Benjamin Popple

Poem: World's Ornature

Poem: Behind the Door

Story: Steel and Stallion

Slam Poem: Yukon's Cherry Coke Phobia Experiment 

Slam Poem: 13 Steps to Successfully Kidnap Someone 

Group Poem: Melting Into Beauty 

Screenplay: The Junebugs' Night Out 

WORLD'S ORNATURE

The sun sets with his permanence known,

Whilst aquatic avians stay grounded and unbothered.

A scene from a painting rarely shown,

As if it was cultivated and fathered.

The grass blows in a single direction,

Like they are of one mind and soul.

The waters show their calm inflection,

With gentle wind causing them to roll.

I sit atop a manmade log,

Watching nature's perfection take place.

It clears my mind of all its fog,

And gives me solace at my base.

I think to myself “What beauty has inspired!”

As a feeling of tranquility fills my heart.

My head is clear, my soul is fired,

My body fluid, my humanity not desired.

How I long to be part of nature,

A world untouched by the likes of man.

It crowns the world like an ornature,

And has since she began.

Oh, how I succumb to Earth’s beautiful hue,

The lakes, mountains, and land hilled.

And as I lay down to rest and bid adieu,

My human vessel perishes, but my soul can never be killed.

BEHIND THE DOOR

Water, a pond, an aquatic scene,

Rocky outcrops surround the water, it’s serene.

Ducks float by, grounded by the lake,

Fish swim underneath till they ache.

I wonder to myself, what’s fish’s sky?

Is it water's surface? Or is it ours up high?

Another thought floats through my mind,

Is it objective? The perception between kind?

To a squirrel, an acorn is its fare,

To me, acorns are hard and bare.

To trees, dirt is life-giving and sweet,

To me, dirt is messy, not to be over my feet.

To ants, a crumb will last a week,

To me, a crumb is insufficient and meek.

Perspective makes life a different story,

We should see it in all its glory.

Some see the world behind a closed door,

Others peek through its windows, hoping to see more.

Few see the world with its door swung wide,

I strive for the view that lies on the other side.

STEEL AND STALLION

The smell of whiskey and rum filled the saloon with a kind of stench that can only be described as unkindly. It was about half full with your typical outlaws and countrymen. The saloon itself was an older building, dating back at least five hundred years, and she shows her age. It’s a favorite for Cody Callahan, a little-known outlaw and fugitive. He indulged in small escapades around the New Frontier, but he liked it that way. 

As an outlaw, the lesser known you are the better. It makes you incredibly harder to track down. His adventures didn’t come without reward, however. His thieving habits had earned him a small fortune that he tucked away in a bank. With this fortune, Cody took a break from being a fugitive to relax and take a vacation. His version of vacation, however, is visiting his favorite bar three times a day.

Cody pushed through the doors into the bar for his third time today, seeing the usuals sit at their respective tables. In the corner, a game of blackjack. The middle is poker. And the other corner, drunk. It was about how it was every time. He walked over to the bartender and asked for the usual. Cody was such a regular that he got himself a little discount. The bartender poured Cody a glass of Clyde’s and passed it to him without a word. Talking was neither of their strong suits, but they held respect for the other. 

After downing the shot, Cody looked at the news. It was once again typical. Gangs and crime were rampant, the economy was declining once again, and the government seemed to have no control over the issue. The 2309 election wasn’t for another four years, which was a problem. Their newfound president has only worsened the economic crisis and supplied gangs with copious amounts of armaments. No one liked him, but no one could stop him either. That’s what happens when the government gets corrupt.

As Cody was sitting at the table, a bang could be heard from outside the saloon. Everyone sober enough to notice raised their heads and looked around, wondering who’d been shot this time. But then there was another shot. And another. This was no duel, it was a full-on brawl. Cody cautiously walked up to the window to get a better look, and his heart skipped a beat. It was a turf war. The bar he frequented was in Los Demonios del Polvo territory. Their rivals, The Steel Renegades, have been fighting for this part of the town for years.

 Los Demonios del Polvo was a ruthless gang of bandits that had no care for life and would do anything to get their way. The Steel Renegades, while equally ruthless, were almost more frightening due to them being made up of cyborgs and robots. A few humans were scattered in their ranks, but it was few and far between.

This was a dangerous battle. Not only were they two of the most violent gangs in the New Frontier, but it was over the most sought-after land in the entire town. Since the new presidential election, gang violence has been the leading cause of civilian death in the Americas Union. 

