III.

clouds stain shaped
stepping stones
across moon lit
                    court yard,


tumble, gin-filled &
giggling through glancing 
light, 
                   and sink,

                   gently

                   under.

form becomes foreign:
formed illusions; pale
faces like a dream I
                  
                  once construct-

                  ed 

                  in a bottle.

drowning        nonetheless

words mouth shapes;
sinuous        slithered
of silence bleeding

                 into

                 dark.

beyond walls

dogs bark to be let in
beyond walls, a goat
is slaughtered.

the night reeks        of chlorine;

                of

               virginity.

© Brendan Hodgson