Mouse girl Likes Shoes          
                                          
                                      
                                          
 In  This Dream  I Was A  Girl  Of  Maybe 
 Sixteen Years, Together With  My  Dad In 
 A  Huge Bath  House  /  Spa  /  Hotel  / 
 Shopping centre.      Dad  Was Constatly 
 Pointing Out Hot Girls To  Me. "You  See 
   That Black-Haired Thing Dissapearing   
 Behind  The  Clothes  Rack?  Oof!"  He'D 
 Say.  He  Was  Always Very Creepy  About 
 This,   Going   For   Girls    My   Age. 
                                          
 This  Night He Had Just  Tried To Woo  A 
 Girl  He  Called A "Mouse" By Buying Her 
 Shoes, But  She  Had Accepted Them  Only 
 To Run Away  Immediately Afterward.  Dad 
 Was   A  Bit  Bummed   But  Dropped   It 
 Quickly. I  Said  Goodnight  To  Him And 
        Went Looking For The Mouse.       
                                          
 The Building Was  Enormous And Mazelike. 
 Walls,  Floors And  Pillars Were  Set In 
 Green  Marble. Throughout  The House Ran 
 A  Main  Boulevard, Wide  As  A  Street, 
 Framed With Clay Vases Dark As  Obsidian 
 And  Taller  Than A Person. In Each Vase 
 Was Placed  Upright A Leaf  From A  Palm 
 Tree  Or Giant  Fern.  The Boulevard Was 
 Dimly  Lit, Which Allowed The Pools That 
   Were Generously Sprinkled Throughout   
   Each Floor Would Reflect Suggestive    
          Patterns On The Marble.         
                                          
                                      
                                          
 Following The Boulevard,  Two Floors  Up 
 I  Found  Her  Crying  Behind  Two  Fern 
 Vases.  She  Was  Beautiful,  And  As  I 
 Approached, She Looked  Up And Sniveled. 
 In The  Nearest  Vase  She  Had  Stuffed 
             Both The Shoes.              
                                          
 I Told Her  To  Follow, But  She  Didn'T 
 Move Or  Speak.  So Instead  I  Said  To 
 Stay There, And Ran To Get  Her A Better 
 Pair Of Shoes  That She  Would  Actually 
 Like.  When  I  Returned,  Having  Spent 
 More  Than  I  Could  Really Afford, She 
 Was Visibly Impressed. I Tried To  Sound 
 Cool,  Saying  Something  Like "What  Do 
 You  Think, Just Because  A  Girl  Has A 
 Freaky Dad,  She  Doesn'T  Have  Taste?" 
 But  Mouse  Girl  Just  Laughed  At  Me. 
                                          
 She Then  Took Me By The Hand And Led Me 
 Out   A  Side  Route  To  A   Closed-Off 
 Rooftop  Walking Garden, Full Of Juniper 
 And Thuja.  It  Was A Late  Evening, And 
     The Stars Were Glittering. Being     
 Closed,  The Garden Had Its Light Turned 
 Off,  But We Could  Still  See  Our  Way 
 Around By  The  Light Shining  Down From 
 The   Windows   Of  The  Higher  Floors. 
                                          
 She Lay Down In A Patch Of Grass. I  Sat 
 Down  On  My  Knees,  And  Then  Crawled 
 Closer. She  Laughed At  Me  Again,  And 
                  Said -                  
                                          
                                      
                                          
 (Here I Am Awakened By The Morning Crew)