THE GATE

(Excerpt 4)

The skeletal old man squatted in his iron cage

his lighted oil lamp in front of his testicles; the other old man

             with the bottle

in front of the mirror — gum hanging off his chin; the moans

of the deaf old man coming from the hallway; the woman

with the stroller stopped; she moved the stroller front and back

in a regular rhythm; the baby opened his eyes; a big tooth

suddenly grew; he bit his lower lip; blood flowed; then

the angel, with unravelled hair, came down to the interior

               corner;

the hooks of the hanger gleamed, the salt cellar too, the sword

               on the wall;

he gathered his rope ladder, coiled it, put it underarm

he hit one piano key with one of his fingers then vanished

                in the air.

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