a 33 cent engagement

a 33 cent engagement
by josiah redtalon
the shoe horn was stretched
out across the bed,
the edge was bent
under it lay a glove or a hand sitting softly
it was red as a cherry
in the light
strings wrapped around the forefinger and pulled the beads
around the beads
camel hair dangled softly
there were dead roaches,
live spiders,
dancing umbrellas,
painted baguettes of breasts sagging dripping with agave cacti
there was a pearl incased in the glass jaw of a gar,
a fake ear laying in a bowl of salt,
a knife hanging over a chess board that floated in a solar pattern
the shadows made images of smokey warriors making love with their swords
a heart beating rhythmically seemed to keep everything moving
in slow motion
and there
inside the heart
“I saw it”
“the boat”
made out of whale bones.
palm leaves,
coconut shells,
and sails of sand
the horizon looked
and winked
finally the voyage
had started