Huxleys
Morrisons
Doors of Perception
you wouldnt think youd stumble on one standing at the edge of a busy city street in broad daylight or perhaps he was the only one who had the time to pay any attention or be curious of it
you wouldnt think youd stumble on one standing at the edge of a busy city street in broad daylight or perhaps he was the only one who had the time to pay any attention or be curious of it
passersby passed by
indifferent or blind to it
HOW it was enormous
it seemed of the early 19th
Century planked and massive
of a time when someones front door if they could afford it said something substantial of the person and the family living behind it
of a time when someones front door if they could afford it said something substantial of the person and the family living behind it
in the staring daylight the door threw no shadow
it stood suspended above the cut granite curbstone
an ironworked Speakeasy twisted metal grill mounted on its face
at his attention and approach the door shivered oddly
its jamb was worked
smooth under the feel of his palm
smooth under the feel of his palm
he stepped off the curb onto the
cobbled street working its way through scabs of asphalt
behind the door he saw it was
smudged with fingerprints
tung oiled it smelled of oak fires beeswax candles and sumptuous banquets
tung oiled it smelled of oak fires beeswax candles and sumptuous banquets
he mounted the curb again
he stood on the sidewalk irritated passersby who thought he was panhandling
he ignored them
then before the door again
something abrupt seismic
he placed his hand flat on the
heavy brass keyed plate above a large spherical doorknob relieved with an imprint
of the Eastern Hemisphere Europe Africa Asia
finely detailed
finely detailed
threaded
by accurate latitudes and longitudes
from the plate above the afternoons heat he
felt its warmth emitted
a romantic throb
a romantic throb
he stepped back and
rapped it hard with his knuckles
the rap sounded into a room
beyond
deep sounding
though
a small room
he tried the doorknob
it did not resist him
it turned
it turned
it turned its workings and latch
slipping its jamb
the door hung freed
he pushed it in
it swung soundlessly to his left passing easily above a thick oriental runner that was revealed
the runner ran into the darkened hushed
room before the foot of an enormous mirrored dresser
in its thin silver eroded by Time eroded by being ignored unused it reflected a large canopied bed he hadnt seen when he entered
into his eyes it also threw the
reflections of two large gray figures sitting upright in ancient bedclothes
he slowly turned his head from
their reflection
motes slithered on ɪɡˈzɪstənt
sunrays barely
penetrating the brown dusky atmosphere
the figures seemed mummified
yet from them he felt a slow radiating heat
then at once their eyes shifted towards him and
a creep ran through his blood electrifying his nerves
the figure closest him shivered near imperceptibly his eyes came into terrible focus
a gigantic alligator in bedclothes topped with a maidens lace nightcap
and beside her an immense snapping turtle
the turtle yawned its beak colored a tarnished ivory
he took a step back
no sooner had he than the alligator slipped out of the bed like an aroused snake lightning quick winding its thick tail around his legs up to his waist
no sooner had he than the alligator slipped out of the bed like an aroused snake lightning quick winding its thick tail around his legs up to his waist
then leaning back
away from him
away from him
took him in
in
its weak eyes
Yes
not
spoken
a
question
Nothing
Nothing
he
answered unsaid
Please
forgive the interruption
What is it
What is it
asked the massive turtle
unspoken
Curious it is
responded
the alligator
not spoken
Let curious go
unspoken
Go
not
spoken
and
its tail unfurled from around him
then a coolness invaded his legs
telling how warm he had been in her embrace
he didnt have to be untold twice
she returned to her place in bed beside the turtle
he placed a coarse foot gently on
the chenille bedspread atop her ample thighshe returned to her place in bed beside the turtle
Curious
unspoken
Hard to blame
not
spoken
the turtle began to clear his throat
if there were something unspoken he said
he didnt hear
he
had already backed out of the room
snugging the door closed behind him
snugging the door closed behind him
I have nothing for you
some
passerby said to his back
No You dont
he replied loudly curtly startled by his voice
NO YOU DONT
the passerby quickened his stride
away from him with scarcely a glance back
he was tempted to give chase just
to put a spark back in its dogged life
but his Curiosity was rewarded
once to-day
no sense in being greedy
the door quivered scantily
in the Moment to blink
it was gone
it was gone
a shadow it hadnt thrown
earlier
evaporating from the gnarly street and cobblestones
evaporating from the gnarly street and cobblestones
his lifelong fondness of doors was recognised
and what once had been his favorite was usurped
a small red doorway on Santorini
he had felt an intruder there too
drawn by Curiosity
but closed doors always fascinated him
Whats on the other side
unsaid
1519, Friday,
8 5. 15
0106, Twosday,
12 5. 15
