“Drink,” the Lady of the Depths said
“A small dose of chaos is good for your health”
Health makes wealth or so they say
I’d gambled all of mine away
In The Gravy Train Casino
Leaving me in colourless rags
“Rambling on is real freedom man,”
My new friends said to me
While we slept in empty houses
Made friends with the Mouse
Declared war against the Louse
But I had to eventually leave
Strain my spirit with a sieve
Do something right and noble
Just and good, heroic even
And that’s when she came to me
Offering mithridate, incense and a cure
I drank the chaos in her vial
It tasted something vile
With a hint of a wicked smile
And the aftertaste of mint
I barfed up some lint
And discovered to my surprise
That I had been teleported away
To a deserted place
Green grass, swarming bees
Bonsai trees and brain freeze
“What is this?” I clutched my head in pain
“Am I alive or have I been slain?”
My life’s ending like wiping clean a stain
It felt good to go out that way
But then that refrain of pain
Made me realize I still held breath
This was not to be my death
I looked at my reflection in a pool
Five mes looked back, I swear it’s true
Each wore a different face
Different clothes, different styles
Different mannerisms, one looked sly
They pulled me under
I resisted their grasp
But with the force of five mes
I soon collapsed
“Behold Carthage,” they declared
A prosperous cityscape
Began to take shape
Within the pool
Where I drowned
“Destroyed from within,”
My reflections said
As black tendrils swirled
“Then destroyed from without,”
Legions marched and buildings crashed
I looked at the soldiers and wondered
I wondered
If their hairy throats were parched
I wondered
If the centurion’s helmet feathers were starched
I wondered
What would happen if I hid some bird seed in there
I wondered
Would his uniform still fit if he was bitten by a wolfy were?
“What frivolous thoughts,” the sly one roared
“Why think of such things when you soar?
Your soul is empty and we bring you feed
But you’d rather think of starchy plumes and seed?
This city is YOU! We show you your doom
Behold your iron barred room”
Well, as long as the wallpaper wasn’t yellow
I remember thinking
My reflections glared, all five of them
“You’ll never amount to anything!
Inner destruction precedes the outer
You’d best be prepared for the slaughter
Your spirit is weak
Your flesh weaker still
Go back now and regain your will”
The pool of reflections
Rejected my body
Was my mind too shoddy?
I was shot out in a spout
Where a fisherman catching trout
Carried me to safety
He started quoting John
And then asked me what was wrong
I didn’t know where to begin
I didn’t even know my sin
He nodded in understanding
Though I told him nothing
I then boarded a swan
And returned to my yellow room
Blog inVERSE 