Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 24 (December 1999).
I once met a man who had a collection
Of Star Trek: The Next Generation tapes
Every episode over five years taped
Meticulously with fan-like rapture
And played back constantly
He:
snarled like a Klingon when pissed
learned diplomacy from the captain
admired the engineer his handicaps
lusted after the therapist, called her mom
wanted to be Riker for his handsome beard
Life was nothing to him without the Enterprise
As a symbol of our planet, our races, our home
All the colors and shapes and biochemical systems
Of the universe in a strangely unified will
All the organs of his body, the thoughts of his mind,
The pulse of his blood, the rhythm of his moods
All the elements of his being
All equidistant from the stable center:
A pentagram of life
Then he put on his Spock ears
And I laughed his ass forever
homewards
Poetry copyright © 1999/2000 by Featured Poet Richard Behrens
Artwork “Pursuing Trivia” by Romeo Esparrago
