6. ONCE UPON A TIME
Every tree standing lanky and towering on the hills; was once upon a time a minuscule seedling,
Every dog barking discordantly on the streets; was once upon a time an innocuous pup; yelping incoherently in the darkness all around,
Every bird soaring handsomely in the sky; was once upon a time a glistening
egg; incarcerated beneath soft twigs of the nest,
Every alligator slithering menacingly through the marshy swamps; was once upon
a time an inconspicuous tadpole floating nimbly in still water,
Every desert sprawled over infinite territory; was once upon a time a small hillock of disdainfully colored mud,
Every star shimmering brilliantly in the cosmos; was once upon a time a tiny flame of glowing candle,
Every mountain towering domineeringly on the landscapes; was once upon a time
an infinitesimal lump of clay,
Every tiger with a deafening growl philandering through the jungles; was once
upon a time an infantile cub; having bohemian paws without the slightest of nail,
Every leaf gargantuan in proportion and cascading from the tree; was once upon
a time; a raw bud extruding in clusters; proliferating by the hour,
Every volcano fulminating into sizzling fountains; was once upon a time a placid stream of molten liquid,
Every patch of ominous cloud in the sky; was once upon a time thin wisps of atmosphere,
Every slab of fortified wall; was once upon a time a finely pulverized blend of burnt stone,
Every large bone of the body; was once upon a time a profoundly squelched mass
of intermingles flesh,
Every squall that swept thunderously across the city; was once upon a time a
droplet of saline tear that trickled down the cheek,
Every mass of lethal dynamite that exploded; was once upon a time an incongruous piece of lead,
Every wind that mightily blew in the monsoons; was once upon a time moist breath that flowed intermittently through the nostrils,
Every dinosaur trampling indiscriminately through the meadows; was once upon a
time an obnoxiously scented insect,
Every mother surrounded blissfully by children; was once upon a time a freckled and embarrassed girl,
Every reptile profusely impregnated with poison; was once upon a time a stinging beetle,
And every man trespassing on the surface of land; trying to reign supreme over the entire earth; was once upon a time a particle of saw dust; simply a short stub of compressed thread; one out of the millions lying scattered in directions unprecedented.