"Party"- a poem (from the novel "Space Ark-The Discovery").

 This is another poem from my novel "Space Ark-The Discovery", written by one of the central characters, Sam Carrier. It appears as an introduction to one of the later chapters. The chapter centres around a party to celebrate the opening of the trans-continental railway tunnel through the Sacred Mountain. This tunnel links the two great rival nations, the New Eden Republic and the Great Northern Kingdom.

Party… A magic word for some;

 A license for feasting, frivolity and fun.

Let wine like summer rain pour down

To loosen the tongue and erase that frown

Put away your school books and bring on the clowns,

Strike up the band, embrace rhythm, light and sound !

Party… For some a word to strike fear;

The occasion they’ve been dreading for nearly all the year.

All those bubbly party people, with their smiley, chatty faces;

Will I know what to say to them, will I talk in the wrong places?

With no one to speak to will I just be stuck there by the wall?

As lonely as the hat-stand standing in the hall,

But unlike the hat-stand, serving no purpose at all.

Party… For some another word for sin;

A demon being summoned in each glass of wine, beer or gin.

“Follow me,” he beckons them, as he casts his silent spell

And down garlanded paths he leads them to the very gates of hell.

For one through fleshly lusts to the bed of another man’s wife,

For another by violent brawling he takes another man’s life,

Still another is lured to the card-table- just for the fun of playing the game-

To find the game has played him and left him without a penny to his name.

Party… which party shall it be tonight?