Moccasins shed skins against floorboards. br Broken, splintered. Slither. Stealth. br Silent. br Clay-packed crumbly brick. Fireplace glow. br Pecan, oak, cypress, piled under table, br Bed, in corners. Warmth. br Thick window velvet, tattered, bemused with br Years. Dust. Webs. Butlers...long ago br Gone. br One room parlor shack. Mansion cocooned br Moon whispers fluttering, flying lips shriveled. br Moving memories cracked, dry, dessicated. br br One yellowed talon-nail scratched her pets br Ears... br 'What does the outside do today, eh? br Is this not our world... br Is this not Paradise...