in mystic dwellings of things unseen

laughing lads and smiling girls,
a man with a pipe and a lady with pearls,
young and the old,
play in the shadows of the plot to unfold
in mystic dwellings of things unseen,
it was for told, put out your gold
and fold into the comfort of forgetting
as faces drag time,
sip and slur,
blur and shine,
another beer at a quarter past nine