floor of the Red Sea. I stood guard on the Silk Road as the first wave of Visigoths took the outer provinces of Damascus. I watched Rome burn. I watched El Dorado burn. I watched Chicago burn. I've seen Bach perform in Vienna and Hendrix perform at Monterey. I know where Earhart went, but I promised not to tell. I picked the wrong day to cross the Tacoma Narrows bridge. I've watched gryphons hunt basilisks in the depths of the Black Forest. I watched Lucifer fall. I watched Icarus fall. I watched Wallenda fall. I saw the last of the gods extinguish the lanterns in the marble halls of Olympus as the pantheon departed for the final time. |
