You can define a thing without placing it anywhere in the model world:
Code:
There is room.
Here is a poem. It has description "'Look behind you!'".
The portal is a thing.
Then all it takes to bring it into play is to move it into a room during play -- such as the location of the player.
You'd need to implement "look behind" as a new verb, too.
Code:
Understand "look behind [yourself]" as looking behind. Looking behind is an action applying to one thing.
Check looking behind yourself:
if we have not examined the poem or the portal is on-stage, try examining south instead.
[Just to trigger the standard "You see nothing unexpected in that direction." error message.]
After looking behind yourself:
now the portal is in the location;
say "You find an immense inter-dimensional portal has opened up behind you!"