solid gold

a little unraveled & unrevealed,
weave me a star & catch it in a bottle,
add some rain, fresh from the storm, 
then stir with little to no urgency.
offer some to the minister,
make sure to gasp when he declines.
run away crying
& fall into st james lake.
stay there until st james himself
demands you leave.
he will be mean about it.

so run away crying,
& climb the clock tower,
you'll find an old veteran there. 
all the way from the bottom of the sea.
he makes a wonderful mash!
so take a bit to go
& don't forget to thank him.
traffic surf on a double decker
till you reach the night market.
pick a flower from a stand,
the one with the lights.
place a petal in your bottle then replant the rest.
somewhere nice, if you please.
no matter what, the flower 
should sprout from your ears,
but that’s a few years down the road.

make sure to shake your bottle now,
as you walk to the nearest tube station.
sing a song you don't know,
shake hands with the woman who glares at you,
& pull her along. 
push her off at the second stop
& sing a little louder on the train.
take a seat next to a middle aged man with a beard,
offer to comb his beard for him
in exchange for one of his eyelashes.
take the eyelash before he answers,
& jump off the train.
put the eyelash in your bottle
but don't shake just yet!
steal a newspaper,
rip out a cause of death from the obituary,
(you get a bonus if the dead person's name is charles.)
put death in your bottle.
swirl it like you would a glass of wine.

start to make your way back home. 
walk into as many people as possible.
trip & spill exactly 3 drops onto a businessman,
it’ll ruin his coat!
so make yourself an enemy & let him know it was purposeful.

ring the doorbell & knock on the door,
come inside before I can even think to answer.
leave the door wide open.
(you get another bonus if it's still raining.)
put the contents of your bottle into my favorite saucepan,
whisk it till it's silver.
pour it into an ice cube tray,
& leave to freeze overnight.

In the morning you should have solid gold.

— Azra Ryan