the guests
*
in his castle
the king drained
entire rooms of
furniture and
memory. he
threw his
gold and jewels
from the balcony
as if from a sinking
ship. he kissed the
foreheads of his children
and sent them to the
movies with enough
money for several
years of continuous
viewing.
when people asked what
was happening he said
he was making room
for important guests
that would soon arrive.
‘do you think they’ll
be able to drive
through this blizzard?’
he asked. they blinked
at him, wearily. it was
the middle of july
and too humid
for anyone to be
making jokes.
in time, the guest
arrived and he
met them
at the door. they
were invisible but he
recognized them
by the cold shivers
and their thick
syrupy silence.
‘friends, friends,
come in,’ he mumbled
and showed them around
his vacant castle.
‘nice place,’ they said,
‘are we in time
for dinner?’
‘yes,’ said the
king quietly
and climbed up
onto the dining table
and lay himself
flat across it.
before closing
his eyes he
stared up at
the ceiling
where a
small dusty
chandelier
he had forgotten
to dispose of
still hung,
refracting the last
of the light
that was slowly
fading from
the room.
*