The Light of Day

.Pahn has been to the coast again
and is coming back in the dark

Reaching the summit
with the blue slope
                                     ahead
that drops
                 to the inland city 
              looking shiny and slippery
He decides to slide                                                       
because he is tired of walking

Lying on his back
                        like the sleep
                                         that he is sleeping
he begins to slip           downward                                     
                   slowly at first
                                picking up speed
 
                               He is afraid of going too fast
                                      of loosing control
                            but the road is smooth
             and wide
and as he gains speed
                     he gains confidence
Soon he is thrilled                   
racing down the freeway                                     
to his hometown                                            
in the valley                                           

At the bottom                                                                                  
he comes to a stop                                                   

in a retail district
It is the middle of the night
                  and most of the shops are closed

He is hungry                                    
and needs to get home

He walks across the street
to look for a telephone
but reaching the other side
he finds that there is a convenience store
                                         that is still open

He goes inside                                                               
feeling a little awkward                                     
wearing only a big down jacket              
with wads of money in the pockets

naked underneath
The jacket is quite warm                                   
but there is cold air                                  
that slips in around his thighs
as he moves                     

He glances at the cashier
      and walks to the far end
                where there are magazines
The erotic ones           .have been removed
He thumbs through a thick one
               wondering what it might contain
                                       wondering if the cashier is watching
He puts it down again                       
                                             quickly
                   because it’s not what he needs

He finds himself squatting
                           by the gumball machine
when two young women come in

One of them stands   by the counter
and Pahn gets up   to talk to her
They say a few words                                                
She is friendly                                                
and smiling
but shows no real interest in him

…

He    is    driving now
Aiks has left him with
               Daphnis
                                and Eeunks
and her cousin
                                       Phthona
                 to tour the tectonic mountain
 Pahn has examined his maps                                        
and determined what he wants to find
and they set out                                            
through the dry                    oaken hills…

…Soon they come to the outcroppings                           
and begin to ascend                             

Rounding a bend
they suddenly see the great rock                                 
and stop at the overlook                              
                        for pictures

Pahn picks up the camera                                                         
and puts little Daphnis                                    
down on the stones                                  
admonishing him                                               
to stay away from the edge
and stands by the rail
looking       at the vertical               wall    of stone
                                                              with frothing water
falling from the top                                                

The cliff is beige
and knobby
              with white mineral deposits
                                                                       near the water
and there are people
walking below and above it
                                                  climbing stairs up its sides

Strolling on the path                                                     
at the cliff’s base
They observe a group of people
descending a near-vertical stair                     

As the first reaches a point
about twenty feet above
he trips                                                
doing a complete flip
as he falls                                     
to the bottom                                                                
crumpling on his feet                                        

He is shaken                                                                    
but walks away unhurt                                           

To Pahn’s shock                                                                  
the two men following the first
                                                     jump off the ledge intentionally
doing swan dives       onto the bedrock
Pahn is sure          they must be badly hurt                   
but they too   get up                and                                                

                                                  walk away

.

.

The Family

.

…he goes back
to the wealthy house   because
he has left the door                  unlocked
and was supposed
                  to be taking care of it
                                   until the owners return

The door
is a confusion
of screens
and sliding glass

His key fits them all                                                 
                                                           but won’t lock any

He finds a dial
that has to be turned
to correspond
to the proper door

and as he tries his key again

an older eccentric
woman
walks up
and introduces herself

She doesn’t question                                               
                                                               what Pahn is doing
in these pre-dawn hours
but takes a more than friendly
                                                                      interest in him

She assumes command                                                                         

becoming
                                                            Lakhehsis

And they are soon joined
by Lukh and Theya
and Phthona

The older women                                                                                       
take the forty-pound roasts                                   
                        out of the refrigerator to warm to room temperature

while the others
                                                          check the yard

the lawn is patchy                                                 
from the drought
and riddled with mole-runs

