beyond

there is something on the other side
if you peel it back like wallpaper
exposing boards and beams beneath
and locks that have no keys

there is something on the other side
if you slip between the house's ribs
the walls will give before the doors
and open into these

there is something on the other side
if the torch holds steady in your hands
the tunnel narrows past the bend
uncarved by human craft

there is something on the other side
and it leads into a house
that no one built, and no one lives in
with a door that won't come back