Honey

It’s claimed the drink

transports the drinker to the land of those

who imagine themselves dead

where they are issued with new clothes

& forget how to read & write.

They are then tasked with writing

their memoirs from a future death

& reading them in a good clear voice

to selected citizens in a small theatre

very close to a larger theatre.

~

So many hours in so many days

to be alone. It took what seemed

hours & days to cross the abandoned ground

to read the sign which said

private property keep out.

Miraculously time ran backwards.

We maybe thought it was warmer than it was

but wearing overcoats would have inconvenienced us

as we raced across the abandoned ground

scattering revolutionary tracts as we went.

~

Then everything dims

when you close your eyes

horror images float

you’ve lost the use of your legs

there’s no one to beg for a glass of water.

On a quiet street

the doorbell rings

you can’t answer it

whoever it was goes away

& you can’t help but close your eyes again.