Friends on the Carpet Bowling Team

They are like me
but something has gone wrong.
I smell of the outside
and know the code
to use the stairs.

Moving to my ear
as if telling me a secret,
the third best carpet bowler
on the floor quotes an old movie
and states the name of an idol
Shakespearean movie star.
I nod and say, "yes I know."
That brings back the world.

Something has happened.
The woman asked to collect the
bowling balls and return them
to the front forgets
and begins to bowl herself
out of turn. I laugh, we all laugh.
Some look clever. Some have
bits of archetype in their faces.
They come to me and whisper,
wanting my secrets, or a whiff of the outside,
or some kind of gift.