I Met Carlos Castaneda in a Bar #NaPoWriMo

he was already drunk when he came in
or on something, probably 
those peyote buttons he tried one time.
He wanted to tell me stories 
while I served him up a pale ale 
and asked him what he was doing 
round these here parts.

Looking for an ally, he said
or power, or both.
Sounds fascinating, I said
thinking I better not 
serve him again after this one.  

He lit up a joint and I told him 
he couldn’t smoke in here
but he only blew me a smoke ring
and began telling me about the time 
he wrestled a giant moth the size of a tree.
It’s the shaman’s sign, he said
if a moth flies into you, scattering 
its gold dust upon your person.

Ah, I said, thinking, I hope dude’s not driving
but then he blew another smoke ring 
and a smaller one through that one 
and they turned into demons
fighting in mid-air
and I was kind of hypnotised.  

I noticed too
how his jade-green eyes
turned purple then dark.  Felt like
some kind of sorcery was going down.

What is this ally you’re looking for?
I asked, intrigued, despite myself.  
One that holds an answer to my riddle, he mused.
Problem is I don’t know what form it’ll take 
or if I’m in the right place 
but I followed the gold dust
and it led me to you.  

I laughed, thinking
that was a line I hadn’t heard before 
but he didn’t laugh with me
and asked instead when was the last time 
you saw the moon make love to the sun?

When was the last time 
you had a good night’s sleep, sir?
I didn’t want to play his game,
I had no time for riddles 
and it was nearly the end of my shift.  
Would you care for a midnight walk? he asked
as if he’d read my mind.  

Hackles risen, I merely smiled
then turned away to serve someone else
but when I returned he’d disappeared 
and a huge moth 
the size of my hand
fluttered into the air
and over my head
into the lamplight
spraying gold dust as it went.

^{_{© N Nazir 2024}}

NaPoWriMo Prompt 30: to write a poem in which the speaker is identified with, or compared to, a character from myth or legend, as in  Claire Scott’s poem “Scheherazade at the Doctor’s Office.”

*Not sure I’ve followed the brief but this is what popped out of my brain this morning.

*Thank you for following my NaPoWriMo journey to the end, I appreciate it ❤️