Defining the Fort
You can crawl any which way through a trip!
-Anonymous
The Fort noun
A strange place. A silent orange glow.
Top hat on a dreaded head, pink feathers
tucked in stockings. Baggies
on pillows, under feet.
Sheets loom
from the ceiling, bare
their chests. My pupil in
the white flower curtain.
Vines
steal up the window frame and slink back down
into my gaze.
A seductive retreat. Hands pressed,
bangs stuck to forehead.
Might not be your forehead.
The black cat in the corner
lifts his chin. I wonder
if he wonders
how we enjoy this
like he does. His yellow eyes
are two darts fixing my pupils
to my face. A lover. A little red wine
in
the
glass,
a little on the dress. A red marker
drying out to the sound of thoughts. He grips it
tightly because he tries to grip the moment
when it surfs by but all he gets is a fistful of water.
The eye under the top hat
lifts her camera
patiently. She snaps at the color
up ahead and catches
someone else’s flash.
The photo is illuminated
and she feels a strange love. An orange glow
that she wraps around my waist, gives it a whirl
and I am in orbit, a blender in the center of the hula hoop.
In the hallway I see a small burning ring in the hands of a pirate as I turn.
Stop–Flick—Plug—Suck–Rush
Spinning again, I feel a strange
love. An orange glow swings
his hips through my exhale and dissipates
near the speaker. The speaker draws a blue mermaid
into the room. She swims around me,
her fishing hat bobbing around the brain. I follow
her into the fort where I can’t distinguish between pillow and person