Hardcases

I dreamed my toenails         were ivory         and elephants came to trade for tusks         ... Then went conveniently off to die         ("shed this mortal coil") in a         cutter-shed stacked high         like firewood.         II         I dreamed Landover, Maryland         was the site near the         Pentagon. People got wind of         the scheme and grew intrigued.         Twigs shattered in the moonlight         as curious onlookers tried         to peek-a-boo into the shed.         III         Raisins were left out         to dry as         token offerings.         IV         Mafioso members and other hardcases         wanted to elbow in         but stiff military types         eminently incorruptible, said         "no dice" made, naturally,         of ivory turned a         deadly nightshade of         twilight toenail blue.         V         Umber became my colour         (and trademark) along with the mandatory ebony.         VI         Out-of-work seasonal elves,         dwarfs and the occasional         circus midget shoe-horned in.         VII         Nothing remained of the earlier raisins as         a variety of greedy misfits         pocketed the tributes.         VIII         The North Pole beckoned,         heightened consciousness and         sensitivity groups against         demeaning and negative stereotypes         routed the Barnum and Baileys'         dwarfs and midgets.         IX         A pile of cinders and         grey-glow embers         paused to remain         after boycotting         exposed the great         toe-nail giveaway sham.         X         Reportedly, the Devil has a toe-nail         chair in Hell.         This common, medieval belief         lingers into macumba, voodoo and         loa-spirit trees.         XI         Who wants,         after all,         discarded body parts         brought to such an ignoble         end? The intriguing thing         is in the witchery, smoke 'n mirrors         world of Obeah, toenails are         prized much like the greying         Information Age values         organ transplants for an         aging population.         XII         Medieval really.         Nothing the body profuses         is really evil,         only our intent.         XIII         Should a fly symbolizing         havoc, despair and filth         fall into Holy Water,         the detested fly not         does pollute the sacred vessel.         XIV         Modern fitness buffs full-circle         with gleaming sweat-stained temples         "glistening" with, what else,         moisture.