It’s four a.m. and the crowd twitches,
Built up nerve born from youth
seeking to run free.
“Let us go for a walk.
We are paying for the view.”
A silent ride down.
I walk ahead,
Lost in thoughts,
Drowning in my twenty four hour soda.
I look ahead.
There are low scattered fountains,
Large and tiled with Spanish flowers.
In the darkness, I see light.
So much light is reflected
In waves of eerie hues.
Another match is burnt away.
“Dammit it won’t light.”
What was it, ten matches?
All to light his first cigar.
I don’t know why he kept trying.
I continue to walk away
To a farther fountain,
Where grass is still gentle,
To collapse in dewy golf turf.
I look to see a snake, none.
The pink hotel is a tower,
Looming in the sky above me.
Endless, reaching heights
I could never reach even reach
Laying eager on my back.
Why is there no stars,
Just a black sky?
A lonely Mercury
out of reach of Venus,
light up the seemingly black oblivion.
One cares to find me,
Upset at the foolish antics of youth.
“Are you ok?”
I smile and admit his thought was right.
I had lied on a truth question.
He looked away
And soon the two others
Reappeared with a slow burning
Rolled bark of success.
“Want to walk?”
I nodded and got up,
Running ahead of the
Shambling pack.
I was always ahead,
Never next to anyone.
Not much is seen,
But a lonely palm tree
Framing Venus’ Lone arms,
And a single fish darting
Between lighted Angel mirrors.
There is another fountain.
I jump to the highest peak
And look down at my youth.
I open my mouth to say,
“When you were Polonius is this how you felt?”
The guy holding the cigar laughs,
“Never my dear.”
I shake my head and point
at the cigar he holds far from him.
“To thine own self be true.”
They laugh and keep walking,
Remarks on wealth and status.
We were so young, so eager
To make an image of ourselves-
An image we didn’t really understand.
I walk back to the room,
Another silent ride in the elevator.
Quietly I slip inside.
I’m hungry for something new.
I’m lonely.
Why did I choose this pink hotel?
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