Side-by-side-side,
three doors reside deep-
set in the flock-papered
wall –
charcoal,
green,
scarlet;
each framed in carved
white painted wood.
Open –
slowly –
the charcoal door…
descend a shaft
of cinderblocks &
open-tread stairs
where below –
thickly wreathed
in coiling smoke –
a rust-&-iron cauldron
of daunting girth
bubbles unattended,
waiting,
waiting to be stirred…
Back upstairs,
the green door waits…
creep down to find
a bright potting shed
where two cruel men
shift sharpened gazes
from a downcast girl
(she trowels dark earth
into cracked clay pots,
her denim overalls
streaked in the same);
in gleeful anticipation,
they seize upon their
new target with words
deriding & laughter
scraping up the stairway
(under the unseen
spider’s nest)…
Away,
away –
& firmly close the door.
One remains,
one only –
a shining scarlet mystery
waiting in plain sight –
unaddressed,
unapproached,
unaltered.
All potential wittingly
ignored.
— C.Birde, 3/22
2 Comments
I looooove seeing wooden doors under the “bangs” of leafy plants. It’s almost like looking at a woman’s face framed with lovely well-maintained hair. There is a sort of mystery in a doorway that draws you in, like a woman’s eyes. The above image has been made sketchy…but I can imagine the photo that once was…a very spicy, enticing doorway into some posh apartment building…sort of reminds me of the movie Pretty Woman.
So…the first door presents a somewhat anticipated fright, a witch’s workshop unattended…could be a trap waiting to snap…but, for now, you’re safe to look. The second, a door painted with greed/mischief, leads to a dangerous and potentially gut-wrenching scene, scaring you back upstairs. And, before you dare to try the third, the most alarming of colors, you resist and wake, avoiding “strike three.”
I guess this is a dream of caution, telling you to watch your next step. But, most likely, it will just file into the sub-conscious mind and activate on its own. You instinctively know to avoid something and will for your own wise sake. You’re ready for anything and know when to back out.