Cap’n Reynolds

You can hear the Reaper whisper as you’re drilling through the black

Hauling widgets to the second moon of five,

And you know that he’ll be on you if you ever turn your back,

But for now you’ve never felt so much alive.

There is no home behind you; the Alliance saw to that,

And no safe refuge waits for you ahead—

Just an endless string of mudballs that the ‘formers have knocked flat

And a cold and lonely coffin when you’re dead.

But Serenity’s still flying, and that’s all that matters now,

And everything you care about is here;

Cause the people who aren’t with you just don’t matter, anyhow,

And stuff just finds a way to disappear.

Oh, it’s luck and guile and patience and no small amount of sweat—

Cause it’s sure not just the physics makes her fly.

.And one day you’ll die together, but it hasn’t happened yet,

And for now you own this little piece of sky.

Yes, it’s sweat and blood and courage and no small amount of love

That lets Serenity keep flying free.

So let the Reaper whisper, ‘cause when push comes to shove,

There’s simply no place else you’d rather be.

Paul Haynie

10/26/2002

Changeling

(for Jewel Staite)

While it’s true most of the Faerie Folk are children of the Green,

Don’t dare forget the Gremlin-kind, who follow Dame Machine.

They make their homes in crankcases, on circuit boards, and such,

And if you pay no mind to them, they won’t harass you, much.

Now, our Kaylee, she’s a changeling, with her roots in gremlin-kind;

She’s a more than passing-pretty girl, but she’s got a gremlin’s mind.

She says the engines talk to her, tell her what needs be done,

And that grueling annual overhaul is just her idea of fun.

She’s an innocent romantic when she deals with human kind,

But if you're wanting a mechanic, she’s the best you’ll ever find.

Mal Reynolds holds the papers, but she’s made his ship her own;

She's the Queen of all the Gremlins, and Serenity’s her throne.

Paul Haynie

January 15, 2003

Silver Lady

She wasn’t bo