Richard J. Fleming

R i c h a r d   J .    F l e m i n g

Don't Look Back

an Orphic Hymn

1

Whenever I left the house, I'd often double back. Did I lock the back door? Forget to turn off dangerous appliances? I could envision the entire block leveled like Dresden. My superstitious friend told me that it was bad luck to backtrack. To ward off the evil eye, I needed to see my reflection in some shiny surface before I could safely quit the premises. I read somewhere that Narcissus had similar problems.

2

I was in the bathroom shaving. I noticed a girl who appeared to be part of a pattern on the wallpaper. She had a black orchid in her hair. She was eating a pomegranate shaped like a wounded heart. I decided to step through the mirror to the other side. It was like walking through a waterfall into a cave that dripped with night. The walls were damp, and swallowed my songs.

3

Back in the real world of game shows and video poker, I was out watering the lawn. Twin Angels from Hell rode up on snarling hogs. They escorted a Midnight Plum Metallic Escalade. In the back, sat Marie Laveau. She wore a black mamba coiled around her neck. She gave me the once over, and told her chauffeur to drive on by. I could see the neighbors peeking through their Venetian blinds.

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