THE MUSE
You owe me. Pay up. According to my accounts, you have...

CASUAL FRIEND
Send lies to the people listed below....

THE AWARDS COMMITTEE
This is to notify you that--but what's the use?...

THE WISE
The world could fall to pieces with no notice....

UNCLE AL
A chicken is a touchy creature....

THE OTHERS
Here where we live the lines are down and the surprises build into snowbanks...

DANNY
Dusty Clinton Township kids making paper roosters and snowball...

SAMUEL RENSBERGER
I am your grandfather's grandfather and through my wakeless sleep I dream...

OLD NEIGHBOR
East across low muddy fields and behind the screening trees you can see...

THE WORM COUNCIL
We call your attention to worms. Though sweeping ice age disaster...

THE HERON
I flew in down by the round deep pond behind your house...

WITNESS
I saw the largest moon ever rise huge bright yellow, sailing where it cared to...

PLOT

The sad story
of how we got here
blent and complex as soup

Man O Day
the old guy says
pointing his finger at doom

We turn to face him
at the end of part one

Mockingbird enters
by voice only
we think we hear words
but they are not repeated

(suspect mockingbirds
of symbolism)

Everything hinges
on the third-from-last chapter
and what we do to ourselves then
to move toward
the little dot
we can only imagine