THE GRACE OF ANGELINE

AND OTHER WORK INCLUDED TO BE SEEN 

BY

Glenn Allen Nolen

COPYRIGHT © 2008 BY GLENN ALLEN NOLEN

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

CONTENTS

Chapter I                                 1
Chapter II                                4 
Chapter III                               9
Chapter IV                               12

i

CHAPTER 1

In a far away land
In a far away place
Circling a distant sun live a nomadic people of the sand.
For lack of a better word, I will call them Grace.

Their language is of motion
Fluttering to and fro
As if movement were an emotion
Light as a feather could go.

They transcend what we would call a dimension
Entering a realm of invention
That we could never have imagined would flow.

At first glance,
One might call it a dance,
That description would be wrong.
Please, never refer to it as a song.

It is more than that
Beyond a cane and top hat,
It is more than a tune,
That continually bounces from Earth to the moon.

It has taken decades to decipher.
Luckily, as an explorer I am a lifer
Married to my work and loving this barren dune.

The Grace,
Seemingly, have no face
No eyes, ears, or nose;
They, however, strike an awesome pose.

In a world devoid of everything except a multitude of various textures of sand
They burrow without even an arm or a hand.
They use neither legs nor feet,
Watching this accomplishment is a miraculous treat.

Their wondrous display
May never have originated on a world of wet clay,
Thankfully, we recognized them as elite.

1
The Grace move as easily through the gold colored sky
Becoming fixtures of this land
That they once described only with a sigh.
We would never have noticed if it were still that bland.

Our first encounter,
The James Webb Space Telescope found her.
Actually, we never understood what it was.
Centuries went by and this marvelous planet still had the scientific community a buzzin‘.

Theories by scientists and philosophers abounded.
All it turned out were unfounded.
Not one theory explained an abundance of life as our cousin.

All the discussion of unfounded theory
Made the common person sleepy and weary,
Like most unproven phenomenon, no one could imagine the ice cream within the cone.
It was with gleeful trepidation that we set sail for the unknown. 

Our attempt was robotic.
Those first photographs of the atmosphere and terrain were hypnotic.
We could see something soar
It made us want more.

Immediately, the rover sank.
Unfortunately, we sent a small tank.
We did catch a glimpse of something intriguing through that opened door. 

Several more attempts failed.
Eventually, the final attempt we nailed.
An aircraft, lighter than air,
Captured spectacular movement, which was truly amazing to the experts as unique and rare.

The process of human recruitment and arrival
Spanned what some have dubbed the entire history of the bible.
What was unclear?
How do we sustain life in an outrageously dangerous atmosphere?

The answer came as a Self Contained Atmospheric Bubble.
Once we worked out the kinks, it has been no trouble.
Personally, I have not spent one day in fear. 

2
Decades floating alone
In a SCAB, definitely have its moments of joy.
Loneliness is overblown
The moment another species encounters you as a new toy.

Eventually, the euphoria goes away
And both sides forget about play.
Then it is time for work and study.
Fortunately, I have always had a buddy.

At first, we were both curious.
Neither of us has ever gotten furious
Even though I’m certain some of my behavior seems odd and nutty.

I did not view it as a companion.
I saw it as the representative of life in the vastness of a canyon.
I was unsure as to even its gender,
Frankly, females of most species encountered seem more tender. 

I began to notice after a long while
When she wasn’t around, I lost my smile.
Yes, she was her.
It took forever for me to distinguish between female and sir.

Seems kind of strange looking back,
I simply, at that time, did not possess the knack.
My mind set was more an abundance of fur or a softer purr.

It turned out to be the latter. 
Females of the Grace,
For the most part, exhibit a softer gentler pace.
Males, on the other hand, are usually trying to maneuver past the next batter.

Gender roles seem rather a constant to me.
In Grace society, males tend to have formal structures of vying for the rival to be.
Females pick and choose
Based on how long a male has paid his dues.

Of course, love and affection play its part.
We are not alone in that art!
Which depending on perspective, in fact, may be news?

3

She was relatively young.
I approximated an age
For her based on family social structure and place on its lower rung.
A male family member often accompanied her to my SCAB cage. 

None of this was determined overnight.
Seeing no threat, they would often leave her alone with me for half the day.
I grew to enjoy that sight.
Perhaps, they knew my education could begin that way.

