"The Warm Room"

The Warm Room

Go inside
to the door
that is locked.
It’s not easy
but we all come to
the Warm Room
sooner or later.
It’s furnished with
invisible mysteries and
when you part the drapes,
there is no ground,
no trees, no sky,
just the wide open universe.
You turn to tell
your mother but
instead, hear your
grandmother singing a song
from your childhood about
summertime and cotton.
You sit like you want
to become the chair
and look through the
Book of Dreams.
Your father calls to
tell you he loves you.
Say goodnight,
give us a kiss.
You will not die.
You will not die.
You will not die.
There is only nothing.
There is only this.
You are the ceiling
in the Warm Room.

©JEF 1987