"Beastly Encounter"
(A poetic vignette)
by Pat Farrar

Late one night in Central Park
Two hooded strangers prowled.
Beneath the shadows of the trees,
Both darkly cloaked and cowled,
Neither one had seen the other-
Staying always out of sight,
Both backed around an oak tree
And collided, -- What a fright!
Two fearsome bellows split the night,
Each whirled to face the foe, 
And two fanged jaws dropped open
At the shock of what they saw.

"Who are you? And what are you?
What are you doing here?"

"How did you come to look so odd?
You're as strange as me, I fear."

"My name is Vincent," the first replied, 
"And please, excuse my staring;
But your horns, flop ears, and bushy tail-
They really are quite daring.
I had them once, when I was small,
But, since people might be shocked,
When Father took my tonsils out,
They also wound up docked.
And I suppose its just as well,
They'd have probably had to go;
Or I'd have never been considered
To star in a TV show."
 
"Hey there, Vince, we need to talk.
Are you saying that you claim
To be the Beast of "Beauty &"?
But, Fella, that's my name!
I once was an enchanted prince,
But that just didn't last.
'Cause Belle preferred me as I am,
So, I switched back, real fast.
We've been around for centuries,
We had children by the score.
You must be a descendent.
I don't see many, anymore."

"I'm very glad to meet you, Sir."
Said Vincent, with a sigh,
"But you won't be very proud of me,
For I let my Beauty die."

"Nonsense, Lad, that can't be true,
You're enchanted, just like me.
It's just the latest dire dilemma
In this Fairy Tale's history."

"Well, I keep looking in the shower,
Hoping it was just a dream;
But, if I found her there - with Elliott,
I'm afraid I'd have to scream!"

"A Beast without his Beauty?
I'm afraid that just won't do.
A good writer would soon find a way
To bring her back to you."

"Koslow says he will take care of it;
Someday, -- sooner or later,
When my Lady tires of her success
(Or needs work) post- "Terminator".
But, I wish the man would hurry
And correct the situation.
At this rate, we will be seeing
"B&B, Next Generation"!"

"Enjoyed our chat," the old Beast said,
"But, I fear that I must go:
A meeting to discuss MY movie's
Success as a Broadway Show.
Hope you follow in my footsteps,
And that someday you'll be seen
Like your Great-Great Granddaddy
Up there on the Silver Screen."

And with that they parted
To the sound of Beastly laughter.
They, and we will keep on waiting
For the "Happy Ever After."



Origins
by Pat Farrar

How did he get to be like that? 
He was born, and he survived.
Is there someone who can tell the tale,
Who was there when he arrived?

Father knows what happened,
But it's a story he won't tell.
It's not that he's forgotten;
He remembers all too well.

The Paters longed to have a child,
But they had tried for years.
He saw John's desperation grow,
And he helped dry Anna's tears.

"We're men of science, Jacob,
There must be something we can do.
Help me figure out a way.
I'd do the same for you."

So John and Jacob set to work.
They were years before their time.
Could they create a Test Tube baby?
Surely, that would be no crime.

For months they slaved with no result,
But John would not loose heart.
It became his one obsession.
Jacob sighed, but did his part.

Finally, a breakthrough came.
"Looks promising, I'd say.
But we can't try this with Anna
'Til we're sure that it's OK."

"We'll test it first, just to be sure.
Some large animal will do.
And there's a tunnel entrance
That is just outside the zoo."

John went Above to run the test.
When several weeks had passed;
"It worked, My Friend, it really worked!
I'll have a son, at last!"

And for awhile, all did seem well.
Pregnant Anna smiled with joy.
After all this time, a baby.
She was hoping for a boy.

John really did return Above
The lioness to abort.
But he began to wonder........
(Scientists tend to be that sort)

We know about poor Anna,
And how her child was lost.
Jacob thought it was all over,
Never dreamed the future cost.

We know of Paracelcus,
John was never quite the same.
But he kept watch up at the zoo
'Til the other baby came.

He knew where Anna walked at night,
Put it there for her to find.
Was it only his obsession?
Was he trying to be kind?

That part we may never know;
But we know what happened later.
Jacob gained another son,
And lost his friend, John Pater.

So Father keeps the secret yet,
Afraid to tell the others.
But, he wonders still, what did John do
With Vincent's sister and his brothers? 

Pat Farrar considers herself an artist, not a writer. All of her poems were all written as illustrations to go along with her illustrations. Unfortunately, the drawings get lost in the translation when getting converted to E-mail. A big fan of the early fanzine series, "Intertwined", she became author Nanci Casad's Staff Artist for #'s 3-5 and a couple of Quantum Leap 'zines. When Nanci bowed out of writing BATB, she was forced into finding other outlets, even getting a couple of 4S protest poems published in Nan Dibble's "Phoenix" series. In desperation, unable to badger any of her authorish friends into putting her SND idea into words, she finally wrote and published "Jacob's Dream" herself. If she ever figures out how to send an "attachment", it will also show up on FOL. For the moment, its just too long for E-mail. [Update - Pat managed to get it attached and sent to me and it will be an upcoming issue of Father's Online Library!] You can e-mail comments to Pat at PLFarrar@aol.com.