To maintain the happy fiction of the Greater Drama

outdoor area
park or creek bed
wooden table under oaks
drinking beer
summer nights
old abandoned
elementary schools
repurposed
no doors or windows
open air
watching others
organize a music festival
groups meeting in rooms
at tables drinking beer
a general sense of chaos
two younger women
a performer and an organizer
enthusiastic but distracted
I am concerned
the organizer
is not following through
I move around
picking up the slack
making certain
bases are covered
while she laughs
at the center
of an orbit of admirers
watching me work
out of the corner
of her eye
with a sweet smile
I detect
the atmosphere of manipulation
and the performer
in another room
has me fill out the form
for her
go get her beer
while she attends
to the affections
of others
when I point out
she is short of funds
she breaks down
crying with trembling lip
says it is all the money
she has
and I figure a way
to slide the numbers
so it is not a worry
here the dream hovers
in a kind of paused cloud
I consider
the organizer
manipulates through strength
counting on me to
follow in her wake
and pick up the pieces
and the performer
manipulates through weakness
creating false drama
acting helpless
so I will work it out
to diminish
the source of drama
both seem to see me
as it were
from out of the eye holes
of their masks
both actors playing a part
acknowledging with slight nod
and narrowing of the eyes within
that they know I know
what is going on
that we are all acting
all responding as our roles require
to maintain the happy fiction
of the Greater Drama
as always
the reflective bubble
trembles and pops
into the dim dawn
of awakening

The monster has anticipated me and is waiting

just before sleep
reading Del Toro's
cabinet of curiosities
images of monsters
passing reference
in a world similar
to one of his films
building high monsters
terrorizing the city
convoluted plot lines
moving from place to place
billboard images
projected onto the sky
tied in with songs on the radio
enormous shadows of the monsters
against a field of stars
with a group of refugees
in a house
if we stay inside
they can't see us
watching a turtle shaped monster
flying over the tops of buildings
another with a long beak
poking into the superstructure
of a skyscaper
pecking out people like ants
an image of it resting
for a moment
silent and still
blood covered beak
inside the building
the eye towards me
dull and unseeing
then screaming and roar
another nearby
everyone is inside the house
running from window to window
trying to see it
it is too large to grasp
its legs larger than the tallest building
I want to see its face
go outside
hugging tight to the side of the house
under the eaves
peering out to look up
it seems to be able to notice
each and every human face
bending down to demolish and devour
I keep making quick looks out
the monster is moving closer
thousands die with each step
I edge around the corner
look up and see its face
as large as the prow of battleship
lined with fire and teeth
opening spasmodically
prehistoric skull associations
ancient shark beasts
eyes black primal evil
rows upon rows of teeth
it sees me
moves closer
thundering the sky
shuddering the earth
tearing houses apart
with casual glance
I am pressed back up
against the wall
the burning oven
of its breath
like a hurricane around me
I know it knows where I am
this evil intellect
with its height
looks down on the house
as a whole
still cannot see me
under the eaves
I shuffle around
as it nears
it is looking for me
cat and mouse game
I move one way
then go back the other
the monster has anticipated me
and is waiting