Cement city with a collection
of doorknobs rising out of grayness:
brass, milk glass, wooden, even marble.

I pick the brass. The door creaks open.
Stairs descend to golden rooms, light bright.
A library of leather-bound books.

Windows look out on an Irish lake.
I don't ask how here under the street.
A butler brings in a tray of tea.

He asks if he should light the fire.
I ask if I have gone to heaven.
"Just a comfort station on the way
to hell." He winks like he's just kidding.

-- Ann Curran

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.