once upon a dream
  with banana-leaf sheen
the mighty ship's brow
  shone with setting sunbeam

at the ship's helm stood,
  sunset mirrored in her eyes
a rat: proud and tall
  baring all the strength she could

lolling in the back
  watching shapes in clouds
a coconut, the lookout,
  held down with string and tack

a mission they were on,
  unlikely it may be,
navigating by the stars
  between dusk and dawn

they leapt or they lurked
  onto the night sky, for
toothpick triangulation,
  rat ingenuity at work

as morning approached bright,
  fiery sunrise breaking through,
the great sea calmed at its end
  and their destination was in sight

here waves undulated into thin air,
  an unseen end to unseen forces,
and further: a sheer drop to nothing;
below and beyond, nothing was there

one last look of abandon, and she
  knew the moment was for ever;
with a tug at the sail and a breath,
  they drifted over the edge, free

suddenly, wind rushing through,
  horizontal became vertical and
sky was ground and here is the
  moment, finally, when they knew:

the sea-spray stood still here,
  the roar of the ocean silenced;
suspended mid-air they stood agape
  at the side of the earth, clear

the blinding light subsided when
  they drew down their sail, and
their eyes were wide with wonder,
  each breath taken back again

here was the source of each
  of the world's fluid motions,
looming great and tall now,
  at last in sight and in reach!

thousands upon hundreds were
  the number of the gears,
and at the scene in awe,
  the rat pricked up her fur

each spindle and cog and bell
  moved in harmony with the other
ringing and clicking and ticking sounds
  washed over the two in swells

the clockworks of the world,
  thought the rat with admiration;
and there, at its heart,
  a tiny key whirred

it shook and it spun,
  wobbling, balanced in place,
and they crept forward then
  by the light of the morning sun

the coconut, rolling, suddenly
  was thrown back, forward, round
and into the box where
  the key fell so easily free

each of those gears
  began grinding to a halt
through to a silence:
  nothing could they hear!

the rat intently glared
  at the hopeless coconut
who simply stood in shock
  and disappointment and stared

as the silence pervaded
  and the world came to a halt
the light grew gray and dim; across
  the sky, dark clouds paraded

they were mocking him!
  the drew his shape now
vertical, enormous, contorted
  as a final wishful whim

the rat desperately tried
  to replace the key to time
twisting it this way and that
  and finally gave up with a sigh

it was just then that the gears
  slowly began to turn, and
with immense and full relief
  the rat fell, nearly in tears

the coconut looked between
  the outside sky and her,
trying to force himself to
  point out what he had seen

and then suddenly she saw
  the sun was setting again
but backward, to the east,
  setting against natural law!

the crash of waves grew
  louder and louder, now,
and over the edge they could see
  water falling, crashing through

then lightning struck
  on waves brightly shining
and in each other's eyes
  they saw the end of their luck

the rat clung to the coconut
  just as the water bore in
his shell was suddenly cracked
  and the rat's tail was cut

and then, the waves overtook:
  tumbling and turning them
out, up, over and through;
  they tried desperately to look

they saw the open gray sky
  and the closed ocean floor
and then at once they flew
  not daring ask the other why

blood ran from her tail
  milk seeped from his body
as at the edge of the sea
  disappeared the tip of a sail

she stared at his face
  for barely a moment
just one last goodbye
  before their fall from grace

reflections of lightning fell
  upon a falling tear
as one last clap of thunder
  tore through the sky well

the force threw them apart
  and they continued upward
above the clouds and to
  the stars with a start

nothing but darkness filled
  their eyes each at last
and at once they were gone
  despite strong wishes and wills

a great peace overcame
  the sky and the earth
and the clockwork turned
  flowing once more the same

the air was quiet and still,
  and not a soul knew
of the great epic adventure
  that led two to be killed

nature had no memory
  of their own mistakes:
it only knew as always
  that the sun rose free