Mystic Pantoum

In heat and smoky sun
I float, a stranger to the sky
The drowsy tendrils of codeine
Painting rainbows behind my eyes.

I float, a stranger to the sky
A journey beyond the heavens
Painting rainbows behind my eyes
Colors melt and run like chocolate.

A journey beyond the heavens
Tiny pills make languid days
Colors melt and run like chocolate
Each movement a water ballet

Tiny pills make languid days
Shimmering as a mermaid's scales
Each movement a water ballet
Each sound a bubble and splash.

Shimmering as a mermaid's scales
I float from sky to sea
Each sound a bubble and splash
Pain and dreams converge at the edge.

A four hour walk in Xanadu
The drowsy tendrils of codeine
Erase my hands as I lie suspended
In heat and smoky sun.

-Zoe Richardson