Wholly Babble

(October evening, 2004)

From deep within the cabbage patch that is his mind,
Theodore looks up into the skies,
far into space and out through his eyes
at the square, hospitalised window
in the door to the bathroom area.

Here he sits on the floor,
wedged between the sickly green shaded walls,
he is watching the glass with interest
now.
Since he's not sure why he's there,
how a window came to be in an inside door
shouldn't bother him
but it does.
That and the snatches of conversation
oozing through the cracks,
coming from the rooms down the passageway.
"Why didn't he have a carp?" one asks,
"you've got to tilt your head back, but don't!"
warns another,
further away.
"Some psychopath... just the smile",
"you should be careful with that"
giggling,
"because of the spontaneity",
"you're using my mug as a spoon?!"
"i can see that working for you" "and it tickled"
"i'll lend you a fiver"
-the voices become a solid, pushing against the wood,
forcing their way in, to grab Theo
and all that's dear to him
"vegetables?!" "go on, turn yourself int"..his eyes
grow larger
and the window swells out of proportion
points of light start stabbing into the dark,
pushing him back down and into himself
expelling the fear and confusion
and then leaving him.

standing in a field of earthy brown
mixed with green,
previous trains of thought derailed
-he's a lone harvest machine
at ease once again,
tending to his cabbages.

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