I see many things
when the lava warms up
writhing bodies
knotty knees
twisty legs
appendages that start out as one thing
and then turn into something else
Cartoon hands
guarding the expression
on a face we cannot yet see
On the other side
there's a face
it looks like a mask
leering, intrusive and cruel
insecure of his less interesting
and simply round nose
a blue rudolph I suppose
Then there's the muscular thigh
or is it just more twisting legs
It's stopped moving for now
till the lamp warms up more
Sometimes if I twist it
more comes writhing up from below
adding yet more to the visuals
eventually everything loses its shape
and returns to what looks
like primeordial ooze.
First little bubble then big
then finally just one or two
large ones bobbing up and down
avoiding the heat
and drowning from the surface.
Earlier there was
what looked like an old tree trunk
full of shadow, mysterious and aged
at the top were faces of babies trying to escape
or be plucked from the mother root
additional life trying to stray from the trunk
only still adding to the mystery
captured from before birth
still too young to know its being clutched
to by the trunk
strong and stubborn
unwilling to just surrender
its young, seemingly stolen
from some other creatures womb.