Dead Worlds

we called them dead worlds

they were fashionable for a while

a blank slate where colored birds would roam

at one point I figured out how to cross the threshold

and I did visit a small one

before the end

it was simple enough,

I took the escalator and walked to the double doors

beyond I saw the flatlands

I shivered when I saw the monkey cages

the millions of shoppers

the modern architecture that held a promise of headstones and weeds

I made a conscious choice and shed the resistance

I became smaller

more proper

I was a consumer

and I dipped my hand into the fish tanks,

swallowing minnows whole

I surrendered to the oblivion

and pretended it was simple

a spiral of want and fetish and desire

I abandoned my hopes and silver dreams

I walked with the rest of them

drawn with restless blood

over the winding streets and promenades

I exchanged my vitality for the promise of something else

something held out in front of me like gold on a string

visible and intangible

I moved in a lucid haze

my fingers turned green

I was carried for a time

then I carried others

I learned how to sing a dozen different songs

later I awoke

on the other side of the double doors

I saw the flatlands

the crumbled headstone

the red and blue birds