Ralph's Interview (Revision 2)

[Leanne]

This isn't the first time
you've evacuated children.
Before the bomb, we were safe
inside closets of snowy forest
with our talking lion;
the beast always talks. -- I think I'd be tempted to break here
We were much the same
as those before.
We collected sea shells, danced
to the heartbeat of the world,
and dreamed of our parents'
tables, when hungry, -- maybe a semi-colon after tables
we ate pig.

The reason I suggest a strophe break is to further highlight the contrast between beasts: Aslan/God versus LOTF/Beelzebub. In both cases, the land itself is the heart, pure until stained by man -- and in both cases, man is the saviour, although I'd hazard a guess that Ralph wouldn't have minded a speedier delivery. There can be no redemption without first having sinned. So much to think about in a little poem that draws in such rich intertext from two of the most powerfully symbolic novels ever written. This makes me happy