Paranoiarmal (A Poem With Many Faces)

When I was a boy I saw many strange things
Like a woman in blue with her leprosy skin
Awoke in my room by her visits some morns
Through the bars in my crib this image was born.














S.S.Watertown Faces of Ghost Crewmen at Sea - December 5th, 1924

A "cat" once appeared in my bedroom with me
As I fought off a fever of a hundred and three
She squirmed and she spun by the corner in dark
One flick of the light then she'd disembark.
















B-29 Bombers over Korea with Face of Christ in Clouds - June 15th, 1950

A family of trolls made of sticks from a tree
Lived by the side of our house's chimney
Though the curtains were drawn I saw what they did
Making shapes out of branches to scare little kids.


















Viking 1 Orbiter Photograph of the "Face On Mars" - July 25th, 1976

Bouncing and bouncing on a mattress I'd leap
'Til the springs on that bed grabbed hold of my feet
I screamed and I screamed but it wouldn't let go
But loosened its grip when my Mother came home.


















World Trade Center's Face of the Devil in Smoke - September 11th, 2001

A teacher once queried in class at my school,
"Volunteer for reports on goblins and ghouls?"
Later that night after assigning myself
A toy came to life and walked off my shelf.












Piece of Toast with the Face of the Virgin Mary - November 23rd, 2004

My brother was neither denied nor immune
A Man in White suit appeared in his room
Held by the feet at the foot of his bed
White sir would declare, "You scream and you're dead."


















Mallard Duck with Ingested Face of Space Alien - May 21st, 2006

No longer a boy, old spooks left behind
Still one spectre lurks from the hand of mankind
A mushroom of sorts keeps me up through the night
The only true shadow that's kept on my light.












Trinity, New Mexico's Face of Mankind - 5:29:45 a.m. July 16th, 1945