DOESN’T FIT, ADD SOMEWHERE ELSE—Since 2998, the entirety of the North Americas made a treaty following the Colignous War. Wiping out a large portion of the current population, the treaty was required to maintain peace within the Americas for fear of wiping out the Earth entirely. They called the new territory the Americas Union and have been the leading power on Earth for the last three hundred years. 

The gunfight was getting louder by the minute. Bombs could be heard in the distance, and tension was rising. This ain’t good, Cody thought. He wasn’t on good terms with either gang. Being an outlaw meant you have enemies, and he made plenty. The Renegades weren’t as much of an issue since he never had a head-on fight with them, but Los Demonios was an issue. Cody had caught a few of their shipments during his time as an outlaw, and they were not going to let him do it again. 

There was a back door to the saloon that seemed like Cody’s best option. He pushed through drunken bodies and fallen bottles until he reached the end of the hallway and cautiously opened the door. It made a loud creak that made Cody wince. Even with the explosive gunfight in the background, there could be stragglers looking for another fight.

After scanning the area, Cody considered the coast to be clear and walked through the door. This was an unfamiliar alleyway, which was dangerous as it was. With violent gangs around, the danger grew tenfold. Cody, with one hand on his holster, walked through in silence. There were no lights above him, but just enough came from the setting sun to light his path.

Cody stopped suddenly, and being as still as a statue he listened again. Were those voices? Cody wondered. He waited a few seconds before moving again. He was on edge, and the dimly lit alleyway wasn’t helping his nerves. His hand had a slight shake to it, indicating his uneasiness. 

Voices. Again. Those were definitely voices. They were far enough away to be unintelligible, but close enough to hear. Cody didn’t have any choice. Either he walks into a gang fight or he walks into a gang. He chose the latter.

Walking forward with apprehension, Cody drew his revolver in anticipation of a fight. His weapon was a 12-shot revolver loaded with diamond-tipped 22 long bullets. The bullets were custom-made by Cody himself after he stole a shipment carrying thousands of pounds of diamonds. His revolver was battery-powered, like most other guns, and it could rip through most materials.

Cody was getting closer to the voices, so much so that he could now understand them. 

“Get this moving, the distraction ain’t going to last much longer,” he heard from one of the voices.

“I’m trying, it would go quicker if you helped me here,” a second voice retorted.

“I gotta make sure you ain’t gonna get capped in the head. You’d rather be alive, right?” The first voice snapped back.

The second voice didn’t have a comeback for that and kept silent.

Cody was close enough to see exactly where the voices were coming from. They seemed to be loading a large crate onto the back of a truck, and it seemed important. As much as Cody wanted to get out of there, the crate sparked his old curiosity. He wouldn’t ever pass up on an easy payday. 

He knew he could take out one of the men without an issue, and the second one was busy with the cargo. If the other one quick enough reaction time it could pose a problem, but this was worth the risk. Cody raised his pistol and took aim at the man standing guard. It’s been a while since he had shot a pistol, but he relied on his muscle memory to take the lead. 

Cody pulled the trigger on the guard, and a shot rang out. It was a clean hit through the heart. His second shot, however, wasn’t so lucky. The man leading the crate had an almost inhuman reaction time, and Cody realized too late: he had some machine in him. The man’s left arm was hidden from Cody’s view, which was now revealed to be fully metallic.

The man pulled a gun from his holster and they exchanged a shot. Cody missed, but so did the man. Cody may not have cybernetic parts, but he was sly for his age. He ducked behind a garbage bin and the man fired off a few shots. Cody had a grenade on him, but that would be much louder than a gunshot as well as possibly damaging the cargo so it was out of the question.

Cody could hear the man getting closer to the bin he was hiding behind and started forming a plan. He pulled out his grenade, and without pressing the activation button he rolled it under the bin towards the approaching man. Without wasting a second, Cody peaking from behind the bin and fired a shot, hitting the distracted man with a shot that killed him instantly. 

The move was risky since Cody didn’t know if the man also had artificially boosted reaction time in his brain as well as his arm, but it paid off nonetheless. His hands were still shaking, but Cody didn’t pay any mind to it. Walking past the bodies of dead gang members, he approached the mysterious crate. He took a knife from his belt to pry the lid open and stuck it under the top. After a few attempts, the lid finally came loose and Cody looked inside. He furrowed his brow quizically. It was a container filled with some sort of green, glowing liquid. His eyes shifted to the side of the container, where he noticed it was leading. His missed shot must have hit the crate and struck the canister of liquid. That’s when he noticed the rising temperature. Is it getting… hotter? Cody started backing away, but the temperature was rising too fast. 

“Oh sh-”

Before Cody could finish his sentence, the container imploded, engulfing him in a burning green luminescence.