The Appointed Day... Or Not Part One Poem by Daniel Brick

The Appointed Day arrived without any
accompanying signs. Some said simply,
"It arrived today, because today is neither
yesterday nor tomorrow. It arrived in its slot,
because the calendar told it to do so." They
expressed neither faith nor wonder, they bored
themselves with common sense, earth-bound
and terminal. But one eager believer responded
with the alacrity of his fictional heroes,
"Just because it has not revealed its secrets
does not mean it has no secrets. It has arrived -
that is the first event, only the first one."
Another eager believer lunged over him, and added,
"These rocks are beautiful, the carriers are
beautiful. What is there not to admire? Are we
not one race of human beings throughout the galaxy? "
The crowd had thinned, mostly the Eager Ones milled about.
A few pockets of the Nay-Sayers persisted. But they had
turned their backs to the Eager Believers, who had formed
their own tight circles. Thus, at the edge of the city,
where civilization and wilderness meet along a thin line
of separation, the Nay-Sayers and the Eager Ones
stood on common ground while strengthening their divisions.