The Inspection Part 3

'Welcome!' boomed the first
a face so plastic
with teeth that were nursed
and a cheek twitch of a tick

His smile was glued
in an all american grin
and his arm moved
to shake ours like a fin

'You look bewildered'
said the next with a voice
that smelt of pure kindred
and the cessation of noise

Her face had seen vengeance
of every horror of the world
only one eye was in existence
the other lost in fleshly fold

'Hmmmm. what brings you here gentlemen?'
Clotted cynicism mirrored our own
He looked us up and down and then
shrugged as seemed his habit like my frown

'Inspectors ey? Inspect all you like
You'll find only what you want'
He was telling us to take a hike
without the fuss of an arduous rant.

'Coffee?' said another woman
plump without disorder
and the cup was done
without a whisper of bother

'Biscuits?' as our hand trembled
with hot cups wondering
whether we had stumbled
on to a fattening the calf scheme

'What is this place?' I mumbled
through delicious smooth coffee
and biscuit that crumbled
in my mouth melting into wholesome toffee

'A mad house!' said Shrug
taking the words out of Pale's mouth
my heart sank to fear's fierce tug
at the cynic's jolly shout

'Now...' and my heart was light again
as I heard the sound of the rainbow
the woman whose face had seen much pain
'...now' eased the knot of my brow

'This place has many names, many faces
it is heaven to some, hell to many more
but...' she paused in a delicious phrase
'come and see before I'm an ear sore'

Ear sore? I couldn't believe my own
For when she spoke the din of the hall
Dimmed away in a distant drown
And I would've followed her faintest call

'Here!' commanded responsible Wade
'Let's be off and done with this tour
we'll take Shrug and this one eyed maid
I don't trust smiley face and the biscuit lady for sure.'

And off we stepped into the strange kaboodle
to tell a tale of wide insanity
A journey that never let up the pedal
and defied non-existent laws of gravity

To be continued...

Part 4