Witching House

Welcome to a witching

                                    house

(we wear our robes

                        of disenchantment

very well)

This is an invitation – limited

Time offer

            Special opportunity

For private eyes only

Red tag sale—

Climb down the stairwell

Be wary:

The way is long, slippery

            With desire, Freudian goofs,

stellar radiation, whale songs,

beating hearts, diseased civilizations,

            forgotten vernacular, towering eyes,

and cosmic half-truths.

A trial – stepping past Rome,

            On through

Lovely boys of Greece

And all those fair memories

            Deep into a frightening

dark.

That blissful coolness? Is

A freshness

Capable only from our

            holy flesh.

Death is no concern –

His long phalanges come

Only when the body asks.

He hasn’t slept a moment

For many centuries

Knowing the time will arrive:

A rude awakening of

A human boot forever

stamping his

                        existence

                                    In the face.

A tired old friend

            Destined to be left

On a bullet train

Southbound:

bloodied and broken

Until discovered by

Small children.

A smooth pebble rewards

you.                 This is

origin. Welcome home.

Leave the pebble.

We need it for

The next guy or gal.

Through jagged passages;

            Boiling waters, ancestors reborn,

Smooth stone, blind guesswork,

            And some small help of

Smoke and mirrors, truth has

arrived.

Please climb back up

            And remember to pay

the fee at the front booth.

 –John White