Belonging to No One

I am no centaur, no ant,
merely man-stuff,
man-matter, man-atom,
man-universe,
the rest are dragons,
vanity needs to be pulled down,
there are curtains on these towers,
I say pull it down,
yes, I have courage, courage
for all of you, courage
to face the towers, all of them,
your glorious stalagmites.

Liminal Being

I'm a centaur in my cubicle kingdom,
Though not a popular legend, apparently,
Who comes trailing rope to take me on?
The issue is not resources, only humans,
In this office no ships are needed,
No strange oracle, no voice from the Gods,
Though I might be able to manipulate
The receptionist into a fuzzy version
Of a commanding voice to start off the epic
But she is often on a break or busy,
Without her, I wonder how I should advertise
My ferocious self to the outlying regents,
The challenge that awaits them in me,
What kind of serious message can I send
To the princes of the upper floors,
Offering them the chance to prove themselves?
I have no fleece to impart or maiden
That they can rescue or else empower
So that she might get away on her own.

About the Author

Ben Nardolilli's work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, Danse Macabre, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, The Northampton Review, Local Train Magazine, The Minetta Review, and Yes Poetry. He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com and is trying to publish his novels.