A Train of Thoughts

I dream of a vast, great hall

Of two brothers growing up and farther apart

One endowed with power, the other with magic

And both fated across worlds to brawl.

I want to walk up to them, to tell them how it’s going to be

Of the future end to their conflict, of their brotherly reunion

But now I must awake, forget Thor and Loki,

And spend my concentration upon Theology.

My mind wanders to Middlearth

Seeking the peaceful themes of Hobbiton and Rohan

It sees me walking beside Gimli and Legolas, drinking Ent-draughts with Merry and Pippin

Making me believe I was famous forevermore, as in the Fellowship I been chillin’.

O, what it would not give to see dawn on the fifth day,

To hear Bombadil’s tunes, to taste the cold, flaky lembas!

But right now, my mind must return to the present moment

Return to problems unfulfilling, like induction and experiment.

A pause in the conversation turns me to my friends

To Professor X, Peter Parker, and Kenobi

To Fives, 99, Logan, Newt, Steve and Peggy, Hester and Tom

To all my friends, both living and dead; I turn to them to halt my dread.

Many gravestones are the cause of both my misery and my hope

“Here lies Pietro Maximoff, or Harry Osborne, or Stoik or Tony or Boromir.”

Their lives inspire me to go on,

Their sacrifices persuade me to reignite the discussion.

My classmates are searching for the significances of battles

But I search for swords, and bloodstained earth, and gigantic mutilated trolls

Lightsabers, cannons, clashing steel, guns, and more that I associate with war come flying through my head

Disc wars or skirmishes with Orcs mean more to me than battles at Marathon or Adrianople.

The American Revolution pales when compared with the Clone Wars

Charlemagne and Justinian fall far short of Batman and Daredevil

These and more fantastical myths,

Convey more to me than Carroll’s deets.

But our years at college are not of film trivia

History, Philosophy, Theology, and Lit occupy our time, they bind us

Translating a Greek text takes longer than a Tolkien marathon;

Homer offers more stimulating thought than Aquinas,

And classes with Mr Camden are more exciting than late night essays.

Nonetheless, to Doctors Amith and Jay, to Mr Manning, Father Brian, and all, I must turn my attention

Lest I forget that I am here to study fruitfully,

And not to let fantasy become my reality.