Time Warp

From birth, on this land,
Stood a giant mound
Of shell, ooze and sponge;
Above clouds, beyond horizons.

At its base, inside the pit,
Lived the two-toothed priest,
Swaying, laughing, blessing.
Ageless and Tireless.

When inquired of the mound,
He offered samosa and toddy,
But never an answer.
“Go find out” he said.

None cared, none dared;
Some out of respect,
All out of fear.
Until the wrinkled hag:

She set out on foot
Towards the eastern Sun,
Walking spellbound days on,
And re-arrived at the pit.

“Ten days! What did you see?”
“Ten days? Nay, ten minutes!
See! My wrinkles are gone!
My bosoms are perky! My hips alluring!
I’m a nymphet!

Who ate the ripest apple
On the serpent!”
They laughed and laughed,
The priest and the hag,
Partaking in samosa and toddy.

Then it was the chieftain
Who re-arrived at the pit,
Having heard from the nymphet
Of the miraculous mound.

“Ten days! What did you see?”
“Ten days? Nay, ten minutes!
See my clots are gone!
My pulse is even! My heart is aflow!
I’m a singer!

Who swam the purplest sky
Resting vertically!”
They laughed and laughed,
The priest and the chieftain,
Partaking in samosa and toddy.

“Ants weightlifting atoms”
“Squirrels making engineering drawings”
“Fish agitating for land”
“Hyenas tilling fields”

Thus it went with the ensuing hordes
Who followed the unwritten rules.
All gained something and all saw something
What only they could.

One day the New Man arrived
On his alphanumeric bike.
Covered in gear
Revealed in mission.

“What a waste” he said
“Of ten precious days!
I shall show you dopes
Profits of productive science"

The priest, as usual
Swayed, laughed and blessed.
Never siding,
Never doubting.

Without a moment’s delay,
The bike left
At the speed of sound
To conquer the mound.

“Ten minutes! What did you see?”
New Man said, "Nothing!
Who has the time?"
And planted the chequered flag.

At that moment the mound shrank
To human scale.
When it became evident to all
That He was a Snail.

Gazing into the priest’s eye,
From the moist antenna,
The Snail emitted an audio wave,
One to be visible henceforth.

Worldwide, all sets
Received this broadcast
Of a forgotten language:
“mama kãlaha ãgataha”

Everyone laughed and worried
When the children said,
“'mama kãlaha ãgataha' means
'My Time has come'”