There is a gate which serves no function

in a an oasis
in an enormous desert
an abandoned house
sand filling the rooms
rope candles burning
in bowls of tallow
two women with me
one older
one younger
I awaken
from a dream
they are smiling at me
I interpret it
as an invitation
this amused the younger one
makes the older one smile
one sees me
as a decrepit old man
the other as a friend
but not who
you would suspect
the older one
is playing her game
I shrug
still groggy from sleep
go outside
the the night is blue
sky full of stars
visible galaxial spray
rich fragrance of water
I walk to the edge
of the oasis
the sand dunes
erotic and sterile
there is a gate
which serves no function
but instead of walking
around it
I open it
step through
I think I hear
footsteps behind me
I think
one of the women
I turn
there is nothing
I continue on
out into the starlit
blue of the sands