#bsdsdlj

Eyes open in kinetoscope
upon a curtain, thick red

stage curtain at the end
of a hallway with no doors.

Behind it, you know there is
the grand reveal, the truth

you cover in metaphor because
you don't have the balls to just say it.

Water rolls out beneath the curtain,
overflowing from behind--

and in it, a black liquid ribbon
snakes out, circles your ankle--

as the water rises further,
a dark cloud in your step--

and the water is rising,
the curtain sways as if in wind--

you still cannot speak the name.