Cosmic Battle

in fifteen breaths of air

by Hans Brinker

1
Somewhere between the Dunes
Somewhere between Zandvoort and Scheveningen
In the middle of the beach
Behind the mighty dikes
I stand as a warrior
Strategically positioned between the piers
Armed against the tide of hordes
Like a soldier in Wellingtons army at Waterloo
Like Lieutenant Sharpe with his precision rifle
Without his comrades
Between the hordes
And the naked defenseless Dunes

2
I stand as rigidly as a soldier
Like a faithful fighter
Knowing that today
The world's destiny is decided
By me and by me alone

3
Young I am, and full of strength
When I put the fate of the world
On my shoulders

4
Feeling its heavy burden
And walking on the pier without fear
Despite the boiling waves
That jump at my feet
To bring me out of balance
Because the hordes are on the side of nature
And nature is their ally
And everything is set against me
To keep me from my duty

5
They want to free the way
 For their treacherous attack on the Dunes
And their soaring plumes of dark green grass
That should keep the sand safe
To safeguard the coast
That keeps the villages
That defend the farms
That I have seen today

6
There they are
It's really them
I know and greet my enemy
A courteous nod of recognition
On the pier between the black rocks
That bite me with their fierce teeth
When I stumble over them
On two arms and two legs
My bucket and my shovel
Firmly in my left hand
As the last resort against the monsters
That crawl beneath me
Hundreds, thousands of them
that hide
when I come to vanquish their leader

7
After they have seen me
with their long-stemmed eyes
No pretense of peace is made again
For they know
and I know it too
that this struggle is to the death
and will not end
until one of us has breathed
his last

8
My shovel in my right hand
I attack, attack again
I thrust and parry
I deflect the glistening claw
But I reach the belly of my enemy
The destroyer of farms and coasts
And turn him upside down on the rocks
But the gray waves come to his aid
 And the cruel eyes of the coast destructor
Disappear into the crevice
Between the black rocks
Armed with sea pocks
And sharp mussels
To prevent me from pursuit
And they have gained
Because of a sudden pain in my left foot
I cannot advance along their left flank

9
But the next one I outwit
And when he flies my bucket is there
The unrelenting enemy is caught
In the low water of my yellow bucket
And in vain he climbs the steep and slippery slopes
Until exhausted he sits and waits
Until I will put my finger in to tease

10
But this enemy does not know me
And my supreme intelligence
For I can read and write
And know things others do not
Such as that Indians are called that way
Because Columbus thought he found
The western route to India
So not all adults are clever, are they
For I know better
And it was
New York

11
It is just a pity that I cannot tell
This tale of fresh salvation
That I alone saved mankind today
So when my grandma sees my bucket
With my trophy
My captive
My evidence of valor
She does not glow of gratitude and pride
But only speaks to say
That this animal, this brute
Should be returned to the pier immediately
After she has tended to my wounds
 And given me four plasters on my foot

12
And that she thinks it foolish
For a seven year old that is so smart
That I do not understand
That the Beast will die
Within the confines of this bucket

13
And most of all I do regret
That I cannot tell her the plain truth
sometimes victims are unavoidable
Some violence is necessary
and heroism is required
In the cosmic battle
For survival

14
So the world was saved and all its farms
But humanity does not know
The hero nor his grandma
Just his poetry when he looks back
On the days his dreams surpassed reality

15
Yet do not adults dream the fairy tale again?
And keep on dreaming this illustrious tale
Of enemies to overcome
And monsters to be slain?

(c) 2008 R.A. Veen