Dreamt of almost-viscous water ...

Dreamt of almost-viscous water
coming up the bathtub drain.
I cannot mop it clean.
"Clorinda, the Girl Who Slipped
Down the Drain" is a volume
from my mother's childhood.
end the drain and the pipes
she construct lilies and frogs,
English-speaking amphibians, no crocodiles.
one time I saw a baby alligator
frozen mid-crawl, emerging
from the kennel in Chicago
where lake waves solidify by cold
mid-crest in the winter
and water beneath is gelatinous.
Dreamt I shat a bar
of Lever Brother's soap,