ANTARCTIC PEOPLE
It takes a special kind of fool To leave a home and job, or school And pack a bag and grab a plane And leave behind the 'safe and sane'To go somewhere remote as Mars With no McDonald's, T.V., or cars No Exxon stations, no Pizza Huts, No 7-11's - you'd have to be nuts!
To cast one's lot with a gang of freaks Misfits, outcasts, grouches and geeks Collectors of rocks, of eggs, of scales Sewer repairmen, benders of nails
Far-fetched minds from far-flung places Wild lights in their eyes, strange knots in their laces Strange tastes in music, strange tastes in food Strange hair; strange clothing; good God, what a brood!
What fool wants to go where those maniacs are? Each one a stranger, each stranger bizarre Who'd leave behind all that's comfortably known For a place without streetlights, police, or ozone?
A fool, perhaps, with the mind of a child Alert and curious, friendly and wild Foolishly tickled to witness a dawn Delighted when two other fools sing a song
Or perhaps a fool with a cynical bent Who scoffed at society, got up and went Broke off and ran from what others hold dear Went as far as one can - and washed ashore here
Or it could be a fool of Columbus's mold Miraculous worlds to seek and behold More faith in tomorrow than any 'today' No 'here' as delightful as getting away
Fools? Perhaps; but special past doubt Children and sceptics from the wide world about Gathered by chances as random as dice And sent to this 'home for the way-weird': the Ice
And here to be tortured, ignored, and distressed And find in each other the strength for the test And find in these fools the best friends they've known And see in themselves a fool of their own
So they bond together in a blissful way Hopeful fools in their world for a day As a part-time tribe, a fore-doomed race Good friends? Total strangers? Both at once - what a place
Jim 'Thumper' Porter 24 Feberuary 1989