Pahn
                                                               steps out to investigate
but when he turns around
he sees
that Uncle Lukh                                                                      
has already gotten the tiller
                                                             and plowed half the turf

Cousin Phthona is digging deeper                       
turning the soil                                                                                        
to a depth of two feet                                                                       

As Pahn tries to understand
                                                                  the electric sandbox
he realizes                                 that he has lost control

Hearing Phthona’s voice
                                                               assuring that everything
                                                                is being taken care of

Pahn decides it is no longer his problem

Leaving them
to their incomprehensible industry
he walks off
by the residential oaks
            and mixed begonias
            into the 
                           dissolving woods
                                        at the edge
                                                                     of their defined

                                                         image

.

.

The Kahkahdrohm

.

Pahn has spent the evening looking at maps
of granite dome-land cradled
lakes and sleepily imagining sex toys…
…

Pahn is with guests
in his sunny simple
yard which he owns
now though he would never
own such a yard ...and his guests
remark .........how lucky
he is ...that none of his neighbors
whose yards ...are all in view
have large ...barking .........dogs

He has never thought of this but concedes
that currently they do not…

…Pahn is in an auto repair shop
in the back office .....trying
...........................................to call someone
He has programmed the phone
so that he can easily call
the people he needs

(because he can never remember their numbers)

He goes to another room
and returns with Daphnis
...........................and Eeunks

Now it is a woman’s house ...Now
it is a shop again .......Now
the phones
(which finally are not black ...but
many
dull and hard ...plastic colors)
............................................are hanging
.............................from the ceiling

Pahn needs to call a lover.......................
..................but the program has been changed
and he doesn’t remember .....how
to retrieve the numbers and names

Eeunks reaches over ..and tries
to show him
......................how to work the phone
but she too .....is unsuccessful…

…Pahn
and Aiks
and Daphnis
and Eeunks
are in Ahnjehlia’s house
where Aiks has sent Daphnis to stay
to keep him away
..................from video games

As Ahnjehlia fades
......................in and out of Phthona
Pahn shrinks into a sea-turtle.....................................
with rubbery flippers ..that he doubts
he can walk with

An ominous sound insinuates
from
the outer reaches of the house
and they all run
into the family room
to the safety
of the couch

Pahn is slightly annoyed
that they have left him behind
but forgives them .......and slowly
makes his way
..........................around the corner

Aiks ...who is treating him
like a child ...thinks
he needs help
.................to get onto the couch
but her hands are
.............................full

Pahn pulls himself.........................
onto the cushion.................................................
with his flippers .......brushing away
loose change beneath him
as he lowers himself
to rest.............................................

He doesn’t fit .....comfortably there
and his throat is lying
on the rattan arm

..............................so
he clambers
back down to the floor
and tries to hide
under the couch .............where
he is not sure
............................if he will fit
As he pulls himself .........slowly
into the space of safety
that is too small for him ..he tries
to remember the name
of the fearsome creature.....

much like him
that is coming

He tries ‘Tortellini’ .........but
it is more like ‘Crocadoodle’ ....................and finally
‘Kahkahdrohm’
though he knows .....that is not right
either

He lies under the couch ...waiting
and hears its rubbery
paddles on the hardwood ....It comes
around the corner ....menacing
........persistent
It stops behind Pahn

Pahn is talking to someone now (Nomioss?)

He doesn’t feel it touch his hard back
and thinks for a moment
that he is safe .............but then
he feels suddenly
an appendage fleshy
.............................and flexible ...lying
across his neck .............and feeling
a jolt in his armpit .........he panics
thinking
he is having a heart-attack

It is only with time ...that he realizes
that the appendage
..........................is his own arm
that he has ...subconsciously
..................................brought up to rest
......................................on his Adam’s

................apple

.

Phthona

Aiks’ cousin, a sprite/goddess of envy.


The Light of Day
The Family
The Kahkahdrohm
.