Or was it her doing?
Was it an ancient form of Grace wooing? 
Did young Grace females have their say?

I needed to name her something!
Angeline always had a nice ring.
The name has a basis in reality.
For one Angelina showed great vitality.

4
CHAPTER II

Poor long dead Angelina.
Your story tugs at the heart.
In another time, you could have been a great ballerina.
I am glad, however, that you were present to help give Europeans their New World start.

Oh Angelina,
We should cherish you instead of the fictitious Warrior Princess: Zena.
We have forgotten you in time.  
Perhaps, now we will remember if immortalized in rhyme.

Oh! Angelina, or as some people prefer Angeline,
You must have been heavenly pristine.
My image of you springs like an elegant gazelle
Being chased by the lion, and you never fell. 
 
Were you as fast as the wind?
Or were you more beautiful than man can comprehend?
Certainly, the people who met you must have been enthralled.
Why were you not mauled? 

Your story is of a time long forgotten,
About a man of privilege and wealth
Abandoned in a place whose future is cotton!
He deserted the woman who nursed him to health.

In 1936, Theresa M. Hunter wrote a love story about Eugene Belisle and Angeline.
Its title: The Choice,
It has not widely been seen.
My hope is that I can give the love story its voice.      

Around the year 1690, missionaries, Spanish Franciscan priests,
Whom some Natives of the Americas might call the beasts,
Met a helpful “Little Angel” and named her Angelina.
Remember her as a heavenly sounding concertina.

“The wild and lonely shores of the bay San Bernard,” 
The Hainai Tribe of the Tejas Confederacy and Angelina, a Hainai Maiden,  
Found her way into the heart of this bard.
She sent my mind wadin’.

The village she lived within and the river beside,
By the 1760s, bore her name.
In 1846, her memory could not hide.
Texas gave birth to Angelina County because of her fame.

It is the only county in Texas named for a female.
This proves her importance to the history of that state.
Early European settlement is pale.
Angeline’s bright light secured her fate.

Angelina was a member of the Caddo.
Her beauty most certainly showed through shadow.
She became an interpreter and advisor for Spain and France
Helping them manage the struggle in the New World dance.

By 1712, Angelina was an advisor and interpreter for St. Denis and the French. 
The Caddo were at home in the East Texas pine
Seemingly swinging like Tarzan on each vine. 
Europeans, on the other hand, quickly “became hopelessly confused in the labyrinthine mazes of the jungle” and forest stench.   

In 1719, “Eugene Belisle, in the uniform of a French officer,” and four others 
Became stranded in the woods along the Texas coast.
After seven days of wandering searching for a French settlement two of the men were Taken or killed by their native brothers.
“Their days were a mad hunt for food and water-their nights terror-ridden-sleepless!” Looking like ghosts.   

Louis, one of the remaining three, and a naturalist, could go no farther hoping to die.
Eugene stranded with his dog, and at this point, the other survivor wanted that pet to fry.
“Jacques Le Brun lurched forward to snatch the little animal out of its refuge in Eugene Belisle’s arms.”
Man does not possess survival charms.

“A fierce, mad struggle” ensued.
Eugene “struck out with his free hand”
Clutching his dog tightly and knocked down the dude.
Eugene hovered over the pair and “with a shrug-he turned and plunged into the forest” 
Without even knowing the lay of the land. 
Angeline “descended the steps, her dignity and grace were apparent,”10
She exuded something inherent.
“We will see to him. He may be Spanish,”11
But alas, Eugene Belisle was of the French who made her friends vanish.

After weeks of forest wandering,
Nary a friend in site, 
Eugene was in great need of laundering
And fell into her village in need of a bite.

His recuperation took patience and time.
Angeline gave of herself like no other.
She would have given her last dime.
He was enemy to her Spanish brother.

Unfortunately, he did not repay her generosity in kind.
During the long process of recuperation, Angeline’s love pined.
They planned a marriage.
Delegations from surrounding native villages began to arrive with no sight of a carriage.

Eugene heard a whisper,
He tried to conceal his glee.
European uniforms were crisper,
When they came, he could flee. 
 
He owed Angeline a great deal.
After all, she saved his life.
He felt like a heel,
But he could not make her his wife.

