First Contact

First Contact

The first alien visits Earth
Speaks telepathically to every mind:
My message is
I have no message
Both of us are an illusion

My second message – disregard previous messages
My last message: there is No Time
When you know what this means
We will meet again

And vanishes

His disappearance summons war
Whose errors bade him leave?
Then came a time when time stood still
So many died none knew funerals

The Institute spent hard centuries
Studying the alien’s artifacts
Learning nothing, it closed

That morning he returned, his image crackling:
Now you understand
Give no importance
To things unimportant and
Left a bright circle of spinning light

Many approached
A hand, a head vanished
Scientists suspected a portal

Then a crumpled geezer appeared
An ancient manuscript clasped in his hands:
A film screenplay of dated copyright
Written long before the alien’s arrival
Describing in perfect detail
All he would say and do

Knowing that play’s ultimate power
We now rewrite the ending
Humans clean the planet, cool the oceans
Visit the stars

Would you like to contribute?
I’ll send you our new address