Poem: Under

Under

Resisting gas-mask theriac
plunging this pool of honey
faces quivering like reflections in a pebble-battered
pond of honey
viscous struggle, filling ears and eyes and mouth and nose
dancing into my brain

A daffodil sees itself calm
among lakes of gold
idling away petals
a sick-saccharine breeze-

dreamlike, this painted town where
lovers try positions they can't handle
lanterns trickle through the streets
that radiant face
that scented glow
clouds can hardly conceal

Up down in out
paddling through amalgam river
quicksilver and longing
to wake up again.

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Image is of Narcissus by Caravaggio, 1597-1599, oil on canvas, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, taken from Wikipedia, in the public domain.