On Baylor's Hill Poem by Richard D Remler

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There is a man
On Baylor's Hill
Who can look into
The dark of your eyes,
And read a part
Of your soul.
A witness to
Those hidden things
Locked deep inside
The vaults
And strong boxes
Obscure and cryptic,
Where all the dark things
Are stored.
The people here do not
Treat him fair,
And mock him
With a terrible
Indifference.
They watch him,
They stare,
They speak rumors
And tell tales
And rattle
Willing ears,
And still he
Can be found
Living there
On Baylor's Hill.

I remember how he
Watched the sky
On Baylor's Hill -
Counting every star,
Whispering their name
Intimately,
As if speaking softly
To an old friend,
At least until
The air of evening
Changed,
And the fog rolled in,
And he would curl up
And fall asleep
On Baylor's Hill.

On Baylor's Hill
He was not lost,
He knew who he was,
His memories were still
There to keep him
Company.
He could hear the harbor bell
Chime every morning
At nine,
He would watch the ships
Come into dock,
And see the trawlers leave
For their shrimping routes.
He could hear the gulls,
The Albatross,
The pigeons
Vie for their small
Parcel of rock.
And at dusk
He would settle down
Into the shade and sand
And remember the days warmth,
And the song of children
Hunting sand dollars
And starfish along
The waters edge,
And he was almost happy here
On Baylor's Hill.

There was a time
When he would sing
His stories
Before dawn,
When the quiet lingered
Just long enough
To serenade
This sleepy place.
He would sing of things
That are long since gone,
Things that have
Moved and traveled on.
He would sing stories of
Another time,
Of a beauty
Somehow left behind,
Of wonders that tugged
At his heart,
Relics of a time
Apart,
On Baylor's Hill.


There is a man
On Baylor's Hill
Who still touches lives
No others will.
A man who counts
Those stars at night,
To thank them
For their lambent light.
A man of simple means
And ways,
Who's peppered hair
All but betrays
The lines of age
Upon his face,
Which bless him with
A subtle grace
That echoes in the
Gentle breeze
Winding
Billows through
Bayberry trees
On Baylor's Hill.


Copyright © MMX Richard D. Remler