At the first opportunity, he would leave.
From what he overheard, it would be soon.
He knew she would grieve,
However, he wanted to be on his way back to civilization before the next moon.

He sent the European’s word.
Then he heard
The rumbling of horses
And using all his forces,

He jumped into an empty saddle.
Eugene rode his way to freedom.
Eventually, Angeline discovered she didn’t need him.
In the end, her great character won the battle.

   

8
CHAPTER III

Character is only the beginning of this tale.
For my Angeline,
She is one quality personality machine.
She exudes grace in a sail.

In literal terms we have never spoken.
We, however, have a bond unbroken.
The Grace Queen
Is none other than Angeline!

My initial interpretation of her family unit was in error.
The Grace King and Queen died in a tragic accident before I burst on to the scene.
The family situation of Angeline undoubtedly was much rarer.
Her entourage was more complicated than I could glean.

As the only surviving child, she received a male escort.
They were usually members of her court.
Tradition required the use by a royal pre-teen.

Angeline taught me the movements to read. 
A complicated language, for sure,
I was definitely the one in need.
The motives of Angeline were pure.

She became my tutor.
I often fantasized about someone of my species much cuter.
I grew to enjoy our time together.
It is inconceivable, to me, that I could have gone through life and never met her.

We developed something real.
It was very strange that she had this great allure.
In all my days, I don’t believe that I had ever felt this kind of feel.
Someone must have turned emotions on and said pour.   

Though, the language can be read.
I have yet to ascertain exactly when we wed.
It must have happened after my fifth year tour.

I managed to ask about the clouds of light,
The glow from beneath a certain sand floor,
These were areas beyond my SCAB requirement for height
And lower than my drill could bore.

9
A cloud of light lowered on her order.
I briefly glimpsed beyond its hazy border.
Immediately, did I succumb!
It dazed me knocked me out, when I came to everything was numb.

It over stimulated my visual cortex.
It also disrupted brain chemistry for a month or more.
I was in a dream state vortex.
We both learned a valuable lesson from that stunt at the door.

The Grace have an enormous capacity for sensory awareness.
They possess an extraordinary ability to exact fairness.
From my observations, they outperform human’s right down to our core.   

Yet, we are the ones on expeditions of discovery. 
Perhaps, it lies in our innate curiosity.  
After Angeline nursed me, back to recovery,
We celebrated my viscosity.  

The Grace have no movement for war.
They do not possess a violent history of gore.
It is not in their culture to fight on that scale.
In that comparison, we also fail.

War in the Grace culture is a foreign concept.
When disagreements arise,
They are more adept.
They find better solutions than us guys.

A ceremonial sentry or guard did occasionally accompany Angeline.
The Grace never need to deploy anyone that mean.
Of course, genetically we all probably have some spirited ties. 

Our reason for traveling through space
Is probably an instinct for survival!
Fight or flight has made us keenly aware of that case.
It also kept us on our toes constantly searching for revival.

In the art of war, we may be better equipped.
Appendages are extremely useful when something has to be whipped. 
Enough about our failing,
The Grace go sailing.

10
They don’t actually fly
Or flap any wings.
They simply become part of the environment and vie. 
Without a doubt, this is truly a land for Kings.

Going Native can be an anthropologists dream.
Most of my colleagues, with that statement, will probably scream.
I, on the other hand, fell for the movement of the Grace. How smoothly it rings.  

Angeline’s name in its original movement goes something like this:
Swing circle back sideways step up beyond the sky to heaven, asking why.
On a long stressful day, she can make me feel like a warm wet kiss. 
Her name officially changed at the ceremony for her parents when she said good-bye.

She was very young,
Though the Grace do not possess a lung,
I can imagine her screaming pain
Wishing and praying for the never beginning rain.

What her name was before her parents died,
I haven’t a clue.
It must have been a painful time, I would have cried.
My tears would have run blue.

Who wouldn’t be emotional?
After all isn’t love devotional!
What ever your species, it is the right thing to do!

Angeline never mentions a parent.
I do not believe she remembers them at all.
It is a shame life can be errant.
Shouldn’t every living thing have the same opportunity to have a ball?

Perhaps, difference is a key for life.
Perhaps, that is why there is so much strife.
Perhaps, we all need to fall.
Sadly, it is not my call.

To Be Continued!

11