Hugh, Hue, Hew

He spoke of survival
The tangent
He paced in resistance of the wind
That whipped at my hair
He spoke of history
Of the left and right brain
Of traffic lights
And of the scores of frogs

Many expressions passed
The sun dipped low in the sky
As I, the accidental apprentice
Paced beside him in withering contrapposto

Red, white and blue windows
Backlighting a concrete treadmill
The stage
For something more than politics

Yes, there were passersby
Who with skeptical brows
And gentle nods of appeasement
Turned one or another way
To dodge the abstract truth
Failing to soak up the wavelength
Dismissing us
As we re-wrote time

With a buzz in my pocket
The energy was broken
And I left Hugh alone once more
To sell his tragedies to curious ears