i arrive at an airport in the heat
i disembark and collect some luggage
i breeze thru the building
a car is waiting for me
i jump in and it zooms off silently
all around the humidity and the brilliant green trees
swampy gardens merge into spectacular red flowers
the air conditioning purrs
i sit back in the seat watching the sultry suburbs go past
temples and small jungles
walls grown over with ivy
streets leading who knows where
it begins to lightly rain
we drive through exclusive neighbourhoods
a confusion of architecture
steles and little towers
ponds bridges palms brooks
peacocks wander around
finally arrive in some driveway
a garage door slides open
and we go inside
i jump out of the car
i go through a door
through a passage
i enter a long cool corridor
dimly lit
strange paintings hang on the wall
the carpet is sumptuous
the heat is defeated herein
lovely music plays somewhere
i walk down the corridor
i look at the paintings closely
its so hard to focus
the still lives seem to move
the portraits bulge out
they sweat wink and smile
i walk on n on
through the gathering storm
yes
in the darkness of the long corridor
a storm has been assembled
and it blows towards me
the portraits all scream
something appears within the storm
a black lack
an emptiness
a void
i reach for my knife
but the emptiness swallows me whole
and i stumble in some nothingness and
i swoon to the soft floor
a light comes on
people emerge from the hive
the lions prowl at the edges of civilization
helicopters come down in boiling seas
the vines and lianas strangle the trees
the statues crumble under the rain
the traffic skids to a halt
the old way is closed