Look how Mercury dapples the sky & Daphne’s houseFaces north; there is nothing to say about the lightExcept it reaches beyond the heavens and would dappleHell if it could. In times forgotten exceptIn American textbooks, the slave revoltOf 1804 means nothing in the Central PlateauWhere schools dot the countrySide and bring some hope, realizingLearning math and science and literatureCould prevent one from early death – say about tenOr eleven years old. These dreams – colossalIn the night sky – dance among moon beamsAs Daphne rises predawn,As Mercury confiscates brilliance in one slide.