Strangers Among Us
They did not fall from the skies like meteors or space debris
Nor a great rift from the clouds, adorned with color and flame
Silent black ships, technology beyond our imagination
The night opened quietly, the stars rearranged themselves
Then without fanfare, they once again slipped into our stream
Pulsating through the night skies; the fortunate few seeing
No sounds, few lights, merely shadows against the clouds
The seers felt it on their skin, a sensation nestled forever in their bones
And yet the masses would ignore their claims, heaping shame
Fear has that odd way of making facts simply disappear
Hidden among the forest branches, Mother Nature bade them welcome
Anticipation for their return was all but certain
But without details of the how, the when, and the why
Strangers among humans, at least this generation of humans
In our modern-day desire to control, we’ve erased their faces and names
Long ago, when the plows were iron, the shields wood, and minds open
The beings came not as conquerors, for ours was not a challenge
Messengers, teachers, and bringers of something necessary
Our world provided minerals, shiny metals, and little more
Except that one thing – the human race screamed of potential
And so, they taught some, a very few, in the ways of the great universe
Alignments of heavenly bodies, sources of energy, and alchemy
Preparation perhaps, an investment in another day, another time
The masses were begat with servitude, and some with another role
Hybridization, a merging of genes, ushering in something new
And then, as softly as they came, most of these strangers quietly receded
Great ships that folded space, slipping back into the night
The stars returned to their places, but no longer looked the same
Stillness fell as the great stone monuments slowly disintegrated into dust
Legions of followers became fewer and fewer, until sadly, none remained
In the deserts, the winds folded into a limbo-like stillness
Records no longer recorded the times of the strangers from beyond
Instead supplanted by the bloodlust of conquering humans
Slavery, commerce, and vile acts of those who choose to forget
But mindful forgetting could not erase the cellular imprint
The great standing stones refused to forget, as did the mighty trees
Evolution, that’s what the learned men would come to say
A few scattered bones cobbled into the greatest hoax ever known
This, the unintended camouflage of greater beings than they
Supported by fearful governments afraid of losing their power grip
Stories, mostly tales of those who seek fame and fortune through attention
Claimants of visitations, abductions, and wild experimentations
Some held a sliver of truth, yet most the chaos of circumstance
Truth lies in the strangers among us, those who chose to remain
Watchers, scouts, purveyors of information, keepers of the clock
But one day, perhaps sooner than we know, the strangers among us spoke
Language not needed, for without words their message would remain pure
Media and the talking heads lost in self-promotion, unable to spin
A great singularity, one voice to rise above all other voices
One message that humankind must listen to and must not refuse
As we listen, also we must see that which has occurred
The scars carved into Mother Earth, the waste and the pollution
Great rivers choked with human sewage and all sense of clarity gone
Our skies heavy with ash, soot, and the smoke from, thousands of boilers
And then they waited, patiently allowing the truth to finally be
Do you see? The cry echoed loudly in every mind across every land.
And while the masses wept, some fell to their knees as in repentance
Others turned away, ashamed by the things they were forced to see
The truths that they were forced to take ownership of
While in the shadows, the fortune-mongers schemed and plotted
In the great cities, an uncomfortable silence fell across the avenues
Machines of useless consumerism finally were halted in mid-motion
The glowing screens went without an audience and soon fell dark
Uncertainty, not yet tumbling into chaos, but certainly on the brink
Moments ticked by – hesitation held its firm grip on the world
Suddenly a ringing voice, “The strangers among us are returning”
Memories of lives never lived in times beyond any forgotten memory
A great fusion of thoughts, images, places, and a wellspring of knowledge
Ancient eyes watching as the boundaries started dissolving
Nations withered, tribal identities surrendered, religions erased
And in the continuing silence that followed, for perhaps the first time
The first time in a very long time, humankind listened, and watched
All of us, together as one, a global unity gazed up at the night sky
Mesmerized by the great ships, dozens and then hundreds appeared
Hovering above each and every place where multitudes did gather
Time itself stood still, and the message of truth turned to fear
Whispered terms of invasion, destruction, and genocide
Humanity held a collective breath while the ships moved with impunity
The great armies of land, air, and sea, simply held fast
Medaled leaders watched with shaking hands over the launch controls
Waiting, it is the greatest test of how a population will react
With enough time, false courage pushes the limits of rational thinking
And true to our roots, those first eyes turn not toward peace
Violence, as usual, feeding their unknown fears, temperatures rising
Voices breaking from whispers to arguments and finally to rage
A single thrown stone, a spark, a triggering point to anarchy
Without direction, humanity erupts, a flashover of immediate chaos
Oh, how quickly the masses return to their primitive behaviors
Fear drives miscalculation, misunderstanding, and depravity
Anarchy takes hold, the claws sinking deeper by the moment
Inevitable or a symptom of something bolder and greater
How time shifts in an instant, taking everything to another level
Most succumb to the chaos, while a few others hide questioning
Without provocation, our world is rapidly self-destructing
Was this one of the truth’s the strangers among us kept hidden?
Hovering ships, fear of the unknown, together a powder keg
Cities erupted into flame and ash, lives shattered
Landscapes ruined with destruction and mayhem
Across the world, men turned on one another with lethal force
Yet none dared consider the silent waves of thought control
The strangers among us knew that conquest could consume resources
So, they waited, and learned where we were weakest
Better to let us tear down our useless constructions
Easier to watch while we engaged in our own self-destruction
What remains will be nothing more than ash and open space
When the ships descended, few remained of the billions
Cowering, they went underground while the miners commenced mining
The great hoses dropped into the waters and the pumpers pumped
Strange devices scrubbed nitrogen from the air, and then hydrogen
Our world crumbled as the ozone layer disappeared for good
Gone were the conspiracy theorists, the ones we called crazy
Their rantings and ravings of aliens coming to take all we had
Validation often comes too late for those who seemed to know
Plants, trees, animals, and of course humanity came to a crashing halt
An extinction event, a final chapter of the place known as Earth
Additional Reading
R.J. (Ralph) Schwartz is an American poet, author, website owner, and online publisher. His writing spans several poetry collections—ranging from spiritual and romantic to fear-driven explorations—and even extends into science fiction. Notable works include:
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Hope – Inspirational and Spiritual Poetry
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Things That Go Bump in the Night – Poetry of Fear and Fright
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The Lover’s Thread – Poetry for Couples
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Poetry of the Human Condition – The Ups and Downs of Modern Living
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The Secrets of the Moon (a sci-fi novel co-authored with his son Sebastian J. Schwartz)
Schwartz’s work is described as purposefully wordy, richly descriptive, and thematically grounded in nature, romance, antiquity, and forgotten histories. He writes regularly on platforms he manages, including The Creative Exiles, a collaborative venue for writers, and The Gypsy Thread, which delves into offbeat histories, pagan lore, and poetry.
- Involuntary Enlistment in the Continental Army - May 15, 2026
- Two Sides of the Tracks – You Can Only Choose One - May 15, 2026
- The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral - May 11, 2026
