An obsidian questian

a small island, a curling flame rising, obsidian in the ivory, a djinn hissing from the prison cave of its tittle.

an exclamation mark bent by the wind, a cupped hand seeking purchase on the sleek face of the page.

a streamer or the path of the kite and its flyer, the full stop and its single ear, the question mark is an attempt to pull something in, to connect by asking, the angler of grammar, certainty growing a single antler at sentence end. the question mark a sign referring to a thing outside of itself which itself refers to the sign itself, the sibilant phrasing like the surf surrounding the sand of the island which is but a black stone at the base of the sign.

the question mark is an ouroboros snake the moment before catching its own tail. it is an inverted nose, a one-eyed bass clef, a quest which turns back, questioning as a dog circles twice before sleep.

the pirate dances: a jazz hook oscillates, marking the interrogative spot in a thought map of thin air.