auf wiedersehen spiegeltent
1.
the circus is gone
big top
stripped to bone
wide-load giraffe
skeleton canters
in smoke and hammers
collapses collapses
ghosts of their shimmering
crushed into clay
at first light we steal glances
carnies disguised as men
unravel canvas
for one last act
The Great Vanishment
2.
we return
to one-hearted one-steps
preacher calls to his lambs
bowler tumbling downarm
and we come
their suicides unwind
from sky-held ribbons
our strongest men
are not strong enough
our women cannot fly
that man is a tin soldier
he is all moving parts
that woman hovers
en pointe en tightrope
their drunken limbs forget
the ways they should not bend
we swallow whole words
and the lion obeys
with a wink in the glint of its fang
we cannot contort
our mouths
back into grins
they fold back into boxes
like costumes like paper
with string and bells secured to their toes
Zenobia Frost 