THE DANCE
By Mike Berger, PhD


This is bizarre; it has to be a
bad dream. Things this crazy
can't be real.
Gypsies are ringing and dancing
in the streets. Boys move in
rhythmic syncopation to the
somber sounds of a Hungarian
violin.
Two dozen angels are dancing
on the head of a pin. There erratic
motions jangle the nerves as they
dance to the dissonance of a
Stravinsky ballet.
Bodies twisted and deformed as
they dance. Thrashing and contorting
they gyrate to the sounds of a
heavy metal band.
That surly nurse comes waltzing in;
it's time for my medication.


- - -
Mike Berger, PhD is
bright, articulate,
handsome, and
extremely humble

THE BEAST OF SUNRISE DELL
By Mike Berger, PhD



The Dell is a pretty place; lush and green

with a meandering brook. Called Sunrise

Dell because it lies between two mountains.

When the sun comes up the Dell lights up

before anything else.



The Dell was once an ideal place for

raising cattle. That was before the beast

appeared. At first we thought our dead

cattle was the work of a bear, but all

of the pieces didn't fit.



Bears kill quickly and eat the hind

quarters first. These cattle died in

a savage attack; they were torn to

shreds. It might have been a cougar

or a wolverine. We sat half dozen

bear traps around those mangled

bodies. We would catch the creature

when it came to finish off the carcasses.



We returned next-day. None of the traps

had been sprung, but several of the

remains had been pirated a way. We found

footprints in the soft soil. Those prints

looked human like. I took my rifle from

it's scabbard; we had the feeling we were

being watched. We drove our cattle out

of the Dell.



Now when we must cross the Dell, we

take our rifles and never go alone.


- - -
Mike Berger, PhD is
bright, articulate,
handsome, and
extremely humble