Alive Like the Night

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T

I’m a raven perched in a keyhole
I’m a dog howling on a Martian moon
I’m a rusted tin fish in an alpine glade
I’m a spider crack in a ceramic eye

I’m all of these things —
When torchlight shines on steel cups

Skeletons dance in a snow globe
Flaming house boats set adrift
The old man’s still waiting at the gas station, nozzle in hand,
Waiting for a car to fill.

All these things are visible
From the window of room 107
Second-story, Nevada desert, outdoor swimming pool gone dry
and full of scorpions

But,
what’s inside the room itself,
you ask?

Don’t look.

Dear god, don’t look…