ILLUMINATION

I floated down, trailing my luminous clouds
into the hot dusty square, and landed among people
who were happily wallowing in the dirt
with their dogs, pigs, and chickens.
They stopped rolling over each other
and began to throw stones, shouting
that I was dragging bloody rags and that I stank.
As the crowd surged toward me,
I picked up a stone, threw it,
and fled down a narrow, dirty alley.